SentryPC Review: Tracks Everything, But It’s Not For Everyone
SentryPC's affordability, ease of scalability, and lack of user minimums make it the finest employee monitoring software for small enterprises on a budget. There are six cloud-based plans available, and the annual membership costs are affordable for many smaller businesses. Content filtering and blocking, website and application monitoring, time and activity tracking, and keystroke logging are some of the features of user-friendly software. Its drawbacks include a small number of screenshots and restricted operating system compatibility.
Why SentryPC Is Best for Businesses on a Budget
SentryPC is a very affordable employee monitoring technology, with individual licenses costing only $60 per user per year and economies of scale savings available with bulk purchases. The service's accessibility comes in part from the fact that no physical software is required because it is fully cloud-based. Additionally, this centralized control system unifies all of the monitored devices into a single interface that is accessible from anywhere in the world and is constantly updated.
SentryPC still offers a ton of features, including a clever geofencing tool, even if smaller firms are probably not going to need a ton of capability. This immediately notifies management whenever a device is moved beyond a defined area, such as when an employee brings their laptop home after work. Keystroke monitoring, an easily readable historical history of events for each user, and the ability to export graphic charts in a number of different formats, such as CSV and PDF, are further complex features. Every subscriber has access to all of these capabilities; there are no tiers of subscriptions with different features, as there are with competing brands like Veriato.
The fact that SentryPC is cloud-based and that the most recent version is always available and can be downloaded from within your account is another benefit for smaller businesses with tighter finances. There is no need to shell out more money for the most recent software or continue using monitoring technology that is getting progressively more antiquated because these are free for the duration of your subscription. Updates not being automatically installed is something we really like because sudden changes to a familiar UI overnight can be both frustrating and perplexing.
It's also important to note that SentryPC touts its software as being beneficial for families, schools, and corporations alike. That is unusual in our business, and although it is not directly relevant from a corporate standpoint, managers who have kids at home could value being able to watch over, filter out, and supervise their kids' computing activities similarly to how they do with their employees.
Pros
- SentryPC has extensive features, including geofencing for specific devices.
- The system can be installed remotely and uninstalled with a single mouse click.
- The vendor provides free updates for the lifetime of your subscription.
Cons
- SentryPC doesn’t work on mobile devices, Chromebooks or Linux machines.
- Beyond the standard 500 screenshots, saving another 500 costs $19.95, with no option to purchase fewer than that.
Usability
The UI of SentryPC is well-organized, vibrant, and full of useful features, such as a notification queue that allows managers to view fresh warnings. With a wide range of customizable capabilities tracking everything from print jobs and file transfers to keystrokes and portable devices, It can block websites and generate alarms if anything suspicious is logged.
While the fact that SentryPC runs on Windows versions dating back to the early 2000s and is compatible with both Mac OS X 10.6 and all future macOS platforms is amazing, the absence of mobile capability is a significant drawback. Similarly, Chrome and Linux are not supported. Customers looking for protection on any (or all) of these platforms should go with a more comprehensive choice, like InterGuard, which we've also tested.
Extensive Monitoring
SentryPC includes a wealth of useful tools and capabilities for keeping an eye on employee behavior and activities, including the ability to trace transmitted files, keep track of internet browsing history and live chat sessions, and note the precise position of monitored devices. This includes portable drives, print jobs, conversations, and clipboards in addition to webpages and apps. Up to 500 time-stamped screenshots can be stored by the system, and printed files and chat transcripts are tracked throughout their journey.
Reporting Capabilities
SentryPC provides a number of helpful reporting tools, such as a list of all the top alerts that enables managers to examine user activity in general. Additionally, they can research more specialized activities like the most popular chat programs or applications. Reports can be tailored to just display the pertinent information for you. Additionally, there are status reports that track the functionality of all the PCs that have software licenses and are synced with them.
Tools for Time Management SentryPC serves as a backup to the best time and attendance systems by enabling business owners to define the maximum daily and weekly hours that an employee can work and preventing overtime work. Additionally, administrators can specify an alert interval, such as an automatic alarm that sounds 30 minutes before an employee reaches their time limit. The ability to customize settings for each user is extremely helpful when handling the finances of independent contractors and the schedules of distant employees in various time zones.
Geolocation Monitoring
This IP-tracking tool records the latitude and longitude of your users' devices, allowing you to determine the city they are in and visualize their precise location on a map. This enables you to confirm that workers are present where they should be throughout working hours. In the event that a computer is stolen or lost, it can also assist in finding it. Geofencing, which was introduced in the vendor's spring 2022 update, is an additional pleasant touch. When a computer enters or exits a predetermined location region, an alert is set off. Any user can enable the feature, which shows real-time updates on how close or far a device is to the walled area.
Content Filtering and Blocking
Administrators can ban programs, games, instant messaging programs, terms and phrases, and websites based on user-defined URLs and categories. You can establish general settings and guidelines for teams of workers as well as specific limitations for every user. A new alert will be generated in your log if a user tries to access something that is prohibited by your set of rules. This function is excellent for making sure that staff members only see appropriate material and don't engage in actions that can jeopardize network security.
SentryPC Cost
Basic Plan
Start monitoring, filtering, and controlling your users now! Your cloud-based online account and download information will be created and accessible immediately after purchase.
Plan details :
- One license is required per computer (no user limit)
- The first license is $69.95 - additional are $29.95 each
- Includes online storage for up to 500 screenshots
- Annual subscription with recurring billing until canceled
Compatible with :
- Android 7+
- Chromebook and any operating systems using Chromium browser (browser activity only)
- Mac OS X 10.6+ and all macOS
- Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7
Business 50
- Start monitoring, filtering, and controlling your users now! Your cloud-based online account and download information will be created and accessible immediately after purchase.Plan details :
- Includes 50 licenses (install on up to 50 PC's)
- Includes online storage for up to 500 screenshots
- Annual subscription with recurring billing until canceled
Compatible with : - Android 7+
- Chromebook and any operating systems using Chromium browser (browser activity only)
- Mac OS X 10.6+ and all macOS
- Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7
Business 100
- Start monitoring, filtering, and controlling your users now! Your cloud-based online account and download information will be created and accessible immediately after purchase.Plan details :
- Includes 100 licenses (install on up to 100 PC's)
- Includes online storage for up to 1,000 screenshots
- Annual subscription with recurring billing until canceled
Compatible with : - Android 7+
- Chromebook and any operating systems using Chromium browser (browser activity only)
- Mac OS X 10.6+ and all macOS
- Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7
Setup
- SentryPC can be manually installed on a single machine, remotely by email, or through network deployment. It may be uninstalled by choosing a device and pressing a single button. It's even possible to perform a "cloaked installation," which installs a covert version of SentryPC that, even if discovered by an employee, cannot be altered or uninstalled. The use of websites, applications, mobile devices, print jobs, chats, and clipboards are all monitored by activated software.
- SentryPC is a cloud-based service, so any device with a web browser can access your account. The software includes an appealing, user-friendly interface with a menu bar shown down the left side of the screen that makes it simple to set up your monitoring parameters and view employee activity, as can be seen in its online demo. Data can be filtered by device or user and sorted in either ascending or descending order.
Customer Service
- You can find documentation to help you install the program, fix issues, and learn more about how the software functions in SentryPC's integrated support section. A ticketing mechanism on the vendor's website also allows you to contact customer service. However, the lack of telephone help is frustrating; filling out a website form and then waiting for a response isn't ideal if a time-sensitive issue arises. SentryPC performs worse in this category than rivals Teramind and Veriato, as each of them combines web chat, email, and phone assistance.
Drawbacks
SentryPC offers a great level of capability for a cheap employee monitoring program, however it lacks mobile tracking options. The program is unable to monitor employee use of mobile devices. Only if you want tracking software designed expressly for mobile monitoring is this a limitation. To view the activity and logs of additional tracked Mac or Windows machines, you can still utilize the software on mobile devices.
SentryPC has a few Windows-only services, like portable drive and print job logging, which is another restriction to be aware of. If an employee can carry out improper activities without being seen by simply switching to a colleague's Mac and using their PC, it may compromise corporate security.
Methodology
Along with reviews and comparisons of nine other employee monitoring software solutions, we created this evaluation. We explored the various options with hands-on demos, viewed online presentations by vendor representatives, and looked at what these applications lacked in comparison to alternatives on the market.
We also took into account the viewpoint of the employees. Although employee monitoring software can increase morale among employees if successful results are communicated to them, there may be times when surveillance may overstep an individual's personal limits. Due to its cloud hosting and remote installation arrangement, SentryPC operates stealthily by default, which some employees may view as a privacy violation.
FAQs
Are admin-level activities logged?
SentryPC provides a variety of functions, including changing passwords, installing and uninstalling software, logging account and subscription changes, and more. Screenshots with a time stamp record the activity as well as the IP address of the accessed device.
What are the differences between the PC and Mac platforms?
The key distinction is that the Mac versions of SentryPC do not support tracking of portable drives and print jobs' actions.
How does geofencing work?
When a device enters or exits a defined physical region, SentryPC users in business can get instant notifications. Settings can be turned on or off at any moment, for instance, to allow employees to take laptops home for the holidays.
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