Security Settings:

A major feature of STARR is its ability to run invisibly in the background if required. This ability has made it a favorite tool with IT managers supervising PCs, PC support staff, employers, concerned parents and many others.

This page allows you to customize the STARR background operation and protect it against manipulation:

Popup : Built-in customizable message to notify the PC user that she / he is working under a monitoring program. You can customize the text of the popup to your needs. To make this popup more attractive and useful to the user, it also displays the time and date of the last logon.

Please note that iOpus believes that individuals who may be recorded with STARR  should be informed in advance that they may be recorded and we STRONGLY encourage that you inform anyone whom you may record with iOpus surveillance software, e.g. by using this popup. Some countries may require this by law.

Backdating: A standard way that PC power users attempt to find out what happens on a PC, is to search for files created within the last x hours or days. With "backdating" STARR can escape this detection since the log file always has an "old" date - even when currently in use!.

Use internal buffer: By default, STARR uses the internal buffer of the windows operating system itself, to provide maximum security and speed. However, on some PCs this buffer is disabled (i.e. its size is 0), so every keystroke would be  written directly to the hard disk. In this case, you can use STARR internal buffer which accumulates up to 200 keystrokes before it writes them to the hard disk. It never hurts to have this option on. The only drawback is, if your PC crashes for any reason, a maximum of 200 characters might be lost, since they may have not been written to the log file.

Delete log file size is bigger than xxx Bytes: For installations of STARR that run unattended for long periods, the log file can grow large. Keep your STARR software running completely maintenance free by  using this function: If this function is active and the raw log file size exceeds the specified size, the STARR logging engine will automatically delete the current log file and start a new log file. If you use this function STARR runs completely maintenance free and you have always the latest information available.

Delete & Backup [PRO only]:  In addition to deleting the log file, STARR backups the previous log file:  When the given size limit is reached STARR copies the current log file to a backup file (named <your log file name> + "2") in the same directory as the current log file. Once backed up, the current log file will be reset to zero. If there is already a previous backup log file, it will be overwritten. That way you always have a log of the last xxx Bytes available without the worry that your hard disk might run out of space. Please note that you need to reserve at least twice xxx Bytes space on your hard disk (The maximum size of the log file plus the maximum size of the backup log file). The size of the STARR log file is checked roughly every minute  to avoid unnecessary hard disk access. So the backup occurs with a slight delay.

Note: The size of the log file always refers to the compressed STARR log (not the converted reports).

If you need to read a log file from backup (or any other external STARR log file ) follows these steps:

  1. Hint: Make sure the logging engine is NOT running on your current admin PC while you use the STARR Commander to decrypt and/or convert the external STARR log.

  2. Enter the path to the STARR log file folder in the STARR log file location box in
    STARR Commander -> Settings -> Advanced Settings

  3. Make sure that the log file encryption / decryption password on the security tab in the STARR commander is the same (!!!) in the STARR commander on the target PC and on the administrator PC. Otherwise the decryption will "work" but the output file is still encrypted.

  4. Press "Create Report" on the Dashboard.

  5. Press "View" on the Dashboard to view the output file.

  6. Done !

Alternatively you can also use the STARR command line options.

 

PASSWORDS:

One MASTER PASSWORD can be used for several security features:

Log file encryption: A must if you want to prevent manipulation  of the STARR log file: Even if the log file is detected, no unauthorized user can read it without using the STARR Commander and the correct password to decrypt it. If you do not enter a password, STARR uses an internal default. Note: Unlike with the password for the STARR Commander, there will be no popup asking for your password if you decrypt / display the log file, BECAUSE the log file itself is encrypted! This means the decryption is done always, but only if you have the correct password entered in the box, will the decryption produce a meaningful (readable) output. The password is Case sensitive !

STARR Commander Protection: To make sure only authorized persons can use the STARR Commander you can password protect it. Note: This is a separate password from the one used for the encryption of the log file (of course, you could use the same word if you like). The password is Case sensitive !

ZIP file password protection [PRO only]: Protect the emailed ZIP file with a password so only you can open it!