Can my work computer be " spied on "?

Question

I work for a small county, and recently received a promotion to run the road department's sign shop. It's the first job that I've had where I have my own computer at work. When I first got the job, the county I.T. guy called me so he could fix some files in one of my programs. I gave him my IP address and he accessed my computer. I watched him open files and do his work.....all from a desk a few miles away.
My question is: Can they access my computer, without my knowledge, and see what I'm doing? I'm not checking out porn, or anything, but when work is slow, I might check out my fantasy football teams, or check out utube, or something. I always delete my temp files, and cookies when I log off, but can they spy on me when I'm actively using the computer?

OK......there are way too many informative answers here for me to pick just one. I'm going to have to put this one up to a vote. Thanks for the info, you all. It's much appreciated.

Answer 1

Yes, this is quite common in a business environment.

Answer 2

YES! Matter of fact everything you do on the internet or even network is recorded. Like you ISP (Internet Service Provider) keeps you website visits for about 60days. And if their good enough they can access your computer. I've actualy got some software that cracks windows login passwords, and by the way try using operator to encrypt your internet to a server somewhere in the world so they can't see your internet traffic through their filters. Yeah most IT people are good enough they can just ask to fix your computer and install some spying software. It answer the question about accessing your computer, it's kinda hard but it can be done, if you know what your doing.

Answer 3

Can they?
Yes

Do many companies do exactly that?
Yes

However, lets be realistic....

As an employee, clocked in, on company time and using company equipment are you:

a.) breaking the law (civil or criminal) directly as an individual or indirectly as a company representative? (clue - technology cannot solve problems with human behavior in regards to law or policy. IT doesn't care unless they are scapegoated (people scapegoat when they want to cover their own *** - is it reasonable to expect the target to not do the same thing? Particularly when they have the means and the method to blow your case out of the water?. Upper management clearly cares regardless and who are they going to ask to investigate? Who's job is on the line if they don't find A culprit?)

b.) potentially creating a political issue for the company? (clue - IT doesn't care beyond how it effects their job but upper management clearly does)

c.) being irresponsible in regard to data security, integrity, prevention or loss? (clue - does a small thing you just won't do equal to a huge problem repeatedly or down the road for them?)

d.) are you putting the IT people in the position of blame if something wrong that was beyond their control to prevent? (clue - they are not scapegoats - they are problem solvers. they are not cost centers, they are profit enablers)

e.) are you too paranoid of your IT people enough to let them do their job and not worry if they are watching your every move? (clue - they don't care)

The reality is that although there is the right of privacy in America (I say right because I believe it is a right rather than a gift), once you are on company equipment, your right to privacy is trumped by their right to you filling your end of the contract.

Privacy really seems to boil down to exposure to liability, blame and social judgement - this is why blame and liability are listed in multiple context above.

You say you clear your logs. To an IT person, someone who clears their logs regularly is a red flag (normal users don't clear their logs and power users either don't care or turn logging off) - that's when router logs are investigated - you don't have control of those do you? That's when your IP address is noted and that's when a packet sniffer is deployed.... All from the comfort of their desk without you being aware or being able to do anything about it.

On your home computer, not used for work purposes or any time you are not on the job or on call, your right to privacy kicks in - now privacy has a personal context.

I see credit card information, HIPPA related information, SOX related information daily. My first thought when someone's solution to the confidentiality of data is to block their screen rather than advocating vetting/bonding/giving clearance of my position so I can actually do my job is:

'clueless problem child - if they only knew, they would have a heart attack and the only way I can save them from the hospital is to take a 5 second point and click into a 5 month project.'

That's just the way it is, like it or not. Rest assured, the IT guy doesn't care if you surf the internet - only if THEY will get in trouble if YOU get caught surfing the internet.

Regardless if their are systems in place, you clear your logs or not, small business, enterprise class, whatever - IT people that know their @$$ from a hole in the ground know what people are doing.

If they will be held responcible, they already know what you do and will burn you before you have the chance to burn them. If they won't, surf away and just let them to their jobs. Believe me, I'd rather ignore usually irrelevant and useless, not worth the time, logfiles than wait 20 minutes for it to be convenient to solve a problem reported as ASAP when the solution is a check box and I'm negotiating the ability to take control of the keyboard for 10 seconds. (no - you don't need to save that document first, no you don't need to close that program, no, you don't need to upload the file that will take 15 minutes first, yes, other people might be waiting and I'm not an *** for coming back later nor am I implying you aren't worth my time by leaving, no you are not more important than everyone else.... etc.,..)

I control what I am paid to control to the highest level approved and budgeted for by my superiors. Nothing less.

I cannot control, no matter how much tech you give me, human behavior nor is it my authority as an IT person to enforce policy regarding human nature... hate to say it, but you need to speak with HR about that issue.

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On the other hand, you said small business. Most likely, everyone is at most once removed from the owner/president of the company. If this person ISN'T a technologist, they won't 'get' the issue to begin with (the logs, the problem, the fact that its possible to monitor employee internet surfing, ... they won't know the difference between a MAC address and a big MAC.

If you have decent people skills, meaning that you can move a discussion away from fact and toward emotion, what's to worry about again?

Answer 4

Yes, it is quite possible to not know unless you know exactly what you're looking for. Some companies install spy software, and sometimes unscrupulous crackers (Techie term for what the media calls "hackers", the community originally and still does use the title as sorta a "grand master" title) will install spyware, sometimes in the form of virtually invisible rootkits.

Answer 5

There are many programs which allow remote control (VNC would be one). For example, I work in a setting where we can control a computer from our central server. However, if we don't actually move the mouse, we just see what you do.

There are also administrative shares that allow backdoor access to most networked computers.

Answer 6

yea, in school, my computer teacher would watch what i was doing, i was the teachers pet, and make fun of my work and everything, and then locked me out of it a few times, if its networked with a big company, or something along the lines like that, its a very annoying program, specially when your actually doing work and they lock you out just for laughs, but i dont think theyd mind if you played some solitaire or anything like that

Answer 7

nope, the can't secretly watch you in that way, if you all of a sudden are locked out of the computer, it means he logged in your computer and then that's when he does those things, but it can't happen without you noticeing so just disconnect the ethernet cable from the back nd vuala, control is yours again lol

Answer 8

Short answer yes.

Answer 9

Can they? Yes. Are they? Yes. Bank on it.

Be good at work, and be your nasty ol self at home.