Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10/11/Server
StaffCounter Agent is a tool for monitoring a user’s actions on a computer, designed especially for the StaffCounter time-tracking service. It helps to oversee employees and how they work at the computer.
Managers can view an analysis of this data at the StaffCounter website at any time.
The program requires a constant internet connection.
Thanks to our analytics service, even the busiest managers can check on what their employees are up to at their computers in just a couple of minutes.
The agent logs all user activity on the computer and requires only a couple of minutes to set up. It runs in the background and doesn’t put a heavy load on the system.
- it logs all applications opened and used, including how long they are actively used;
- It tracks internet activity, namely visited websites and web searches;
- it takes screenshots at defined time intervals;
- it takes shots from the web camera periodically, and at the beginning or resuming of work;
- it records the text typed in various applications;
- it records surrounding sound;
- it can be temporarily disabled so that workers can use the computer for their own personal needs.
* The capabilities of the program depend on the type of subscription. In a Professional subscription, all features work without restrictions.
Step1. Whitelist the Downloads folder in the Windows Defender service. Launch the Control panel, Update & Security, and Windows Security. Find the virus protection and Exclusions. Add the Downloads folder to the list.
Step 2. Download StaffCounter Agent. You will need to unpack the .zip archive into a new folder.
Step 3. Run staffcounter_install.exe as administrator. (perform a right-click on it and select “Run as administrator”)
After going through all the installation steps, the window for the first launch of the program will appear.
Step 4: When you start the program for the first time, you need to connect the agent to the server data.staffcounter.net.
This can be done in 3 ways:
Installation through the main e-mail account on StaffCounter
Right after the program has been installed, enter the e-mail account for your StaffCounter account in the main window.
The E-mail can be viewed on your profile page.
Installation via an existing device ID
On the detailed page of your employee, you can find the device ID to connect it without creating a new one, and without losing user data.
Installation by invitation, when adding an employee by e-mail
When adding a new employee, his E-mail in this case will be the device ID.
Therefore, when installing the StaffCounter agent, the E-mail of the employee whom you invited must be specified in the field when connecting the agent.
For Windows XP, the installer will automatically offer to install the appropriate version.
After the program connects to the server, monitoring will start automatically. The program will take settings from the server each time the user logs on to the system.
Step 5: To configure the program settings, go to your online account and open the page Settings. Choose the department you need. Change the values and save the settings. Then restart the target computer to apply the changes.
- You can hide the icon of the StaffCounter application in the system tray. Disable the required option on the server in the department settings;
- To remove the StaffCounter shortcut in the Start menu, delete the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StaffCounter folder;
- To remove the StaffCounter shortcut in the list of installed programs, launch the Regedit application, find and delete the entire folder StaffCounter_is1 from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ directory.
- You can also move the StaffCounter application from a regular location to a folder that is not visible to the user.
- Stop the monitoring application. In the Task Manager, find either Staffcounter or Windows UI auditing service or Monitoring Agent. Stop the process. If it is a version with the sound recording(Staffcounter_dlp) stop the Voice.exe process as well.
- Launch the cmd.exe and open the Staffcounter application folder. Execute the StaffCounter.exe /remove command.
- Then move the Staffcounter folder from C: \ Program files \ to another location. This location should be readable and writable by all users of the computer. We suggest in C: \ Users \ Default \ AppData \ Local \
- This folder should be made an exception for antivirus programs and for Windows Defender.
- After the transfer, launch the Staffcounter application from the new location.
If you have configured Data Leak Prevention (Account Professional), Login your user account on data.staffcounter.net. On Settings page choose the department that target computer belongs to. Uncheck all the options in DLP settings. Save the configuration.
After this:
- Restart the target computer;
- Launch Task manager, find StaffCounter monitoring processes and stop them;
- In the folder Program files\StaffCounter launch Unins000.exe;
- StaffCounter has been successfully uninstalled.
If you have not configured Data Leak Prevention (Account Standard):
- Launch Task manager, find StaffCounter monitoring processes and stop them;
- In the folder Program files\StaffCounter launch Unins000.exe;
- StaffCounter has been successfully uninstalled.
To reinstall or update the StaffCounter program , you just need to install the new version of the Agent over the current one.
If there are any errors while doing this, then we recommend:
- Uninstall a program (see How to uninstall StaffCounter from a computer?)
- Reinstall using the existing device code (see Installing through an existing device code)
Preparing for installation
In order to install the Agent with the required parameters, you need to open and edit the cmdline_install.bat file located in the installation folder.
Parameter values
- /uploadurl=https://192.168.1.50/upload-v2
Local StaffCounter server address. If not specified, by default connects to https://data.staffcounter.net/upload-v2 - /devid=111-11-11
Device ID to connect to the server. It is only needed if it is necessary to reconnect the PC to this ID on the server. - /autoregister=1
Monitoring of all accounts on a PC with auto-connection to the server (in this case, be sure to specify // adminmail) - /adminemail=admin@mail.com
account email for auto-connection and auto-substitution in the connection dialog.
If not specified, you will need to enter it manually. - /VERYSILENT
does not show interface during installation - /ignoreapp=mstsc – do not track time for MSTSC process (MS Remote Desktop app)
- /noidleapp=skype,ApplicationFrameHost – do not track downtime for skype, ApplicationFrameHost process (Skype)
- /startmenu=1 – create a shortcut in the Start menu and a shortcut to Uninstall under Add or Remove Programs (default 0)
- /lang=russian – define an alternative language
Example of a line with parameters:
staffcounter_install.exe /autoregister=1 /adminemail=admin@mail.com
First, you need to configure the MSI-package using the ORCA application. You can download the ORCA from here.
In the ORCA edit the Registry section:
- Into the AdminEmail field input the address, that you used to register on the Staffcounter.net
- If you want to connect the Staffcounter application to a local server, input the new upload address into the UploadURL field, for example, http://192.168.1.51/upload-v2
Save the changes.
After this launch the command prompt as administrator and go to the folder with the MSI package.
Here you have to execute the command
msiexec.exe /qr /i staffcounter.msi
The agent updates the settings from the StaffCounter server on the PC in the following cases:
- When you turn on the computer;
- Every 2 hours of program work;
- When manually paused from the system tray;
- By request.
If you need to get the settings “right now”, you must click on the StaffCounter icon in the system tray, then select the “Options” section and click “Update settings“.
Within 60 seconds, the program will take the last settings from the server.
If you need to find out what data the program collects on a specific PC, you need to click on the StaffCounter icon in the system tray, then select the “Options” section and a list of collected data will be presented here.
Additionally
An employee can click on the StaffСounter Agent application icon in the system tray and stop monitoring. It is also possible to start monitoring again from this window.
To check his or her own record, an employee can open here a local report for the current day.
StaffCounter Safe agent – reduced version of monitoring agent for Windows, with open-source code. Main features:
- it tracks internet activity, visited websites in Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox;
- it logs all applications opened and used, including how long they are actively used;
- it can be temporarily disabled so that workers can use the computer for their own personal needs.
- It records the time of session starts and pauses.
The user interface of the application is the same as the StaffCounter agent. This application is recommended if using computers for personal purposes is allowed. Open source code provides you to be sure, the application has not any backdoors.
In case of any issues with the StaffCounter application please provide troubleshooting logs:
1) C:\Program Files(x86)/Staffcounter \ report-***.txt
2) C:\ProgramData\Staffcounter\ report-****.txt
(or C:\Users\All Users\Staffcounter\ report-***.txt)
Or click “Report Problem” in the Staffcounter menu, in the system tray. The troubleshooting log will be sent to the server into the folder of the device. You can download it with the entire backup.
