Employers Reading Your E-mail, logging your internet treks, etc.

[SPKrazy]

Poll question: Employers Reading Your E-mail, logging your internet treks, etc.

There is no longer any expectation of privacy at work. How do you feel about employers reading your e-mail, logging your internet surfing, logging your keystrokes?

[femmocrat]

1. What is "logging your keystrokes"?

Not sure what that means. TY

[TOhioLiberal]

3. A keystroke logger...

...records every thing you type. And I do mean everything.

[TOhioLiberal]

2. Gross invasion of privacy.

Even if there's a 'good reason' x(

86

[SPKrazy]

9. I Agree!

but it doesn't matter what I think does it!

:hi: 86!

[TOhioLiberal]

13. I doubt that they would care...

...what your opinion is. I on the other hand, do care. :hug:

I'm hitting 4k TONIGHT!

[SPKrazy]

14. Go baby Go!

4K all the way! crim son is going for 7K

woo hoo

a hit a multiple of 1k night!

thanks

:hug:

[Left Is Write]

25. Is it? Can there be an expectation of privacy on company-owned resources

during company-paid time?

If there is no expectation of privacy or entitlement to same, can the watching measures listed be considered an invasion of a non-existent privacy?

[Nicole]

4. There is no privacy

so be smart, dummy!

:evilgrin:

[SPKrazy]

6. Yap Yap Yap!

some people learn the dumb way!

:rofl: :hide:

[idgiehkt]

5. the keystroke thing

if you log onto your e-mail account at work to check it then technically they can get your password and read it anytime. Creepy. People should just assume they are being watched all the time at work. When I clean buildings I assume there is a camera in every room, it just makes me feel more relaxed to pretend I'm being watched all the time.

[SPKrazy]

7. Yup!

so true

:shrug:

[philosophie_en_rose]

8. Usually okay.

For the most part, I think that employers have an interest in seeing where employees spend their time.

[SPKrazy]

10. Hmmmm

I understand that part completely.

To read what their employees might say to someone...

:grr:

[philosophie_en_rose]

11. It seems pretty unnecessary for employers to go into detail.

If they reason to suspect misconduct, then they can look.

However, I am completely against micromanaging (though there is no law against that, I guess).

I am also strongly opposed to sharing that information with anyone. Info about internet/ computer work should be as private as other employee information.

[SPKrazy]

12. I Agree With The Last Sentiment

I wonder if there are any laws against that though?

[Gormy Cuss]

16. Generally speaking anything you do on their dime or with their equipment is fair game.

People should not expect privacy when they are using business computers. Good employers issue policies announcing how they monitor usage of equipment, but not all employers see the benefit of such a practice.

[SPKrazy]

17. poof!

thread killer!

[Gormy Cuss]

26. It's a knack.

}(

[philosophie_en_rose]

19. There is no expectation of privacy in computer usage, but there is one in employment records.

In many jurisdictions, employers cannot haphazardly share employment records. That includes disclipline notices, protected health information, home addresses, and other information.

[Gormy Cuss]

31. Right.

But within the workplace, they can monitor your phone calls and install keystroke loggers or other monitoring of your equipment usage and activities while at work (with some exceptions, like when you're using the restroom.) They can also share disciplinary info among themselves.
I'm surprised at how many employees think this isn't true.

[wildhorses]

32. what about when you are on break --

and you check your e-mail on your break?

[Gormy Cuss]

36. I wouldn't assume it was private.

Their equipment, their premises. I'm not offering a legal opinion, mind you. This is what I have been told repeatedly as a manager.

[wildhorses]

37. i realize not to expect to be private but,

would the info be leagally acquired?

[Gormy Cuss]

41. Can't give you a legal opinion, sorry.

Emails on corporate accounts have been held to be company property. I don't know about accessing your private account through a company gateway because I've only worked for companies that disallowed that practice anyway.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

38. Micromanaging can be hazardous to your health

My sweetie had a boss who stood over him, this at a VA hospital, in a dept. connected to a MEDICAL SCHOOL, who had a horrible virus.
Said boss had been TOLD by the doctor to STAY HOME, in no uncertain terms, and NOT TO GO TO WORK.

My sweetie got it and thought he was dying. Two weeks later I got it and thought I was dying.
Two weeks after that my kid got it and she thought she was dying. It was like Keebler elves were skiing down my throat on sandpaper skis. I probably had bronchitis too. I very seldom get viruses, I get bacterial infections.

All three of us wanted to kill the man.

And this is at a Medical School Dept. in a VA Hospital, folks!!!!
Wonder what they would be like if they didn't know about contagion and were stupid???

:banghead:

[undeterred]

15. There is no expectation of privacy at work.

The employer can easily block you from checking your personal email and reading posts at DU. I've worked at companies that let you have access to everything and others that don't.

I'm in IT. We have tools that tell us generally and specifically who is surfing all day, and who is downloading stuff. Usually no one from IT ever says a word or looks at anything unless a manager asks us to. The tools are there to help get documentation on bad employees. Good employees can usually get away with a bit of personal stuff without anyone saying a word.

As far as logging keystrokes, we don't do that. I don't have anyone's password unless they give it to me, so I can't see their personal email, just company email.

[SPKrazy]

18. What About Software That

logs every page into it for viewing?

how is that different than reading your e-mail?

If you log in on say Yahoo to check your e-mail, then they can read that can't they?

:shrug:

[undeterred]

23. We don't use anything like that.

There are some employees who have internet access because it is plausible that they need it for the job they do, and others who have absolutely no internet access.

No one has my passwords for anything, and I don't have theirs. To see their yahoo email I would need their account password. I don't think most employers really give a hoot about what an employee is saying to their friends in personal email- the employer's interest is in how the employee spends the time and resources they are supposed to be using for work.

I rarely take or make personal phone calls at work and I never use work email for anything personal. However, I log into my yahoo email 4-5 times per day and reply to emails to keep in touch. There are keylogging tools, but if I thought my supervisor or manager were using them to look at my personal email, I'd stop using personal email at work. And the truth is, if it bothered them they would probably tell me to stop doing it, rather than snoop.

IT people have the powers to 'snoop'- I could find out lots of company information by reading peoples company email. But its considered unethical and if I were caught reading the company email of the higher ups, I'd better have a damn good explanation. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have the right to do it.

If my supervisor installed something on my machine to snoop and didn't tell me, and I found out about it, I probably would quit because its a creepy way to handle things.

[wildhorses]

20. even though the blue one is the truth --

i had to vote purple


my boss is a jerk

[SPKrazy]

27. _-_-_

my institutional policies are a jerk

my boss is a great person

however.. not being smart may have ruined that.

[Generic Brad]

21. I play it safe

I don't surf the web at work. My job is so demanding I don't have time to surf anyway.

[SPKrazy]

30. Smart Man

my new plan

[bridgit]

22. anyone that thinks a company will not review matters that traverse their server...

with the use of their corporate equipment is kooky :rofl:

[SPKrazy]

28. ...

yeah, you're right

:crazy:

[Nevernose]

24. Don't care about privacy, It's the RESTRICTIONS

Teachers have the same restrictions as students do (one size fits all). It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to have a two-tiered system, and give people accessing teacher accounts more privilges than students.

This is a pain in the ass sometimes because, for instance, some of the stuff on CNN has "blog" in the address and is therefore banned as a "personal page." If I'm doing background research, geocities accounts are right out for the same reason. I'd like to do a Powerpoint presentation on Gothic architecture and art before our unit on Gothic literature, but I have to do it from home because Google Images is banned and the workarounds are a pain in the ass.

I have a list of proxies from students, but I never use them. Mostly I keep the list as blackmail.

[SPKrazy]

29. ROFL!

blackmail

:rofl:

[Nevernose]

33. "One more word out of you...

...and this Dean's referral will be sent. You know it's automatic expulsion to use a proxy, and I have digital photos of you using a proxy, as well as a note discussing proxies in your own handwriting. So sit down and shut up."

"But Mr. Nevernose, you can't do that! That's blackmail!"

"Yes. Yes it is. And where we go from here is your choice. *insert evil chuckle*"

The only thing easier and more common than proxy-blackmail is graffiti-blackmail. Whatever works. As long as you don't blackmail the good ones, what difference does it make? :evilgrin:

[Nikia]

34. Everything that you do at work is company property

At my workplace, there is not internet access in any of the computers except for the computers in the main office where the owning family can literally look over your shoulder. They have access to all the material saved on the network and computers. All email is read by them also. They look at all mail coming in, sometimes opening letters addressed to employees. They have made it clear that our purpose there is to work and all the work that we do is company property.
It doesn't bother me too much, except that I feel the need to look up stuff for work on my computer at home because I feel self conscious doing it in front of them. I am afraid that they will think that I am wasting time, spending too much time, not looking at the right things, etc. With provacty though, I never expected privacy at work.

[Rabrrrrrr]

35. It's their equipment, and I'm on their dime. Of course they can monitor.

To believe otherwise is to be a dipshit.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

39. I think it's a shame they have to do this...

but I can understand why they don't want employees using their equipment for personal reasons on company time.

[BarenakedLady]

40. Yeah, you want to know what sucks even more?

When it's done in your own house by your spouse. There I said it.

:grr: