IT of any company/city/government/ private job know how to extract visited web-pages?

Question

I want to know how the ITs extract websites and webpages that was visited on someones computer without even coming to the person's computer.
For example, i was queried for going to some websites on the internet that's not partaining to my work aspect. The IT department are the one who extracted the websites that i visited and gave it to me supervisor, how did they do that? And how can i stop them from getting it in the future?? Is it stoppable/blockable??

Answer 1

Every time you visit a webpage there is actually a complex bit of connection negotiating that happens. The short version is you send a request, then there is a reply.

The request does not go directly to the website, just as your phone call does not go directly to your best friend's phone. It has to "route" through your phone company and then your friend's phone company.

Your Internet connection works much the same way. You have an Internet company that is your employer's IT department. They can see your connections to other websites, which have hosting providers.

Also, almost all companies have remote administration and management software. I regularly control remote users PCs when they have troubleshooting that needs done. This same software can be used or modified to monitor users remotely. Your IT department may indicate they have to have your request first, but that is only because of policy, not because they cannot configure the software to do so.

As far as "stopping" goes, you can learn about using proxies, but as an IT person myself, I would highly suggest just asking your supervisor which websites he/she found offensive and no longer visiting them. You are there to work and get paid, aren't you?

Keep in mind that even if you use proxies or a method of hiding where you are actually going, there is always still a way to find out, it just depends on how much work your IT department wants to go through. Even secure connections can be faked through something call a "man-in-the-middle" attack, which your IT department is in a very good location to perform. If you are at all concerned about your IT department's ability to monitor you, do not use your banking websites or view any websites you would not want your boss to know about.

Most companies have a somewhat liberal policy on visiting websites and/or block websites that are already problems, like YouTube, MySpace, and others. If your employer doesn't meet your expectations for reasonable Internet use, find another one that does.

Answer 2

There are several truths in the world: one of them is that IT can not only log your every page visit (if they bother to take the time to mess with that) they can, if they wish, log every keystroke you type on your keyboard.

You are interfacing with electronic data. The internet doesn't begin and end right there at your desk. There are thousands - no, millions - of stops along the way. The first stop (at least, the first that you should worry about) is your company's IT servers.

See, you're not "plugged in" to the internet. You're plugged into the company servers, and they're plugged into the net. Sort of a firewall to keep junk out and employees in.

And yes, it can be stopped very easily. Just clock out and go home. Come back when you are ready to stop wasting company time.

Answer 3

No it's not stoppable.

In order for you to go out on the Internet you have to go through a gateway that they setup.

That gateway logs everything for everyone. (It's incredibly simple)

They can even setup a PC to watch what you are doing on your computer. It's quite simple really.