 Desktop SurveillanceTM -
Enterprise Edition
Network Security and Internal Vulnerability Assessment
 "...(With Desktop Surveillance) a little workplace surveillance now can head off huge problems later." Nov. 16, 1998, pg. F21
 "Desktop Surveillance...a comprehensive computer monitoring program..." Aug. 27, 1998, pg. D3
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"Fraud is a worldwide problem which loses millions of dollars a year, according to a new report published by Ernst&Young, with a staggering 84 percent of the worst frauds committed within an organization by it's own employees."
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WHAT IS DESKTOP SURVEILLANCE?
Desktop Surveillance is a combination of both a powerful Network Intelligence Management and Productivity tool and an amazing Desktop Content Security utility!
This program will enable you to get the most out of your Information Technology as well as protecting your company's most valuable resources; data and people!
WHAT WILL DESKTOP SURVEILLANCE DO FOR ME?
- You will see, in real time or recordings of, every action taken on any and every workstation!
- You will be able to set and enforce an Acceptable Usage Policy for every workgroup or user in your organization!
- You will be able to virtually eliminate potential law suits (sexual harassment, hostile work environment) stemming from internal improper e-mail and downloading of illicit materials.
- You'll be able to relax a little, because Desktop Surveillance is on the job!
HOW DOES DESKTOP SURVEILLANCE WORK?
Desktop Surveillance can best be described by separating it's functionality into two basic categories: Monitoring/Recording and Access Control.
Monitoring/Recording:
The powerful engine that drives Desktop Surveillance enables the program to identify every action performed by the user and record those actions in three different ways; Virtual Video, Keystroke Capture, and Smart Activity Logging.
Virtual Video:
The Virtual Video is the software equivalent of having a video camera trained on the users monitor. The VV recordings are actually a series of screen captures, taken at predetermined intervals, which are dated and grouped by user. These recordings, presented in a slide show format, can be viewed in real time or can be reviewed at a later date.
This type of recording allows you to see exactly what the user sees. This includes E-mail, Chat Room, and Web Page content; Program Interfaces; Error Messages, etc.
With Virtual Video you see what the user sees!
Keystroke Scan:
The Keystroke Scan reads the raw keystroke data and logs the information in a text file.
This type of recording is necessary for ascertaining password information as well as offering a foolproof way of keeping track of data entry procedures, program coding, etc.
Smart Activity Log:
The Smart Activity Log is an intelligent textual logging tool which creates a text log of all activity on a workstation. This log will show you every program which the user opens, every file accessed, every action taken on a file, every web site visited, etc.
The Smart Log also shows you which workstation and user performed the action, when it was performed (date and time), how much time elapsed, and more. The log file can be viewed with Excel or any text editor and can be exported into any ODBC compliant database.
This type of recording is unsurpassed for collecting intelligence on how your network is being used. Using Excel or a database, you can determine how much time was spent doing any certain activity (web surfing, game playing, etc.), which users need more or less supervision, and much more!
Monitoring/Recording Working Modes
Desktop Surveillance offers you two different working modes; Prevention and Stealth.
Prevention Mode:
The purpose of this mode is to make the users aware that their actions may be monitored.
Various visual indicators (System Tray icon, popup window message, etc.) may alert the user that Desktop Surveillance is running. Your users awareness of potentially being caught is, in itself, an excellent deterrent to misuse.
Stealth Mode:
Also referred to as Secret Surveillance Mode, this operating procedure allows Desktop Surveillance to be run without the users’ knowledge.
The program can hide itself from the Task Manager (Win95/98) as well as enabling you to encrypt the task name. The latter is useful with Windows NT as that OS will not allow any task to be omitted.
The Stealth Mode will afford you the option to 'catch 'em red handed' . This is, unfortunately, necessary in some situations whereas an individual is suspected of criminal activity (theft of propriatary information, for example) or is thought to be a potential threat in terms of company liability (e-mailing sexually explicit or racist jokes, for example).
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"The very fact that Desktop Surveillance software is running on a system can be a deterrent to misuse."
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Recording Options
When you set up Desktop Surveillance to record using the VirtualVideo © you have the option to either record all activity or to launch recording based on a specific, or Triggered, event. Within Desktop Surveillance you will find two types of Triggers; Task and Keystroke.
Task Triggers:
These are based on Task names as they appear in the Windows Task Manager. For example; If you are only interested in recording Internet activity, you might enter into the Trigger List the task name for Internet Explorer. Immediately upon launching IE the program would start recording and continue until IE was closed.
This is an excellent method for tailoring the recording for different situations and different users or groups. One user you set up to record Internet activity, another user you set up to record game playing, and so on. There is no limit to the number of Triggers you use or the number of different user profiles you configure.
Keystroke Triggers:
These are based on the raw keystroke data entered by a user. For example; You may want to start recording when someone other than you types your password, or when someone types a racial slur.
This manner of triggering recording offers a level of security unique to Desktop Surveillance!
Monitoring/Recording Additional Features
Remote Surveillance:
Desktop Surveillance can be remotely controlled via local network or the Internet, and in both cases it is possible to remotely observe activity on the local desktop in real time!
Recordings of user activities on any workstation within the network can be remotely activated/deactivated.
The remote capabilities offer you great flexibility when supporting organizations with a number of off-site PCs, i.e. notebooks, telecommuting personnel, etc.
The Remote Monitor puts network security and internal
vulnerability assessment at your fingertips!
FTP, E-Mail, and Local Storage Options
Desktop Surveillance offers a choice of saving the surveillance recordings to the local disk as well as to a remote FTP server. The added security of saving the recordings off to an FTP server means that it will be impossible for users to remove or delete recordings. These recordings can be inspected from any location without having to access the workstation on which they where made.
Additionally, the surveillance recordings can automatically be sent to a specified e-mail address. This way the administrator will be able to monitor the system from any remote location and at convenient time, as the records will be stored on the mail server.
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"Desktop Surveillance is a perfect fit and has been very effective for our computer and Internet use policy enforcement. I would recommend it highly."
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Access Control
Desktop Surveillance provides you with the ability to easily design, create, and implement an organization wide Acceptable Usage Policy for your I.T. systems.
With the powerful Access Control capabilities you can now automate control at a user level. Using the software's activity identification methods (Task and Keystroke Triggers) you can launch the programs Blocking, Limited Access, and Lockdown functions.
Blocking:
The Blocking function allows you to make programs, files, documents, web-sites, etc. unavailable to specific users or groups. This is particularly impactful when used in conjunction with AutoExecute. Addendum to the above example: The user tries to launch the Solitaire game, finds it unavailable, and is confronted with the Acceptable Usage Policy document.
Note: Desktop Surveillance can also detect content within documents and web-sites, and can therefore block access, allow access, record, etc. based on custom criteria.
Limited Access:
This allows you to specify which programs, documents, etc. the user CAN access. It also allows you to target the I.B. on web-sites alone. For example: Your organization wants to place a PC with Internet access in a public area yet are afraid of someone surfing inappropriate sites. This technology will allow you to keep the browser at your URL, and any other site you want access given to.
Lockdown:
This enables you to automate the shut down of a workstation and user when an event is triggered. Once done, the Desktop Surveillance Administrator would have to enter a password to allow that user to gain access again.
Networking Features
Desktop Surveillance offers a series of network functions which make administering the program easy and fast.
MultiView:
This feature allows you to view the monitoring status of all your workstations from a single window. From this window you may click on any user and view what they're doing, in real time!
Administrator Alerts
Desktop Surveillance can alert the administrator when a user violates your Acceptable Usage Policy by tripping a trigger. For example: You have set the program to record (or block, or both, etc.) whenever someone plays FreeCell. Upon a user launching that game an alert pops up on your desktop stating that a specific user is now being recorded. You access the MultiView window, click on that user, and you are now watching them play FreeCell while they're doing it.
Unlimited User Profiles
Desktop Surveillance allows you to customize individual configuration profiles for each user or group. This gives you the flexibility to monitor every individual or group based on your own criteria.
Shared network installation gives support for roaming user profiles, making central system administration easy.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Problem:
Motivating personnel to perform up to potential without constant supervision. This task is made more difficult due to the presence of certain distractions, namely computer games, Internet surfing, e-mailing jokes, etc.
Solution:
Implement Desktop Surveillance in the Prevention mode. This will inform the user that some or all of their computer activity is recorded. For example, set up Desktop Surveillance to record only when Solitaire or Freecell (the bane of many managers) is launched. A message will pop up telling the user that they are now being recorded (this message is just an example. You can easily customize it with your own text). Problem solved!
Problem:
You hear reports that an individual at your company is visiting adult web sites, downloading questionable material, etc. One real problem here (aside from the lack of productivity) is that the company is responsible for providing a non-hostile work environment and is liable if someone sees this material and is offended by it.
Solution:
On this user's system implement Desktop Surveillance in the Stealth mode. This will record the activity on the user's PC without their knowledge. You can even have Desktop Surveillance secretly send the recordings via e-mail or FTP to another system. This will provide you with the evidence you need to initiate legal recourse (warning, suspension, firing, etc.). Problem solved!
Problem:
Novice users monopolizing the time of the technical staff and other, more knowledgeable, users in order to learn software procedures.
Solution:
Have Desktop Surveillance record this novice user's activity while a member of the technical staff, or other qualified user, monitors them in real time. The tutor can then view what they're doing and walk the user through any procedure over the phone (or intercom) and never leave their desk. Problem solved!
Problem:
The ever present issue of internal security, i.e. trade secrets being emailed or FTP'd to competitors by employees.
Solution:
As in the case of the game players, you might set up Desktop Surveillance to warn the user that they are being monitored as soon as they launch their e-mail or FTP program, or as soon as they (or anyone) access certain areas of the network. However, in the case of corporate espionage and theft, you may simply want to secretly monitor all access to sensitive areas of the network. Problem solved!
Problem:
Your client, whom you just billed, wants you to justify the amount of the bill.
Solution:
Set up Desktop Surveillance to monitor you and anyone else working on this project and provide your customer with the text log of the activity and/or show them the recordings. This will place your customers mind at ease. This method is also excellent for actually determining what to bill based on the time spent on the project. Problem solved!
Problem:
Employees e-mailing other employees jokes. This may seem harmless to some, however, we are again confronted with the possibility that the joke may offend someone who, in turn, sues the company.
Solution:
Simply having Desktop Surveillance display a message, such as "E-mail is for business use, only. This transmission may be monitored", should keep unauthorized usage to a bare minimum. The few who may still abuse their e-mail privilege will get caught. Period. Problem solved!
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Legal Ramifications - Click here to revue issues and legal precedents concerning privacy in the workplace, civil rights, etc.
Note: Woodall & Broome, Inc. is NOT a law firm and is, therefore, not qualified to offer legal advice of any kind.
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