AceSpy User Guide - AceSpy help

Main Interface

After setting up AceSpy for the first time, you will enter the Main Interface shown above. This is also where you will come in the future to change options. Also, even if you choose to use the Email Delivery feature, this is where you can come anytime to view any activity recorded.

Basic Usage Instructions

Anytime you are within the interface, you can stop or start monitoring activity by clicking the "Start/Stop" button at bottom left corner. To hide the AceSpy interface and go back into stealth mode, click the "X" at the top right corner of the interface. As long as the "Current Status" says "Active" when you do so, you will still be recording activity - even after the interface is hidden. If you click the "Exit" button at the bottom right corner, it will completely close AceSpy and stop monitoring - no matter what the "Current Status" says.

So when you want to view results that have been recorded, you would open the interface with the hot key sequence. After that, click any of the View Activity icons to view that activity. When you are finished, click the "X" at the top right corner if you want to keep monitoring in stealth. If you want to completely close AceSpy and stop monitoring, simply click the "Exit" button.

VIEWING ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

There are THREE different groups of activity viewers within AceSpy. Each is outlined and then described below.

PC Activity Group: Basic PC non-Internet activity including keystrokes.
Internet Activity Group: Internet Activity such as Emails and Chats.
Screenshot Capturing Group: Screenshots Recorded and Movie Maker.

PC ACTIVITY GROUP

Applications Executed: View programs executed by date.
Windows Launched: View windows opened by date.
Keystrokes Captured: View Keystrokes captured by date and window title.
Text Sent To Clipboard: View text sent to clipboard by date and window title.
Documents Opened: View documents opened by date.
Documents Sent To Printer: View documents printed by date.
Events Occured: View Windows events by date.
AceSpy Actions: View AceSpy activity by date.

INTERNET ACTIVITY GROUP

Yahoo! Chat Conversations: View full Yahoo! chats by date.
MSN Chat Conversations: View full MSN chats by date.
AOL/AIM Chat Conversations: View full AOL/AIM chats by date.
ICQ Chat Conversations: View full ICQ chats by date.
Web Sites Visited in IE: View list of URLs visited by date.
Emails Sent or Received: View full emails sent and received.

SCREENSHOT CAPTURING GROUP

Screenshots Captured: View Screenshots by date and window title.
Create Movie of Snapshots: Create AVI movie from screenshots captured.

OPTIONS ICONS OVERVIEW

There are THREE different options panels within AceSpy. The icons at the top of the interface are shortcuts to specific sections of one of the three panels. The icons are described below, and after that, each panel is described in detail.

General: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
Advanced: This takes you to the ADVANCED OPTIONS panel.
Emails: This takes you to the ADVANCED OPTIONS panel.
Screen Spy: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
Filtering: This takes you to the BLOCKING AND FILTERING panel.
Schedule: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.

GENERAL OPTIONS PANEL

General: Stealth, Active Monitoring and Startup options.
Logging: The checklist to determine what will be recorded.
Screen: Screen Capture settings and options.
Location: Specifies where AceSpy logs will be stored.
Schedule: Enables/Disables scheduled logging.
Lockdown: Enables/Disables PC Lockdown schedule.

ADVANCED OPTIONS PANEL

Priority: Thread Priority settings to adjust system performance.
Splash: Enables/Disables the Splash Screen startup warning.
Emails: Enables/Disables email delivery of logs.
Hot Key: Changes the defaults Hot Key sequence.
Auto-Clean: Automatic maintenance and cleaning settings.

BLOCKING AND FILTERING PANEL

Users: User filtering settings to avoid monitoring specific users.
Apps: Enter full pathnames to applications to be blocked.
Windows: Enter words that will close windows containing them.
URLs: Enter words that will close URLs containing them.
Keystrokes: Enter words that will cause Instant Keyword Alerts.

BOTTOM BUTTONS OVERVIEW

Stop/Start: Starts or Stops AceSpy Monitoring.
Quick Config: Opens the Quick Configuration Wizard.
Help: Opens the internal AceSpy help file.
Exit: Exits AceSpy. Monitoring is stopped until PC is rebooted.
Retina-X Studios, LLC Logo: Opens RXS main web site.

Additional Features

This section is devoted to further describing how to setup specific features of AceSpy.

AUTOMATIC EMAIL INFORMATION AND SETUP
Automatic Emailing refers to the emailing of activity reports to a specified email address. AceSpy can send customized activity reports to any SMTP-based email account. If you do not have one, try RXS Stealth Email to use this feature which includes step-by-step instructions for setting up AceSpy. Free webmail accounts are incompatible because they are not SMTP-based. Any other email account will work, so long as it uses SMTP to send emails.

Automatic Emailing can be setup during installation within the Quick Configuration Wizard. It can also be setup later by clicking the Automatic Email Configuration icon at the top of the AceSpy Main Interface. AceSpy combines the report(s) you select into one email. This email is then sent at a frequency you set. These options are all setup within the Automatic Emails Configuration screen, which is shown below.

HOW TO ENABLE AUTOMATIC EMAILING:

STEP 1. Open the Automatic Emails screen. Click Enable and enter frequency. 60+ is recommended.

STEP 2. Enter the following information which corresponds to your SMTP email account. It is a good idea to use your email address in both the "Email From" and "Email To" fields.

SMTP: This is your email address' SMTP server. i.e. smtp.yourdomain.com.
Username: The Username used to login to the email. Usually the full email address.
Password: The Password for the email account. Enter the full password.
Email From: The full email address corresponding to the above SMTP server.
Email To: Any email address, but using the Email From address is recommended.

STEP 3. Select which logs you want AceSpy to send. The types of logs are described below. Keep in mind to only select logs from activities that are enabled in Logging Options.

Applications Executed: The contents of the applications executed log.
Chat Conversations: The contents of the chat conversation log.
Clipboard Logs: The contents of the clipboard contents log.
Current Desktop Screenshot: Take a current screenshot and attach to the email.
Documents Opened: The contents of the documents opened log.
Emails Logs: The contents of the emails sent/received log.
Keystrokes Logs: The contents of the keystrokes typed log.
Printer Logs: The contents of the printed items log.
Web Sites Visited Logs: The contents of the web sites visited log.
Windows Launched Logs: The contents of the windows launched log.

STEP 4. Click "Apply", then click "OK". Lastly, restart your PC so that AceSpy is restarted. After the PC finishes loading, the first report will be sent in the amount of minutes you set on the Email Configuration screen.

CREATING AVI MOVIES FROM SNAPSHOTS
AceSpy can create slideshow movies from the snapshots that are captured. These movies can be played in Windows Media Player or any other avi viewer. It is recommended that you use as few snapshots as possible for each different movie.

HOW TO CREATE A MOVIE FROM SNAPSHOTS:

STEP 1. Click the "Create Movie of Snapshots" icon from the Main Interface.

STEP 2. Select ONE date. That day's snapshots will be shown in the list on the left.

STEP 3. Select some or all images by moving them to the right side using the icons.

STEP 4. Click "Create Movie" and select a path and filename. Click "Save".

STEP 5. Select a "Video Compression" type. Click "OK". The avi will then be made.

BLOCKING AND FILTERING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy has a variety of blocking and filtering features, accessible by clicking "Filtering" from the Main Interface. On the following screens, check the "Enable" box for features you want to turn on. Adjust the settings and

USERS
The User Filter allows you to specify users that should NOT be monitored by AceSpy. Check the "Enable" box to enable the User Filter. Next, click the "Add User" button. Enter any unique portion of the person's Windows username and click "OK". Repeat as necessary. The next time AceSpy is restarted, any user that has the Filtered text within their name will not be monitored. For example, if a Windows username is "Frankie Smith" you could simply enter "Frank" since it is a unique part of that username. This is valid as long as no other users contain the string "Frank" within their username.

APPLICATIONS
The Applications Filter allows you to select programs that you do NOT want to run when AceSpy is monitoring. Check the "Enable" box to enable the Applications Filter. Next, click the "Add App" button. Enter the FULL pathname to the EXE file you want to block and click "OK". Repeat as necessary. The next time AceSpy is restarted, any applications in the list will be forcibly closed if they are executed.

WINDOWS
The Windows Title Filter allows you to create a list of keywords, which when encountered within a window's title, will forcibly close that window. Check the "Enable" box to enable the Windows Title Filter. Next, click the "Add Title" button. Enter any string of characters you want to block and click "OK". Repeat as necessary. The next time AceSpy is restarted, anytime a word on your list is encountered within a window title, that window will be instantly closed. An example of a string would be "porn" or "sex". When a Window Title includes one or both these words then it would be instantly closed.

URLs
The URLs Filter allows you to create a list of keywords, which when encountered within a web site's URL, will forward the user to a blank page. This stops the user from being able to access any page within the site. Check the "Enable" box to enable the URLs Filter. Next, click the "Add Keyword" button. Enter a string to be blocked and click "OK". Repeat as necessary. The next time AceSpy is restarted, anytime a word on your list is encountered within a URL, the user would be diverted to a blank page. An example of a string "porn" or "sex" would block any page within the following domains: sexsite.com, pornsite.com, pornsex.com etc. If one of those domains (or any other containing those terms) is visited, it will be forced to a blank page.

KEYSTROKES
The Keystrokes Alert function makes AceSpy look for specific keywords typed on your PC's keyboard. If a keyword is typed, you then an instant email alert is sent to you with the username, what was typed, and the date/time. Check the "Enable" box to enable the Keystrokes Alert function. Next, click the "Add Key" button. Enter any keyword you want to be alerted on and click "OK". Repeat as necessary. The next time AceSpy is restarted, anytime a word on your list is typed, you will receive an instant email alert. To send these alerts, the Automatic Emails option must be on and the server and user information complete. An example of a string would be "porn" or "sex". Anytime one of those is typed, you would receive an instant alert.

SCHEDULED MONITORING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can monitor your system using a schedule you customize. To enable this feature, click the "Schedule" icon from the Main Interface. First, click the "Enable Schedule Logging" checkbox. Then select all of the hours in which AceSpy should monitor your PC. The box for 12:00AM selects from 12:00am thru 12:59am. The box for 1:00AM selects from 1:00AM thru 1:59AM, and so on. Select as many boxes as you need to determine your schedule. Next, click "Apply". When AceSpy is restarted, it will recognize the time which will determine if it should monitor.

PC LOCKDOWN INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can lock down your system using a schedule you customize. Locking down a system means that nobody can use it. To enable this feature, click the "Schedule" icon from the Main Interface. Next, click "Lockdown". Click the "Enable Lockdown Schedule" checkbox to enable. Then select all of the hours in which AceSpy should lockdown your PC. The box for 12:00AM selects from 12:00am thru 12:59am. The box for 1:00AM selects from 1:00AM thru 1:59AM, and so on. Select as many boxes as you need to determine your schedule. Next, click "Apply". When AceSpy is restarted, it will recognize the times selected and determine if it should lockdown or activate your system.

SPLASH SCREEN USER WARNING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can display a customizable warning to users of the PC upon startup. The message disappears after ten seconds and can be cleared early by clicking "OK" by the user. To enable the Splash Screen warning, click the "Advanced" icon from the Main Interface. Next, click "Splash". Click the "Enable Splash Screen Warning at Startup" checkbox to enable. Next, enter the message you would like to display and click "Apply". The next time your PC is rebooted, the warning will be displayed.

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