Remote Internet Monitoring Software – Protection Made Simple

Remote working has allowed individuals worldwide to work from home during this unprecedented global pandemic.  Companies are asking staff to work from home, wherever the job permits it in an attempt to stop the virus spreading. This creates a challenge for businesses that are new to remote working situations – how do you monitor your employees, while they are away from the office?

How do you make sure your workforce stays productive while faced with challenging circumstances? Even if your employees claim to be working, do you truly know what all of your employees are doing at any given moment?

Chances are that at least a few are not spending time wisely, or far worse, are putting your company’s information at risk.

Working from home isn’t easy! Those with families can end up with countless interruptions from partners, children, and pets. It is also extremely easy for staff to become sidetracked with TV, music, calls, or even a daytime glass of something sparkly while under quarantine or social distancing.

Is your staff working as well as before and meeting deadlines? Has accuracy decreased? These are all reasons that remote employee monitoring is needed during these testing times for businesses.

How Can Internet Monitoring Software Monitor Remote Workers?

In some ways, the Coronavirus is having a positive impact on work structures and how job roles are set. Companies are rethinking how employees can work, which in turn may lead to more remote workers and savings in travel as well as reducing pollution from unnecessary traffic. But, these remote working situations need to be managed even more closely than when staff is in the office.

Workers who work from home or internationally need to be monitored carefully. This is not possible by simply checking in on a video chat daily, or sending followup emails.

Fortunately, internet monitoring software allows you to both protect your company and improve work efficiency.

What is Internet Monitoring Software?

Internet monitoring software can observe and often record information about web usage.

This software can be a ‘stand-alone’ application or a part of a more comprehensive employee monitoring software.

Internet monitoring is not about not trusting your employees, but about taking a step towards protecting your company.

Your employees can all be good people and trustworthy, but they can still make mistakes that could cost the company money.

Many also tend to browse social media, play online games, or surf the web during work hours. While this can be acceptable to a degree (for employee satisfaction), excessive use can cost the company a lot of money in lost work hours.

It is also important to consider what could be shared. Company data should always be confidential, but sometimes staff let secrets slip while in chat apps or when posting on social media websites. While possibly not intentional, it is also unacceptable to allow these actions to go unnoticed.

By using internet monitoring software, you can quickly spot and resolve issues around internet policy violations and identify staff that is wasting time while at work.

How Does Business Internet Monitoring Software Work?

When considering monitoring internet usage, simply recording activity isn’t enough.  Here are the features that make using internet monitoring effective and easy:

1. URL or Domain– the software should record and report on URLs visited. There should be an option to whitelist or blacklist domains as required.
2. Time Spent on a Page – It is important to see how much time is spent on any specific pages. This can signal cases such as constantly having social media open.
3. Website Category – Not all websites are equal when determining what is reasonable for the office. In most cases, business-related websites, such as webmail are normal. However, sites for things such as social media, chat, or sport sites are less likely work-related or acceptable if overused.
4. Search Term – While Google and Bing are not bad websites to be on, if the person is searching for inappropriate material, jobs, or black market websites, it could be a strong signal that a review is needed.
5. Flagged Policy Violations – Flagging or blocking internet usage policy violations is vital to the security of company data.
6. Time Stamp – Although not an obvious requirement, timestamping every recorded activity helps with investigations, providing more accurate proof.
7. User Behavior Analysis – Generally speaking, people have user-patterns. If a staff member suddenly breaks their normal ways of using the internet, it can indicate a deeper problem. The problem can simply be a work-flow issue, but can also be something more serious. Flagging abnormal activity can help to quickly resolve or prevent issues.
8. Reporting – Ideally, reports should be easy to understand and highly flexible, providing information in numerous formats and based on specific requirements.
9. Keyword Alerts – By setting up a list of keywords that staff shouldn’t be using, you can quickly get alerted about a possible issue before it occurs. Things such as “how to bypass employee monitoring”, job websites, and competitor websites should all be included.
10. Birds-eye Dashboard – As managers often don’t have lots of time to dig through reports on every individual member of staff, it is important that an ‘overview’ style dashboard is provided. This allows members with access to quickly see the overall situation and narrow in on any highlighted issues.
11. Video Playback & Screenshots – Internet monitoring software can record videos and screenshots of each employee’s computer screen at any given moment. These videos and screenshots can serve as undeniable evidence in workplace investigations or help you understand exactly what your employees are doing throughout the day.

All of the above features combine to create a monitoring software that is effective and easy to use.

Internet monitoring software is both about peace of mind and developing an efficient workforce.  Most importantly, it’s about protecting your company’s data, saving your company money from lost productivity, and protecting your company from insider threats.

What Are the Benefits of Internet Surveillance Software?

There are a number of benefits to using internet surveillance software to monitor your remote employees, including:

• Improves employee interaction. Internet monitoring often changes how people interact and how they act in the workplace for the better.
• Prevents cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is quickly extinguished and people become more polite and cooperative with colleagues when they know their emails and chats are watched. This creates a more cooperative and supportive workplace.
• Helps employees stay focused. As staff are aware of the fact they are being monitored, staff monitoring drives a natural improvement to efficiency and task focus. Social media and time-wasting activities also decrease. Managers can also use internet monitoring software to identify time wasting activities that could be wasting thousands of dollars per year.
• Increases employee productivity. Mistakes are now trackable and personal responsibility, in turn, is increased. Staff takes more care not to make mistakes and meet set deadlines.
• Simplifies the process of measuring productivity. Managers can easily determine who their most and least productive team members are simply by monitoring their digital activity. This insight will help managers determine who is and isn’t pulling their own weight.
• Higher levels of job satisfaction. Autonomy is also increased, which often leads to higher-levels of job satisfaction. All combined, you end up with a more focused workforce that is often happier than before internet monitoring was introduced.
• Identify company policy violations. Monitoring your employees’ digital activity allows you to ensure that your employees are not violating company policies or federal regulations. 
• Detect insider threats. Managers can use remote internet monitoring software to detect suspicious activity that could lead to data breaches or criminal activity. This gives managers time to deal with potential issues before they become serious problems that affect the company.

These are some of the many benefits to using internet monitoring software to monitor your remote workers. This software will motivate your employees to work harder and smarter and also give you the insight you need to protect your company and push your team to reach new levels of success.

How Can Internet Monitoring Software Be Used in Employee Investigations?

Many companies use data recorded by internet monitoring software as evidence in workplace investigations.

For example, say an employee is accused of sexually harassing another employee. Without internet monitoring software, this might be a case of “he said, she said.” But with this software, employees can review instant messages and emails between the two parties to look for evidence that supports the accuser’s allegations.

Remote internet monitoring software can also be used in investigations into accounting discrepancies, data breaches, confidentiality breaches, and other unethical or criminal activity.

Will Employees Know You Are Using Internet Surveillance Software?

Some companies choose to tell their employees that they are being monitored, whereas others do not. Your employees will not know that they are being monitored if you choose not to tell them. If you choose to tell your employees, make sure you explain why the software is needed. It’s important to reassure your employees that you are not using the software because you don’t trust them. Instead, explain that you are using it to protect the company and help everyone become more productive and efficient.

Regardless of whether or not you tell your employees about the software, be sure to clearly outline your expectations regarding their technology use in your employee handbook. This way, every employee knows what they should and should not do when using company devices. If you don’t clearly establish these expectations, it will be hard to enforce the rules and impose penalties on employees who violate company policy.

What is the Best Software to Monitor Internet Usage?

Interguard employee and internet monitoring software has been selected by PC Mag, Inc 5000, and Finances Online as one of the best in the industry . As professionals in the cybersecurity industry, our products have been developed from years of experience and implemented in thousands of companies around the world.

Whether your staff is working remotely, in self-isolation because of COVID-19 or in the office following CDC guidelines, with Intergard Software, you can guarantee that your employees continue to be productive and that your company’s data is safe.

With a free trial and online test-drive feature, you can test the software to make sure it’s the right fit for your company. It is our belief that when you see what we can do for your business, there won’t be any doubt about moving forward.