Monitoring software is primarily a type of security and surveillance software installed on an individual system or the corporate network. It can be a standalone application, or function as part of firewall software or hardware, anti-virus software, or an information security software suite. Generally, monitoring software records and logs all incoming/outgoing network traffic, user processes and interactions, and application activities. It includes specific rules, signatures, events and preferences, which describe normal and abnormal system states and activities. It also alerts the administrator if it identifies any violation or breach that results in abnormal system behavior, user activity or network flow. Moreover, such software is also used for spying on employees or users' activities within a corporate network.

Parental control is a type of monitoring software that blocks specific user activities and issues a notification to parents/administrators in case of any violations or breaches.