There are a ton of articles written about this, but I'm hoping for a clear answer from the more informed people (you all). If I surf the net at work, my company can monitor my traffic, right? Is there a way of being able to prevent them from snooping on what sites I'm visiting (i.e. job sites etc) or from determining what my actions are (i.e. applying for jobs from work). I know, the best thing to do is do this stuff from home, but I'm using the above as examples. Thanks! By the way, I use portable software so no search history is saved on my local machine at work, but that doesn't cure the problem of them being able to see what sites I access. If I am logged in the network, then I assume something like Tor isn't going to help because I'm still launching the connection from my work server.
The simple rule is, don't. If you think its wrong, it probably is. While you can use alternative browsers and portable versions, its possible your company is screen shotting, and no mater what alternate browser you use, you'll still be seen. Of course this doesn't foster trust, but still.
Fortunately, my company doesn't have any strict internet policies, with exception to the usual suspects such as porn etc. We're allowed to surf the net, and with a company of 20,000 people, I can't imagine they give a crap about people checking the news websites and reading the latest about the election etc. I was just curious if there was a way to garble the data (such as https) so they can't monitor..for the sake of privacy.
Where I work we can surf, but there are tons of sites blocked, including job finding sites.... Even Wilders is blocked, it seems that IT deparment don't want employees learning about security... Anyways, I surf newspaper, private e-mail. The rest I surf at home. Tried a portable browser, but couldn't go trough the proxy
Screen shots are always a possability, key stroke logging as well....but I rather doubt many companies go that far. However you can just about bet that the traffic is logged at the server level anyways. Day\date\time\point of origin\end point\etc. How long these logs are kept and how often they are reviewed is any ones guess. Not much if anything you can do to bypass that.
That is why it is workplace , man , not a funplace . You are there to work , not to spend your free time. About the topic , if the IT dept are strict (it all depends on the people who manage the network) then they can spy you no matter what you try. I have seen both cases in my work - some company so strict that employees can't do anything but just a few apps. There are others which don't care at all . They run all their machines with admin accounts , no policy , employees place network games between themselves , chat , visit porn sites , etc. Both cases (complete restriction and no restriction) are IMO too wrong. So , Fontaine , you should talk to your colleagues and understand what is the policy of your firm/company . Alternatively , you can buy yourself a laptop , buy a device for mobile internet access and do what you want on your laptop
I know..not complaining, I almost always restrict my personal surfing to the lunch break ...funny thing is that Wilders is yet the only blocked forum I have found. (I know, its imposible to block ALL forums, but there are a lot of much more known forums dedicated tu fun and leisure that have no restriction)...
Sounds more like they have groups of IPs blocked, or perhaps key words. Wild(?) = Wilders ? I doubt the block targets Wilders specifically.
Trying to access Wilders, brings up a message: "you don't have enough privileges to access this site, The following content "Computer security" is not allowed."
Sounds like they are afraid you may learn something to circumvent their security. Do not know where you work, maybe that will shed a little light or.....they afraid you are after their job.
For years I've live with the shame of my dirty little secret. All alone in my room, late at night with the lights turned down, I go online and surf sites that I'd never tell my friends about. I craft clever search phrases to find the best of the sites that satisfy my needs. Yes, needs. I need to do this even though it'd embarrass me terribly if anyone ever found out. I guess the best thing to do is to admit my problem. They say that's the first step on the road to getting well. Hello, my name is Low, and I surf the web for....... "Computer Security".
What is so embarrassing about surfing for security related websites? Late at night, I surf to cemetery, funerals, and grave related websites. So am I ashamed? Nope.
I did some tests at work today. Castlecops is not blocked. Whatthetech isn't blocked. Secunia isn't blocked. Superantispyware's forum neither. I only could find wilders and some other forum called security-forums.com blocked under the "computer security" tag. BTW, i'm still laughing at Low's post
It could be that someone there spent a great deal of time visiting Wilders, and instead of taking action against the guy, they preferred to remove the source of his time-wasting. Then too, if it's anything like the IT department in my previous workplace, it could be a spat or joke between members of the IT department. There may be one of the IT staff that enjoys monitoring Wilders often, and the guy in the next cubicle thinks it's funny to cut him off. Who knows?
If it's a small company, then the sys admin may block ports he/she sees as not work related. A friend of mine works for a small company (25 employees) that does this...the guy comes in a few times a month for maintenance and scans the logs and then blocks sites like ebay etc that do not need to be accessed for business purposes.