Veriato

Veriato, formerly known as SpectorSoft, is a software company that develops and sells user behavior analytics and employee monitoring software.[2]

For the American professional golfer, see Steve Veriato.

Veriato, Inc.
TypePrivate Company[1]
IndustrySoftware
Founded1998−2016 as SpectorSoft
2016 renamed Veriato [2]
HeadquartersPalm Beach Gardens,
Palm Beach County, Florida
United States
Key people
Larry Thompson (CEO)
ProductsUser Activity and Entity Behavior Analytics Software
Websitehttp://www.veriato.com

It is based in Palm Beach Gardens, located in Palm Beach County, Florida in the United States.

History

Founded in 1998, the company was an early entrant in internet monitoring software.

In 2008, private equity firms Harbourvest Partners and WestView Capital Partners invested in the company, taking a majority ownership position.[3] SpectorSoft originally serviced both consumer and business customers, but no longer sells software for consumer or home use.[4]

In 2011, the company opened their West Palm Beach office and London office.

In 2012 SpectorSoft acquired the assets of Corner Bowl Software.[5]

On March 31, 2015, the company completely exited the consumer market.

In 2016 the company was renamed Veriato, Inc.[2]

The company is a provider of employee monitoring, user behavior analytics, Ransomware Detection and log management applications to enterprise, mid-market, and small business.

Products

Veriato Recon[6] — a user behavior analytics tool. The software detects and alerts on anomalies related to insider threat behaviors. It also enables review of online activity of employees during the high risk exit period.

Veriato 360[7] — a user activity monitoring application enabling companies to retain, review, report and alert on employee activity. Used for monitoring higher risk employees, and for incident response, it provides visibility and contextual information.

Veriato Investigator[8] — an employee investigation tool for temporary, focused investigations. It records detailed information on employee activity, and enables exploration and playback of the recorded data.

Veriato Log Manager[9] — provides event and security log management. Centrally monitors Windows, Unix, Linux, switches, routers, and hubs.

Veriato Server Manager[10] — it adds application, resource, and disk monitoring to the event and log management features found in SpectorSoft Log Manager.

Veriato Ransomsafe[11] — Veriato RansomSafe™ acts as a vital layer in your ransomware defense, combining just-in-time data protection with multiple mechanisms to detect, and shut down attacks before they hold your business hostage.

Veriato Cerebral[12] — Cerebral is a fully integrated Insider Threat intelligence platform powered by artificial intelligence.

Awards and honors

Spector Pro was given the PC Magazine editors' choice award in a 2002 review of six computer activity monitoring tools.[13] In 2004, version 5.0 of Spector Pro was again given the editors' choice award from a field of four programs.[14] In 2008 Spector 360 SR3 won the PC Magazine editors' choice award.[15] In 2004, SpectorSoft was listed for the first time as one of Inc. magazine's Top 500 fastest-growing private companies in America, at position 224.[16] The company achieved a position on the list once again in 2005 at number 497.[17] In 2009 SpectorSoft made the list of Inc. 5000 Companies at number 3340.[18] In 2010 and 2011 SpectorSoft again made the Inc. Magazine 500/5000 list.

Spectorsoft−Veriato products have been mentioned in ZDNET, PC/Computing, Time, CNN, NBC Nightly News, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.[19]

In 2014, Spectorsoft won the SC Magazine Europe Best Fraude Prevention Award[20] and the Best of Interop 2014 - Security Award [21] for their Spector 360 Recon product

Users

The target audiences for SpectorSoft−Veriato products are employers who want to record the activities of their employees on company-owned workstations, mobile devices and laptops.

Employers

Employers may choose to monitor their employees using SpectorSoft−Veriato software. There are, however, still privacy concerns over things like personal email.[22][23] SpectorSoft addresses privacy issues regularly, and has a paper authorized by a leading privacy attorney available on its website.[24]

Educators

Educators, school administrators and school districts are required to protect students from online predators (CIPA & FERPA). Most schools use blocking and filtering szstems, which may block sites needed for research or not block new sites that have not yet been included in the filtering solution. Spector 360 works with filters to provide an additional layer of protection, and also helps keep students on-task by providing teachers and technology coordinators with reports and charts that show what web sites students visit and how long they spent on each. Keyword alerts let lab instructors or IT administrators see who may be violating a school's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).[25]

Illegal uses

Some SpectorSoft−Veriato tools, especially eBlaster, can be used for criminal activities, and there have been several convictions for such misuse. Spectorsoft software contains an EULA[26] specifying that installation must only be on machines owned by the licensee and also indicating that SpectorSoft will only cooperate with law enforcement when compelled to do so.

Thieves

Since SpectorSoft−Veriato software is specifically designed to be difficult to detect and remove, the tools (especially eBlaster) can be used by thieves who wish to steal credit card information, banking information, and passwords. Installation of the software can occur without the user's knowledge or permission.[27] Spectorsoft openly advertise that their tools will record all of a user's passwords.[28] There have been recorded cases of this happening.[29]

Others
Parents

Parents use SpectorSoft−Veriato software to monitor their children's internet use.[30]

Spouses

Spectorsoft has marketed its spy software to people wanting to catch their spouses cheating.[31] However, in the face of criminal charges and negative publicity, Spectorsoft no longer markets its products to spouses.[32] There is, however, nothing to stop a spouse from using the products illegally. For example, a man from Michigan who installed eBlaster on a partner's personal computer was charged with four felony counts, facing up to five years in prison and $19,000 in fines,[33] and in 2013 a Texas woman filed a criminal complaint against her estranged husband for using eBlaster to spy on her Facebook and e-mail communications.[34]

Patent Infringement case

Patent Infringement Case Helios Software LLC et al. v. SpectorSoft Corporation has concluded. In September 2014, the Court granted summary judgment of non-infringement as to the ‘571 and ‘237 Patents.[35] In June 2015, after a five-day trial, a jury returned a verdict of no direct or indirect infringement by SpectorSoft of the ‘304 Patent, and also found several of the asserted claims of that patent invalid as both anticipated and rendered obvious by prior art (see Docket Entry No. 615 for Civ. No. 12-081-LPS).[36]

See also

References
  1. "Veriato Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek".
  2. "SpectorSoft Changes Name to Veriato to Reflect Growing Demand for Corporate Truth | Business Wire". businesswire.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  3. "WestView Capital Partners". www.wvcapital.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. "Monitoring Software | Computer And Internet Monitoring | SpectorSoft". spectorsoft.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  5. "Release of SpectorSoft Server Manager Centralizes and Automates Server Monitoring, Provides Increased Systems Uptime and Simplified Compliance Reporting". www.spectorsoft.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  6. "Veriato Recon | User Behavior Analytics | Insider Threats (formerly Spector 360 Recon)". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  7. "Veriato 360 | Employee Monitoring | User Activity Monitoring Software (formerly Spector 360)". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  8. "Veriato Investigator | Employee Investigation Software". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  9. "Veriato Log Manager | Event Log Management | Security Log Management (formerly SpectorSoft Log Manager)". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. "Server Manager | Server Management Software | Veriato (formerly SpectorSoft Server Manager)". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  11. "RansomSafe | Ransomware Detection and Protection Software |". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  12. "Cerbral | Insider Threat Intelligence Platform |". veriato.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  13. Glass, Brett (January 7, 2002). "Watching You, Watching Me – Spector Pro reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007. Spector Pro – Editors Choice ... A descendant of the Netbus Trojan horse
  14. Delaney, Laura (March 8, 2004). "Monitoring Software- Reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  15. Sarrel, Matthew (June 17, 2008). "Monitoring Software- Reviewed by PC Magazine". PC Magazine. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  16. "Inc 500 2004 (ranked 224)". Inc Magazine. 2004. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  17. "Inc 500 2005 (ranked 497)". Inc Magazine. 2005. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  18. "Inc 5000 2009 (ranked 3314)". Inc Magazine. 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  19. "Spectorsoft – Press Mentions". Spectorsoft. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  20. "2014 SC Awards Europe Winners". Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  21. "SpectorSoft Selected as Winner of Best of Interop 2014 Award in the Security Category". Reuters. April 8, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  22. Bill Wallace, Jamie Fenton (November 15, 2000). "Analysis: Your PC could be watching you". CNN. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  23. Thomas C Greene. "Spyware Trojan sends Hotmail to your boss". The Register. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  24. "Ten Tips for Preparing an Effective Acceptable Use Policy" (PDF).
  25. David, Kopf (November 15, 2007). "Analysis: Illinois District Keeps an Eye on 'Net Abuse". THE Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  26. Spectorsoft Inc. "Spectorsoft Software License Agreement". Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  27. "Blaster Remote Installation Guide". Spectorsoft. Retrieved May 23, 2007. eBlaster installs itself silently without any indication to the computer user that the installation has taken place
  28. "Capture Their Email Passwords". Netbus.org – (Owned by Spectorsoft). Retrieved April 12, 2007. Passwords from any email account will be recorded, ... and all other passwords
  29. John Leyden (July 23, 2003). "'Online banking in SA was a time-bomb waiting to go off'". The Register. Archived from the original on June 23, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
  30. Potter, Ned (July 24, 2006). "Watching Your Kids Online". ABC News. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  31. Cohen, Adam (July 2, 2001). "Internet Insecurity (page 6)". Time Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  32. "Spouse-vs.-spouse cyberspying dangerous, possibly illegal – Network World". Network World. 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007. Fowler says SpectorSoft, which makes consumer and business versions of its surveillance software, three years ago stopped marketing its products as spouse-spying tools.
  33. Matt Bean (September 7, 2001). "Private electronic surveillance raising legal, rights questions". Court TV. Archived from the original on December 15, 2003. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
  34. Dillon Collier (May 16, 2013). "Wilson Co. woman says husband used computer software to spy on her". KENS-5. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  35. IPspotlight files @ Wordpress.com: Legal opinion on Patent Infringement Case Helios Software LLC et al. v. SpectorSoft Corporation
  36. Sflaw.com/PR-SpectorSoft


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