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  • #2248433

    Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

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    by bmadams ·

    Hello, I have a client (business with 5 networked PCs) that wants to monitor internet use; what sites visited and time on. It is a small business on a small budget. All employees will know this is being done. I need an easy to use program with good tech support. What is out there, what have you used and what do you recomend? THANKS for your feedback.
    Brian Adams
    Practical Solutions
    N. Georgia

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    • #3140219

      internet tracking and monitoring

      by pc21geek ·

      In reply to Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

      I have at home a setup of Endian firewall to keep my kids on the straight and narrow. It is free software (Linux distro) fairly easy to configure. I have it running on a P3/733 witrh 256 mb ram and a 20 gig hard drive. It is a very good application for content filtering, logging, firewall, proxy etc. If you need some help implementing this, i would be happy to give you some assistance. Feel free to email me at elwell1 at gmail dot com.

      Kevin

      • #3141386

        Thanks, but…

        by bmadams ·

        In reply to internet tracking and monitoring

        Thanks pc21geek for the recomendation and offer. My customer is not as interesting in “blocking” as he is with monitoring. I looked at the firewall you mentioned and it did not fit that application…

    • #3138739

      A slight tangent…

      by slipperywhale ·

      In reply to Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

      …but thought this was a good place for the question. Having had to rebuild a machine for a user with terrible infections on him machine, I discovered in his cookies and his temp internet files that there was a certain amount of porn visiting going on. A very senior member of staff, as it happens. Quite a few members of staff have got wind of this (at least partially through other ways than me telling them). I have all the files on CDs at home now.

      The dilemma has three parts. First, we all know that this sort of activity is bad practice at work, and certain professional misconduct. But what is my position as the IT manager (assisted by contractors who would certainly not want to be involved) in making the information available?

      Second, can I really tell that the user has visited dodgy sites? The temp files have quite a few porn images (thumbnails), and several of the cookies are from porn sites, but does this mean that he has necessarily visited the sites?

      Third, the moral issue is that although he is clearly guiltly of professional malpractice, I don’t rate the visiting of porn sites as amazingly serious activity, in the scheme of things, and it certainly isn’t for me to declare myself as any kind of moral policeman. (see ‘user wants porn’ discussion for endless debate on this topic..!)

      What is the approach in this case, do any of you think?

      • #3138720

        a reply to slipperywhale

        by bmadams ·

        In reply to A slight tangent…

        This reply based on these assumptions: you work IT type job for a “company”, this user works for the “company” also and you were doing the work as “part of your job”
        -You are “paid” by a company. You obligation is to the “company”, not the end user.
        -You need to understand CLEARLY and specifically how the “company” expects you to handle these types of situations. If you do not know, you better ask…and get it in writing.
        -You must NEVER share what you find on users PCs with other people in or out of the company unless it is in the written guidelines of your job…you can be sued.
        -I assume the company has written internet/PC use guidelines. If they do not, they need to do that immediately, review it with each employee and have them sign it…or they can be sued.
        -There may be outside legal responsibilities related to finding kiddy porn etc. that you need to look into…or you could go to jail..

        Hope this helps..
        BA

        • #3138663

          ah. I see. could get quite grim then.

          by slipperywhale ·

          In reply to a reply to slipperywhale

          Yes, that does help.

          So really the whole thing could easily blow up in my face. I’m certainly not going to visit the websites that he has looked at (heaven knows what there is, and, yes, it could be illegal stuff for all I know).

          The thing is that we are a UK charity, and have remarkably decent IT systems for the sector, but we have no internet/PC use guidelines at all. It sounds like an important protection for me to have such a thing. Would you happen to know where I could obtain a template that I can modify?

          Would it also make sense to make sure that my job description includes guides as to what I must do if I discover this sort of thing, or worse? Would you know where I could find example of the wording for that, too?

          Thank you very much for your help.

        • #3138634

          Template

          by pc21geek ·

          In reply to ah. I see. could get quite grim then.

          I wouls suggest an (AUP) Acceptable Usage Policy for all the users of any and all IT/IS equipment there. If you have a domain, or even without a domain, you can make an AUP message appear before they even get a login screen, by clicking “ok” they are accepting the policy, and agreeing to its terms. Then if they disobey by visiting bad sites, or inappropriate subject matter, you have grounds to dismiss them, and hold them accountable for thier actions. But without an AUP, you really dont have a leg to stand on.
          Just my 2 cents worth.

          Kevin

        • #3138619

          Thanks kevin, might just do that.

          by slipperywhale ·

          In reply to Template

          Yes, I like the sound of people agreeing each and every time they use the internet. Much the simplest solution, I figure, and a good daily reminder to people that they shouldn’t be playing the goat on work computers. Thanks for your help.

        • #3281168

          Affordable and Nice features – Sonicwall

          by dbernor ·

          In reply to a reply to slipperywhale

          I work for a Large Corporation and we use a Sonicwall for our Monitoring.

          Check out there available solutions..another nice perk of it is that they are affordable as well.

          http://www.sonicwall.com

          Hope this helps!

    • #3280862

      How about SARG

      by lesko ·

      In reply to Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

      Just pick any linux distro load squid and then sarg

      squid is an open source proxy cache so it will improve performance of your client’s internet links

      http://www.squid-cache.org/

      sarg is an open source Squid Analysis Report Generator, this should tell you where your users went.

      http://sarg.sourceforge.net/

      its cheap for the hardware and software is practically free.

    • #3280233

      Internet tracking and monitoring:

      by chandikaditya ·

      In reply to Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

      Use squid Proxy in Linux and you will monitor the website visited by partcular person with time and date. If you make minor modification in squid than you can also monitor the size of data downloaded or uploaded by particular person ……. you may directly contact me on kumawat_chandika@yahoo.com

    • #2874249

      Internet monitoring

      by mark318 ·

      In reply to Internet tracking and monitoring: Recomendations Please

      I think what he/she need is employee mnitoring software, EAM Imonitor and Netvizor are popular staff monitoring software on the market. Get them here:
      http://www.pc-remote-monitoring.com
      http://www.employee-computer-monitoring.com

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