Question

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #2234900

    company spying on my activities

    Locked

    by ur2slow1 ·

    How can i tell, or what kind of software can i use to detect what, if any or all of my activity is being recorded or sent to the office. thanks. also what i do about it, i know that it is their computers, but i just want to be on an even keel with them.
    Michael

All Answers

  • Author
    Replies
    • #2605413

      Clarifications

      by ur2slow1 ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      Clarifications

    • #2605407

      Read Your Policies

      by thechas ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      You need to start by reading your companies Internet and email usage policies.

      If you are following the guidelines in the policies, you should have nothing to fear.

      Depending on how things are setup, the IT department can track just about anything you do on your computer.

      Further, if you do install any software that can track or block what the company does, you could be in violation of other company policies.

      Chas

      • #2605400

        spying

        by ur2slow1 ·

        In reply to Read Your Policies

        thanks Chas, not doing anything wrong, just not wanting to let others have my info. company does not seem to mind public use of computers.

        • #2511725

          Time

          by thechas ·

          In reply to spying

          In most companies, aside from questionable on-line activities, the big thing they monitor is how much time you spend on what they consider to be personal use at work.

          This can factor into both performance reviews and layoff decisions.

          The best safety is to close your web browser anytime you are not using it.

          Personally, I don’t perform any financial transactions or make personal purchases while at work. I don’t even browse TR from work.

          Chas

    • #2512587

      Many ways you can’t detect

      by jdclyde ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      The most obvious is the firewall. Most firewalls have the ability to show activity of the different PC’s that pass through them. Where you go and how much bandwidth your using.

      I used a similar report because I had one user running web radio taking up more bandwidth than the next 25 users combined. Before I could show the drain, it was seen as no big deal.

      They can have a sniffer running on the switch that also tracks what and were of the employees.

      And it is not spying, it is keeping track of their assets. If you don’t like the idea of them knowing where your going and what your doing, your only option is to find a different job or not do your personal browsing at work.

      Not the answer you wanted, but as sniffers are passive, they can not be detected.

      You HAVE to pass through the firewall, so no way around that one either.

      If they have a proxie server, it can gleen even more.

      • #2647349

        Or You Could

        by rdubrey ·

        In reply to Many ways you can’t detect

        Or you could do like my dad did and get a cell phone with a
        data plan that he could hook up to his personal laptop. He
        can do whatever he wants that way on his own machine and
        his own connection. That is the only answer if you really
        want to do what you want on a computer at work.

        • #2647346

          Your Dad is obviously a fool

          by computercookie ·

          In reply to Or You Could

          why did you drag this crap out, there are no facts, defined problem or valid response in this post.

          Just some guy with an inferiority complex who probably hasn’t read his emploment contract anyway. Suggest your father does the same!!!

          Edit spelling

        • #2647225

          I’ll second that !! Who’d call themselves ‘ur2slow’ without inferiority ?

          by older mycroft ·

          In reply to Your Dad is obviously a fool

          Nuff said !

        • #2647002

          email addy

          by ur2slow1 ·

          In reply to I’ll second that !! Who’d call themselves ‘ur2slow’ without inferiority ?

          Old Mycroft, what are you talking about? the ur2slow has nothing to do with inferiority, it has to do with racing. why not just address the question and get over your need to grand stand.

        • #2646958

          Whoa now, Trigger !! – ….the gloves are now off !!

          by older mycroft ·

          In reply to email addy

          “[i]the ur2slow has nothing to do with inferiority, it has to do with racing.[/i]”

          OK, so your id reflects the fact that you are crap at racing. …Oh, wait, now I see: you think it means that everyone else is too slow (and you are FAST). In that case your id should be ‘I_am_faster@’. – Get my drift??

          “[i]why not just address the question and get over your need to grand stand[/i]”

          No need to grandstand (it’s all one word, by the way!) on my part – you’re the one that’s worried about people spying over your shoulder. If [b]YOU[/b] had a bit more self-confidence, that thought would never have entered your head.

          Either that, or you are too slow! 😀

        • #3321230

          trigger?

          by ur2slow1 ·

          In reply to Whoa now, Trigger !! – ….the gloves are now off !!

          Thanks for the correction on the spelling of grandstand, you are the winner.

        • #3321223

          Ur2slow = Racing = Horses = Trigger (was a horse!)…

          by older mycroft ·

          In reply to Whoa now, Trigger !! – ….the gloves are now off !!

          Don’t you remember The Lone Ranger ??? 🙂

        • #3321153

          Your losing your mind Mycroft

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to Whoa now, Trigger !! – ….the gloves are now off !!

          but being old, it is to be expected…. :p

          How about Roy Rogers?

          Lone Ranger rode SILVER. “Hi ho Silver, AWAYYYYYYYYY!”

          😀

          damnitallanyways making me date myself by knowing that…..

        • #3320678

          Yep :)

          by digitalfrog ·

          In reply to Whoa now, Trigger !! – ….the gloves are now off !!

          As in:

          Roy: “Want some more hay, Trigger?”
          Trigger: “No thanks Roy, I’m stuffed!”

        • #2646996

          employment contract

          by ur2slow1 ·

          In reply to Your Dad is obviously a fool

          jcoo3599, this thread started as a simple question, it has nothing to do with contracts, and to call someone a fool…..talk about an inferiority complex, you do that one justice.

        • #2646871

          Your initial post was about being ‘spied on’, therefore…

          by older mycroft ·

          In reply to employment contract

          You are evidently concerned about how you are being treated at work!

          THAT dear boy, is a matter of contract! Your employer issued you with an Employment Contract detailing your responsibilities and what was expected of you within the confines of your daily work routine. In recognition of your input and general contribution to the furtherance/productivity of said company – you receive a remuneration in return.

          In words that even you can understand: [u]

          A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.[/u]

          If you expect your employer to treat you fairly (as an Employee) then it is only fair that you treat them in a reciprocal manner (as your Employer).

          If they choose to ‘spy’ on you, giving you concern – so much so that you wish to prevent them doing so – I can only draw the conclusion that what you are actually working towards is:

          [u]A fair day’s pay – for a fair day’s SKIVE![/u]

        • #3321224

          a reply

          by ur2slow1 ·

          In reply to Your initial post was about being ‘spied on’, therefore…

          If you would go back the original thread, my concern is not that i am not giving my employer a fair days work for a fair days pay, i was simply asking about their ability to “see” whatever is being done (emails and such). You dear boy felt like you may have had to put in your two cents worth, months after the start of the thread. If you had something important to say fine, if not why try to belittle another human being by their choice of email screen names?

        • #3321213

          Ooops – I wasn’t aware there was a time-constraint…

          by older mycroft ·

          In reply to a reply

          I didn’t see your “[u]All replies must be made by:[/u] entry.

          Really, you ought to take more heed of things that are written down, like the Terms & Conditions of TechRepublic, or Contract of Employment.

          Granted the thread started back in the third quarter of 2007, but I was the THIRD poster in the first quarter of 2008 – two other peers had got to you first!

          I would hazard a guess that there is not a human being upon this Earth that can be made to feel ‘belittled’ unless he or she has built upon a personal history of feeling that way within their personal lives.

          TR is a Public Forum. By its very nature it is written-to, in order that each Post might elicit a response from another member of the public who has also co-signed to the Terms & Conditions of the Noticeboard that is TR.

          It is not a place where you are guaranteed to elicit a favourable response – not unless you yourself are making sense.

          Your initial post carried with it, no strength of argument.

          I also very much doubt that I am the only person that thinks your email id places you in an unfavourable light (if you’ll pardon the pun!)

          You’re not by any chance engaging in online betting are you?

        • #2646887

          People like your dear old dad are a disgrace

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to Or You Could

          Do whatever you want, with your own equipment, on your own time.

          Sorry, your dad is scum. [i](no offense meant to the scummy one on TR!)[/i]

          If you idolize your scum dads behavior, you are scum too.

        • #3321203

          Wouldn’t fly with me. Sorry.

          by formerly callpete.com ·

          In reply to Or You Could

          If an employee brought in his personal laptop into work, and hooked it to his personal cell phone, and expected me to pay him (especially by the hour), I would ask him to get that crap out of my office. It would, at least be a time sinkhole, and at most, be a serious security breach.

          If you are on the clock, I want you to use MY PC to handle MY DATA, whether that is sales records, engineering data, or whatever. I want it on MY PC’s and I don’t want the data to leave the premises on your PC (or over an unmonitored internet connection).
          In this day and age, data=money, and time=money. If the personal PC and personal internet is for personal use only, then it needs to be done in your personal location on your personal time. There are very few jobs that I can think of where I would allow an employee to bring in an internet-capable PC, or a television, or a DVD player, or whatever to use during office hours.

        • #3321163

          I am amaze about personal systems

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to Wouldn’t fly with me. Sorry.

          A small company allows someone to work with their personal laptop, and they think everyone wins. the employee has a faster system to use, and the company didn’t have to pay for that asset.

          of course, the cost in non-standardization AND security breaches, far outweight the savings.

        • #3320793

          Besides that…

          by formerly callpete.com ·

          In reply to I am amaze about personal systems

          … any time any employee brings in their own asset (drives their own vehicle, uses their own PC, etc) there is a stigma associated, and MOST of the time, there is an attitude of “since I paid for the ____, I can take my time doing _____”, and it makes the whole process and accounting sloppy.

          There are situations where it makes sense for the employee to provide some things. A pizza delivery driver usually provides his own car and gasoline. A mechanic usually provides his own tools to work in a dealership.

          A sales person or a technician or an engineer is dealing with data that belongs to the company, and it hopefully worth 100x the value of a PC, and if you worked for me in a situation like that, you simply wouldn’t be allowed to put your device on my LAN. As your boss, I never want to “owe” you, and if/when your laptop needs an upgrade to run the new version of software, then who pays? If coffee spills on the keyboard, who pays? It can all get very messy.

    • #2646940

      Okay……

      by cmiller5400 ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      Most of the stuff you are speaking about is passive and not on your computer and can not be detected easily. Don’t do anything that you would not want your boss to see on your computer; it is as simple as that. Circumventing any monitoring is usually grounds for termination and possibly criminal prosecution depending on how it is done.

    • #2646939

      Guys???!!!

      by jiminpa ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves. We should be helping one another get through the difficult times in our day by sharing our knowledge and uniting against the common enemy… Steve Jobs 😉

      • #2646880

        You got it wrong jimmy

        by jdclyde ·

        In reply to Guys???!!!

        The enemy is ANYONE that would ask working IT professionals how to get around valid company policies.

        This guy is the enemy.

        • #2646874

          I can’t argue with that logic

          by jiminpa ·

          In reply to You got it wrong jimmy

          Still, it isn’t nice to take a poke at someone’s dad who isn’t even in the discussion.

        • #3321160

          If someone acts like a scumbag

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to I can’t argue with that logic

          they are a scumbag.

          Blame the dumb assclown that thought it was cool to brag on what a scumbag his dear old dad is, AND the dad who would have HAD to have bragged to sonnyboy about what a scumbag he is.

          I never claimed to be “nice”. I just call it as I see it. B-)

    • #2646928

      There’s nothing you can do about it…..

      by robo_dev ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      1) There’s a proxy which logs all your internet activity.

      2) There’s a call accounting system that tells who you call and how long you talk.

      3) There is browser history and literally gigabytes of local data on your PC which can show what you do online.

      If you’re a good employee, all the above does not really matter, within reason.

    • #2646917

      That is not spying

      by tony hopkinson ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      To call it spying would be the equivalent of an actor calling his audience voyeurs.

    • #3320802

      Dear ur2slow, thanks for you email

      by computercookie ·

      In reply to company spying on my activities

      My comments:

      “Your Dad is obviously a fool
      why did you drag this crap out, there are no facts, defined problem or valid response in this post.

      Just some guy with an inferiority complex who probably hasn’t read his emploment contract anyway. Suggest your father does the same!!!”

      Where mainly based around my annoyance with ‘rdubrey’, even suggesting such rot and the fact that he had dragged out and old post for no reason at all.

      I can only offer you an apology for referring to you as suffering from an inferiority complex.

      As you profile indicates; Research / Development / Scientific, I standby my statement that you should read your employment contract. What you call “my info”, is it yours to worry about!

      If your going to email me it would me nice if you could include your name .

      Jeff

      • #3320789

        An oversight?

        by jdclyde ·

        In reply to Dear ur2slow, thanks for you email

        He signed the email he sent me. Guess I am just more likeable than you are coo… :p

        • #3320784

          what..

          by shellbot ·

          In reply to An oversight?

          does he wanna be yer friend or soemthing??

          were they saucy emails..??

        • #2648690

          Nothing like that, Shell

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to what..

          Very polite, and just trying to explain himself better because I had stated that he was the enemy of all IT.

          He never did make a valid case for wanting to counter-spy, but that is his choice. I would assume he is young, probably just out of school, and some fuckwit professor filled his head with all kinds of “rights” that don’t exist. Just my guess.

          But no, not saucy, not rude, and not an attack.

          And yes, he signed his name.

Viewing 7 reply threads