After that, eBlaster automatically e-mails reports of everything that's done on the computer. Fowler's experience is not unique. So far, Spectorsoft is one of the few to actively target spouses for its home product, but at least seven other companies that make home monitoring software have experienced the phenomenon. The creator of one monitoring product intended to protect children, called Prudence, even stopped promoting his software in part because he discovered people were using it to watch their husbands and wives. On sites devoted to discussing adultery, message boards flurry with recommendations for this or that brand.
Private investigators use the software in adultery cases.
Then they call you back hysterically crying and in need of psychological counseling. Like other software of its kind, Spector can be installed overtly or in stealth mode, and like other companies, Spectorsoft's official line is that consumers should let their spouses and children know they're installing it. It is the secrecy that brings up legal questions. Whether this software violates state or federal wiretapping laws is simply not clear. Spokesmen for the Maryland and Virginia attorneys general, as well as for the U.S. Justice Department, have never seen cases involving the software.