Big Brother at Work

silence1186 · May 2007

So yeah. Everyday I come into work, and since there's not much for me to do until the books close on this past month (Finance intern), I ask for work, and, other than making sure the templates for the budgeting process are up to date, which they are, I get to surf the web for the bulk of the day, and my manager at least seems to know this and not see it as a problem.

Trouble is, every day I come into work, and everything I looked at yesterday gets added to Surf Control.

Am I headed for trouble?

Ruckus · May 2007

Probably not, as you are providing an important service to your employer: Identifying all the fun and/or interesting parts of the internetz for them to block.

Unless you actually get a talking to or something, I'd just assume that the IT department where you work is taking a Passive Aggressive approach to content control.

I would suggest lining up some interesting books to read during your downtime.

Lave II · May 2007

Or Wikipedia. I doubt they would block that.

PirateJon · May 2007

Surf sites the executives would read.

witch_ie · May 2007

Since your boss seems to know what you're doing and be okay with it, you could probably ask him what he thinks about the situation. This way, if IT or someone starts saying that you're surfing too much, your boss can help you with the damage control. Also, your boss might suggest you try something else for a while and give you some additional work to do.

Fristle · May 2007

I say, turn on your home PC, install VNC and SSH (alternatively, just enable Remote Desktop if you have Windows XP Pro), and surf from work via a remote view of your home computer. Run your SSH daemon on port 443 because the employer is probably doing something dumb like blocking outbound TCP connections on ports other than 80 and 443.

Pheezer · May 2007

Fristle wrote: »

I say, turn on your home PC, install VNC and SSH (alternatively, just enable Remote Desktop if you have Windows XP Pro), and surf from work via a remote view of your home computer. Run your SSH daemon on port 443 because the employer is probably doing something dumb like blocking outbound TCP connections on ports other than 80 and 443.

This is terrible advice. Ridiculously bad.

Surfing around viewing the sites you're granted access to when you have downtime and your boss doesn't mind is one thing. Actively taking steps to circumvent corporate information security measures is grounds for immediate dismissal in just about any organization with the sense to even set up website filtering.

I would strongly advise against even considering this advice unless you absolutely do not care about your job.

Jimmy King · May 2007

silence1186 wrote: »

Trouble is, every day I come into work, and everything I looked at yesterday gets added to Surf Control.

Am I headed for trouble?

It depends. I had this problem at a previous job. The 3 managers I reported to directly were cool with it. They knew I was doing all the work I was given and asking for more. Eventually their boss took notice, though, and he cared. He was not concerned with why I wasn't working or what work I was getting done only with the fact that I was getting paid for a lot of time not working. My managers defended me until the end but eventually I got fed up with having upper management watching every move I made and got the hell out.

In almost any company there is someone high enough level that all they see or care about is the raw numbers. They don't care about the how or why of the numbers. If they don't like those numbers then they'll tell you to fix it or pack your shit up. It's just whether you are lucky enough to work somewhere that those people won't see those numbers or not.

Fristle · May 2007

pheezer FD wrote: »

Fristle wrote: »

I say, turn on your home PC, install VNC and SSH (alternatively, just enable Remote Desktop if you have Windows XP Pro), and surf from work via a remote view of your home computer. Run your SSH daemon on port 443 because the employer is probably doing something dumb like blocking outbound TCP connections on ports other than 80 and 443.

This is terrible advice. Ridiculously bad.

Surfing around viewing the sites you're granted access to when you have downtime and your boss doesn't mind is one thing. Actively taking steps to circumvent corporate information security measures is grounds for immediate dismissal in just about any organization with the sense to even set up website filtering.

I would strongly advise against even considering this advice unless you absolutely do not care about your job.

Hey -- he says his manager knows and is OK with it, so this seemed to me like purely a problem with some dickhead in security. I am giving the OP the benefit of the doubt that he is not intending to engage in anything inappropriate for his work environment (gaming, porn, shopping, running a side business). He's just trying to do a little personal browsing on his break time, or maybe he's eating lunch at his desk, he might not even be on the clock. So ethically, there is not a problem here. Job risk-wise, there is not a problem here since his manager is cool with it.

Security-wise, what I am advising is completely safe for his work PC because he could visit whatever site in the world and it's only his home box that would be exposed to the dangers of the intarweb.

Edit: As the other posters have pointed out, in a bureaucratic work environment, there are plenty of people other than your own boss that you might end up taking heat from. Know your place before you push your luck. There, I've put a disclaimer on my advice. It doesn't make it bad advice.

LaOs · May 2007

Fristle wrote: »

*BS, fighting with a Mod shit*

Seriously, this still sounds like a ridiculously bad idea and your justification doesn't fit with the information the OP has provided and is, even if it jived, still weak at best.

OP: I would either continue to surf around at worksafe sites and see what is getting blocked or bring it up with your immediate managers/supervisors to find out what they think/know about the situation... see if they are okay with what you do (specifically bring it up, none of this passive see no evil/hear no evil shit) and then bring up to them the fact that IT is blocking sites, seemingly automatically and try to find a solution there. I doubt you will get fired immediately for this on-the-clock-yet-non-productivity-inhibiting surfing, and if they have a problem, they may coach/speak with/warn you about it. And, well, then you'll have your answer and can take up the lost art of the novel.

Feral · May 2007

If it were me, I'd mention it to my manager, and then I'd stop.

They're obviously scrutinizing the logs. Maybe they're interested in taking disciplinary action, maybe they're not. But somebody is watching, and that somebody obviously cares enough to take action.

Find something else to do. My thought? Bring a USB flash drive with solitaire or Every Extend or some other small standalone game that doesn't install anything in the registry.

And, no, I have to agree with Pheezer for once. Circumventing security is only a good idea if you don't like your job. That's an instapermaban at most companies.

Rhino · May 2007

Ask your manager to clarify the policy?

"Hey... so, on my breaks I like to use the internets - are you ok with that and if so, what's the policy on this sort of thing?"

Sarcastro · May 2007

Meh. Sounds like an unspoken agreement. They won't call you on slacking directly, and you get to keep surfing. Are they blocking you off one site at a time? Yep. Because you can't justify slacking to the big guy. Your manager might be cool with it, but he can't give permission for it, or suggest that's a good idea. His boss would have his nuts. So you get to play a game, wherein you find new stuff and they passively encourage you to not slack so much.

I don't think it's something you want to make a big deal of, because not being productive when you could be, or not showing initiative for other projects when you obviously have the time, is not an awesome statement to make about yourself. Then again, maybe the damn-giving part of your job is over for you, so whatever.

Everywhereasign · May 2007

Depending on the firm you work for, they probably have an "Acceptable Use" policy. You shouldn't have trouble getting your hands on it if they do. If it says you can't use the Internet for non-work related bussiness, stick with the sites that aren't going to get you in trouble, or bring a book to work.

Bypassing the firewall isn't a great idea, as an intern you aren't going to get alot of respect from your bosses (even if they are okay with you surfing) by going behind their corporate backs.

Phoenix-D · May 2007

Sarcastro wrote: »

I don't think it's something you want to make a big deal of, because not being productive when you could be, or not showing initiative for other projects when you obviously have the time, is not an awesome statement to make about yourself. Then again, maybe the damn-giving part of your job is over for you, so whatever.

If you'll notice, he's asked for work and...not really gotten any.

What's her face · May 2007

Phoenix-D wrote: »

Sarcastro wrote: »

I don't think it's something you want to make a big deal of, because not being productive when you could be, or not showing initiative for other projects when you obviously have the time, is not an awesome statement to make about yourself. Then again, maybe the damn-giving part of your job is over for you, so whatever.

If you'll notice, he's asked for work and...not really gotten any.

That's really beside the point. If the websites he's going to aren't work related they don't have to grant him access, plain and simple.

The same thing just happened to me and yeah, it sucks, but oh well.

Pheezer · May 2007

Fristle wrote: »

snip

Okay, you stop posting in this thread now.

There is still a world of difference between actively circumventing what is at its heart a security policy and poking around when you have nothing better to do with the tacit approval of your supervisor, and it's much, much more obvious that you're crossing lines to an otherwise impartial observer when you're accessing websites no one else gets to. It won't take long for you to happen onto a site that the guy who sits in the cube next to you knows he can't get to anymore and then you're in a very different type of trouble. The job risking kind.

Besides, it's stupid and yes, it's quite different on an ethical level too. Any further advice to pursue this option, or any instructions regarding how will be met with an infraction from this point forward, regardless of who posts it, because it's now officially Bad Advice.

If you've got slack time at work, a book isn't a bad idea. Video games tend to have a very, very negative connotation in the work place, so don't bring your DS is my advice.

Surfing websites that aren't blocked yet probably isn't a problem, and it's highly unlikely that they're bothering to track you personally until you do something to draw attention to yourself. I know that if I personally were in charge of a department tasked with restricting Internet access that I'd have a report generated every day showing the users who tried to access external ports other than 80, and the number of outbound and inbound attempts to do so, if only to catch workstations that have contracted malware or a worm.

And Wikipedia and Google News are both good timesinks that are unlikely to be blocked.

LaOs · May 2007

pheezer FD wrote: »

And Wikipedia and Google News are both good timesinks that are unlikely to be blocked.

Tiemler · June 2007

LaOs wrote: »

pheezer FD wrote: »

And Wikipedia and Google News are both good timesinks that are unlikely to be blocked.

No employer of mine has ever minded Slashdot, Arstechnica, and NYTimes.

Penny Arcade

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