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The article and the summary state explicitly which software was used, and its no where near as smart as the the stuff you linked. It only works with windows.

...the spyware surviving a cleaning by a computer repair shop and the FBI...

Pretty astounding, when you consider he knew what he installed and it comes with de-install directions.
Quoting the FAQ:

Tamper-Proof Technology
eBLASTER does not show up as an icon, does not appear in the Windows system tray, does not appear in Windows Programs, does not show up in the Windows task list, cannot be uninstalled without the eBLASTER password YOU specify, and eBLASTER does not slow down the operation of the computer it is recording. eBLASTER does not initiate connections to the Internet and will only forward email and send activity reports when the monitored computer is already connected to the Internet. All of these features make it extremely difficult for unauthorized users to locate and/or remove eBLASTER.

Re-imaging the computer from original installation media should have done it, but I suspect that the shop he took it to did not have
that media, or the Certificate and wasn't about to use their own copy, and simply removed the user account.

I can see the FBI not wanting to waste their time and resources on what was his personal project, and sent him to a private shop.
Good on them if that's how it went down.

But the guy running that private shop might be open to a civil suit by the principal.

http://www.spectorsoft.com/

It's not open source, it's not free, it's not even exactly what I'd call cheap. But, it does seem to do a bang up job and it's harder to defeat than the average programs that do the same thing. Not only can it block URLs, chats etc, but it can monitor anything that's done on the PC (including webmail), email screen shots of activity, analyze what's happening on the PC in real time and if it's severe enough, notify you immediately. There's a ton of features in it. Also, though not impossible, it was not as trivial to detect and defeat as most. Heck, it's probably some form of rootkit in its own right.

Maybe goes too far for some, but it is decent software for what it does. If I remember right, licensing was kinda limiting and I didn't like the activation features, but I'd still call it best of breed. There is also several different versions with different capabilities.

Just a disclaimer... I don't work for them, am not affiliated with them and have never purchased their product, but I have worked for and with people whom have purchased. I helped them decide on a solution and we tried many such programs. This was hands down the best. It's also been a few years since then though, but I imagine it has only gotten better.

http://www.spectorsoft.com/

We use their eBlaster product. I'm pretty sure it captures key strokes based on window title hooks, so https won't do anybody any good.

Yeah, and then your boss does something stupid (and unethical) like installing Spector Pro with keylogging. Suddenly not only are all your personal internet passwords compromised (imagine your boss posting idiotic comments on slashdot in your name), but your work password is recorded (in comparatively plain text) in a database, ripe for theft.

And why do so many companies set the passwords their employees use to log on? Knowing her own password, my wife can predict dozens of other passwords around her very large company. If anyone other than the employee knows his password, then you can't prove that it was the employee who logged on and wiped out the server. Nor can the employee tell when the system administrator has reset his password to get access to his account for some reason.

Oh, yeah?

One word:

Spector

Call me old fashioned, but I don't think that young children should go to pr0n sites.. I passively monitor the sites they go to with Linksys Log viewer I've caught all the kids going to inappropriate sites at one point or another. Each time they get grounded from their computer for a few days or a week. I also installed DameWare Mini Remote Control on their computers so at anytime I can take a look at what they have on their screen from the comfort of my own computer. With this setup it is kind of hard to monitor their Chat conversations.I've heard that SpectorSoft is good for Key Capture, Site Logging, Chat Logging, and Screen Shot Logging, but it costs $99. Other than that I don't actively block any sites, but when they are grounded I exclude their IP from the router. Seems I periodically remove Gator type programs from the computer that belongs to our youngest child. The Youngest is also the best at Q3A and Urban Terror! He sometimes even beats me when we go head to head.

You allready pretty much summed it up.
You don't trust your children.

If you want to If instill Big Brother.
You could always install a product like spector pro on the pc's and review their actions on a daily basis.

Let them know that it's on there, and that they have no privacy and they'll be sure to behave.

Then again, you could just trust them. And let them actually confide in you without fear of being punished for every little thing.

An example:
(Would you rather have your kid
(1)call you "I'm too drunk to drive home" from a party,
or
(2)Try to drive home drunk afraid that if they didn't Mom and Dad would know they were drinking.)

.

You can install it even if you don't have physical access to the machine.

Check out the optional remote install where they tell you how to install a trojan version of their software:

http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windo ws/remoteinstall.html

18. I do not have physical access to the PC I wish to monitor. Does
eBlaster support remote installation?

If you purchase the eBlaster Remote Install Add-On, you may be able to send the program installation file to another email address.

Assuming that the receiving email client will allow the receipt of a .EXE file attachment and that the user opening the email clicks on the file attachment, then eBlaster will automatically install itself on that computer. Once installed on the remote computer, eBlaster will send recordings from that computer to your email address.

VERY IMPORTANT: You MUST be the owner of the computer to which you are remotely installing eBlaster. If you are NOT the owner, or have not received permission from the owner to install eBlaster on that computer, you could be in violation of state or local law by monitoring the activities of property that does not belong to you.

For more details on whether the eBlaster Remote Install Add-On is right for you, click here.

11. So, if eBlaster does not show up anywhere, how do I get into it?

... if you do need to open eBlaster to change some settings, you simply type a Hotkey combination, which is 3 keys pressed simultaneously followed by a fourth key. (Nobody would ever accidentally type those 4 keys, so they won't accidentally discover eBlaster is present.)...

So does anybody know what those four keys are?

SpectorSoft makes a product called Spector and SpectorPro, from what I can tell, it takes a bunch of screenshots.

WinWhatWhere Investigator is a different program and should have had the URL as http://www.winwhatwhere.com. Although it seems to do generally the same thing.

Spector records Screenshots, ALL POP3 and AOL email, ALL chat conversations in AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! messengers, and additionally logs all keystrokes, along with a few other features. Furthermore, it is virtually undetectable.

Their older version (2.2) was great. But in some time, they'll be releasing v3.0 which is truly kickass (Take this from someone who is beta-testing it now)

Highly recommend for parents. Note: This doesn't block anything, but rather it LOGS everything.

The parent can then decide what's inappropriate.