IamBigBrother Details

To access the program for viewing, you need to type the executable name into the Run program dialog box on the Windows Start menu. This is rather inconvenient because you have to remember the correct program name (it’s not IamBigBrother), and it could easily lead to the discovery of the program, since Windows automatically remembers programs typed on the command line.

The program allows you to view all the activity from one day at a time and only one day at a time, so you need to know when someone was last using the computer. There is no way to conveniently view all the recent activity at the same time. Also, there is no setting for automatically deleting the log files, so if you forget to delete after viewing each day’s activity, you could fill up your hard drive.

In other programs we’ve reviewed, the screen snapshots are easy to use, but this was not our experience with IamBigBrother. IamBigBrother only captures the screen images at very long preset intervals or when certain keywords are typed into a program or Internet site. You need to think-up and type-in this list of “bad” words. The upshot is that you get just a brief glance at what is happening on the computer, not continuous playback of all activities.

We found viewing the screen shots to be a repetitive chore. The only way to look at the saved images is to click on each thumbnail to view the full size image – one by one. If you have a few days of screen captures to review, you will be doing a lot of clicking.

IamBigBrother records web sites visited, but only lists the briefest of information. There is no indication of the length of web site visits, so you have to guess whether it was just a few seconds by accident or several hours of intentional viewing. You also have to guess who was viewing these web sites, because IamBigBrother can’t tell you if it was your younger kids, your older child, or web sites you viewed yourself.

Customer Support

We just don’t see how it is reasonable to expect you to spend $40 on an inferior product that is lacking in many areas, and then to have that made worse by the fact that the company does not allow you to call them on the telephone if you have a question.

Furthermore, we would never do business with a company that hides behind a web site and does not provide any kind of real contact information.

And, what happens when you buy a new computer with Windows Vista, or upgrade to Windows Vista? You are simply out of luck, because IamBigBrother does not support Windows Vista.

Bottom Line

Everyone wants to save money. But $40 is not a good value for an inadequate product with a questionable future and poor support.

Choose wisely and get something that works well and is backed by a real company that is not afraid to provide a phone number and address.

Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars