ScreenRetriever, The Children’s Computer Monitoring Tool for Online Safety- FAQs:

ScreenRetriever, the Children’s Monitoring Tool Solution, FAQs

FAQs

ScreenRetriever is supported on:

Windows 10
Windows 8 (32 bit and 64 bit editions)
Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit editions)
Vista Service Pack 2 (32 bit and 64 bit editions)
XP Service Pack 3
We are currently working on a MAC supported version of ScreenRetriever. If you would like to be one of the first users or for us to let you know when it’s available, please contact us by email: contact@screenretriever.com

ScreenRetriever LiveView works on a home network and allows viewing of four children’s computers simultaneously.
ScreenRetriever Replay requires only one computer, but can work on multiple computers.

Does my child know ScreenRetriever is being used?

Yes, an icon remains in the tool tray at all times. The icon changes color from green to yellow (recommended) when a parent is checking on a child’s computer activity using Liveview. Parents may choose to have the icon stay green. A white icon remains in the tool tray when computer activity is being recorded.

Does ScreenRetriever “the company” have any access to my children’s online activity?

Absolutely not!

Some other products data mine “collect and analyze” children’s online activity and sell that information without parental knowledge. Does ScreenRetriever data mine?

Absolutely not. ScreenRetriever does not data mine. ScreenRetriever “the company” does not have any access to your child’s computer or your computer. ScreenRetriever stays entirely within your home network for only you the parent to see.

How does ScreenRetriever LiveView work?

When you click on a ScreenRetriever icon on the parent’s computer, a window opens to view your child’s computer by making a network connection to your child’s computer. ScreenRetriever captures and sends a continuous stream of real time images to the parents computer.

How does ScreenRetriever Replay work?

You don’t have to log on to your child’s computer to view recordings made on your child’s computer. You can use yours. Hours of recorded activity can be rapidly scrolled through in minutes with a YouTube like player, stopping and starting as desired to look more closely at certain activity and saving concerning activity as you wish.

ScreenRetriever offers a unique recording capability using a continuous stream of screen images to monitor children’s computer activity. ScreenRetriever records all screen activities including social networking (without you knowing passwords), video, and web cams with the children’s knowledge no matter where the child takes their computer.

Your child’s computer needs to on and connected to your home network to retrieve recording, but your child does not need to be logged on. You can view previously retrieved recordings any time.

How is ScreenRetriever installed?

Download ScreenRetriever from www.ScreenRetriever.com. You may download after purchase or from the free trial page. To download/install ScreenRetriever you may either:

1. Download/install ScreenRetriever directly to each computer from ScreenRetriever.com
2. Download ScreenRetriever to a USB memory and then install ScreenRetriever from the USB memory to each computer.

Click on the installer file you downloaded. Select a language (for install only), click the “Next”, button and, if you accept the license terms, click “Next” until you reach and click “Install.”
If you have not previously set a ScreenRetriever Password the ScreenRetriever Password Management window will open. You must set a password. See ScreenRetriever Password for more information. If you have previously installed ScreenRetriever your pre-existing password will be preserved. When you continue….
A window will open asking if you want to view this computer from other computers in your home. If you click “Yes” the “Allow / Disallow viewing of this computer” control panel will open (see View this computer for more information). Select the icon option you wish, click “OK”, and wait for viewing to be enabled.
A window will open asking if you want to record this computer. If you click “Yes” you can start recording by clicking “Start” in the window that opens (see Enabling and Disabling Recording for more information).
Click “OK” in the next window, click “Finish” and you’re done! Don’t forget to install ScreenRetriever on other computers in your home network that you want to view, view from, and/or record. If you use a firewall other than the default Microsoft Windows Firewall see Firewalls.
Control viewing, recording, and view other computers by clicking the ScreenRetriever Control Panel shortcut on your desktop, or open the control panel by going to ( Start -> Programs) and clicking on ScreenRetriever.

To learn more, visit our How it Works page »

How do I enter the license key after I’ve purchased ScreenRetriever?

To enter the license key:

Go to (Start > Programs > ScreenRetriever) and click on “License
Management”. Click on the “Update License” button in the window that opens. Enter your password. Another window will open where you can enter the license key and then click OK.

Do I need to download ScreenRetriever on both the parents’ and child’s computers for ScreenRetriever to work?

Yes.

How many computers can I install ScreenRetriever on?

The ScreenRetriever software is licensed per home. You can install and use ScreenRetriever on any number of computers in your home. You may not allow others to use your license outside your home, even if they are members of your family.

Is the free trial fully functional?

The free trial is fully functional and requires only the purchase and installation of a license to extend full function operation beyond the trial period of 7 days.

How should I configure my Windows firewall?

ScreenRetriever will configure your Windows firewall so that the ScreenRetriever is not blocked. ScreenRetriever is compatible with the Microsoft default firewall settings.

If you have reconfigured your Windows firewall or to check settings:

XP Firewall – ScreenRetriever will work with the default firewall configuration or if you have reconfigured the XP firewall to “Off”. It will not work if the firewall is set to “Don’t allow exceptions.” You can check your firewall by going to (Start – Control Panel -> Windows Firewall).
Programs SRopen, SRsrvr, SRviewer, and winSR must be allowed.
Vista Firewall – Your firewall must not be configured to block all programs and ports. You can check the Vista firewall by going to (Start -> Control Panel) and clicking on “Check this computer’s security status” under “Security”. Then click “Windows Firewall” in the upper left section of the page that opens. The default is “Windows Firewall is on” and “Incoming connections that do not have an exception are blocked”. You can check and change your firewall settings by clicking on “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” in the upper left section of the page. Programs SRopen, SRsrvr, SRviewer, and winSR must be allowed.
Windows 7 Firewall – Your firewall must not be configured to block all programs and ports. You can check the Windows 7 firewall by navigating to the “Network and Sharing Center” window (see above). Click on “Windows Firewall” located in the lower left section of the window. You will see the current state of your firewall in the window that opens.
The default is “Windows Firewall state”: on and “Incoming connections: Block all connections to programs that are not on the list of allowed programs”. You can check and change your firewall settings by clicking on the appropriate links on the left of the page. Programs SRopen, SRsrvr, SRviewer, and winSR must be allowed.

What If I use a third party firewall?

If you use a third party firewall you must open ports 5900 and 5901 for both TCP and UDP or allow programs SRopen, SRsrvr, SRviewer, and winSR. Consult you firewall vendors documentation or call their help line for more information.

When I click the “Add” button no computers are listed. What should I do?

Make sure the computers you want to view:

are turned on
this computer and the computers you want to view are connected to your router and your router is on. You can make sure your network is working by going to any web site with your browser. Check from each computer.
ScreenRetriever is installed on each computer you want to view
ScreenRetriever is running on each computer you want to view. Open the ScreenRetriever Control panel to check.
the green (or yellow) ScreenRetriever icon is in the system tray on each computer you want to view. Open the ScreenRetriever Control Panel and click “Allow/Disallow” viewing if not.
Make sure that each computer has a different name.
Make sure that ScreenRetriever is not being blocked by a firewall. See the Firewall FAQ.

How many computers can I use ScreenRetriever LiveView on?

Any number, but you can view no more than four computers from any one computer at a time.

Can more than one parent’s computer view a child’s computer at the same time?

No.

When my child is on a social networking site, such as Facebook, can I see what they are doing?

Yes, ScreenRetriever allows parents to supervise Social Networking sites without knowing their password.

What happens if two computers try to view each other?

You may find the result entertaining, but it’s not very useful (somewhat like “endless mirrors”).

How much CPU and network capacity does ScreenRetriever use?

Not much, but it depends on what the child is doing. When there is little activity CPU and network usage is negligible. When a child is doing something that causes the screen to change frequently both CPU usage and network usage increase. ScreenRetriever uses a sophisticated algorithm to limit CPU utilization on the child’s computer to 5%, which naturally also limits CPU utilization on the parent’s computer. ScreenRetriever uses sophisticated intra and inter frame compression algorithms to limit network bandwidth usage.

Game Viewing: Why does graphics / video content in a child’s computers widows sometimes display as a black area on the parents computer?

ScreenRetriever is not compatible with some graphics accelerators and cannot capture screen areas rendered by the accelerator. You can see the bar at the top of the child’s window identifying the web site they are visiting or the application they are running.

If my child goes to a friend’s house, can I record her online activity?

Yes, your child can take her computer anywhere and her online activity will be recorded.

Can I take a screenshot of my child’s computer activity and save it?