Conference 7.286::digital

4442.0. "Watchout for WATCHDOG" by ODIXIE::RYANKE (AttitUde......) Fri Feb 23 1996 10:04

    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 foe 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.
   [Article includes a screen capture of Internet WatchDog's Review Mode, in
 which it displays the screens it has captured. Some buttons available in this
 mode are - TT :
	System Log	Click this button to see a list of system events for
			this date
	Application Log Click this button to see a list of programs that were
			active on this date
	Graphics Files  Click this button to search for graphics files
	Monitor		Click this button when you have completed your review.
			Internet WatchDog will then resume monitoring your
			system  ]

>   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.

How is this any different than a wiretap on my phoneline?  especially if I'm
writing a confidental or personal message at the time of the screenshot?

-mark

> How is this any different than a wiretap on my phoneline?

It isn't.  But you knew that.  For practical purposes it's identical to
having your phone calls, both incoming and outbound, monitored and
recorded; or having a videocamera placed over your desk to record what
you're doing.

___Pete

    There is a solution to this of course.  AOL.COM
    
    Maverick

    re: Note 4442.3 by MPOS01::BJAMES
    
    Ya, ay-oh-el pukes up all user activity to the feds even before it's
    subpeonaed.  
    
    MadMike

Have you ever wondered just what AOL is doing in the sometimes several
seconds between the time you sign off and your modem actually clicks off?

:-)

M

    re: -1 
    
    Yup, calculating how much I owe them for my session :')
    
    Mav

    
    	And billing your credit card for same?
    

re .0:

giving credit where credit is due, this was clipped from Vogon News Service.    

    re: .0
    
    Why do you speak of the postal service in the past tense?  Do you
    really think they trust the workers now?

as .0 is from the Boston Globe, not from anyone here.

					Trace

    What makes anyone think that this something new? Circa 1980 a very
    large aerospace company had a product named "Clyde" that captured every
    keystroke from every VT hooked to every VAX that was used in a very
    large radar project. It was kinda neat to be able to watch what the
    users were doing. Big Brother is already here, using our technology. We
    have enabled the possibilities by the existance of our own products.
    
    There interesting piece of all this is, what side of the mirror are you
    on. If I'm on the inside looking at you, that's better for me, not
    neccesarily good for you.
    
    .mike.

    gosh, I had written a program like that in the mid 1970s running on
    RSTS/E. Basicly, I got tired of walking half way across the building
    when someone called and said that my software was "broken". I wrote a
    spy program to log the user's key strokes, and when I got a
    phone call, I just looked at the other terminal, and would be able to
    say something like "you typed an O instead of a 0".
    
    Of course, it never dawned on me back then to that a program like this
    (that I considered a productivity tool and an energy saver) might be
    used by others to monitor who's playing games/goofing off/writeing a
    resume/etc.
    
    Deb

Well, we could go the German standard that makes it illegal to
report on an individual. I wouldn't mind it a bit but doubt our
current lawmakers would approve. Until someone decides to track
them. Same with management. liesl

	We've had SPY routines around for years. The DEC-10 and other LCG
systems had this as part of the OS. 

    Without actually "spying" keystrokes, VMS can do lots of things with
    accounting...logout time, connect time (and therefore login time), cpu
    time used and potentially images activated. Lots more I'm sure (I
    haven't looked at it in a while).
    
    r

SET MODE/SARCASTIC

Gee, looks like we got out of the disk drive business too soon! Think of all the
gigabytes of storage that will be needed to store screen captures of everyone's
PC/workstation! Who has room for productive data?

  VMS has the capability to log the amount of time that users on a system coll-
ectivly use Notes. Whether it can track Notes usage per user, I don't know.

    The "NETMETER" tool for VMS can track DECnet connections in and out
    of the system by objects, users, protocols, etc.  The EASYNET folks
    use it to occaisionally sample selected nodes to estimate the percent
    of DECnet traffic that is file transfer, notes, cterm protocol, etc.
    The reporting can be broken down furthur, so it is easy, for example, to
    get a profile of the nodes involved in mail to/from a specific user, or
    nodes connected to for notes traffic, by user.  It doesn't provide enough
    detail for really nasty spying, like which specific remote notesfiles are
    connected to.  It does collect byte count (both directions) and
    connection times, though.