I came across your website while doing a search for anti-spyware tools for my e-mail software (Outlook 2003), as well as for Internet sites I may access while doing my work as a Research Analyst. I am currently interested in seeking out downloadable software that will block anyone in my company who may want to snoop and/or monitor who I am sending e-mails to or from my business e-mail address. I would also like to prevent them, if possible, from spying on which sites I visit while at work, via Internet Explorer. I don't even know if this is possible or not; but I've heard that there is free software available for these types of issues.
Sad to say, but it seems certain employees in our company have recently had individuals from HR maliciously try to unfairly "snag" them with claims of sending inappropriate emails -- and I'm thinking (naively, perhaps) that the only way they could know that is if they have some sort of tool to snoop on their employees. I can understand an organization wanting to confirm whether their employees are actually working (and not fooling around all day) while on their jobs -- but it seems this has gotten out of hand at my place of business, and it is now a concern.
Is there ANYTHING I can do, to find out if I'm being watched by someone (in our company's IT department, for example) when I send an e-mail, or go to different websites? E-mails are generally supposed to be somewhat private, and I don't feel comfortable knowing that someone could be watching the employees, treating all of us as "potential criminals" or something! I don't send out inappropriate content nor do I go to "forbidden" websites, but it would be helpful to know whether I'm being monitored beforehand, to avoid any "surprises," if you know what I mean.
Can a company's IT dept still know what websites an employee visits, even if the employees has no data in their "history" folder on their C: drive?
QUESTION POSED ON: 04 JUL 2006
QUESTION ANSWERED BY: Mike Rothman
Thanks for the question. I can confirm that there are tools out there that allow you to anonymously browse the web. But I am not going to tell you what they are. Pointing you towards these tools would be allowing you to knowingly violate your employer's user policies, and I find that to be an ethically murky area. My opinion is that anything you do using your organization's resources (networks or computers) is owned by the organization. The organization is liable for whatever you do, so it is within their right to keep tabs on you. If they are misusing that right, then that's an issue, but one you need to deal with executive management, not by skirting around the controls put in place.
E-mail is a bit harder, since, unless you use a personal email address, all outbound mail presumably goes through your organization's outbound mail servers. Once it's in the server, the messages are fair game and the organization can certainly read, scanned for inappropriate content or do pretty much anything else to the message. That's why folks (including me) say never to send anything via e-mail that you wouldn't want plastered to a bulletin board outside your office. It very well could end up there.
Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance, but, at the end of the day, I act as the organization's advisor, and I need to act in the best interests of the organization. If you cannot accept the organization's policies, then I suggest you may want to start looking for a place to work that is more in line with your personal ethics and values.
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