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Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions:
Can I use the SoftProbe on my home PC? answer...
I want to buy the SoftProbe, how do I pay? answer...
After I purchase a license, are there any extra fees? answer...
When my computer is off, do the Agents stop collecting data? answer...
Download and Installation:
What are the SoftProbe Trial Version limitations? answer...
Which file should I download to try the Trial Version? answer...
How do I install the SoftProbe after I downloaded it? answer...
How easy is it to install and use the SoftProbe? answer...
How do I install the SoftProbe Agent remotely? answer...
I can't see any remote station in the Analyzer, what do I do? answer...
I couldn't install the SoftProbe Agent remotely, what can I do? answer...
How do I perform Non-Remote Agent Installation? answer...
How do I uninstall the SoftProbe Agent from a remote computer? answer...
Licensing Issues:
Which license should I buy in order to monitor 9 computers? answer...
How do I order the license? How do I use it? answer...
Do I need to use the license for both the Analyzer and the Agents? answer...
Do I need to download a full version after buying a license? answer...
Can I upgrade my current version for free? answer...
SoftProbe Analyzer features:
What can I learn about the activities on the monitored computers? answer...
Can I choose the time period to display computer activities? answer...
Can I track the websites visited by users in their computers? answer...
Using the SoftProbe Analyzer:
How can I get the most recent data to be analyzed by the Analyzer? answer...
Can I save a copy of a given SPD file and reset the original? answer...
What can I learn from the Chart graph? answer...
What does "Time Distribution" mean? Can I customize it? answer...
SoftProbe system requirements:
What are the system requirements for running the SoftProbe? answer...
Can I use the SoftProbe on my home PC?
Definitely. SoftProbe is designed to track all computer activities on a single PC.
After installing the SoftProbe, simply select "Install Agent on my computer...".
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I want to buy the SoftProbe, how do I pay?
The payment is online and secure with PayPal.
PayPal allows you to make secure purchases without disclosing your credit card number or financial information.
In order to buy a license, simply press on the "Order Now" button. Then choose the license type that best suits your office needs (e.g. "License for SoftProbing 5 remote computers").
The next step is to press the corresponding "Buy Now" button. You will be redirected to PayPal in order to charge your credit card.
PayPal processes orders for SoftProbe buyers, and your credit card will be charged by PayPal. To go to the PayPal home page- PayPal
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After I purchase a license, are there any extra fees?
Absolutely not. You only pay once when you buy the SoftProbe license.
There are no additional charges and no hidden fees for technical support, subscription, etc...
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When my computer is off, do the Agents stop collecting data?
No. The SoftProbe remote Agents continue to collect the data and update the local SoftProbe data file.
This SPD file will be pushed by the remote agent to your computer once it is up again.
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What are the SoftProbe Trial Version limitations?
The limitations in evaluation version are as set forth below:
Valid for 15 days.
Analyzes one computer.
Merge is disabled.
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Which file should I download to try the Trial Version?
The file that will be downloaded to your computer is sp_analyzer_setup.exe
You simply need to press on the Download button and follow the instructions.
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How do I install the SoftProbe after I downloaded it?
The file that was downloaded to your computer is sp_analyzer_setup.exe
To install SoftProbe on your computer you need to run the sp_analyzer_setup.exe and follow the installation instructions.
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How easy is it to install and use the SoftProbe?
The SoftProbe setup file will guide you through every step of the installation process.
The SoftProbe system includes two components:
The SoftProbe Analyzer - installed on the manager's computer, or on the home PC for home users.
The SoftProbe Agent - installed on remote (employee) computers, or on the home PC for home users.
Once installed, these two components will do all of the work for you. Here's how:
The SoftProbe Agent installed on each remote computer in the local network (LAN) regularly "pushes" a unique data file into the manager's computer. For home users, this file is also created on your PC.
This data file contains information regarding all activities carried out on the remote computer.
If there are two or more users on the same remote computer, the SoftProbe Agent is also able to distinguish between the different users and create unique data files for each one!
The SoftProbe Analyzer is designed to query these SoftProbe Data files (SPD files) and process them into analytical and valuable information.
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How do I install the SoftProbe Agent remotely?
Please note: the remote installation is supported only if the remote computer has Windows NT/2000/XP installed.
Open the SoftProbe Analyzer and press the Agent Installation (Ctrl + I) icon on the toolbar or in the file menu.
You may press the Start Search button to search for all computers on the network.
A green LED will start blinking under this button to indicate that the SoftProbe is searching the network. (Notice that the button changes to Stop Search, in case you want to stop the network search). The computers that will be found will appear in the Computers Near Me screen on the upper left. Select the computer on which you would like to install the Agent by double-clicking on the name from the list.
Home users: Only the home computer name will appear in the Computers Near Me screen. This is the name you should select.
If the name of the computer on which you wish to install the Agent appears in the Computers Near Me list before the network search is completed, you may press the Stop Search button and select the name from the list.
If you already know the computer name of the computer on which you wish to install the Agent, you may enter the name manually into the Remote Computer Name edit box, without performing the network search.
Once the desired computer name appears in the Remote Computer Name edit box, you are required to enter the User Name and Password of any of the accounts on the desired computer, provided that the account belongs to the administrator group on the computer.
Home users: You may check the "Use the User Name and Password" check-box, without entering the user name and password (provided you are working on an account with administrator permissions).
Office users:
In case the system administrator who installed the operating systems defined a common administrator user name and password on all the network computers, including your own (the supervisor), you may check the "Use the User Name and Password" check-box, without entering the user name and password.
Once the installation is complete, a message will appear informing you that the installation was successful. The station on which the Agent was installed will automatically appear in the Station Navigator (subject to licensing restrictions).
Office users:
The station that will appear immediately upon installation in the Station Navigator is a dummy station, and is intended to provide you with verification of the installation.
The actual station for each of the users on the remote computer will appear automatically as well, upon the next login of each of the users. The dummy station may be removed from the Station Navigator.
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I can't see any remote station in the Analyzer, what do I do?
First you must install Agent either on your own PC or on a remote computer connected on the local network.
In case you successfully installed an Agent, and still do not see any station in the "Station Navigator" list, perform the following steps:
Open a browser window and verify the following folder exists, is accessible and is shared:
\\your_computer_name\spfolder
You can try to copy a file to this folder in order to make sure it is accessible.
This folder must be a shared folder on the network, through which the remote Agents "push" their data files to your computer, to be analyzed by the SoftProbe Analyzer. Be advised that this folder is normally empty, as it acts only as a gateway!!
Make sure the remote computer on which you installed the remote Agent is connected to the local network:
You can verify this by opening a browser window and going to the following path:
\\the_remote_computer_name
The remote computer's shared contents must appear in order to be sure that it is connected to the local network.
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I couldn't install the SoftProbe Agent remotely, what can I do?
Please follow the following instructions in order to successfully perform the Remote Agent Installation:
You must be familiar with Windows platform administration, and in particular with remote connections.
Make sure the remote computer is connected to the LAN and is accessible.
Make sure that the default ADMIN$ share is enabled on the remote computer.
Make sure you have the User Name and Password of any account on the remote computer. This account must belong to the Administrator group in the remote computer.
Make sure the remote computer enables remote access (e.g. enable the Remote Desktop feature in case of Windows XP Professional).
Please remember: You can always use the Non-Remote Agent Installation by simply creating an Agent Setup Disk to be used on the remote station.
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How do I perform Non-Remote Agent Installation?
You need to create a SoftProbe Agent Setup Disk.
Open the Tools menu in the SoftProbe Analyzer and select Create SoftProbe Agent Setup Disk.
Enter or browse for the path of the removable media/shared folder where you want the file to be created and press OK. Once the Agent setup file has been created on the removable media/shared folder, you may proceed with installation on the computer(s) you wish to supervise.
Notice: Should you decide to place the setup file on a shared folder, it is strongly recommended that you remove the file from this folder or un-share the folder immediately after completing the installation process on all remote computers. This precaution is aimed at preventing unauthorized access to the Agent.
Installing the SoftProbe Agent with the Setup Disk:
Insert the removable media into the computer you wish to supervise, or open the shared folder on the remote computer, and run the SPAGENT.EXE file.
Office users:Verify that the remote computer is connected the Local Area Network (LAN).
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How do I uninstall the SoftProbe Agent from a remote computer?
Select the station on the "Station Navigator" list and type "Ctrl + Del".
You will be notified that you are about to uninstall the SoftProbe Agent from that station.
In case you want to uninstall the Agent and delete the SPD file as well, type "Ctrl + Shift + Del".
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Which license should I buy in order to monitor 9 computers?
In order to monitor 9 computers and see them in the Station Navigator list, you need to buy the license type that is nearest to and higher than 9.
In this example, you would need to order a: "License for SoftProbing 10 remote computers".
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How do I order the license? How do I use it?
If you are running the Trial Version, the first step is to run the SoftProbe Analyzer and open the licensing dialog. This can be done by pressing on the "License..." button in the trial version dialog, or by opening the "About SoftProbe" dialog from the "Help" menu in the toolbar, and pressing on the "License..." button.
In order to buy a license, simply press on the "Order Now" button. Then, choose the license type that best suits your needs (e.g. "License for SoftProbing 5 remote computers").
The next step is to press the corresponding "Buy Now" button. You will be redirected to PayPal in order to charge your credit card.
After completing the PayPal stage you will be directed to the "Successful" page.
Your license key will be sent to you shortly after completing the registration process.
Enter the details of the owner of the license. Please pay attention: the e-mail address entered by you is the e-mail address to which the license key will be sent.
After receiving the licensing information that has just been sent to you by e-mail, fill the details in the license dialog in the SoftProbe Analyzer.
Enter the details in the license dialog exactly as they appear in the licensing message, and press "Apply".
We suggest that you copy the ownership details from this e-mail and paste them in the corresponding fields in the dialog. If you choose to type in the information, please notice that it is case sensitive.
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Do I need to use the license for both the Analyzer and the Agents?
No, you need to use the license key only for the SoftProbe Analyzer.
You can install as many Agents as you like, whether or not you purchased a license.
After receiving the licensing information that has been sent to you by e-mail, fill the details in the license dialog in the SoftProbe Analyzer.
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Do I need to download a full version after buying a license?
If you have already downloaded the Trial version, you do not need to download the SoftProbe again.
To start using the Full version, simply run your Trial version and enter the licensing information that has just been sent to you by e-mail.
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Can I upgrade my current version for free?
Registered users of versions 2.x prior to version 2.6 may download version 2.6 for free.
To upgrade your version to 2.6, uninstall your current version and reboot the computer, then download trial version 2.6 and install it.
The SoftProbe will automatically convert the evaluation version to an upgraded full version.
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What can I learn about the activities on the monitored computers?
By selecting the appropriate graph type on the Toolbar, you may view different representations of the computer activity during the desired time period:
The bar (Ctrl+B) and pie (Ctrl+E) graphs allow for an easy understanding of the activity distribution or time distribution of a specific user on his/her station, and the relative activity performed, or time spent on various applications during a selected time period. These graphs provide a comprehensive view of the "overall picture" of the user’s computer activities. screen shot...
The chart (Ctrl+R) allows you to easily view any specific activity throughout the selected time period in the upper chart, compared (in percentage) to the overall activity distribution during the same time period in the lower chart. screen shot...
Internet Use (F8) displays the websites visited during any selected time period, on either the pie or bar graphs. screen shot...
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Can I choose the time period to display computer activities?
You may easily determine the time period to be analyzed and displayed on the graphs:
Select One Year Analysis (Ctrl+5), One Quarter Analysis (Ctrl+4) or One Month Analysis (Ctrl+3) on the Toolbar, to view a long-term analysis of computer-activities.
Select One Week Analysis (Ctrl+2) or One Day Analysis (Ctrl+1) to view a short-term analysis.
Use "Set Graph Date" on the Toolbar to define the last date of the selected time period. This will be the last date to be displayed on the graphs.
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Can I track the websites visited by users in their computers?
Yes. First you need to open the SPD file of the desired station, so double-click on the desired station in the "Station Navigator" list.
In the "New View" dialog check the "Internet Use" check-box, or open any other graph.
If you already have a file open, select "Internet Use" from the Toolbar (or F8), to view a report of the Internet activity performed by the user during a selected time period.
The SoftProbe Analyzer will open a pie or bar graph (depending on the graph type of the currently open view) and display the websites visited by the user, according to the amount of activity performed on each website.
You may click on any of the wedges/bars or website titles in the legend to search for any of the websites.
The search will be launched by the search engine of your choice, which can be changed via Set Internet Search Engine in the Display and Settings dialog (which can be opened by pressing Ctrl+X, or from the Tools menu).
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How can I get the most recent data to be analyzed by the Analyzer?
You simply need to double click on the desired station on the "Station Navigator" list.
If you already viewing a file, type F5 (or press the Refresh button on the toolbar) to get recent updated data of the monitored station (either a remote computer or your own PC).
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Can I save a copy of a given SPD file and reset the original?
Definitely. You need to perform the following steps:
Query the desired SPD file (SoftProbe Data file) by double-clicking on the station in the Station Navigator list.
After opening the desired graph, press the "Save As" button on the Toolbar.
Type the destination SPD file to be saved.
A new, static copy of the SPD file will now be available for your needs.
You may now proceed with resetting the online SPD file of that station.
Select the station from the Station Navigator list and type "Shift + Del".
You will be notified that you are about to reset the SPD file on that station.
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What can I learn from the Chart graph?
The chart view consists of two charts:
The lower chart displays the overall activity distribution over the selected time period, and the upper chart graphically displays the percentage of the activity performed on a given application out of the overall activity performed on the computer station.
The combination of the two charts gives a comprehensive view of both the overall quantitative activity performed during the selected time period and, particularly, the use of the desired application compared with the overall activity. screen shot...
You may also open place the Marker on the chart by double-clicking anywhere on the chart.
The purpose of the Marker is to allow you to pinpoint any time interval, which you want to analyze more thoroughly.
Once you have placed it on the chart, you can slide the Marker sideways either by clicking and dragging the left mouse button, or by pressing the left/right arrows on the keyboard.
When you position the Marker on a blue line that represents activity, the Marker Watch will appear.
The Marker Watch is a resizable window that displays the following information:
The first line in the Marker Watch displays the time interval in which the activities occurred.
The next lines display titles of applications used during that time interval, and the files used under these applications.
When you view a chart of one-day activities, the Marker Watch will display the text typed by the user during the selected time interval. This text will appear below the separating line (which appear as successive asterisks: *********).
In order to avoid disclosure of users’ passwords, text typed in while using any Internet Browser will not be displayed.
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What does "Activity Distribution" mean? Can I customize it?
The SoftProbe Analyzer considers a given time interval in which no activity at all was performed on the computer as an inactive time interval.
When displaying Time Distribution of Computer Use on either the pie or bar graphs, the Analyzer will display the total time of all inactive time intervals under the Inactivity wedge or bar respectively.
The maximal time interval between two adjacent activities (keystroke/mouse-click) that will not be considered an inactive one, may be controlled using this feature.
The Severe setting is recommended for computer workers who use the computer as their main working tool, such as secretaries. This setting should be used if a short time interval during which no operations were performed on the computer would imply that no work was performed at all.
The Moderate setting is recommended for computer workers who use the computer as their main working tool, but whose work does not involve incessant use of the computer, and may include occasional short pauses (e.g. software engineers).
The Slight setting is recommended for computer workers who use the computer as one of their working tools. This setting should be used if a short time interval during which no operations were performed on the computer could be attributed to the worker's use of another resource other than the computer (e.g. scientists, researchers).
Changing this setting will change the total time that will be considered as inactive when the SoftProbe performs an analysis of the data on the SPD file.
You can customize it in the Display and Settings dialog (which can be opened by pressing Ctrl+X, or from the Tools menu).
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What are the system requirements for running the SoftProbe?
The SoftProbe Agent (installed on remote computers) requires:
Computer to be connected to the Local Area Network (LAN).
Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP operating system.
The SoftProbe Analyzer (installed on manager's computer) requires:
Computer to be connected to and accessible on the LAN.
Windows NT/2000/XP operating system.
128 MB system memory (RAM).
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