Occasionally we are asked whether or not computer monitoring software really protects kids from pedophiles, cyber bullies, and other online predators.

Other times, we're asked whether it really pays to install computer monitoring software in the workplace.

The story about an online predator in the Wisconsin Law Journal does a great job of answering both of these questions with a resounding yes.

A defendant had used state owned computers to access images of child pornography, and then used software designed to block those images from being stored in the hard drive in an effort to hide his behavior.

His argument was that prosecutors couldn't prove he had purposefully accessed the materials, since the data hadn't been saved to the hard drive.

Unfortunately for him, the city had installed computer monitoring software that "tracked every key stroke" and sent alerts to the city whenever an employee searched for an inappropriate item.

Without the computer monitoring a pedophile would have escaped the law, but thanks to the use of top quality software, he'll be headed to jail, where he belongs.