Internet Watchdog

["Mark M." <markm@voicenet.com>]

I found this on the Fringeware mailing list and thought it would be of
interest.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 17:58:26 -0600
From: FringeWare Daily <email@fringeware.com>
Reply-To: Jim Thompson <jim@SmallWorks.COM>
Subject: 1984 - I'll be watching you

Sent from: jim@SmallWorks.COM (Jim Thompson)

Algorithm Inc.
	-- WatchDog tracks where Internet users go, what they look at
	[The Boston Globe, 22-Feb-96, p. 54, by Hiawatha Bray]

Ever get the feeling that your computer is watching you?  Mine has been
keeping an eye on me and I don't much like it.   I've been trying out a
clever, creepy piece of software called WatchDog that  tracks every
move I make on my office or home computer.  Despite its name, Internet
Watchdog doesn't track just on-line activity; it keeps a log of every
program running.

The program was created by Algorithm Inc. in Atlanta, and is being
marketed by Charles River Media in Rockland.  I've run Internet
WatchDog on my home machine for about a week now, and I have only one
problem with the product --  it works.  It's a superb piece of software
that makes my skin crawl.

Blame it one experience.  Years ago, I worked at the US Postal Service
on an electronic mail sorting machine.  In those days, Postal Service
managers assumed that all workers were lazy and dishonest.  We were
constantly watched  through video cameras and two-way mirrors to make
sure we weren't stealing anything.  And computers monitored us at the
sorting consoles to make sure we put forth our maximum effort.

Programs like Internet WatchDog could bring some of that flavor of
paranoia to business offices all over America.  But David Pallai,
president of Charles River Media, says that's not what he has in mind.
Pallai's goal was a less intrusive, more efficient way to monitor the
Internet.

"We did not believe in censorship or blocking, " Pallai said.  Internet
blockers like SurfWatch or Cyber Patrol rely on lists of naughty 'Net
sites drawn up by a sort of Legion of Decency.  It's a job Pallai
didn't want.  Besides, so many new sites open every day that these
blocking programs must be constantly updated, and customers must pay
for the privilege.   "We decided that what we need is something that
monitors, as a telephone bill monitors calls, instead of blocking a
program," Pallai said.

Internet WatchDog is available in Windows or Macintosh formats.  It
starts whenever you turn on the computer.  You can switch it off, but
the program will tell your boss if you do.  The boss gets a password
that lets him or her read the information that Internet WatchDog has
filed away.

Internet WatchDog stores a log of every important computer event.  It
remembers when you turned the machine on, the name of every piece of
software you've used and when you used it.  Start up your Internet
dialer or a copy of Doom, and it's there.

Do you occasionally download photos from the Internet?  Don't save them
on your hard drive.  Internet WatchDog searches the drive and lists
every file in the GIF and JPEG formats, the most popular way to
distribute pictures on the net.  So keeping files with names like
NEKKID.GIF isn't a smart idea.

The slickest, spookiest part of Internet WatchDog is its automatic
screen capture.  The software keeps count of the changes in pixels -
the thousands of  tiny glowing dots on your computer screen.  If enough
of the pixels change, the program knows that some new image has flashed
up on your screen.

When that happens, it takes a screen snapshot, marks it with the date
and time, and files it away.  Even if you don't change screens, a
snapshot will be taken every 15 minutes.  Then the boss can see the
same images you've been looking at all day.

The program will save up to 10 megabytes of data - more if the boss
asks for it.  You can go back in time and see exactly what an employer
(sic - TT] was doing on his computer on 2:15 last Wednesday.

Internet WatchDog has only been on sale for a few weeks, but already,
Pallai has gotten lots of feedback.  "When I hear from the CEOs, they
love it," he said.  "When I hear from employees, they hate it."  I'll
bet.

Of course, employers aren't the only ones who can use Internet
WatchDog.  Pallai is also selling his products to parents and school
systems who want to monitor children's use of computers.  Indeed,
Pallai estimates that about 60 percent of his customers so far have
been parents and school systems.

Snooping on the kids is fine with me.  Children were made to be
monitored.  It's using this stuff on grown-ups that I don't care for.

Even Pallai isn't entirely thrilled.  To make Internet WatchDog a
little less intrusive, he tweaked some features.  For instance, the
program doesn't spy on you in secret.  It announces its presence when
it starts up.  Pallai decided not to include a feature that would
identify every Internet site you visit.  And there's no versions for
networks yet - Pallai's not sure he wants a network administrator to
look in on every worker's computer anytime he likes.  "We were trying
not to make it too Big Brotherish," he said.

But other firms are selling snoop software designed for network use.
Much of it was developed to ensure that workers aren't using pirated
programs on the job, but it can also be used to analyze every move you
make on your computer.  And the rise of the Internet has given
companies a big new reason to track corporate computer use.

After all, it's the company's machine and the company's time.  Your
boss has every right to keep an eye on you.  Still, it adds an
unwelcome hint of paranoia in a world that already has enough to go
around.  Soon, we may all be staring at our computers, wondering
whether they're staring back.