Spector Pro monitors everything that you would expect a full-featured monitor to record. As one of the few applications that we monitored that records Peer to Peer activity, Spector Pro has a great feature set and is extremely reliable. As this program provides no remote access to the data whatsoever, it is only a good choice for anyone who has unlimited access to the computer that is being monitored.

One area that SpectorSoft has really put a lot of work into their products is the user interface. It looks great, and it is intuitive and doesn’t require much time to get the hang of. It organizes the recorded information nicely, making it a snap to see what the person you’re monitoring is doing. Their screenshot feature, which can be set to take screenshots pretty much constantly, has a great playback setting which displays the activity of the person you are monitoring like a little movie. The playback controls are even laid out like a VCR. But beware as all this recorded data is stored locally on the computer you are monitoring and can impact the performance of that computer

Spector Pro records all of the following:

• Emails
• Most of the most popular IM programs
• Websites Visited
• Peer-to-Peer Activity
• Keystrokes
• Screenshots
• Program Activity

One very nice feature that Spector Pro has, which several of the other applications that we reviewed do not have, is the ability to monitor Peer to Peer activity. This allows people concerned about illegal downloading of music files to keep an eye on things whenever programs such as Kazaa, Morpheus and Limewire are being used. Now that the music companies are taking illegal downloading so seriously, this feature could save you from having to deal with a nasty lawsuit. Many parents don’t realize just how common this practice is among teens and Spector Pro can help parents stop a problem before it develops.

Spector Pro offers a Stealth Mode that allows the program to run invisibly affording parents, employers or anyone who needs to monitor their computer covertly an advantage.

Be sure to read The Truth About Stealth and Undetectability

Overall, Spector Pro is an absolutely top-notch piece of monitoring software that will not disappoint as long as you have unlimited access to the computer that you are monitoring. Definitely not built for anyone who needs to monitor someone remotely (such as a parent trying to monitor a child from work), or someone who needs to monitor multiple computers, but the quality of this program is undeniable, and the ease of use makes it easy to get used to.