Computer Use Policies

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:57 am by gromit

Hi all, I just want to vent a little anger this morning and rather than punching my boss square in the nose (which would be a great short-term fix I imagine, but not good in the long run), I figured that this is the place to do it.

As a few of you know I've been job hunting for a while now, but jobs in my industry that pay the wage that my experience deserves, are quite frankly as rare as rocking horse ****. I hate the company that I work for, they have no sense of pride, customer or employee loyalty and are as tight as ducks arses. Which in the new media industry

I've been off for a couple of days ill, and I arrived back this morning to be greeted by a new "computer use policy" waiting for me in my inbox. Now this is the third I've seen since I started with this company, but by far the most strict...and we've been told that we absolutely must not ignore it - it could mean our jobs.

So why am I fuming? Well, for starters it says I can't send personal emails or use chatrooms during work hours. Understandable you might think. However, I use 3 chatrooms other than this forum and they are all work related...and the majority of personal email that I receive is from past colleagues because we tend to help each other out if we get in a pickle. So this is going to make my life extremely hard....and also means that I will have to say goodbye to TLR for good.

Secondly, I use a family of software called Macromedia Studio MX2004...this is the key software for my job - Dreamweaver, Flash, fireworks, Freehand, Coldfusion. The versions over the years have progressed as follows (it'll make sense soon why I'm telling you this...)...1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, DW Ultradev, MX, MX2004. I upgraded to a hooky version of MX2004 last september, with the boss' permission may I add, because the tight B****rds where too stingy to fork out £229 for a complete upgrade. This could sound like a lot of money to some of you, but to put it in perspective, last year my work alone brought the company in almost £120,000. Thats me alone. So anyway, now they are telling me to remove the hooky version and drop back down to Dreamweaver Ultradev, Flash MX, Fireworks 2 and we don't have a legal copy of Freehand so I can basically swivel on it. All this for the meesly sum of £229.

Wonder-f***in-ful. Will somebody please get me out of this ****hole before I kill somebody!

So my questions to you are as follow...

1.Does anyone out there have any links to any New Media companies in the South East of England? I've been designing for new media for 6 years, and dealt with some seriously high profile (and happy) clients....I NEED A NEW JOB! I doubt it, but its worth a try...
2.Anybody else have a computer use policy that they want to shove up their boss' arse?
3.Anyone know the legal implications of this? Can I quit and sue them for constructive dismissal? (ie. I can no longer do my job properly)
4.Any ideas how I can get onto TLR during the day without being caught??! (think they'll be checking my history and temp files)

Yours p*ssed-offly
Grom.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:09 am by Tawakalna

1. no, sorry, I'd speak to a bloke called Stu C. about that myself

nice bloke, lives near Canterbury.
2. I am currently composing computer use policies that are similarly draconian in order to stop the abuse and stupidity. sorry but most users (not you) are dangerous idiots and in support we have to protect our systems from external threats and internal incompetence, it's a professional responsibilty. Have a quiet word in your support admin's shell-like and I'm sure he'll be sympathetic.
3. dunno, but it sounds like clutching at straws to me, buddy. You'll be best off checking with someone who understands emplyment law. You have a case for sure, and you'd get a tribunal, but I doubt you'd win

4. clear your internet cache out and delete any cookies and histories (you can do this all from Internet options in IE6) and that destroys the evidence. However e-mail traffic is easy to monitor and you'd almost certainly be caught fairly quickly. Wouldn't webmail be better? then you can use the above to get shot of any traces. just a thought..

Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:25 am by [steel]

£229 they must be daft ......the software im using is £10k plus
as for comp use policy well they moan if i play games but thats all
as for your hist and temp files what about something like windows washer ?
id forget the constructive dismissal bit though esp if you quit too risky and no benefits for a while
if its worded "work hours" what about breaks and lunch for tlr not perfect but possible loophole

Edited by - [STEEL on 1/22/2004 4:40:14 AM

Thu Jan 22, 2004 5:05 am by gromit

I agree about the constructive dismissal thing - I think I was just fuming this morning about it.

I can also see entirely why people have computer use policies, but at the moment I'm working in a company with less than 15 people - all of which are IT professionals. There's really no need for this crap. I think there's a higher agenda here but I can't see it at the moment.

Long and the short of it is that our sys admin is also looking for further employment, and after a quick word in his shell-like he agreed that as long as he "doesn't know about it, it doesn't matter". I'm gonna keep everything on my machine that I need to do my job efficiently, leave at the earliest possible convenience and then shop them into FAST. £229 - would you believe it....I wouldn't mind but I'm in the middle of a job thats costing £20,000, and I'm working alone on the project, you'd think they'd just budget it in so that the client effectively pays for the upgrade. Useless ****s.

So whats windows washer? Any good? I'm concerned because I'm good friends with the sys admin and he recently told me that the pointy-haired boss sent him a "keyboard tracker" via email - sits in the background and records keystrokes to a text file. And if its being used on me right now, can I just say a big **** off to you nosey little ****s for reading my personal emails and the like.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 5:19 am by Tawakalna

<sigh> you know where to come of you need help with that particular problem, its some minor mucking about in't registry. mail me for da answer!

Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:00 am by [steel]

window washer is a wee utility to get rid of cookies history etc (yes i know you can do it manually)its ok i tried it a while back but have not used it in a while it just makes it easier and quicker to get rid of any traces of where youve been
basically it does what it says on the tin
http://www.webroot.com/wb/downloads/index.php

Edited by - [STEEL on 1/22/2004 6:23:01 AM

Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:04 am by Indy11

@Grom

I think everything you asked about has been covered already except for the job front and, well, can't help you there either.

Regarding "personal" e-mail. I don't know if your bosses can argue with you if your e-mail to friends has subject headings that clearly are work related.... further supported, of course, by e-mail content which is relevant to your subject heading. Besides, such "personal" mail really isn't that personal any more, is it... if you are discussing a work problem?

Just to throw in my two bits.....the draconian code of conduct in use of company e-systems is quite universal now, I think.

Thanks, again, to the morons amongst us who tend to think that everything provided by the employer is to be used for personal benefit first and employer's gain.... a distant second. Somewhere a while back, I remember exchanging posts with you guys about how tightly connected the list of telephone abusers and e-mail abusers are, for example.

Here in the US, those codes also are intended to mitigate and defend against offensive behavior that may take place (i.e. post-pubescent single male downloads porn and offends adjacent female co-worker) and that may give rise to a civil liability claim against the employer.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:16 am by gromit

Indy, I know what you're saying about personal/work related emails, but that only makes sense to someone who has more than 2 braincells....unfortunately my boss doesn't get it.

Just to top it all off, I've just had the following email from the boss' secretary/PA/Admin....

Is your boss the best in Kent?
IF HAVING a great boss makes you skip into work every morning then he or she could be in line for an new award.

Managers with motivational leadership who inspire loyalty and enthusiasm are ideal candidates for the Best Boss In Kent award.

Caroline Thorpe from Business Link, which sponsors the award, said: "Inspirational, motivating and successful managers who win the hearts and minds of their staff do exist and it's about time they were thanked for their ability to make the working environment an enjoyable place to be."

The winner will receive a hand-made, engraved silver trophy along with £1,000 from the sponsor to spend on training or support relevant to the business.

Full details of the award can be found at www.kent-business-awards.co.uk or call Caroline Thorpe for an entry booklet on 01273 207155.

You've gotta be kidding me!!! They seriously expect us to nominate him??! WHAT THE ****???!!!

Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:35 am by Warlord Bob

Geez grom, that sucks. Reminds me of Office Space. The only advice I can offer you is to delete your history, or parts of it if you can. Then you could get to TLR

Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:04 am by Tawakalna

I'm gonna nominate him 400 times a day for the next week and say I'm you, grommers.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:11 am by Indy11

Actually, this raises an interesting point. Grom, who is your boss' most hated rival in office?

Nominate that person instead. Get everyone in office to do the same.

That would be a laugh.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 9:27 am by boomerang one

How do you clear your internet cache?
And you should see My boss. Major case of cranial-rectal inversion. I used to be able to surf the net for info for my job too (I test electronic equipment) but the paranoid little idjit came up with the weirdest ideas about what happened behind his back. Even when proved to be completely impossible. Especially when proved completely impossible. That's when it became a cover-up conspiracy. When he cut me down to an hour a day (a set time for lunch) I bit his head off at the knees. Since then he's accused me of somehow hacking to get the password or something when the only code I actually understand a little is Hex on a Mac (within very small limits). He has backed off recently, probably because I just ignore him completely. The annoying thing is, he's probably the biggest security risk in the whole company. And he accuses me of bringing in viruses. He doesn't seem to get the idea that some e-mails you receive you Should Not Open. Duh.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 10:29 am by Tawakalna

you poor guys! I really feel for you all. this afternoon my new security policy went live and you'd be amazed at the number of people who rang up saying "such and such doesn't work, what's wrong?" only to be rebuffed by me smugly informing them that unauthorised use of company IT resources is now a disciplinary offence. bleat bleat plead plead "it's a funny picture/presentation from me mum/girlfriend/boyfriend whatever" oh well it wont last, security policies on limted access user profiles are here to stay.

Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:51 pm by H.Q. Victor

Gromit, if you seriously want to delete the files, use the web washer. It has a feature that it calls add bleach, which means it will over write the files from 2-8 times and you can add custom wash items too. I've used it for over two years and love it. Best of luck on the other items.

Finalday

Edited by - Finalday on 1/27/2004 5:16:58 AM

Fri Jan 23, 2004 4:39 am by Esquilax

Grom - As for keystroke loggers, trojan scanners are useful for picking up and removing such programs. In regard to email, there is one way that I can think of that may allow you to send emails without fear of them being labelled "personal". Why don't you try PGP? It is probably the most secure encryption you can use, and will be beyond your admins' abilities to crack (unless you leave you keys lying around). You could encrypt your emails and that way, there would be no way to tell if they were personal or professional in nature. If anybody asks, tell them that you have clients that are paranoid about security, and do not send unencrypted messages when they email personal information. It's a radical solution, but it is only one that comes to mind. It seems pretty sensible to me, but that could be because it is nearly midnight here in Aus., and I didnt' sleep well last night..

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