Being a parent is tough. You constantly need to balance your decisions and ensure that you’re tough when you need to be and soft-hearted when required. One such example is when you have the unenviable task of monitoring your children’s activities online.

Children generally dislike being told what or what not to do and are likely to act rebellious if they believe you’re treating them unfairly.

Using a keystroke recorder will ensure that you only interfere with your child’s activities when it’s absolutely called for as well as confronting them with sufficient and reliable proof to prevent misunderstandings.

How to Install Keystroke Recorders
Keystroke recorders may be a hardware device or a software program. You will have to check with its specifications to determine which operating systems they’re compatible with.

A keystroke recorder hardware device has to be plugged to your keyboard. Some keyboards even have a built-in keystroke recorder. Hardware keystroke recorders, however, will not work with built-in keyboards for laptops. The amount of keystroke data stored will also depend on the memory of the device. For computers in one network, you will need one keystroke recorder plugged per computer.

Hardware keystroke recorders are not without benefits though. They cannot be remotely disabled. One would have to physically unplug the device in order to deactivate its program. Installation is easy as well. Even if the computer is password-protected, switched off, hibernating, or locked, none of these would matter. Just plug it in and it’s sure to work.

Keystroke recorder software has its share of pros and cons, too. Firstly, it can work not only with desktops but laptops, too. Installation can be done remotely and via network. Storage space made available by the accessed computer will be the same one used for storing keystroke logging data.

Although keystroke recorder software is designed to be ‘invisible’, there are instances when ‘binary-signature’ image-scanning software may be capable of detecting its presence.

How Keystroke Recorders Work
Once you have the keystroke recorder properly installed, here’s how you can privately monitor your children’s online activities.

Type of Keystroke Logged Data Stored
Everything that your child types, from passwords to URLs of the pages he visits – all of these will show up in the program’s log book.

Remote Monitoring
You can continue monitoring your child’s activities away from home. Simply enable the program to email you the data it has managed to obtain.

Keep It Confidential
Lastly, keystroke recorders generally offer password protection. That way, no unauthorized person – not even your own child – may access its recorded data and find out what you’ve been doing.