Not all spy buddy programs must be operated in stealth mode. A lot of parents and bosses fundamentally object to the idea of snooping on their children and their employees and feel that a free and open atmosphere is healthiest. If you count yourself as a member of this crowd, simply choose a spy buddy application that issues a monitoring alert during startup. Users will know they're being watched, which will prevent awkward confrontations down the road should any abuses occur.

What are the consequences of installing spy software throughout your network? Well, if you're running an office, the most noticeable impact will be heightened productivity. Once employees realize that office hours aren't the appropriate time to send jokes, amusing attachments, or personal photos to friends, they're unlikely to test your patience. Common sense suggests you shouldn't have to tell your workers all of this, but in today's lax corporate climate it's becoming more and more of a necessity.

Using a Spy Buddy at Home

As a parent, you may even choose to disclose your use of a spy buddy to your children. Here, your own parenting philosophy should guide you, but a lot of parents find that their kids not only abide by, but appreciate, limits. Once they understand that they aren't free to navigate the Web willy nilly, they'll learn to enjoy the expanded freedoms that you do choose to grant them. Should they decide to disobey you and search for inappropriate content, they must see that you hold the key to their online experience. If that means forcibly disabling a few selected sites, so be it.

In addition to the concerned parent, the suspicious wife or husband is earning a more prominent place in the web surveillance landscape. Here, it's best to let common sense be your guide. Should you choose to snoop on your lover's activities, know that there's a strong chance you'll find out information you might not care to know. A spy buddy can indeed tell you whether or not your mate is carrying on indiscretions. What you do with that information once you have it, however, is entirely up to you.