Hello Everyone,
all i want to do is monitor a network in my so called office place in such a way that, if a user makes access to any unwanted websites eg: gaming, porn etc. i should get an alert or i should be able to see what a user is browsing at some point of time.

-- Now the major problem is, i want all this to be done on windows and i am also a user in the LAN and i have to monitor this from my system being a user. I dont have access to router, and i cant make any adjustments.

So, is there any software through which i can monitor all the systems on the LAN without being caught.

Thanks & Regards
nm04

not without the traffic passing through a point you have control over, e.g. a proxy.

acid kewpie,
thanks for your reply. I know but, that is what i want my superiors to understand. Is there any software or any application which can do it.

Regards,
nm

if you're just asking the question again, then the answer is the same. If you want to know what that software might be when you do have a machine through which all the traffic is passing, well that's generally any decent proxy, e.g. squid.

The best answer I have found can be used for tracking, or optionally for notification (to the users 'police' themselves), blocking, and security. IT costs per seat, but is windows and web based and works very well. The product is Websense Express.

I believe that there is a free trial option.

You do need to place the server on a span port (on the router or firewall) so that it can react to every packet, and it integrates into your local Domain.

I prefer, personally, FOSS solutions, but they require a *nix environment and technical proficiency. For a Windows environment running a Windows domain, Websense makes pretty good sense.

We ran it where I work, and it saved IT a massive amount of time and trouble by reducing workstation infections obtained from malware infected web sites. It also reduced both company and personal legal risks. Alas, we were aquired by a corporation that is reactive rather than proactive and dropped the license.

hi all,
i found one more product that could possibly solve the issue, the product is "surveilstar". This product keeps sneaking every host we specify, and reports us a dozen of information, eg: kind of website user access, downloads etc. and as far as i have used it it need not to be on the router or server, can be run from any host on the LAN. Apart from this it uses MSSQL to store the data.

sounds like a pretty nasty and offensive product. You don't spy on your employees, you request that they follow a specific usage policy for your environment, and take steps to prevent them abusing it. You don't wait for them to trip up by accident. Yuck.

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this product isn't nasty but useful, i am using it and it proved its worth. I caught an employee "RED HANDED" watching porn and downloading the same. It gives us the screen shots of other users on the LAN.

nm

Awful. You need better HR policies than this if you're going to be a good employer. Why was it possible form them to commit theses breaches in the first place? Don't catch people in the act, stop them getting there in the first place. If you have such poor infrastructure where your users can access porn at their workplace, you deserve all the hassle you get.

1 members found this post helpful.