• Windows XP SP2 or greater
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7

• CPU: 1.5 GHz processor
• RAM: 1 GB of memory
• Operating System Support: Windows XP SP2 or greater, Windows Vista or Windows 7
• Camera Support: OEM or embedded webcam s and any after-market webcams

If no camera is detected at startup, PrivateEye will warn you and start the program in the ‘Paused’ state. You will need to plug in a camera and select it from the Setup->Webcam tab>Selected Webcam. If a camera which is currently in-use is unplugged, the application will not detect it and will protect the screen after the Face Detection delay period expires (since no face is detected). To re-enable capturing from the camera, plug it in and re-select it in the Setup->Webcam tab. (NOTE: The setup dialog can be accessed by right-clicking on the Task Tray PrivateEye icon.)

Face Recognition is not turned on by default. In order to enable this feature:

• Click ‘Face Recognition’ in the left column, then click ‘Activate face recognition’ on the center window. You will be prompted to enter a password.
• When there is a green box surrounding your face in the video feed in the bottom left corner, click ‘Add User’ at the bottom of the center window.
• This feature is not supported in PrivateEye Basic

The preview video window on the Setup Dialog will run at whatever speed at which the application is currently set, and may seem “choppy” – this is by design. The preview is an exact interpretation of the video capture and face recognition process that the application normally performs, and will show bounding rectangles around the head. Note that all settings which affect face detection and recognition and application processing speed are applied “live” as long as the Setup Dialog is active.

The higher the resolution, the more accurate the face detection and it can increase the distance that PrivateEye will detect eavesdroppers. The resolution used for video capture directly affects the load on the CPU. The resolution may be changed by selecting the “Resolution” button on the Webcam tab of the Setup Dialog (invoked from the Task Tray icon). A resolution 320×240 is recommended for lower CPU loads without compromising performance.

If PrivateEye is detecting objects as faces the “Sensitivity” slider in the Face Detection tab can be used to filter out these ‘false positives’.

When using an image for the screen protection method, supported formats are JPEG, GIF, BMP, and PNG.

Yes, PrivateEye supports multiple monitors. Desktop images captured in the application will span multiple monitors. Any other image selected (via browsing the file system) will also be stretched across multiple desktop monitors.

Depending on lighting, webcam field of view, video capture resolution and other variables the face detection algorithms will detect faces 20 – 25° from perpendicular to the camera’s lens. At a typical reading distance this translates to head movements pointing 9 to 11 inches of each side of the camera lens. During normal reading the eyes do most of the movement and the head changes positions only when large eye movements are required. This has the effect broadening the effective field of view of PrivateEye.

To most effectively use multiple monitors the webcam should be located as close to the center of the total field of view as possible. If both monitors are of the same size the exact center, where the displays meet, would be the optimum webcam placement. If one monitor is wider than the other webcam placement should favor the wider display. Embedded webcams may not work as well in multiple monitor configurations as webcam placement cannot be optimized.

If screen protection does not occur:

• Check that face detection is observed in the preview window of the setup dialog (as indicated with a green square around your face)
• Check that PrivateEye is in protection mode (icon in system tray does not have the circle with the slash through it, and tooltip says “running”
• Lower the Face Detection Delay to match your expectations of protection times.
• Under the Webcam option select the Resolution button and increase the resolution. Look at the preview and note improvements\increases in the capture boxes that are displayed.
• Modify the Webcam Setting button to compensate for low or high lighting conditions.

PrivateEye is probably alerting to facial shapes in the background. There are a couple settings that solve this issue:

• On the Face Detection option use the Set Distance button to set the minimum size of the face that PrivateEye uses to acknowledge that a face has been detected. To use this feature it is recommended that you sit just a little further from your display than normal and click the button. This will allow a range of movement from very close to your configured distance and eliminate false positives that are at a farther distance. A green boxes around your face as seen in the viewer is a normal indication that your face has been identified. Note that it will also not detect eavesdroppers within this range. Eavesdroppers will appear in red boxes.
• Under the Webcam option select the Resolution button and decrease the resolution. Using the viewer to compare settings by noting improvements\decreases in the capture boxes of background objects that are displayed.

• Under the Webcam option adjust the Sensitivity slider bar to a lower setting.
• Increase the Face Detection Delay period to match your performance expectations.
• Under the Webcam option select the Resolution button and decrease the resolution. Using the viewer to compare settings by noting improvements\decreases in the capture boxes of background objects that are displayed.
• Under the Webcam option select the Resolution button and increase the resolution. Look at the preview and note improvements\increases in the capture boxes that are displayed.

If you are looking at the image viewer in either the Basic Settings or Advanced Settings tabs and there is a red box around your face it means that your face to too far away from the display and is being excluded or filtered from consideration. To fix this issue:

• a. On the Face Detection option use the Face Distance ‘Set’ button to set the minimum the distance of your face to the camera. It is recommended that you sit slightly further from your camera than normal and click the ‘Set’ button. This will allow a range of movement from very close to your configured distance and eliminate false positives that are at a farther distance. A green boxes around your face as seen in the viewer is a normal indication that your face has been identified.