PLEASE NOTE: This user guide isn't the only documentation for AceSpy. This is simply a quick reference guide. All AceSpy customers receive full documentation from within the program by going to Help > Documentation

Thank you for choosing AceSpy Spy Software for your monitoring needs. AceSpy gives you a variety of premium options at a price that can't be beat. We're sure you'll find this user guide and our software VERY useful.

Installing AceSpy Spy Software

Installing the AceSpy Trial or Full Version is extremely easy. If you wish to install the trial version of AceSpy, the AceSpy_Trial_seetup.exe file is located within the trial zip file. For full version users, the full version setup.exe file is sent to you in your order email.

After you order you will receive an email with detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to download the program and start the installation. For maximum stealthiness, we recommend keeping all the default options during installation.

The installation process is the same for both the trial and full versions. Launch the installer file and you might be presented with a screen similar to one below. If so, click the appropriate Run button as indicated below.

AceSpy installs in Stealth Mode.
This mode creates no icons or folders and makes the program invisible to others. This means it is invisible from task bar, task list, close program, etc. To access the interface later, you would normally close all open windows and press the hot key sequence.

NOTE: The default hot key sequence can be found inside the program by clicking > Options > Advanced > Hot-Key. These are the four keys you will press together on your keyboard to get to the password screen.

Getting Started

Once AceSpy is installed it loads automatically with each computer boot in stealth mode. After you finish installation you will be asked to create your password as shown below.

After you create your password, the password box will popup. Enter your password and you will be taken to the AceSpy Main Interface as shown below.

After setting up AceSpy for the first time, you will enter the Main Interface shown above. This is also where you will come in the future to change options. Also, even if you choose to use the Email Delivery feature, this is where you can come anytime to view any activity recorded.

Basic Usage Instructions

Anytime you are within the interface, AceSpy automatically stops monitoring. When you are finished inside the interface, click the "X" at the top right corner. Then, click "Yes" to hide the interface and continue monitoring. Additionally, you can stop or start monitoring activity by clicking the "Start/Stop" button on the Home Screen.

So when you want to view recorded activity, you would open the interface with the hot key sequence. After you are inside, click any of the categories on the left side. Then choose the activity type you wish to view from the category menu.  You can change options the same way by clicking an Options category, then choosing an option type in the category menu.

If you ever want to *completely* exit AceSpy and stop monitoring until your computer is rebooted, simply click the "X" at the top right corner. Then select "NO" and AceSpy will shut down completely. It will reload again the next time your computer is rebooted.

VIEWING ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

There are THREE different categories of activity viewers within AceSpy. Each is outlined and then described below.

• General Activity Category: Basic PC non-Internet activity including keystrokes.
• Internet Activity Category Internet Activity such as emails and chats.
• Visual Surveillance Category: Screenshots and Webcam recordings.

GENERAL ACTIVITY CATEGORY

• Applications Ran: View programs executed on the PC.
• Clipboard Activities: View text sent to clipboard by date and window title.
• File/Folder Activities: View a list of new files/folders created or deleted.
• Keystrokes Log: View keystrokes typed by date and window title.
• Printer Activities: View documents printed by date.
• Windows Opened: View windows opened or clicked on by the user.
• AceSpy Events: View AceSpy's program activity log.
• Applications Usage: See the amount of time any application was used.
• PC Activity Summary: See the amount of time the PC was used per session.

INTERNET ACTIVITY CATEGORY

• Chat Conversations Log: View full chat transcripts.
• MySpace Capturing: View content of MySpace/Facebook pages visited.
• MySpaceIM Logs: View rapid screenshots of MySpaceIM chats.
• Web Sites Visited: View list of URLs visited in major browsers.
• Emails Processed: View full emails sent and received.
• Search Engine Logs: View all terms searched for on major search engines.
• Internet Traffic Logs: View details of Internet traffic packets.

VISUAL SURVEILLANCE CATEGORY

• Screenshots Captured: View screenshots with date and window title.
• Webcam Pics: View surveillance snapshots taken by your webcam.

SETTINGS/SEARCH OVERVIEW

There are THREE different options panels within AceSpy. These are the GENERAL OPTIONS, ADVANCED OPTIONS, and BLOCKING AND FILTERING panels. The six icon names on the "Settings" menu are shortcuts to specific sections within one of the three panels. The icons are described below, and after that, each panel is described in detail.

• General: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
• Advanced: This takes you to the ADVANCED OPTIONS panel.
• Email: This takes you to the ADVANCED OPTIONS panel.
• Screenshots: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
• Filtering: This takes you to the BLOCKING AND FILTERING panel.
• Schedule Monitoring: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
• Lockdown Schedule: This takes you to the GENERAL OPTIONS panel.
• Search Logs: This takes you to the SEARCH LOGS screen.

GENERAL OPTIONS PANEL

• General: Stealth, Startup and Password options.
• Logging: The checklist to determine what will be recorded.
• Screen: Screen capture and webcam settings and options.
• Location: Specifies where AceSpy logs will be stored.
• Schedule: Enables/Disables scheduled logging.
• Lockdown: Enables/Disables PC Lockdown schedule.

ADVANCED OPTIONS PANEL

• Priority: Thread Priority settings to adjust system performance.
• Splash: Enables/Disables the Splash Screen startup warning.
• Emails: Enables/Disables email delivery of logs.
• Hot-Key: Changes the defaults Hot Key sequence.
• Auto-Clean: Automatic maintenance, UNINSTALL ACESPY and DELETE ALL LOGS button.

BLOCKING AND FILTERING PANEL

• Instant Mails: This is where you tell AceSpy whether or not to FORWARD EMAILS AND CHATS. Forward Email Delivery instantly copies every email sent or received to the email address in the "Email To:" field of your Email Configuration. Express Delivery of IMs / Chats instantly copies all chat conversations recorded the instant the chat window is closed.
• Block URLs: Enter URLs to be blocked in Internet Explorer and Firefox. To block all pages of a certain site, enter two entries for it. One would be http://www.whatever.com and the second one would be http://whatever.com.
• Keystrokes: Enter words that will cause Instant Keyword Alerts to be sent anytime someone types a specified keyword within this list. For this option to properly work, you must have already setup your Auto Email settings. Example entries could be sex or a person's name. Check the "Attach Screenshot" field to attach a current screenshot as the word was typed!
• Windows: Window Title Blocking will close windows containing any of the keywords within their title. i.e. outlook or a filename such as msmsgs.exe
• Web Content: This feature tells AceSpy to scan every web page that is visited in Internet Explorer. If a word on this list is encountered, then the user will be forwarded to an access denied page. Example entry is same as Keystrokes examples.
• Applications: Application and Window Blocking will close windows containing any of the keywords within their title. i.e. outlook or a filename such as msmsgs.exe or you can click Browse to select an application from your hard drive to be blocked when executed.
• User Filter: User filtering settings to avoid monitoring specific users. Enter any unique portion of a Windows username to avoid monitoring a user. In Windows XP/Vista, the username can be found by clicking Start, and then looking at the top of the menu. This is your username and any unique portion can be typed. For example, if your name username is Tom Smith, you could simply enter Tom.

NOTE: Always remember to check the "Enable" button for each of the features below if you are turning one on for the first time. Also, anytime you make changes, click Apply and then OK to get back to the interface. Some of the commands below require a restart before the action is taken. If you make major changes to AceSpy it is recommended that you completely EXIT AceSpy and then restart your PC. To do this, click the "X" at the top right of the main interface, then click "NO". Then reboot your PC to restart AceSpy in stealth mode with the new settings.

This section is devoted to further describing how to setup specific features of AceSpy.

AUTOMATIC EMAIL INFORMATION AND SETUP
Automatic Emailing refers to the emailing of activity reports to a specified email address. AceSpy can send customized activity reports to any SMTP-based email account. If you do not have one, you can use RXS Stealth Email which includes step-by-step instructions for setting up AceSpy. Free webmail accounts are incompatible because they are not SMTP-based. Any other email account will work, so long as it uses SMTP to send emails. However it is a good idea to use a private account such as RXS Stealth Email so that nobody else will be able to see emailed results except you. You can also use the RXS Stealth Email account to have an SMTP server to send your logs to any webmail account.

Automatic Emailing can be setup by clicking Options > Emails. AceSpy combines the report(s) you select attached to one email. This email is then sent at a frequency you set. These options are all setup within the Email Options screen, which is shown and then described below.

STEP 1. Open the Automatic Emails screen. Click Enable and enter frequency. 60+ is recommended.

STEP 2. Enter the following information which corresponds to your SMTP email account. It is a good idea to use your email address in both the "Email From" and "Email To" fields.

• SMTP: This is your email address' SMTP server. i.e. smtp.yourdomain.com.
• Email From: The full email address corresponding to the above SMTP server.
• Email To: Any email address, but using the Email From address is recommended.

Advanced Options. You will need to enter your username & password for the account by clicking Advanced.

• Username: The Username used to login to the email. Usually the full email address.
• Password: The Password for the email account. Enter the full password.
• Port: Only use this field if you have trouble getting automatic emails. See note below.

NOTE: Only use the PORT: option if you have trouble sending automatic emails. If you have everything setup correctly but still aren't receiving auto emails, then your ISP probably blocks external SMTP mailings by blocking the most common SMTP port, which is Port 25. You can easily work around this by using an alternate port from the Advanced setting window. Enter 2525 for the port number and then click Apply/OK.

Test your settings by clicking the TEST button as shown in the graphic above. If the test doesn't succeed, then your emails will not be sent. Make sure you are entering a valid SMTP server and username/password. If you are having troubles with your ISP, try a RXS Stealth Email account which includes a valid SMTP server with complete instructions on what to put in each box and allows you to view reports from anywhere you can browse the web.

STEP 3. Select which logs you want AceSpy to send. The types of logs are described below. Keep in mind to only select logs from activities that are enabled in Logging Options.

• Applications Executed: The contents of the applications executed log.
• Chat Conversations: The contents of the chat conversation log.
• Clipboard Logs: The contents of the clipboard contents log.
• Current Desktop Screenshot: Take a current screenshot and attach to the email.
• Documents Opened: The contents of the documents opened log.
• Emails Logs: The contents of the emails sent/received log.
• Keystrokes Logs: The contents of the keystrokes typed log.
• Printer Logs: The contents of the printed items log.
• Web Sites Visited Logs: The contents of the web sites visited log.
• Windows Launched Logs: The contents of the windows launched log.

STEP 4. Click "Apply", then click "OK". Lastly, restart your PC so that AceSpy is restarted. After the PC finishes loading, the first report will be sent in the amount of minutes you set on the Email Configuration screen.

CREATING AVI MOVIES FROM SNAPSHOTS
AceSpy can create slideshow movies from the snapshots that are captured. These movies can be played in Windows Media Player or any other avi viewer.

HOW TO CREATE A MOVIE FROM SNAPSHOTS:

EMAIL/CHAT FORWARDING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can instantly forward emails and/or chat conversations immediately after recording them. To enable this feature, first make sure that your Automatic Email settings have been entered and the Test button works properly. Then go to Options > Filtering > Instant Mails. Then choose which one of the two (or both) you would like to turn on by clicking the appropriate box. Then click Apply. For these settings to take effect, you should restart your PC.

WEBCAM CAPTURE INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can take snapshots from almost any standard Windows web camera. The drivers and software for your camera should be installed previous to enabling the feature from Options > General > Screen. Click Apply and then click EXIT to exit AceSpy. Then restart your PC. When your PC restarts, wait a few minutes so that you can view some snapshots to make sure the lighting conditions are correct. Please note, if your listed snapshots are a blank screen, then your camera isn't getting enough light. One way around this on most cameras is going into the camera's software and adjusting the brightness levels to be much higher. Then give AceSpy enough time to take 2-3 snapshots. Repeat the process as necessary to optimize for your camera.

SCHEDULED MONITORING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can monitor your system using a schedule you customize. To enable this feature, go to Options > General > Scheduling. Then, click the "Enable Schedule Logging" checkbox. Then select all of the hours in which AceSpy should monitor your PC. The box for 12:00AM selects from 12:00am thru 12:59am. The box for 1:00AM selects from 1:00AM thru 1:59AM, and so on. Select as many boxes as you need to determine your schedule. Next, click "Apply". When AceSpy is restarted, it will recognize the time which will determine if it should monitor.

PC LOCKDOWN INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can lock down your system using a schedule you customize. Locking down a system means that nobody can use it. To enable this feature, click the Options > General > Lockdown. Click the "Enable Lockdown Schedule" checkbox to enable. Then select all of the hours in which AceSpy should lockdown your PC. The box for 12:00AM selects from 12:00am thru 12:59am. The box for 1:00AM selects from 1:00AM thru 1:59AM, and so on. Select as many boxes as you need to determine your schedule. Next, click "Apply". When AceSpy is restarted, it will recognize the times selected and determine if it should lockdown or activate your system.

SPLASH SCREEN USER WARNING INFORMATION AND SETUP
AceSpy can display a customizable warning to users of the PC upon startup. There is no mention of AceSpy and you can customize the message that appears. The message disappears for thirty seconds and can be cleared early by clicking "OK" by the user. To enable the Splash Screen warning, go to Options > Advanced > Splash. Click the "Enable Splash Screen Warning at Startup" checkbox to enable. Next, enter the message you would like to display and click "Apply". The next time your PC is rebooted, the warning will be displayed.

ADDITIONAL HELP
For more help, please see our Knowledge Base. To contact us please Submit a Support Ticket.

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