Downloads Of Activity Monitoring Software Up 225%

Online, October 13, 2010 (Newswire.com) - An increase in social network usage is one of the reasons being suggested for the significant increase in downloads of software that monitors the behaviour of family members and employees online.

The software is used to monitor computer activity remotely, often without the knowledge of the user. Activities such as email, instant messaging, chat room conversations and website usage can all recorded, as can all username and password combinations.

Recent figures from software comparison website Shoutdown.net show that the number of downloads of activity monitoring software programs has increase 225% over the past year (from 30 September 2009 to 30 September 2010, like-for-like traffic adjusted figures).

While employers have been using the software to monitor internet usage among staff for some time, there has been an increasing trend for the software to be used within the home. This increase has been driven in part by a shift in focus by software manufacturers to more consumer focused products, but also because of the continued rise in popularity of social networking.

In January 2010, a major study of US divorce lawyers concluded that 20 percent of divorce petitions now cite Facebook as a contributor in a marriage's demise. Evidence collected from Facebook, Twitter and other social network sources is becoming an increasingly important facet of the divorce proceedings paperwork, and one such way to obtain this evidence is through the use of monitoring software such as PC Pandora, WebWatcher and SpyAgent.

Parents are also contributing to the increase. Media coverage of cyber-bullying and the dangers of chat room grooming have caused a yearly increase of 312% alone in the download of monitoring software specifically aimed at child protection, such as IamBigBrother and AceSpy.

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Visit http://www.shoutdown.net for a list of activity monitor software titles.