SpectorSoft

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SpectorSoft, Inc.
Type Private Company[1]
Industry Software
Founded 1998
Headquarters Vero Beach, Florida, USA
Key people Doug Fowler (Founder)
Products Computer and Internet activity monitoring software
Employees 100
Website http://www.spectorsoft.com

SpectorSoft is a software manufacturer that develops and sells computer monitoring and cell phone monitoring tools. [2]

History

The company was founded in 1998 by Doug Fowler.[3]

Patent Infringement Case Helios Software LLC et al v. SpectorSoft Corporation http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuits/patent-lawsuits/delaware-district-court/89138/helios-software-llc-et-al-v-spectorsoft-corporation/summary/

Products

Spector Pro and Spector Pro for Mac[4] – Monitoring software for computer and internet activity

eBlaster and eBlaster for Mac – Similar to Spector Pro; in addition, can email all activity to a remote location

eBlaster Mobile for Android or BlackBerry – Monitors and protects children on Android or BlackBerry phone

Spector CNE Investigator – Identical to Spector Pro, but includes network installation, configuration, deployment and reviewable recordings, aimed at corporate use.

Spector 360 – Includes the features of Spector Pro and Spector CNE Investigator, but can create graphs and statistics from the recorded data, using an SQL database.

Spector 360 Recon - An additional mode within Spector 360 that records and identifies specific user activity without monitoring all the user's actions.

Awards/Distinctions

Spector Pro was given the PC Magazine editors' choice award in a 2002 review of six computer activity monitoring tools.[5] In 2004, version 5.0 of Spector Pro was again given the editors' choice award from a field of four programs.[6] In 2008 Spector 360 SR3 won the PC Magazine editors' choice award.[7]

In 2004, SpectorSoft was listed for the first time as one of Inc. magazine's Top 500 fastest-growing private companies in America, at position 224.[8] The company achieved a position on the list once again in 2005 at number 497. .[9] In 2009 SpectorSoft made the list of Inc. 5000 Companies at number 3340.[10] In 2010 and 2011 SpectorSoft again made the Inc. Magazine 500/5000 list.

Spectorsoft products have been mentioned in many well known media outlets, including ZDNET, PC/Computing, Time, CNN, NBC Nightly News, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.[11]

Netbus connection

Spectorsoft purchased the former website of the Netbus hacker/cyber-crime tool.[12]

Users

The target audiences for SpectorSoft products are parents who want to monitor the activity of their children on the home PC and employers who want to record the activities of their employees on company-owned workstations.

Legal

Parents

Parents use Spectorsoft's monitoring software to check their children's internet use.[13][14] This is legal since minors have no legal right to privacy from their parents. However, Spectorsoft actively promote their software as "Spy Software" that will enable a review of the child's private communication without the child's knowledge. Unlike other software products that rely only on non-secret monitoring or filtering, this approach inherently breaches the child's possibilities of self-protection. While this helps parents to protect children against online predators, it leaves the child vulnerable to spying by sexual abusers from the child's immediate surroundings, who have been found to be in the majority.[citation needed]

Employers

Employers may choose to monitor their employees using SpectorSoft software. There are, however, still privacy concerns over things like personal email.[15][16]

Educators

Educators, school administrators and school districts are required to protect students from online predators (CIPA & FERPA). Most schools use blocking and filtering solutions, which may block sites needed for research or not block new sites that have not yet been included in the filtering solution. Spector 360 works with filters to provide an additional layer of protection, and also helps keep students on-task by providing teachers and technology coordinators with reports and charts that show what web sites students visit and how long they spent on each. Keyword alerts let lab instructors or IT administrators see who may be violating a school's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).[17]

Illegal

Some of Spectorsoft's tools, especially eBlaster, can be used for criminal activities, and there have been several convictions for such misuse. Spectorsoft software contains an EULA[18] specifying that installation must only be on machines owned by the licensee and also indicating that SpectorSoft will only cooperate with law enforcement when compelled to do so.

Spouses

Spectorsoft has marketed its spy software to people wanting to catch their spouses cheating.[19] However, in the face of criminal charges and negative publicity, Spectorsoft no longer markets its products to spouses.[20] There is, however, nothing to stop a spouse from using the products illegally. For example, a man from Michigan who installed eBlaster on a partner's personal computer was charged with four felony counts, facing up to five years in prison and $19,000 in fines,[21] and in 2013 a Texas woman filed a criminal complaint against her estranged husband for using eBlaster to spy on her Facebook and e-mail communications.[22]

Thieves

Since SpectorSoft software is specifically designed to be difficult to detect and remove, the tools (especially eBlaster) can be used by thieves who wish to steal credit card information, banking information, and passwords. Installation of the software can occur without the user's knowledge or permission.[23] Spectorsoft openly advertise that their tools will record all of a user's passwords.[24] There have been recorded cases of this happening.[25]

Spyware Classification

Spectorsoft have previously marketed their software as "Spyware",[26] and it is listed as "critical" or "high risk" by several anti-virus/anti-spyware software vendors.[27][28][29]

The software products utilise rootkits to avoid detection by users, and actively combat anti-spyware software by mutating and recreating file names and registry keys.[29] Most anti-virus and anti-spyware vendors will not detect SpectorSoft products, since they are considered legitimately purchased software.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Profile Page, Google Finance
  2. ↑ "SpectorSoft". Retrieved October 19, 2012. 
  3. ↑ [http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P98000104383&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=SPECTORSOFT&names_filing_type=, "SPECTORSOFT CORPORATION"]. Florida Department of State – Division of Corporations. Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  4. ↑ "Spectorsoft Products". Spectorsoft. Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  5. ↑ Glass, Brett (January 7, 2002). "Watching You, Watching Me – Spector Pro reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007. "Spector Pro – Editors Choice ... A descendant of the Netbus Trojan horse" 
  6. ↑ Delaney, Laura (March 8, 2004). "Monitoring Software- Reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  7. ↑ Sarrel, Matthew (June 17, 2008). "Monitoring Software- Reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2008. 
  8. ↑ "Inc 500 2004 (ranked 224)". Inc Magazine. 2004. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  9. ↑ "Inc 500 2005 (ranked 497)". Inc Magazine. 2005. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  10. ↑ "Inc 5000 2009 (ranked 3314)". Inc Magazine. 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Spectorsoft – Press Mentions". Spectorsoft. Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  12. ↑ "Whois.net - netbus.org". Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007. "Registrant Name:Spectorsoft Corp. – Whois data is now private" 
  13. ↑ Spectorsoft (July 23, 2003). "SpectorSoft – eBlaster for Windows – Solutions". Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  14. ↑ Potter, Ned (July 24, 2006). "Watching Your Kids Online". ABC News. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  15. ↑ Bill Wallace, Jamie Fenton (November 15, 2000). "Analysis: Your PC could be watching you". CNN. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  16. ↑ Thomas C Greene. "Spyware Trojan sends Hotmail to your boss". The Register. Retrieved April 11, 2007. 
  17. ↑ David, Kopf (November 15, 2007). "Analysis: Illinois District Keeps an Eye on 'Net Abuse". THE Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2007. 
  18. ↑ Spectorsoft Inc. "Spectorsoft Software License Agreement". Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
  19. ↑ Cohen, Adam (July 2, 2001). "Internet Insecurity (page 6)". Time Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007. 
  20. ↑ "Spouse-vs.-spouse cyberspying dangerous, possibly illegal – Network World". Network World. 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007. "Fowler says SpectorSoft, which makes consumer and business versions of its surveillance software, three years ago stopped marketing its products as spouse-spying tools." 
  21. ↑ Matt Bean (September 7, 2001). "Private electronic surveillance raising legal, rights questions". Court TV. Archived from the original on December 15, 2003. Retrieved April 10, 2007. 
  22. ↑ Dillon Collier (May 16, 2013). "Wilson Co. woman says husband used computer software to spy on her". KENS-5. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  23. ↑ "Blaster Remote Installation Guide". Spectorsoft. Retrieved May 23, 2007. "eBlaster installs itself silently without any indication to the computer user that the installation has taken place" 
  24. ↑ "Capture Their Email Passwords". Netbus.org – (Owned by Spectorsoft). Retrieved April 12, 2007. "Passwords from any email account will be recorded, ... and all other passwords" 
  25. ↑ John Leyden (July 23, 2003). "‘Online banking in SA was a time-bomb waiting to go off’". The Register. Archived from the original on June 23, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2007. 
  26. ↑ "eBlaster Remote Spyware". Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007. "In Dec 7 Spectorsoft referred to eBlaster as Spyware" 
  27. ↑ "Symantec profile of eBlaster". Retrieved March 27, 2007. 
  28. ↑ "SpyNoMore profile of eBlaster 5.0". Retrieved March 27, 2007. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "CA Anti-Spyware (formerly PestPatrol) profile of eBlaster". Retrieved September 16, 2008. 


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