Web-Filtering @ Work

[Nutdotnet]

For the last 2.5 years that I've been here we've had a very lax internet use policy. While we've always been able to monitor our employees, we felt it would be best to make our policy known but treat everyone like adults and govern their internet usage themselves.

Now, without any notice (even to me, and I'm in HR) we've implemented a web-filter service to "block" sites that are unneeded...which includes just about every site I go to! Ha!

No more ESPN, no more VWVortex, no more Craigslist, I'm surprised Anandtech is still allowed. I can live with this for the most part but...I'm going to go bat-****** in the summer time and baseball kicks up again!

Anyway, just a little rant...I don't blame the organization for doing this, I had a recent conversation with a department supervisor regarding people going to MySpace (the devil)...it just seems like they went overboard on the restrictions.

Anyone else deal with this @ work?

 

[FoBoT]

mlb.com is blocked? bummer dude

we have websense, but it is fairly open, just gambling and hacking and adult sites are blocked

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
mlb.com is blocked? bummer dude

we have websense, but it is fairly open, just gambling and hacking and adult sites are blocked

Yeah, we are using websense too...it's blocking EVERYTHING.

And yes, MLB.com is blocked. So is ESPN, Sportline.com, FOXSports.com, etc...etc...

This is driving me nuts, I bust my ass @ this place...every once in a while I'll take a 10 minute breather and check sports pages, a car forum, stuff like that...now...eh...I was already having different thoughts of my future...

 

[BrokenVisage]

That sucks man, there's no filter where I work but I know they do monitor. Just hope I'm long gone from here before they implement any kind of filter.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Hamachi + VNC FTW

 

[Codewiz]

ssh tunnel?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: FoBoT
mlb.com is blocked? bummer dude

we have websense, but it is fairly open, just gambling and hacking and adult sites are blocked

Yeah, we are using websense too...it's blocking EVERYTHING.

And yes, MLB.com is blocked. So is ESPN, Sportline.com, FOXSports.com, etc...etc...

This is driving me nuts, I bust my ass @ this place...every once in a while I'll take a 10 minute breather and check sports pages, a car forum, stuff like that...now...eh...I was already having different thoughts of my future...

That's quite aggresive. We block the usual stuff plus streaming media.

 

[Ramma2]

Setup a PC at home, VNC in to it and browse all you want.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Everything is blocked where I work. I?m a sysadmin and even I have zero say in what does and doesn?t get blocked. Our information security group is their own entity; they answer to no one and can block things on a whim with zero notice to anyone.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Hamachi + VNC FTW

Ooo...more info please! I could probably search myself but google.com is probably blocked.

I have a feeling the restrictions may get lightened up soon...this is ridiculous.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Hamachi + VNC FTW

Ooo...more info please! I could probably search myself but google.com is probably blocked.

I have a feeling the restrictions may get lightened up soon...this is ridiculous.

I dont use Hamachi, but VNC is an awesome tool that works kinda like Remote Desktop. Just install a VNC server on one of your computers at home (forward ports as well if behind a router) and you can connect to it via HTTP or by using a VNC viewer app.

Google should be of great value for doing this, it's a no-brainer really but it helps to understand the conceptual model. I'm constantly connected to my computer at home through Firefox while at work and can do anything but play games on it.

Oh yeah, I perfer to use Ultr@VNC, but RealVNC works just as well.

 

[radioouman]

Better than web-filtering at home!

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Hamachi + VNC FTW

Ooo...more info please! I could probably search myself but google.com is probably blocked.

I have a feeling the restrictions may get lightened up soon...this is ridiculous.

I dont use Hamachi, but VNC is an awesome tool that works kinda like Remote Desktop. Just install a VNC server on one of your computers at home (forward ports as well if behind a router) and you can connect to it via HTTP or by using a VNC viewer app.

Google should be of great value for doing this, it's a no-brainer really but it helps to understand the conceptual model. I'm constantly connected to my computer at home through Firefox while at work and can do anything but play games on it.

Oh yeah, I perfer to use Ultr@VNC, but RealVNC works just as well.

Yeah, I was looking @ UltraVNC and their web/java-based client. Sounds like a winner to me! Anyone have any idea on how if using the Java-client uses a lot of bandwith? The last thing I need is, for the HR-guy (me) getting written up for something like this. ha!

Like I said, I don't do a lot of "surfing" but this job is so stressful that having a couple minute break here and there to check scores, respond to a thread, etc...keeps me sane!

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
mlb.com is blocked? bummer dude

we have websense, but it is fairly open, just gambling and hacking and adult sites are blocked

LOL, we have websense as well. Each one of us has few sites that have been unblocked for us in the IT dept.