WebWatcher
reviews and complaints

I will be contacting my credit card company to dispute charges. First, it took forever to install the product. Then, it did not appear to be working. Submitted several support tickets, then main website was down, then the live chat didn't work. Spent $129 for nothing basically. I cancelled at first, after realizing the target device did not have cloud backup. Instead, opted for direct PC installation. It does not seem to work at all, as I indicated. It took forever to install and much bandwidth, via support upon initial installation, using over 6 GB over an hour. I think it has been disabled in my minor daughters computer. Also made service ticket - said I would be sent email confirmation, never sent - TWICE! Thank god for screenshots.

Do not waste your money or time on this product. Very discouraged.

I have had 3 'alert word' notifications in the past 2 weeks on my son's cell for texts containing alert words... and couldn't see the texts, as to what was said. 1) 3 times I chatted with them and 3 times was told the developers will find out the problem and will get back to you... not once have I heard anything. 2) when filling out the review of the chat, I ask for a manager to respond... not once have I heard anything. 3) I was told I had not backed up the device, when indeed I have 3 times... in order to get info truth be told, ... the chat people are not at fault. they are just doing and saying what they are told... there is a hole in the webwatcher program that they will neither admit to, seem to know how to fix, nor to which they will respond to complaints.

I ordered the online software, couldn't download it.
I ordered the disks, never received them.
I ordered the "update" and canceled it. It reappeared on my paypal acct. No refund from paypal or webwatcher.

I paid for a product I never received and I paid for services I never used. No refund.

Do not buy this software, it does not work. I purchased the software on line for $ 90 plus dollars because I wanted to be able to monitor and set time limits on my computer. The installation process took most of a day and by the next day my computer started to act up; I could not use the computer as the I could not even log in or shut down the computer w/o great difficulty. I spent about 4 hours on line with the support staff and tech at web watcher and the problem was apparently fixed. By the next morning, the same thing was happening again and no data was recorded apart from a little on the first day. I have submitted 3 tickets asking for a refund and have not gotten a response. I can not even uninstall as the hot key sequence no longer works. I don't know how I am going to get it removed. I am down $90 and will have to pay to repair or replace the computer AND buy new monitoring software. DO NOT BUY THIS, IT IS A RIP OFF AND APPARENTLY THE MONEY BACK GUARANTEE IS JUST HYPE. Waste of money.

Watch out for Webwatcher! They said they will refund if you dont like the product within 3 days and if you did not download the trial version. But this is what I just got:
Please note the refund policy:
http://www.webwatchernow.com/tandc.html
Per the terms and agreements agreed upon at the time of purchase, we cannot yet issue a refund based on your reasons stated. If the product does not perform as advertised, you must give us an opportunity to resolve the issue within the allotted time.
If you attempt troubleshooting with our agents and they are not able to resolve the issues you are encountering, then a refund will be issued. Please ask the agent you work with to add a note in your account.
As our number one priority is customer satisfaction, we will do whatever we can to get you up and running so that you can take full advantage of all of the amazing features that WebWatcher has to offer. Simply sign into your account and click 'help' - our agents are there 24 hours a day to assist you.

Regards,

Awareness Tech Customer Support

I'm having problems with WebWatcher giving me a refund stating that when I tried the trial version I forfeit any right to a refund.

First of all they advertise you can monitor and control Facebook/MySpace. This isn't true if the computer you are monitoring uses the new Firefox browser. I was trying to monitor my 13 year old daughters computer use and she is mainly on Facebook, so I did their online chat and was told that a way around that was using the screen shots. So.. since that had worked I purchased the product. (finding out that you need to pay more if you wanted any updates they had). After I purchased the software I discovered there is a limit on screen shots. If you want more, you need to PAY for more. It also shows a limit of 1000 screenshots and I only have 171 recorded.. (?)

They misrepresented what was able to be done when I was trying out the service and now will not return my money.

As most of these other reviews state, Webwatcher will work for approximately a week or two before a virus software update wipes out its abilty to record data. I have even purchased the automatic update service for a total cost of around $140. This does not help. You would have to access the computer every couple weeks to try to perform an update, and even that might not work, as it didnt for 2 laptops I was monitoring. Customer Service is a joke. They simply suggest re-installation of the software and that doesn't work either. Then, then suggest buying a new version for $100, and that will only work for 3-5 days before the same thing happens again. DO NOT BUY this program. NO REFUNDS, NO SERVICE, NO DATA MONITORING! TERRIBLE!

This product requires additional monthly fees. It does not support Facebook in some web browsers. It will keep your data for only 7 days unless you sign up for a monthly fee. You will need to pay for additional screenshot once you use the minimal amount assigned with your purchase. When you call tech support 5 days after purchasing the product (because you've tried to troubleshoot yourself) they will tell you refunds are only available for 3 days after purchase. This is hardly long enough to find out if the product works!

Purchased this software and thought it will work for a year (paid full year subscription) BUT as a matter of fact, after you pay the full price, you still have to keep on paying them for storing your data. It has become functionless after 3 days or so. As a matter of fact their trial one week works, but not the paid version and I think trial is just a bait. Don't think that once you purchase the software it will continue to work as trial. Don't waste your money as it will not work after you have 'USED" purchased storage or "SMART CAMERA'S SCREENSHOTS'

I purchased and downloaded Webwatcher a short while ago. Recently, the computer I was monitoring got an updated version of Norton Antivirus which has now disabled Webwatcher. I filed a help ticket only to be told that it was a KNOWN issue and one the company had no interest in assisting with...unless of course I wanted to upgrade to their premium service.

There marketing materials explicitly state that anitvirus software does not detect/disable their software product. This is clearly deceitful. Be warned...if you purchase their regular product, you can have your dollars made wasted at anytime. DO NOT PURCHASE.

Purchased this software and thought it will work for a year (paid full year subscription) BUT as a matter of fact, after you pay the full price, you still have to keep on paying them for storing your data. It has become functionless after 3 days or so. As a matter of fact their trial one week works, but not the paid version and I think trial is just a bait. Don't think that once you purchase the software it will continue to work as trial. Don't waste your money as it will not work after you have 'USED" purchased storage or "SMART CAMERA'S SCREENSHOTS'
Also asking to upgrade (pay more money) to have better functioning software.

This program works very well, but be warned. There are so many hidden costs your head will spin and your credit card will smoke!
Out of the gate, you might want to spend the extra ten bucks to get an online backup copy, in case you have to reinstall, but that is only the beginning. If you want the special Smart Camera, that does what most programs do for free (take shots of websites), then that's another $20 or so. Then of course, you have to purchase how many pictures you can take (by blocks of 1000).
Moving on. You will discover that you only have seven days of recording limit. Don't worry though, they've thought of everything. You can also buy extended time (for a one time fee of $25 or $30 bucks). Then you will discover than you've run out of space if you don't delete all the recorded information. Actually, I think you run out in two days. Don't worry though, for some more money, you can purchase the extended time.
So not only do you need to purchase more time for your material to be available, you also have to purchase more space to store it online.
Oh, and I don't want to forget about the upgrades. You see, as websites, chat programs, etc., update their programs, WebWatcher must update their program so you will continue to be able to monitor your target computer. And you guessed it! You have to pay if you want those 12-20 extra upgrades that happen throughout the year!
All in all, this is a super program that does exactly what it says it will do. (except it will not record Facebook Chat while using Google Chrome- but they may have fixed that problem. Be sure to ask the free live chat before you buy).
Conclusion: Expect to spend about $200 for this program by the time you get done buying what you really need for it to do everything.
Live Chat Tech support is great and the waiting line is usually only a couple minutes.

I bought webwatcher mobile for a blackberry and it did not work! I tried multiple times with the help of the "webwatcher team" to get it to work with no luck! So I asked if I could get a refund seeing as their product did not work and they said I couldn't because it had been three days! Absolute garbage. Plus when enquiring about their product they were so easy to contact but as soon as I had paid for the product they were all of a sudden so difficult to get ahold of! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME WITH THESE PEOPLE TRUST ME!

Webwatcher Software and service is not reliable and unstable with the Norton A/V products. Have had three occasions when it ceased recording and uninstalled. It even disable ability to access internet entirely after we purposely uninstalled the software from one computer. After spending hours of wasted time with technical help, Webwatcher didn't solve the software glitch. They offered an updated version that supposedly "does work" with Norton which they want to charge an extra $67 for. The old Bait and Switch. The product is a waste of money and the company doesn't stand behind it.

I purchased and installed WebWatcher version 6 and for the most part, was able to get it to work as advertised. My complaint is that I also spent 29.95 on their "Unlimited Upgrades Package". After less than a year, they started warning me that I should upgrade to version 7. When I went to upgrade, they wanted another $67. I contacted them, and it turns out that their definition of "Unlimited" only extends to patch releases of version 6. Once they arbitrarily decide to change the major version number, forget it. And they even have the nerve to try to sell me another "Unlimited Upgrade Package" with the new version 7. Here's their pitch:

The Unlimited Updates Package guarantees that you never miss ANY

upgrades that we feature for one full year. Every day the software

programs that the person you're monitoring use are being changed and

updated. Make sure you get the Unlimited Updates Package so that

your WebWatcher changes and upgrades to keep up! Without the

Unlimited Updates Package you may miss out on critical activity as time

goes by.

So, they say "guarantees that you never miss ANY upgrades", and yet just because they decided to rename it "Version 7", I must pay again. They're not getting another dime from me...

Webwatcher is a lousy product.
-Often detected by antivirus software and rootkit scanners .
-Frequently stops working for seemingly no reason.
-Buggy.
Awareness Technologies' refund/licencing policy is deceptive.
-Many complainers say that refunds are not honored.
-Awarenesstech.com claims that the $50-$100 purchase is ONE TIME and that you own the product for a LIFETIME. This is not true when REQUIRED 'updates' come around every 6 months. You will receive warnings that your current version is 'not supported' anymore.

Not only do they fool you about requiring the upgrade to keep up with Facebook (you can't get much unless you pay an arm and a leg for screenshots) but I have gotten NO keystrokes showing email usage for weeks.

I also get no keystrokes for Word docs. My kid spent hours online but I got virtually no data back for the weekend. It's very buggy -- either doesn't download or blocks the wrong sites.

They apologize and I ask for a supervisor, but all supervisors are in meetings...you get the picture. I asked not for my money back, since I read how bad they are on this, but for an extension on my enrollment to get data.

Any recs on alternate software that does remote monitoring appreciated.

BEWARE! I purchased webwatcher 5 days ago. Still not able to install and register. They continue to state they are down for maintenance, try later. This is an expensive program and I have received nothing!
I sent a work ticket to cancel, don't know what will happen. Am also cancelling the charge with my credit card company since this company cannot provide what I purchased. DO NOT BUY!

WebWatcher is online PC monitoring software from Awareness Technologies and I recommend you avoid this company and their products unless you want a lesson in online scamming.

The scam works this way - you signup for their software with terms that don't include any time limits. The software works OK although it's buggy and slow. After a few months AwarenessTech sends a notification about an upgrade. Now this is online software so there's no such thing as an "upgrade" you can only ever use the "current" online version. After a little while more they inform you that unless you pay then some more money to "upgrade' they cancel your login.

They then cancel your login.

If the terms of sale on AwarenessTechs's web site were upfront about their limited time subscription then this would be perfectly OK but they fool you by clearly marketing themselves as "nothing more to pay".

Don't be fooled avoid these guys.

I bought Webwatcher a few months ago to monitor my daughters web activity. It worked about half the time and failed to record quite a bit of communications on MySpace, AIM, etc. Also, was very hard to read due to the recorded format.

Then, one day the PC contracted a virus, requiring me to rebuild the hard drive. When I went to reload Webwatcher on the very same PC, it would not allow me register. Contacted tech support and was told I only had 60 days to reload the CD from date of purchase. Afterwords, have to pay again. So, I threw the CD in the trash and bought a different brand that permitted a longer reinstall period. Webwatcher definately wasn't worth the $39. You get what you pay for.