.piper. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 My work has alot of webpages blocked. We have firewalls and all the protection jazz. I am just curious if they can see what I post to this forum or anything else I do online? Link to comment
Ac143 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Some places do have software setup to see what you are doing at all times, there are tons of programs out there that they can use. I know we use them here at my job... Most of the time though...they will or should tell you. Just because webpages are blocked & they have firewalls, virus protection etc (that stuff is done on the back end of the network) doesn't mean they can see everything you are doing - they are completely different programs. Ask your boss or call your IT department, they should tell you. Link to comment
deleted-account Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 They can definitely see what you're doing online. When surfing at work, do so under the assumption that they are watching you. If you're doing something that could get you in trouble, it's best to wait until you're at home. Link to comment
.piper. Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Yeah, I've been posting to this forum for a little while. I havent been super busy at work lately. I just don't want them to be able to read what I've posted! Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Yes, your job can monitor what websites you visit. Link to comment
Ac143 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Yes, your job can monitor what websites you visit. Yes they can see what websites you went to but that doesn't mean they can see exactly what you wrote....like your posts or emails etc..that's a different program but doesn't mean they dont use it. The only people that can answer your question is your helpdesk or IT department. You should give'em a call & ask, we have people calling us (the IT dept) all the time asking and we tell them. Link to comment
Lamprey Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Most places have the ability to do so, but don't bother. They'll only check your online activities if they have a reason. Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 If it's work email, then yes, they can read them. Link to comment
Ac143 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 If it's work email, then yes, they can read them. yes they can but shouldnt, unless of course they need to. Most places dont just randomly go thru people's email. Reading work related emails is different then a program that can see everything you are doing on your computer, like the program we use ....witness. I can see everything my employees do, from chatting on MSN, to writing their personal emails, websites, desktop activity...everything. BTW - all our employees know they have this on their machines, so they obviously dont do anything they dont want their boss to see. Link to comment
avman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 You should always assume they can monitor you. They generally don't have time to read everything but they usually log everything. So if there are complaints or issues they can go back and review people's history. Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Ok, I don't know why some are arguing with me, but yes, they can monitor where you go and what you do. If you are using work email, they have the right to read it, as it is not personal, even if you use it for personal email. My brother was fired from his company because they didn't approve of his Internet use. Link to comment
unnoan Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 if it is a decent sized company you are being monitored. they are under no obligation to tell you that you are being monitored. this can include you being on your laptop at lunch. if you are connecting to their network they have the right to monitor you as they own the network and any information being sent back in forth. as a information security student i know what i am talking about. Link to comment
.piper. Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 I think this raises some ethical issues. I remember a case like this while I was in university. I believe in my province the employer has to let you know that they have the right to look at anything you do on their computer before they actually go and do it. I'm not doing anything bad on the computer, just this forum. I know they have to right to see what websites you visit, I was just curious if they could see exactly what you do on the sites. Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 When you are employed that is usually in the fine print -- that using work computers will be monitored. In the US, it doesn't need to be in print at all. Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Oh, I don't think they can see EXACTLY what you have written (eg on ENA) but they will know the site you have visited. It would be too overwhelming to put a keylogger on every employee's computer, if that is what you are worried about. They could, if inclined, go to the trouble to narrow it down and find your posts, but I don't know a employer would devote the energy. Link to comment
Ac143 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 This is what I was trying to explain LOL...most places YES definitely monitor your website activities etc. That's very common & they dont need to tell you, its pretty much a given. BUT to see EXACTLY everything is a different story...not every place has these programs, they are very expensive & most places doesn't need that kind of software, like my dept. We monitor everything they type because its something we need to do, job specific. Piper - I wouldn't be too worried about this, going to enotalone is nothing alarming to a company. We fired some guy that kept going to porn sites after hours (ewww, I know at work) Link to comment
Tethys Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Oh, sorry Act, if I misunderstood you. Link to comment
COtuner Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 My work has alot of webpages blocked. We have firewalls and all the protection jazz. I am just curious if they can see what I post to this forum or anything else I do online? All depends on what SW they use. My employer knows all websites I go to, how long I'm there, and I think they have alarms to look for copy/paste or sending stuff off my hard drive via non-company mail. Probably a lot of stuff I don't know about too - my company has some of the most sophisticated stuff this side of NSA and really stringent restrictions. I stick to amazon, my personal email, my bank, and industry related sites. Logged onto this a few times but not really comfortable with doing it during work hours. Link to comment
COtuner Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Ok, I don't know why some are arguing with me, but yes, they can monitor where you go and what you do. If you are using work email, they have the right to read it, as it is not personal, even if you use it for personal email. My brother was fired from his company because they didn't approve of his Internet use. My employer can check personal mail to some small extent if I'm on their network, or so I have heard through IT sources. It's quite amazing. We are extremely extremely sensitive about IP. I've just learned to give up privacy and just do my best to be as ethical an employee as possible so I have nothing to worry about (not too hard). in my job, they can pull my computer hard drive (home PC and work PC) for court cases as well as email history, document history, etc. It's part of the deal. Link to comment
AuthenticAuthor Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 When you're using someone's property, they have the right to know what you're doing with it. Not just because many businesses utilize the inherently flawed and unstable Windows operating system, but also because of the potential for illegal internet activities to occur...which carry a liability more damaging than the latter reason. Yes, there are ways to circumvent the monitoring software, some much easier than others. No, they can't see EVERYTHING you do on a site, unless the data you're inputting is being stored somewhere...including mouse clicks. Many companies hire security firms to secure their networks from their employees, and these firms tend to be VERY good at their job. Not recommended to even THINK about abusing a computer, much less tampering it. It's a shame about the widespread use of windows in businesses and government. I worked in a civilian position for the military, knowing how insecure the system really was despite the fact that Semantec provided military-grade software. Very fortunately for me, I did not act on my temptations. Link to comment
thejigsup Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Always, always, assume they know everything. Most companies do monitor your computer use. My bf has a small law firm, but I know he watches what sites I visit. When it's slow, he doesn't care (it's good to be the King's gf!), but I'd better not be on ENA when I have things to do (I'm not so it's cool). But yeah, it's so easy to do and most of them do it. Link to comment
cyberdog Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Are you using a work computer or a personal computer from home (laptop) connected to the work network. If you are using a work computer they can monitor everything on it with the correct software installed (they may be required to tell you). If you are using your own computer then they wouldn't have this software installed. They can log network activity even without the software installed. For these forums, they can see what you write if they log the entire data packets, since the forum doesn't use SSL the text in not encrypted. There are always ways around the blocking system (different proxies and redirectors, etc) if you are using your own computer and know how, but it wouldn't be a good idea, and it definitely isn't a good idea to install such software on their computers. Link to comment
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