HOT DEAL: How to post and surf safely if you are a company (insider) employee - Free emails, anonymizers, etc..SAVE YOUR JOB!!

spec411

Senior member
Apr 18, 2000
594
0
0
Ok, this is a TRUE HOT DEAL for those reading/ surfing/posting on company time...in the wake of NeoV's recent termination from OfficeMax, I think its wise to put up info on how to surf and post safely and smartly to minimize the risk of getting fired...the BEST way, of course, is ABSTENANCE, but we all know there are those who will post anyway...

Of course I can make no guarantees, but here are some practical suggestions (feel free to add to the suggestions!):

1. If posting on company time, you may want to visit non-work websites such as this forum through SafeWeb (www.safeweb.com)...this way the company you work for will not easily see the various sites you've visited without performing more than a visual search...this means DONT ADD NON-WORK RELATED WEBSITES TO YOUR "FAVORITES" or "BOOKMARKS" folder!!! Thats a huge mistake many people make! You will not appear to be an efficient employee if all your internet bookmarks are for personal rather than business reasons...

2. DO NOT place your company email address in your profile- here or elsewhere. That means, DONT use your company email address when registering to shop online, use as your eb@y address, etc. Pick one of the many FREE email services (i prefer Yahoo Mail, they give 6MB) and use it for non-business activity...remember your employer likely has a database of all incoming and outgoing messages sent and received from a corporate network..

3. Its best NEVER to send/receive non-business related email at your company email address...the jokes, notes etc. passed on by friends are common, but these ARE non-business related activity. if your employer doesnt view kindly personal calls, dont expect them to allow personal emails....

4. If you are posting insider information that is not available to the public, take extra precautions. This pertains when posting Hot Deals at a company which you work for. To ensure anonymity, you may want to have a "friend" post the info for you...

5. Remember there are people reading these posts who also work at your company (esp. if its a large one)...and theres all types of people out there: stupid people, ignorant people, and the worst of all, "HATERS", who love to see someone else suffer at any expense. NeoV said it was some Hateful creature who PRINTED the Anandtech post, PRINTED his profile and email address, and took it down to officemax specifically with the intent of getting him "busted". Sad but true. Dont let it happen to you.
 

gazpatcho

Junior Member
Mar 31, 2000
3
0
0
Well, if the company is really curious about your on-line activites there is some MS Software called SMS (I think) that can pipe the user's desktop to a machine in the IT department and see your every move. So, they could watch you make the post on a bulletin board.
 

Owned

Banned
Nov 25, 2000
206
0
0
if the company really wanted to, nothing software side, safeweb or otherwise, will be able to prevent them from spying on you. Its pretty ridiculous to think that a software based app such as safeweb could do anything worthwhile. Remember, your info goes through ROUTING equipment, noone cares about the cookies that you left on your comp.

BTW, safeweb is so that the place your surfing TO doesn't know about you...
 

spec411

Senior member
Apr 18, 2000
594
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0
true, they can track every single move you make! But that level of sophistication is way beyond the scope of most people's everyday "on the clock" surfing...Remember, we're dealing with morons here, it took someone SHOWING A PRINTOUT to OMX HQ before they realized anything improper..

It simply doesnt look good when a superior pulls down the URL Adress bar on IE on your computer and sees:

www.hotchicks.com
www.almost-shoplifting.com
www.screwtheboss.com

etc etc... these are blatant "tracks" no employee should leave on their office computer, whether net surfing is allowed or not

For general surfing and posting while on the job (and so others dont see a list of "forbidden" sites in the IE history if they open IE on your machine, its a good idea to take some basic steps..



 

breweyez

Platinum Member
Jan 30, 2001
2,347
2
76
sad to hear he got fired. unfortunately there is no safe way of surfing those "off-limits" sites at work. if you are in that kinda job- - -dont do it
 

way

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
547
0
0
Ummm...on company time, shouldn't the employee adhere to the rules dictated by his or her company on proper Internet usage? And if those are ambiguous or nonexistant, he/she should ask for clarification?

Trying to circumvent checks would only raise MORE suspicion.
 

spec411

Senior member
Apr 18, 2000
594
0
0
Definitely good ideas. Find out the company policy. When in doubt, Abstinence is best, but reality is that many people surf the web for personal diversion on company time, whether or not its allowed...

its much smarter NOT to use company email addresses for personal business. Thats prudent even if your employer does allow personal emails, since you wont be clogging their system with irrelevant data...plus you can check a web-based email account from anywhere in the world...and its just common sense not to fill your browsers History and Bookmarks with personal sites..

 

Herbman

Golden Member
Nov 27, 1999
1,278
0
81
The best thing is be the BOSS that way no one questions you or have to explain anything :). Really though if you are in a job that watches your web viewing I highly recommend you just wait till you get home.
 

dukenukem

Member
Oct 30, 2000
33
0
0
Safeweb encrypts all traffic from your desktop to their website. This means company firewalls, filters, and monitors won't see a thing except a connection to safeweb and a stream of encrypted data.

Unless they shutdown connection to safeweb you can do anything you want from work and they just won't know.

Check it out....


SafeWeb Always:
encrypts and protects content
sanitizes dangerous scripts
masks your computer's address

SafeWeb Lets You:
block profiling cookies
profile the profilers
disable pop-up windows

In the SafeWeb address bar, type the URL of the Web site you wish to go to.
The lock in the corner of your Web browser indicates that data sent between your computer and the SafeWeb servers is always encrypted.
The lock in the SafeWeb interface indicates that data sent between the SafeWeb servers and the Web site you are visiting is encrypted. This lock only appears if the visited Web site uses secure connections, for example during credit card transactions.
An animated cookie appears in the SafeWeb interface whenever a cookie is blocked. Clicking on the cookie brings up a list of the cookies that were blocked.
If SafeWeb is configured to block pop-up windows, an animated window icon appears every time a pop-up is suppressed.



Because of the fact that you can get anywhere from work wothout being tracked, safeweb is now being blocked by many companies.

Next Step, Triangle Boy....

Want to help promote democracy and allow users around the world to have access to an uncensored Web? You will soon be able to do just that, by downloading our soon-to-be-released application, Triangle Boy.
Corporations, governments, and other entities have begun to block access to SafeWeb in an effort to thwart our mission to promote the free flow of information and ideas on the Internet and to protect the online privacy rights of all Internet users.

Triangle Boy is a free, open source, peer-to-peer application that will bypass firewalls and other mechanisms that attempt to block access to SafeWeb. Users who are currently blocked from directly accessing SafeWeb (or any other site) will be able to access it indirectly through any other computer running Triangle Boy.

Triangle Boy is scheduled for release at the end of February. Volunteers will be able to download the application from the SafeWeb site at www.safeweb.com.


Cool eh?
 

io331

Member
May 15, 2000
126
0
0
As someone who works in an IS department....


SMS does a lot of things...

First it logs what programs you have open and for how long (you ran Winamp for 6 hours?)
Second it allows remote application instalation (this is adammed annoying but helpful)
Third it allows remote destop administration (I can use your machine as if I was there)


Most companies will use some sort of blocking software. Websense is the most popular. Guess what they update DAILY. Sites like SafeWeb, Anonimizer, etc only stay open for VERY short time.

SafeWeb will prevent snooping localy. It forms an https (secure socket) connection from you to them. Then acts as a normal proxy from there.

Firewalls will also log activity. Depending on how nosey an admin is they can watch the traffic in and out.

It is best to consider your environment beofre trying to do something you know will get you in trouble.
 

Dameon

Banned
Oct 11, 1999
2,117
1
0
I'd have to agree with the "just say no" policy.
1) Circumventing the policy, or any attempts to do so, makes you look guilty.
2) SMS can capture your screen.
3) People can still walk up behind you and see what you are doing.
4) In an environment of layoffs, companies are rather eager to fire. It's best just to do your job and keep your nose clean. Don't give 'em a reason to can you.

 

zeruty

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2000
2,276
2
81
if all your company monitors is net traffic, and they dont actually monitor through SMS or other such mechanisms, you can just get win2k server with terminal server, install citrix metaframe (on your home machine) and just make a citrix connection to your home machine...data between your machine and the citrix server is encrypted, and when you surf the web or whatever, you arent doing it on the machine you are sitting at...you are actually surfing the web on your home machine

well, atleast it's a good option if you have broadband internet access at home, and the funds to buy win2k server w/ts and buy metaframe :p
 

CrazyDiamond

Senior member
Jan 21, 2001
247
0
0
You guys might want to go a step further and use hushmail, it encrypts all your messages and sysadmins with packet sniffers can't read your messages.
 

GroundedSailor

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2001
2,502
0
76
Has anyone tried the anonymity services? Check the following
link

If that link doesn't work here's the URL
http://www.emailaddresses.com/email_anonymity.htm

I am sorry to read about Neo being fired outright for what would appear to be his first mistake. In my company we would have given him a warning (it's the three strike rule), however we do not take such a strict view on web surfing. After all everyone takes 5 or 10 during working hours so if someone checks their email that is not frowned upon as long as work output does not suffer. But then we'e not OM or NY Times.. Although I agree about making internal information public, I would argue the merits of the case and the three strike rule would still apply.

I make all the purchasing decisions in my company and now that Office Depot has opened nearby I am withdrawing all OM cards. Partly because I think OM was too harsh on Neo and partly because OD has better deals and better CS. We have given a lot of business to OM over the last 5 years.

NeoV you sound like a decent guy and I wish you well. There are other jobs out there - keep looking.
 

fragarific

Golden Member
Sep 29, 2000
1,355
0
0
There is software out to record everything shown on the monitor. I can't think of any reasons why a company would't put that on each and everyone's computer. Bottom line, if you don't do work at work, expect to be fired! If you don't, expect to be fired next week. Then the following.

:my two-cents
 

Dantzig

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,301
0
0
The company I work for bans all anonymity services and all web-based email services via the firewall servers. They also keep complete logs on all proxy and firewall server activity. All companies should do this. Think about it for a minute. The company that you're working for is mostly likely paying you $20-$40 / hour. Is it really worth risking that to save a few bucks via Hot Deals?
 

Skiracer

Member
Aug 24, 2000
189
0
0


<< There is software out to record everything shown on the monitor. >>



fragarific or any sys admin- What are the file names and locations of these monitoring programs? If they are on the local HDD, what is the likely directory? It would be nice to know what level of monitoring your company is using. I don't suggest removing the software (which would be incriminating in itself), I just want to know how snoopy the company is. Thanks for any input.

NeoV's situation is s*ck. 1st time caught shloudn't be cause for dismissal unless the company policies specifically state a zero-tolerance stance.

Bottom line- know and follow your company's policies!