# IT Question for the Gurus **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 25, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475 "2008-11-25T19:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/1 "2008-11-25T19:54:39Z")
So - say I got really mad and in a fit of vented annoyance, I posted a slight rant about our resident corporate IT person onto my online blog in a locked entry. What are the chances that if she wanted to, she could find out what I typed? Does it save a copy of it on my hard drive? She’s at our corporate office, I’m at one of the divisions. I should have just voice posted it on my own cell phone - but I was sitting at the computer and just felt my fingers fly. Should I be worried? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/2 "2008-11-25T19:57:04Z")
If you used your work computer to do so, she can find you. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/3 "2008-11-25T19:58:15Z")
so how do i fix it? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/4 "2008-11-25T20:03:32Z")
Do you think your job is at risk for expressing an opinion about a fellow employee on a personal Blogg? Edit: If I found out that my IT manager can or worse DID see what I had typed on a blog - he or she is potentially in more trouble than I. I’d be disgusted. I’d be able to take the company to court for invasion of privacy. Not that I’ve ever bad-mouthed my IT manager on here. I’ve bad mouthed fellow employees for sure. Not that this is a blog. Same thing though. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/5 "2008-11-25T20:13:23Z")
There’s very little chance that she will see it. Someone would have to pull the log of your internet usage and recognize that you visited a blogging site. They would also have to see that you made an entry into the blog by examining the URLs (the log probably only contains the URLs you visited, not the text of the pages). Then they would have to somehow hack into your blog to see the locked entry. To bother doing all of this, they would have to have some reason to suspect that your blog contained information worth discovering. If you are the only person who knows that you made that blog entry, there’s about zero chance that anyone would go looking for it. There may be a cached copy of the blog entry on your computer but, again, someone would have to have reason to look for it in the first place. Unless they are closely monitoring your internet usage already for some reason, they will never know what you did. But delete the entry anyway. It was a dumb thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/6 "2008-11-25T20:14:45Z")
Unfortunately, once you’ve sent it through your work’s internet connection, all bets are off. Even if you completely destroy your work computer, it could still be sitting on a server. However, it’s unlikely anyone will see it, unless someone in IT is out to get you. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/7 "2008-11-25T20:20:35Z")
I suppose they could have a keystroke logger on your PC, which nabs everything you type. But I think the odds of that are quite small. Depending on the size of your company, I really doubt they’re logging everyone’s keystrokes. And unless you’re already under suspicion for something Pretty Bad, it’s unlikely they’d single you out for logging. So, I doubt they have any way to see what you typed on your blog. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could find out, but you’re probably safe. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/8 "2008-11-25T20:23:12Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Edit: If I found out that my IT manager can or worse DID see what I had typed on a blog - he or she is potentially in more trouble than I. I’d be disgusted. I’d be able to take the company to court for invasion of privacy. > . Company PC means anything on it is company property. No invasion of privacy. They provided you with it, you used their property and their bandwidth. So if I went onto your system to find something like that, I might be breaking a company policy, but it wouldn’t be invasion of privacy. Your PC at home, different story. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/9 "2008-11-25T20:27:28Z")
> [@diku](#): > > Company PC means anything on it is company property. No invasion of privacy. IANAL, but I believe workers in the UK have more privacy protection than those in the US. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/10 "2008-11-25T20:30:59Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > IANAL, but I believe workers in the UK have more privacy protection than those in the US. Whoops, didn’t see that. Yeah, I don’t know about the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/11 "2008-11-25T20:35:40Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Edit: If I found out that my IT manager can or worse DID see what I had typed on a blog - he or she is potentially in more trouble than I. I’d be disgusted. I’d be able to take the company to court for invasion of privacy. Here’s a line from my company’s policy on computer usage: > [@](#): > > Employees should have no expectation of privacy with respect to any use, including use for personal purposes, of the electronic communication facilities and services provided by the Company. I expect that any company worth its salt has enacted a similar policy. It’s entirely legal and is a smart policy for them to have. Edit: I didn’t catch that you’re not in the US. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/12 "2008-11-25T20:38:41Z")
It depends indeed. We have software that tracks Internet usage very thoroughly. If she got wind of the blog entry and had access to this tracking software she could see what you posted and verify you did it from work. This also assumes that the software is scanning and recording the Internet usage at your office. In our case the outside people are not being tracked and they have a different and separate Internet access unless they are using our terminal servers. In this case what they do on the Internet is being tracked. Does your company have any policies regarding Internet usage? Is she in the position do cause you any real grief? Jim ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/13 "2008-11-25T20:38:42Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Here’s a line from my company’s policy on computer usage: > > I expect that any company worth its salt has enacted a similar policy. It’s entirely legal and is a smart policy for them to have. > > Edit: I didn’t catch that you’re not in the US. Not a problem. The OP is in the US and this is about the OP not me. Anyway, It doesn’t sit well with me that anyone would consider it a _good_ thing that an employee has no privacy while he’s within the confines of the company he works for. To me that’s a bad thing. Edit: But I am currently reading a book set in post-war communist russia where privacy is virtually non-existent, so maybe I am being influenced by that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/14 "2008-11-25T20:42:36Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] Edit: If I found out that my IT manager can or worse DID see what I had typed on a blog - he or she is potentially in more trouble than I. I’d be disgusted. I’d be able to take the company to court for invasion of privacy. [/QUOTE] The OP is in the US, where we have \*no \*expectation of privacy when using our employer’s computers. As a security analyst and system administrator, I am entitled to and able to read your emails and “personal” files, not to mention observe your Internet usage as your activity goes through several servers between your desktop and the outside world. In reality, with roughly 200,000 user accounts on the network, we flat-out don’t have the time to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/15 "2008-11-25T20:45:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It depends indeed. We have software that tracks Internet usage very thoroughly. If she got wind of the blog entry and had access to this tracking software she could see what you posted and verify you did it from work. I might have misunderstood the OP. What is a “locked” blog entry? I am not a blogger. Is that an entry that only logged-on users can access? If so, and if IT doesn’t have access to the entry, they still wouldn’t be able to see **melodyharmonius’** entry with internet tracking software, would they? Or do you mean, they’d see he (she?) was on [melodyharmonius.blogwhatever.com](http://melodyharmonius.blogwhatever.com) between 8:00 and 8:30, and they’d see the fiery post at 8:29, and then put two and two together? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/16 "2008-11-25T20:59:55Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > … > Or do you mean, they’d see he (she?) was on [melodyharmonius.blogwhatever.com](http://melodyharmonius.blogwhatever.com) between 8:00 and 8:30, and they’d see the fiery post at 8:29, and then put two and two together? Yes, this part. I don’t think any company\* would record everything going in and out as the disk usage is prohibitive but even that is not technically out of the question. - exceptions of the Federal Government, IBM, Microsoft or Google type entities with seemingly unlimited resources. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/17 "2008-11-25T21:30:20Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Anyway, It doesn’t sit well with me that anyone would consider it a _good_ thing that an employee has no privacy while he’s within the confines of the company he works for. To me that’s a bad thing. If the company[LIST=a] [li]Provides a computer to do your work[/li][li]Provides access to the internet at their expense for work related purposes[/li][li]Is paying you to perform the tasks they have assigned[/li][/LIST]Should they not have the right to ensure that their resources are being used for the purposes that they intended? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/18 "2008-11-25T21:38:09Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > If the company[LIST=a] > [li]Provides a computer to do your work[/li][li]Provides access to the internet at their expense for work related purposes[/li][li]Is paying you to perform the tasks they have assigned[/li][/LIST]Should they not have the right to ensure that their resources are being used for the purposes that they intended? Technically yes. I’m just saying it’s not a positive thing from the employee’s point of view. And I am on the side of the employee. In many types of job it is naive to expect the employee to use their computer for nothing but work purposes. And some people’s assigned task is to be present in case something happens. What are those poeple supposed to do when there is nothing work-related to do? Read a book? Knit? Play tiddly-winks? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/19 "2008-11-25T21:44:19Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > And some people’s assigned task is to be present in case something happens. What are those poeple supposed to do when there is nothing work-related to do? Read a book? Knit? Play tiddly-winks? Yeah. Do what people did 5-10 years ago and beyond, or what non-office people do during downtime. The Internet is not a right. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475/20 "2008-11-25T21:45:59Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Technically yes. I’m just saying it’s not a positive thing from the employee’s point of view. And I am on the side of the employee. > > In many types of job it is naive to expect the employee to use their computer for nothing but work purposes. > > And some people’s assigned task is to be present in case something happens. What are those poeple supposed to do when there is nothing work-related to do? Read a book? Knit? Play tiddly-winks? Playing Devil’s Advocate mainly: The companies have the rights to track what the employees are doing in the office on office equipment. In the cases where the person is hired to just be there most of the day, then the company will usually not care what the employee does on the computer as long as it in no way makes the company liable for any complaints. Have fun surfing work safe message boards or reading the London Times online or whatever takes your fancy. Even here they reserve the right though to verify that, “Yes as reported employee Lobsang was surfing porn at work. Give him a warning this time and let him know that a second offense is cause for termination as we don’t wish to get sued by another employee.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-question-for-the-gurus/474475.md?page=2)