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I'm almost inspired enough to create an open source "killer" of these background programs. "Bossware" is one of the most infuriating things I've seen wrt employ
by daenz 6y ago
I'm almost inspired enough to create an open source "killer" of these background programs. "Bossware" is one of the most infuriating things I've seen wrt employment in a little while.
- dreamcompiler 6y agoIf you do so, please design it such that it feeds a constant steam of innocuous data to the boss so they can't tell the bossware isn't working. Any employer who chooses to engage in technological warfare against their own employees deserves warfare in return.
- supercollision 6y agoHad a teammate do something similar but much simpler in the past (think limiting execution and FS permissions). This is unlikely to end with management appreciating your initiative.
- gen220 6y agoDepending on your definition of bossware, this may or may not be practically impossible. If you consider carbon black to be bossware, you would have to exploit the operating system vuln to get around it. Every once in a blue moon, our security team runs a p99-latency scan on my laptop, that basically bricks it. I’ve tried and failed to kill it, but I’m open to suggestions!
- novok 6y agoIf you have admin on your machine, turn unload the kernel extensions and turn it off. One dirty secret is that many IT departments wont notice or wont care.
- PeterStuer 6y agoUnlike HN readers, most employees do not have admin on their work computer, and for good reason. Doesn't mean they should suffer 'bossware' and most certainly not without informed and explicit consent.
- PeterStuer 6y agoI would start with presence detection. Removal might be in this specific cases better handled through a process that forces the company to remove it based on rules and regulations if possible. Most employees will not just want to start a tech war with the company admins.
- koheripbal 6y agoMany companies that monitor also prevent running ad-hoc excutables.