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>Fine. I’m not a lawyer, but I’ll tell you this. If some rando IT dude is going through folks’ computers after they quit and I find out, I am quitting your comp

>Fine. I’m not a lawyer, but I’ll tell you this. If some rando IT dude is going through folks’ computers after they quit and I find out, I am quitting your company and telling everyone. I have never done that to anyone reporting to me and no company has ever done that to me. I can’t believe you’d accept these work conditions. Wild. Every large company I've worked at or heard of it's pretty much assumed that IT may monitor everything you do on their machine. Everyone knew this. Which is why you don't use the company laptop for personal use.

mewpmewp2 5y ago
Is it same in EU? If I read the law correctly I understood they need a good reason to monitor and they definitely need to notify you and ask for consent. I have been using my work laptop quite heavily for personal use and I would prefer not to stop honestly. I believe my intentions are pure and to provide value, I understand world is not perfect, but I would not want to work for an employer that needed to monitor me.
- Sebb767 5y ago
  IANAL, but as far as I read into the situation, employee monitoring is a very dangerous field. There are exceptions, however, such as company-provided http(s) proxies and more concrete monitoring or investigation when suspicion arises (I know of two cases where employees were suspected of consuming child porn and they were both monitored as well as having their hardware seized). Lastly, the companies or specific malicious admins might simply not care about the legality and still monitor you - either for company reasons or simply to stir through your data. If they have admin access to your computer, it's simply not your computer.
snowwrestler 5y ago
IT may have the legal right and often the technical ability to monitor any activity on work computers. But it is stupid to allow any old IT staff to do so, and this thread is a good illustration of why: because most IT staff do not have the discipline or smarts to keep what they learn sufficiently confidential. Allowing IT staff to browse the files of other staff at will can lead to other HR problems such as harassment or even blackmail, or loss of corporate reputation if people post embarrassing stuff in, say, a public HN thread. The ability should be exercised only under the supervision of a lawyer, which limits bad behavior and creates attorney-client privilege for discussions of what might be found.
- to11mtm 5y ago
  This can be a double edged sword though. I worked at a place that did have good 'secrecy' around most monitoring. While I was one of three people outside of Infosec that managed to find out that someone was let go because they were caught exfiltrating client/employee PIFI... I'm pretty sure nobody who was possibly compromised got informed. This was a place that was so concerned with image that the handbook was about as strict as what my Sister had to deal with when teaching at a Catholic school. Image was everything to them.

mewpmewp2 5y ago

Is it same in EU? If I read the law correctly I understood they need a good reason to monitor and they definitely need to notify you and ask for consent. I have been using my work laptop quite heavily for personal use and I would prefer not to stop honestly. I believe my intentions are pure and to provide value, I understand world is not perfect, but I would not want to work for an employer that needed to monitor me.

Sebb767 5y ago
IANAL, but as far as I read into the situation, employee monitoring is a very dangerous field. There are exceptions, however, such as company-provided http(s) proxies and more concrete monitoring or investigation when suspicion arises (I know of two cases where employees were suspected of consuming child porn and they were both monitored as well as having their hardware seized). Lastly, the companies or specific malicious admins might simply not care about the legality and still monitor you - either for company reasons or simply to stir through your data. If they have admin access to your computer, it's simply not your computer.

snowwrestler 5y ago

IT may have the legal right and often the technical ability to monitor any activity on work computers. But it is stupid to allow any old IT staff to do so, and this thread is a good illustration of why: because most IT staff do not have the discipline or smarts to keep what they learn sufficiently confidential. Allowing IT staff to browse the files of other staff at will can lead to other HR problems such as harassment or even blackmail, or loss of corporate reputation if people post embarrassing stuff in, say, a public HN thread. The ability should be exercised only under the supervision of a lawyer, which limits bad behavior and creates attorney-client privilege for discussions of what might be found.

to11mtm 5y ago
This can be a double edged sword though. I worked at a place that did have good 'secrecy' around most monitoring. While I was one of three people outside of Infosec that managed to find out that someone was let go because they were caught exfiltrating client/employee PIFI... I'm pretty sure nobody who was possibly compromised got informed. This was a place that was so concerned with image that the handbook was about as strict as what my Sister had to deal with when teaching at a Catholic school. Image was everything to them.