How to Use HT Work Focus – A Quick Start Guide

Learn how to track time and benefit your productivity in just a few minutes

Getting Started

Download HT Work Focus and install it on your employees’ computer(s), laptop(s), or terminal server with Windows OS.
Keys:
  • Learn how to configure remote access on a single network after installation—read the guide here.
  • For remote access outside a single network, we recommend using our other software, HT Task Vector, which includes an Internet-based dashboard.
  • If you're not using a terminal server, you must install HT Work Focus on each computer you want to manage. Remote access becomes available only after installation.
  • By default, the program does not block any activity. You'll need to configure the Rules based on your preferences.
Download
Install HT Work Focus

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Reports

HT Work Focus begins tracking time and activities automatically upon installation. It starts every time the computer is turned on; working in the background, recording activities, and blocking unwanted.

Get live visual time reports of time worked and wasted. Use time logs to stay organized and in control. Learn how much of a day your employees spend working at your computer.

Open Reports → Timesheets.
Track Computer Time

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Identify and eliminate inefficient habits. See how much time you or your employees spent on each website and application. Learn where your team can waste time using the reports and limit or block these activities with the Rules.

Open Reports → Apps or Websites.
You can block an unwanted activity directly from the Reports. First, click it to select and then click the Block or Limit button.
Track Time Spent on Websites and Apps

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See Screenshots for a more detailed view. Every 5, 10, or 15 minutes, HT Work Focus captures your team members’ computer screens. That way, you can see how the time is spent and what everyone is working on.

Open Reports → Screenshots.
You can configure how often Screenshots are captured or turn off the feature. Click Settings → Monitoring Settings to optimize the option.
Screenshots

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Get regular automatic email reports with time logs and computer activities.

  1. Open Settings → Email Reporting.
  2. Select Send email reports every and specify periodicity.
  3. Add your email address.
To receive reports to multiple email addresses, separate them with commas.
Open Settings → Monitoring Settings and select Delete logs after sending to receive only new reports.
Email Reporting

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Rules

Boost productivity by blocking time-wasting websites such as news, social media, video, etc. Do not forget to block inappropriate content — adult websites and other sites with 10 categories. Block thousands of sites with a single checkbox or keyword.

  1. Go to Rules → Website Limits.
  2. Select Block for any unwanted web categories (like Adult or Gambling).
  3. In the Custom List, click Add Site, enter the website or keyword, and set it to Block.
  4. Blocked items will be completely inaccessible.
Alternatively, you can block or limit activities directly from the Reports section. This method saves time and helps avoid mistakes — no need to search for exact paths or URLs. See how
Block Time-Wasting Websites

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Instead of blocking, you can limit access to time-wasting sites. This helps manage distractions while still allowing short breaks. Example: Let your team enjoy a short chess game or scroll Instagram—without losing hours of productivity.

  1. Click Rules → Website Limits.
  2. Select Limit for non-work categories (like YouTube or Social Media).
  3. In the Custom List, add specific websites/keywords and set them to Limit.
  4. Set daily time limits or create a custom schedule.
Allow: No restrictions – the site or app is always accessible.
Block: Access is completely denied at all times.
Limit: Access time is capped per day. The daily quota is shared across all items marked as Limit.
Limit Time-Wasting Websites

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Use the Website Blocking tab to block certain websites or keywords. If something gets blocked by mistake, you can easily restore access using the allowlist.

  1. Go to Rules → Website Blocking.
  2. Blocklist
    Add websites or keywords to the Blocklist to block them completely.
    Example: Adding _streaming_ will block any site with the word “streaming” in the URL or title.
    Tip: Use underscores for exact matches to prevent overblocking. For example, _keyword_ will only block pages where “keyword” stands alone. Without underscores, all pages containing any part of the word (e.g., xxxKeywordxxx) may also be blocked.
  3. Allowlist:
    Use the Allowlist to prevent overblocking. If a website you don’t intend to block gets blocked, simply add it here to restore access.
    Example: If you block *chat*, it might also block chatgpt.com. To allow it, add chatgpt.com to the Allowlist.
  4. For information on using Allowlist Mode, see the next section.
Blacklist Sites and Keywords HTTV

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Note! Our time tracker blocks listed sites and keywords across Chrome, Edge, IE, Firefox, Opera, and Brave. It works even when using VPNs or private browsing modes.
You can block unsupported browsers, click Rules → App Limits, and select Block for Unsupported Browsers.
In the Alerts report, you can see which websites were blocked and the reason for each block.

With HT Work Focus, you can allow access to only certain websites and block all others. In this way, your employees can access only approved sites.

  1. Open Rules → Website Blocking.
  2. Add allowed websites/keywords to the Allowlist.
  3. Check the box Allow access only to websites above.
Allow Only Whitelisted Websites HTWF

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Only the listed sites will be accessible—everything else will be blocked automatically.
Important! Make sure each address you add matches the website’s actual URL exactly.
– Do not include extra characters like slashes, "www", or symbols that aren’t part of the real web address.
– The safest way is to open the website in your browser, copy the full address from the address bar, and paste it directly into HT Work Focus.

Certain apps can also be non-productive, such as games, messaging apps, video players, and more. HT Work Focus provides you with the capability to block or limit such applications. You can apply blocks or time limits to installed as well as non-installed programs.

  1. Go to Rules → App Blocking.
  2. Select Block to completely disable access to certain app categories or individual programs.
  3. Select Limit to restrict access based on daily time or schedule.
  4. Use the Custom List to add specific apps and choose whether to block or limit them.
  5. Adjust the total time allowed per day or click Set Schedule to define custom access hours for all limited items.
Block or Limit Time-Wasting Apps

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Allow: No restrictions – the site or app is always accessible.
Block: Access is completely denied at all times.
Limit: Access time is capped per day. The daily quota is shared across all items marked as Limit.
You can block apps by their window title. This lets you restrict access to portable or not-yet-installed programs. Make sure the title matches exactly as shown in the Task Manager.
Alternatively, you can block or limit activities directly from the Reports section. This method saves time and helps avoid mistakes — no need to search for exact paths or URLs. See how

Advanced

HT Work Focus lets you block or limit distracting activities directly from the Reports view. This makes it easy to identify problematic apps or websites and restrict access without switching tabs. This method gives you an easy way to manage access based on real-time usage data.

  1. Open the Reports tab and go to Applications or Websites.
  2. If you notice a distracting app or website in the report, you can block or limit it directly from here.
  3. Click the app or website to select it, then choose Block or Limit at the bottom.
This method saves time and avoids mistakes — no need to find the exact path or URL.
Block App Directly from Reports

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Control when monitoring and filtering are active. Apply time restrictions to ensure productivity during work hours and allow privacy during breaks or after work. For example, you can enable tracking and filtering during work hours and disable them during lunch breaks or after work for privacy.

  1. Go to Settings → General Settings.
  2. In the Schedule section, select the mode:
    • Monitoring & Filtering
    • Monitoring Only
    • Filtering Only
  3. Click Set Schedule.
  4. In the schedule window, select the days and hours when the rules should apply.
  5. Click OK to save your changes.
Set a Schedule for Monitoring and Filtering

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If you’re managing multiple computers within the same local network—such as in an office, school, or home setup—you can remotely view reports, configure rules, and monitor activities without needing physical access to each device. HT Work Focus offers two convenient ways to do this:

  1. Using a web browser — access each computer’s dashboard directly via its local network address.
  2. Using HT Remote Manager — a dedicated desktop app that finds and connects to all online devices running HT Work Focus on your network.

Option 1: Access via Browser

  1. On the monitored computer, open HT Work Focus and go to Settings → Remote Access.
  2. Copy the URL address shown in the tab.
  3. On your admin computer (connected to the same network), open a browser and paste the copied URL. Log in using the default credentials:
    Default Login: admin
    Default Password: admin
Remote Management HTWF

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 Remote Management via Browser

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Option 2: Use HT Remote Manager App

  1. Install HT Remote Manager on your admin computer.
  2. Click Find Computer to automatically detect all online devices running HT Work Focus on the local network.
  3. If no device is found, click Add Computer and enter the URL from the monitored device’s Remote Access tab.
  4. Select the needed computer from the list and log in with:
    Default Login: admin
    Default Password: admin
Remote Management

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Note! Both options allow you to control and monitor monitored computers in real time, as long as they’re connected to the same local network as your admin device.
Need Remote Access Outside the Local Network?
To manage computers from any location over the Internet, we recommend using our cloud-based tool: HT Task Vector, which includes a secure web dashboard for remote access and time tracking.

HT Work Focus allows you to configure multiple computers easily with its import/export features.

  1. Open HT Work Focus on one of the computers and configure it according to your preference.
  2. Click Menu → Export Settings. Save the file with your setting on a flash drive or send it to your email. Then export it to the HT Work Focus on other computers — Menu → Import Settings.

If your computers are on one network, you can do it remotely:

  1. Open HT Remote Manager, select one of the computers and configure it according to your preference.
  2. Open its computer dashboard, click Export settings to file, and save the file.
  3. Select computers one by one and import your settings — Dashboard → Import settings from file.
Export Import Local Dashboard

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 Export Import Remote Dashboard

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Once installed, HT Work Focus keeps track of all users on the computer or terminal server. You can turn on or turn off any monitoring and filter functions for certain users.

Go to Settings → User Settings and turn on/turn off the options for your users.
User Settings

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Not all your users can be happy with the restrictions. Protect HT Work Focus and its filters against bypassing with these built-in options:

  1. Set up an access password → click Menu → Set Password.
  2. Click Rules → Enhanced Security.
  3. Select Restrict access to Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del) to prevent HT Work Focus from stopping via task manager.
Protect Against Bypassing

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If you’ve forgotten your password, you can log in using a fallback method and then set a new one:

  • Registered version: In the login window, enter your license key exactly as it was provided — with capital letters, dashes, and no space at the end.
  • Trial version: Enter the default password trial2013 in the login window.
  • Setting a new password: After logging in, go to Menu → Set Password.
Reset Password

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Have a question about using HT Work Focus? Need assistance with configuration? Please feel free to contact us. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

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