WinRecon 2.61 is a simple monitoring utility that performs two functions: periodically capturing screenshots and logging Web browser activity, chat sessions, and keystrokes. Despite the fact that WinRecon's interface is simple and contains few options, we found it awkward.

WinRecon's log viewer displayed the logs as gibberish until we found and clicked on a button labeled Decrypt; we'd prefer this to be the default. WinRecon's screenshot viewer listed many images unrelated to the product's logging function. But when we attempted to remove extraneous images, we found that all of the BMP files in our Windows directory had been wiped from the hard drive.

WinRecon does not log chat messages contiguously, making it difficult to reassemble a conversation into a transcript. On the other hand, we found that the program logged browsing in Internet Explorer and Netscape correctly and usefully. WinRecon has no warning banner, which is fine for stealthy implementations, but perhaps less useful for overt, preventative monitoring.

WinRecon can store logs on the monitored machine (in encrypted form, if desired) or e-mail collected data to a remote location (but not in encrypted format). As the documentation admits, the proprietary encryption is weak; the only purpose it serves is to make recognizing the log files more difficult. Sniffed passwords are visible to anyone who intercepts the e-mailed logs. And unlike iOpus Starr PRO Edition, for example, WinRecon can't communicate with mail servers that require POP connections before they'll accept mail via SMTP. The application sends reports when files reach a certain size, but not on a given schedule: a serious weakness.

The program does have a stealth mode, and unlike most other products in our roundup, it also has provisions for a configurable four-key magic keystroke combination (including letters and digits), a very good feature. But even with this, the program is the least stealthy of all the programs in this roundup. It's visible in the Program Files directory, and the Msinfo32 and Msconfig utilities both clearly reveal its presence by name.

WinRecon is less expensive than any of the other products we tested, but it also falls short of them in many respects.

info obtained from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,244704,00.asp

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