How To Remotely View Your Child’s Computer Screen

Between adult content, viruses, groomers, and cyberbullies, parents today have a lot to worry about when it comes to their children’s online environment. Of course, your child may simply be spending too much time online at the expense of schoolwork and time spent with friends and family in the real world.

Parents can remotely view their child’s computer screen using third-party software. While many applications for both Macs and PCs allow extensive monitoring, remote viewing options are rarer. Remember to use these powerful tools legally and responsibly.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can view your child’s computer remotely and understand the difference between applications like Wolfeye and other remote monitoring tools.

Using Third-Party Software To Remotely View Screens

Several vendors offer technologies that allow you to monitor your child’s computer remotely. The process of installing and using the software will vary depending on the manufacturer. Let us take a look at how to remotely view screens on Windows computers using the Wolfeye Remote Screen application.

Installing and Using Wolfeye to Remotely Monitor Your Child’s Computer

Wolfeye Remote Screen is a powerful application that allows parents to watch their children’s activities in real-time on Windows machines. To install and use Wolfeye Remote Screen for remotely viewing your child’s computer, follow these steps:

Set Up Exceptions in Your Antivirus Program

Because Wolfeye works like a hacking tool, anti-virus programs are trained to attack it. So the first step towards using Wolfeye Remote Screen involves setting up exceptions inside your anti-virus program settings to prevent it from stopping Wolfeye from working.

To do this:

On your child’s computer, find a path that every user can access
Create a folder here to download Wolfeye setup and application files (all the files Wolfeye generates will be automatically saved here)
Open the system’s anti-virus program
Open the “Settings” tab and navigate to “Exceptions” (it may also be called “Exclusions” or require application across multiple tabs)
Add the newly created folder to “Exceptions” (depending on the software, you may be able to drag and drop or browse to do this)

Download and Install the Wolfeye Remote Screen Application

Next, you will need to download and install the Wolfeye Remote Screen on your child’s computer.

Go to the Wolfeye website and download the Wolfeye Remote Screen .ZIP installation file
If you have not downloaded the file into the folder created for Wolfeye, move it to that location
Open the folder where you downloaded the .ZIP file
Rightclick on the .ZIP file and extract its contents into the same folder
The file is password protected (the correct password is Wolfeye)
All the Wolfeye Remote Screen application files will appear in this folder
Run the Wolfeye Remote Screen application by double-clicking on the .EXE file
Among the available options in, select “More Information” and “Run Anyway”
Wolfeye Remote Screen is now set up and ready to use!

Set Up Remote Recording in the Wolfeye Remote Screen Application

Now that you have set up the Wolfeye Remote Screen application, you are ready to start recording. This is a two-step process. You will need to enable the recording on your child’s computer and mail the link to another device from which you can watch your child’s computer.

On your child’s computer, open the Wolfeye Remote Screen application by double-clicking on the .EXE file
Wolfeye Remote Screen should open
In the Wolfeye interface, click on the green “Share Screen” button at the top of the screen
The “Share Screen” button should turn red, indicating that recording is in progress
The bar above the button will now display a link to the site where the recording will be available for your viewing
Click on the “Email URL” button at the top of the screen
Mail the link to yourself
Finally, click on the “Hide+Win Startup” button

The next time your child turns on their computer, Wolfeye will start recording its screen and posting the recorded video to the link you have been mailed. Wolfeye will also remain in stealth mode so that anyone using the computer is unaware that they are being watched.

The Difference Between Remote Monitoring and Viewing

Popular remote monitoring software such as Net Nanny, Kidlogger, and FamiSafe and inbuilt tools such as Windows Family Safety and Apple’s Family Sharing, allow parents to monitor and restrict many computer activities by

Blocking applications or sites
Tracking time spent on individual applications or sites
Scheduling screen time
Limiting screen time
Restricting search accessibility by blocking specific queries
Restricting access to sexually explicit or violent images
Scanning emails, messages, and social media communication
Tracking location on mobile devices in real-time
Taking screenshots

However, they do not offer as much continuous, real-time insight as remote viewing tools like Wolfeye. Remote viewing gives you continuous access to your child’s computer whenever it is in use. Using it, you can follow every activity your child engages in on a computer. This makes it much more potent than remote monitoring applications.

A Cautionary Note on Remote Computer Viewing Software

Of course, remote viewing software has drawbacks too. The cons of using remote viewing software are:

It is an invasion of your child’s privacy. While every parent has a right to watch out for their child, children can quickly latch on to when they’re being monitored, even when there is no evidence. Moreover, a child who’s being watched closely can come to resent their parent and seek out trouble elsewhere.
Your recorded video could fall into the wrong hands. If your child’s computer does get exposed to malware or is otherwise hacked, someone other than yourself could come into possession of their personal data.
Technology is not a substitute for parenting. While tools such as remote viewing software can give you an insight into troubling behavior or harmful risks, they cannot tell you why a child may be distraught. Nurturing healthy and resilient children is the job of every parent, and there will always be risks.
Invasive technologies can make users paranoid. Monitoring your child’s computer may create more turmoil in you. Children are never as naive as parents like to believe, and watching their every misstep may very well make parents more anxious, not less.

Final Thoughts

You can remotely view your child’s computer using third-party applications. These are powerful tools, so use them with care. Finally, remember that technology is a valuable aid, not a substitute for a proper parent-child relationship.

Sources

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