A family keylogger is a simple version of a keylogger, often marketed to parents in search of free or affordable parental control software.

What the family keylogger is supposed to do is to capture all of the keystrokes on the PC being monitored, and to do so invisibly.

This allows parents to know who their child is talking to online, to capture emails and instant messages, and to record the usernames and passwords kids might use to access inappropriate websites.

However, we have found that the free or super-cheap family keylogger tends to be a waste of money.

First of all, the free versions aren't really invisible. In fact, they tend to show up in the "uninstall programs" list.

Any kid who spends time on the Internet will know to look there (among other places) for software designed to capture their online behaviors.

Even worse, there's not usually any password protection. This means that tech-savvy kids will just find a way to get around the family keylogger, turn it off, or simply move their dangerous Internet behaviors to someone else's computer.

This is exactly what concerned parents don't want when their children are exhibiting strange or suspicious behaviors when they log-on.

And finally, even for those family keyloggers that are suitably invisible, there's no filtering options, which means parents will have to slog through pages and pages of unorganized data searching for the information they need to keep their kids safe.

In our experience, parents are usually too busy to do this, and just can't get around to using the software.

One positive aspect of the standard family keylogger is the price. Some are free, and most are fairly cheap. But, as we have said, you really do get what you pay for when it comes to parental control software.

We suggest that parents who are serious about purchasing a good keylogger look into the various parental control programs out there that offer an invisible keylogger, alongside a host of top quality security options, content filtering, and other very useful tools to keep your kids safe online.

The best programs today are completely invisible, impossible to remove, and offer nifty options like social networking recording for sites like Myspace and Facebook.

They also tend to include email and attachment recording, website blocking, and organizational tools that will make it much, much easier to monitor your child's online behavior.

For parental control software that also offers a family keylogger we suggest you take a look at our reviews for IAmBigBrother, SpyAgent, and our favorite this year, WebWatcher.