Remotely check PC startup/shutdown times

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
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Location
Bristol
I'm looking for a piece of software that just logs and uploads a PC's startup and shutdown times which are remotely accessible via a web page/account/similar.

Anyone know of such a thing? It's just for two computers to double check when staff sign in and out.

As a bonus something like any gaps of say >1 minute with no mouse movement of key presses are logged as well.

Thanks in advance!
 
Russinating said:
You joking? How would you ensure your staff are in and working the hours they're paid to? It's no more than a cheaper and easier alternative to a clocking in system.
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I was joking! Understand where your coming from but logging key presses is a bit extreme. Can't be to hard to see when the computer has connected to the network but I would suspect live monitoring is dodgy ground.
 
Russinating said:
You joking? How would you ensure your staff are in and working the hours they're paid to? It's no more than a cheaper and easier alternative to a clocking in system.
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Most places would have a manager on site and would measure by output not mouse activity.
How would you know they aren't playing solitaire all day and not working.
PC activity is not the same as productivity.
 
Luke said:
PC activity is not the same as productivity.
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Exactly, which is what makes the whole thing a rather odd way of going about management. If your staff have given you no reason not to trust them, reward them with your trust. Measure how satisfied you are with them by what they actually do not arbitary measures like this.

You'll get far more out of them if they are doing what they do because they want to do it and they enjoy working for you than becuase they know you are petty enough to record the time the PC is powered on each day.
 
shadow_boxer said:
I was joking! Understand where your coming from but logging key presses is a bit extreme. Can't be to hard to see when the computer has connected to the network but I would suspect live monitoring is dodgy ground.
Click to expand...

Not interested in key presses!

Luke said:
Most places would have a manager on site and would measure by output not mouse activity.
How would you know they aren't playing solitaire all day and not working.
PC activity is not the same as productivity.
Click to expand...

'Most places'? :confused: We employ one person and we're regularly out on projects. Productivity is easily measured but our last employee (who we had to let go) was constantly 5/10 minutes late every day despite words, and we want to ensure that doesn't happen when we're not there. And yes 5 minutes does matter if a client calls at 9am and they're not in and ready to answer the phone.

[TW]Fox;26406967 said:
Exactly, which is what makes the whole thing a rather odd way of going about management. If your staff have given you no reason not to trust them, reward them with your trust. Measure how satisfied you are with them by what they actually do not arbitary measures like this.

You'll get far more out of them if they are doing what they do because they want to do it and they enjoy working for you than becuase they know you are petty enough to record the time the PC is powered on each day.
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As above. We're awesome bosses but we just want to check they're in when they should be and say they are; every missed call is a potential lost client.

Is every company that has a clocking in system 'petty'? :confused:
 
Legal grey area Russ.

My old IT manager + network admin suspected that I was up to no good and they installed a keylogger on my machine called Remote Desktop Spy - I saw it in task manager and googled the process. The keylogger caught me emailing my parents during office hours. When I got pulled up and taken to the MD's office, I gave my motive as to why I was emailing my parents. (Motive was them being Christians and using their management power to attempt to convert the living daylights out of me). End result - IT manager resigned 1 month later and the network admin got the chop soon after that.
 
Seems a tad extreme to me!

There must be a better way to solve the problem. Besides why tarnish a new member of staff with the same brush as the last one.
 
Russinating said:
You joking? How would you ensure your staff are in and working the hours they're paid to? It's no more than a cheaper and easier alternative to a clocking in system.
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Seems like an excellent way to promote hostility and working to rule.

I never make anyone punch a clock and never do it myself regardless of company policy - if they want me then it's on my own terms.
I've met some people who get petty over a couple of minutes. Get a life... If the work is being done then what the hell are you moaning about.
 
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What time do you state they should be in the office at the moment?

Maybe request the working hours 08:45 until finish time, to give the best possible chances of being in the office ready for the 9am start. Obviously this is a little more difficult if you have recruited the new person and already stipulated working hours.

Granted you do not wish to miss calls, who would, do you/have you thought about an answering machine? Not ideal but will avoid missed calls. And avoids the spying on the member of staff.
 
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