I’m excited about our new PrivateEye 3.0 release.  We made a lot of changes to the product in response to customer feedback, and our own experiences using and demonstrating the previous version.  Some of the things are just plain good new ideas.

For those new to PrivateEye, it is a software privacy application that keeps your computer screen secure.  You can read your screen normally, but if anyone else tries to look PrivateEye catches the snoopers.  The secret sauce is computer vision technology that uses the webcam to see if you’re paying attention and to look for eavesdroppers.  PrivateEye has 3 main features:

• Automatic screen protection. When you look at your screen, it’s perfectly clear.  When you look away, it instantly blurs.  It takes less than a second, so you don’t really notice it’s there.
• Eavesdropper detection. If anyone else tries to look at your screen from behind you, PrivateEye catches them doing it and warns you by showing the snooper’s face in a little video window live on your screen.  Now you know they are there, and they know they are caught snooping.  It works really well to stop social engineering in offices, coffee shops, airports, etc.
• Face recognition. When you turn on face recognition, PrivateEye will automatically let you into your computer without a password, but will stop everyone else.

These were the features in the previous version, but we’ve made a lot of improvements.  The highlights:

• Resources. It has a lighter, smaller footprint. CPU usage on a typical new laptop (I have an HP Pavilion dv6, for example) runs around 1%. 
• Speed. If you’ve been away from your computer, it takes about a second to identify you and let you in.
• Quality. It works in more places, and better.  The face finding and recognition algorithms have been improved to work in a broader range of conditions.  We’re seeing big improvements in low lighting conditions
• User Interface. The user interface has been completely re-done.  It looks great, and is a lot easier to use.   It keeps everything you need to see, and simplifies the settings.
• Tablet & Ultra-mobile devices now supported.  The product runs on platforms with an Atom processor, and the GUI has been modified to fit on small screens.
• Automatic User Profiles. You can enroll multiple users on your machine with a single click for each.  PrivateEye also learns, and automatically improves its recognition system to match you better.
• License Changes. We now offer the fully functioned PrivateEye 3.0 as a 30 day no-commitment trial.  You can download and run the product without giving any payment information.  If you choose, click a button in the product to buy a full license key.
• New Pricing. We simplified the pricing model.  There is now one fully featured product at a lower price of $49.95.  And for an introductory period the price is set to just $29.95
• Support. We’ve always supported our customers, and always will, but for those who need a little more assurance and access to email and telephone support there is now a formal support plan for only $9.95/year.  You can choose it when you buy.

We’ve seen an immediate increase in the traffic to the site, and lots of people are taking the free trial.  As I hoped, a number of the free trials have already come back to purchase the full product.

Why don’t you try it yourself and see how it works?  Is there anything missing you’d like to see?  Feel free to drop a comment below to let us know.