Frequently Asked Questions

• Who would need a program like Desktop Scout?
  
  If you want to monitor how others are using your PC's, then you need Desktop Scout. In the workplace, System Administrators and IT Managers can use Desktop Scout to supervise employees to ensure they are not wasting company resources or breaching policies. School teachers and university lecturers need to monitor students and prevent them from abusing computer resources or wasting time. Concerned parents should use Desktop Scout to monitor children and block them from accessing confidential or inappropriate content. You can even use Desktop Scout on yourself to see how you spend your week, or for auditing purposes.
  
  
• I need to use 2 Viewers to monitor 10 Agents. How many licenses do I need?
  
  Licenses are calculated on the total number of Agents (workstations) that you need to monitor. You will need to purchase a license for each Agent you are monitoring, so in this case you will need a 10-user license. If you purchase insufficient licenses, the Viewer will not allow you to monitor all the workstations. You do not need to purchase a license for each copy of the Viewer you have installed.
  

• I forget my password. Is there any way I can get it back, or set another one?
  
  It is not possible to retrieve the existing password, but you can set a new one. For security reasons, this will wipe out all your existing settings. Please contact us for instructions on how to do this, and be sure to specify whether it is the Viewer or Agent password that you need to reset.
  
  
• How do I send a Ctrl-Alt-Del command remotely using Screen Control?
  
  In the Screen Control window, right-click the system menu (top-left corner) and select "Send Ctrl-Alt-Del". This will allow you to get around certain windows such as "Press Ctrl-Alt-Del to login" and to lock workstations.
   
• How do I connect to an Agent when it is behind a router? I am trying to connect to my computer which is behind my Internet router.
  
  In order to connect to an Agent behind a router from outside your LAN (such as from your work computer) you need to configure the port forwarding on your router correctly. You need to make sure you have forwarded TCP port 7250 from the router to the IP address which has the Agent installed. Your router documentation should provide more instructions on how to setup port forwarding.
  
  
• What is the IP Fetch feature? Do I need to use it?
  
  IP Fetch is a feature of Desktop Scout that keeps track of servers with changing IP addresses. Each server is assigned a unique ID, and when that server connects to the Internet it updates our database with its latest IP address. Using the client, you can easily retrieve the latest IP address for that server. Servers which use a DHCP server or dial-up connection will need to use this feature. If your server has a static IP address or a host name, you do not need to use the IP Fetch feature.
  
  
• I have a small home network but I don't know the IP address of the other machines. What should I do?
  
  Instead of entering the IP address of the server, you can enter the workstation name. Each server has a unique workstation name which can be obtained from the Network Neighborhood or My Network Places icon on the Windows desktop. Alternatively, you can use our IP Fetch feature to track the IP address for you.
   
• Is there any way I can archive the log files to a disk so I can view them later?
  
  All log files are stored in an proprietary encrypted format. They are not stored in a plain text or image format readable by third-party software. You can copy these log files to another media for backup purposes. However, you must place them back on a PC with the Agent installed in order to view them.
  
  
• How do I uninstall this program?
  
  The program can be uninstalled using Add/Remove Programs (unless you have chosen to hide the program from the list) or using the uninstaller in the programs installation folder. You must stop the Agent before the program can be uninstalled by opening the Agent, typing in your password and clicking Stop.
  
  
• How can I install the Agent component of the program silently using a logon script?
  
  You can use the following parameters to install the Agent component silently:
  desktopscout-setup.exe /components="Agent" /verysilent
  The logged on user must be part of the Administrators group otherwise the installation will fail. After installation is complete, the Agent password will default to the word "password".