Q As a subscriber for several years, I have always been impressed by the depth of knowledge that the editors of the Help Screen have been able to call upon. Now it is my turn to ask for your help!

A In the August issue of PC World we reviewed Prudence (see Playing big brother with Prudence, p45) — a novel (and not particularly successful) application for monitoring Web browsing habits. If you want to keep tabs on your son's more general computing habits I'd recommend Redhand from Hard Drive Software (www.hiddenman.com).

Caption: In this example, Redhand blocks the user's mischievous attempt to run a chess application and displays an angry parental warning

Redhand can be configured to monitor just about everything that happens on your computer. Every time an application is launched or a document opened, Redhand adds an entry to its log, recording the name of the application or file and the time and date it was opened. And the beauty of it is (or horror, depending on your point of view) that the user will never know he is being "watched".

Redhand isn't restricted to passive monitoring — you can block access to applications too. To do this, you specify keywords that you know will appear in a window's title. For example, to prevent access to your spreadsheet application, you might specify the keyword "Excel". Since Excel always displays its name in the window title, Redhand will prevent it from running. You can even create a stern warning message to deter users from trying again!

Redhand offers a wealth of features to users who do have access to the Internet. Parents can block access to a range of known adult sites, and customise the "black list" as required. Network administrators will appreciate Redhand's ability to disconnect modems when a specified time limit has been reached. Businesses or schools that invest in a site licence can obtain a free administration utility which enables remote monitoring and logging. This tool has the potential to provide a raft of useful information about the working habits of staff or students.

If security is your main concern, Redhand will help you lock down Windows and throw away the key. Many of Win 95's gaping security holes can be closed: the <Ctrl>-<Alt>-<Delete> key combination, for example, can be disabled, so users can't terminate applications via the "back door"; and you can prevent people using <F8> to boot to DOS or Safe Mode. If that's not enough, you can dump the Windows desktop altogether and replace it with the much more security-conscious "Redhand Desktop".

Redhand works with Windows 95, 98 and NT, and you will find a trial version on this month's cover CD. But if you like it, don't forget to pay the $US99 registration fee: the demo version displays its password every 20 minutes.