Mr. Cruse, the San Diego family lawyer, recalls a case where a husband installed the software on a home computer to keep tabs on the wife. In California, where Mr. Cruse practices, it’s illegal for a spouse to install key-logger software on the family computer to monitor the password-protected email account of a spouse.
The wife suspected her email was being monitored; she told Mr. Cruse, who had an IT expert analyze the computer. They discovered the husband himself used the computer after the software had been installed—and recorded a visit to a secret bank account. “He had tracked himself,” says Mr. Cruse, adding that the case was settled when the husband was confronted about the software and bank account.
