Script to monitor internet usage

Hi there, I'm trying to figure out how to write VB scripts that would monitor my employees use of the internet on their PCs.  I'd like my script to log the URLs visited by my workers and sent to a SQL Server or MS Access database which will be residing on another box.   How do I approach this.   Please help.  Thanks.
 
Robert

It depends, I haven't used the method much myself, but you can use the Shell.Application.Windows method.  This will, at the very least, return the title of the window for Internet Explorer processes.  I suppose another way is to intercept their internet explorer launch with a script and launch it yourself allowing you access to the IE object.
 
Other than that, you would have to capture what they type or have a lower level monitor than VBS could get.

I'm not too familiar with Shell.Application.Windows
Can you tell me what this is, how to access this, and how I would use this to accomplish the goal of logging URLs my users visit?
 
Thanks!!! 

Well, it seems you CAN get the specific URL's, BUT you have to keep in mind this is only possible if they are using Internet Explorer.

  
Option Explicit 
Dim i 
Dim colWindows : Set colWindows = CreateObject("Shell.Application").Windows      
Msgbox "Windows found: " & colWindows.Count, vbOkOnly, "Windows Found" 

'The colWindows object is a collection InternetExplorer objects 
'Refer to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa752084(v=vs.85).aspx for a list of all the properties and methods 
For i = 0 To colWindows.Count - 1 
   Msgbox colWindows.Item(i).LocationURL 
Next 
  

 

You should also keep in mind that trying to solve social problems with technology almost always ends poorly.
 
Even if that were not the case, you are trying to solve it wrong. The best solution is to not give a crap what they do on their computers and instead develop real and measureable performance metrics and monitor those. Then be a useful manager and assist your employees in increasing their productivity. If instead you would like to be a cop, then the best way to do this is to monitor traffic at the switch where it enters and leaves your network.

Thank you so much... this is good stuff!  I'm definitely going to try it.
 
Thanks again.
 
Robert
 

Hi again,
 
Thank you for providing me that link to MSDN.  I read the page and saw the event TitleChange.  Can I use this in my VB code?  and if so can you please give me an example?  Thanks!!!

I have looked at multiple ways to connect an object to events defined in a vbs file, but I didn't find anything.  So, I don't think it is possible to link into the events of the already created objects.
 
Someone else might have more experience in this area though.

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