Internet Usage Monitoring at the Workplace
So my workplace is going to start monitoring internet usage next month. Which means a lot less time goofing off at IB. :-(
I don't really care if they monitor the websites I check out, although I will have to curb my IB addiction and visit maybe on my lunchbreak if I can.
I still looked up both sides of the internet privacy issue, and I'm wondering -- just how extensive can internet usage monitoring at the workplace get? Can they access private files? IM conversations? What if my personal laptop is hooked up to the network? Can they monitor that too? I don't want some stranger (or even my boss) poking around in my family photos or enjoying the IM soap opera I occasionally refer to as "talking to my ex-husband over Yahoo Messenger."
How do I protect myself? I don't use the internet for illegal activities, or viewing porn; I do have instant messenger apps running most of the time because of loved ones overseas. Do I lose that important connection because I want to keep what's private... well, private? Yikes!
Get updates with RSS
Be the first to know about new products and free stuff from IconBuffet. Subscribe to our RSS feed:
Find work or post a listing at Authentic Jobs.
Simon on Jul 04, 2008
You can use encryption for IM, don't know if Yahoo IM supports encryption but Jabber/Google Talk do for instance.
As for hooking your laptop to the network, yeah, they can monitor that too since you're on their netwerk.
miranoriel on Jul 04, 2008
*blink*
Jeez. That... suxxorz. :-(
iqon on Jul 04, 2008
Me be big on privacy, but the sad truth is once you cross that portal and enter the property owned by your employer you give up most of your privacy. Phone calls, paper correspondence, email, IM, etc. are all at the whim of management to monitor, access, and track. This would include what you send across THEIR network on your computer. All files created or stored on the company hard drives are subject to inspection. Connecting YOUR computer (laptop or from home) to THEIR network opens the potential for an overzealous (or just snoopy) IT person checking out your files (or at least attempting to). Strong encryption might help but don't bet anything you can't afford to lose. Simple rule - never connect a computer with sensitive data to ANY network. Not very practical but sound advice.
I can't stand to be spied on - don't like public video cameras, don't like government snoops, don't like employer "monitoring". Unfortunately it is only getting worse as the technology for capturing, storing, and analyzing such monitoring gets dirt cheap. That said put yourself in the employer's position - US law says they must archive email and IM for use in possible litigation. If an employee is using company provided hardware, software, and network access for illegal activities and the company does nothing to stop it, they may be liable. In some ways companies are forced to monitor activities if they want to or not.
Now ye be seein' why me flies the Gadsden flag on the 4th of July.
B3llit0 on Jul 04, 2008
If you encrypt everything you don't want people to see, they can still see it– but they'll need to know how it's encrypted and they'll probably need a password from you first. That said, it's not perfect but at least you'll know every time someone looks at your email, sees your Twitters, inspects your files.
gswd on Jul 04, 2008
A lot also depends on how they are going to be doing the monitoring. On the company machines they can add software to capture keystrokes, allow for remote viewing, or even just taking screen captures. If it is your personal laptop, they may not allow you to "hook in" to their network unless you allow the monitoring software to be installed and accessed.
And I don't think that you can encrypt a screen capture when they are the one doing the capture. And of course if they notice you doing things that are suspicious, like avoiding the monitoring thru use of encryption, then that will just make them more suspicious of what you are trying to hide from them. Maybe you'll be lucky and can get a wi-fi signal from somewhere close by that you can access with your laptop.
B3llit0 on Jul 04, 2008
You can't encrypt screen captures that you can't access, no– and if they do install a keylogger, they'll know your encryption password because they'll see it every time you type it. They might also take screenshots of the encryption software… revealing which files you encrypted. Put that together and they can access anything anyway. If I were you, I'd start looking for another job right away because I couldn't deal with that. If they're indifferent to that and willing to let you go, then so be it– that's their loss.
masokist
on Jul 04, 2008
Um they're monitoring me at work. LoL and I started IB only because I could access it at work.
miranoriel on Jul 04, 2008
Dang. So if you do attempt to give yourself some measure of privacy, they'll see that as suspicious activity? What a crock. If you have nothing to hide, or aren't doing any crap that will get you fired, of course you have nothing to worry about. Still, whatever happened to privacy? Arrrrrgh.
B3llit0 on Jul 04, 2008
If there's somewhere else you could work that pays just as well and doesn't do that, I'd consider leaving. It makes a statement and it makes the number of people working for that company one less. If it's a small company, that could be something big.
louiemctool on Jul 04, 2008
well, i hate to rip away your innocence, but i have bad news for you: everything you do on the internet is monitored in one fashion or another, no matter where you are. might as well get used to it...
it may be worth raising your concerns to senior management. while they have every right to know what you're doing while you are working, what you do on your personal time should not concern them...
ah well. like it or not, guess you'll have to get used to it.
:p
braindeaf on Jul 05, 2008
It's frightening that I've noticed at work that because you are working at a computer that is connected to the internet that we seem to have attained the right to spend a proportion of our employer's time using their bandwidth, talking to our friends, playing flash games and doing our shopping all in the time we should be erm....working and of course getting paid for it.
Do you remember a time when you worked for a company that didn't have internet access, you couldn't take personal phone calls because you didn't have a mobile and didn't need a phone to do your job. Its only the last 10 years that we seem to have adopted the attitude that because you can use things that you should have the right to.
If I were an employer I'd be worried about the legal implications of my staff making politically incorrect comments on forums from the company network, viewing YouTube movies that are copyrighted material, not to mention that an audit of company computers that uncovers files you should not have put the company at risk of being sued not necessarily individuals.
Extreme examples, we lost connectivity to our entire network twice last week and the comments I heard were "Oh I can't access FaceBook" not "Oh that's really bad because our customer's can't access us". Not to mention that as a service provider where bandwidth is prescious, some people seem to spend an awful lot of time watching YouTube.
I guess I am guilty of this too, so I am not standing on a pedestal and saying everyone is bad. But I can certainly see the employer's point of view. Just when it gets more corporate we seems to take the stance that it is an invasion of our privacy rather than an employer looking out for itself.