They're Watching!!

lol,

Hey everyone, I'm wondering how to find out if what I'm doing on a computer (like sl) is being monitored. I do not log onto anything, it's the same user account for everyone (at work). I know how to delete history, uninstall, delete chat history (or uncheck it altogether), etc.

I'm just curious, how do I found out if my computer is connected to a network, or who I'm sharing bandwith with, and stuff like that.

Any help would be appreciated.

At work? You're on a network, and it's not unlikely that they'd monitor your usage, to make sure you're working and not, you know, surfin the pr0nZ.

As for how to find out if you're on a network... if it's the same user name for everyone, that's probably a dead giveaway, along with the fact that _it's at work_.

Thanks Keira,

It's kind of hard to explain...

I'm sure I'm on a public DSL connection. I don't have to log in or anything... just like a home PC, I just turn it on and do whatever. We do operate on a computer network on separate PCs, but this one is not like that. Kind of like a backup PC, but connected via DSL. It has Broadcom NetXtreme installed, if that means anything to you.

Well if you do have anyone that knows even the basics of being a network admin, then they can monitor EVERYTHING. Keystrokes, sites visited and even capture screen shots on a timed basis.

Well that's pretty frickin scary... lol. So how do I find out it this PC is connected to a network?

_You are_

You have internet, and so do others there, I assume. They aren't going to have completely separate connections for every computer, so you're on a network. If they want to, they can see everything you do.

It's only scary if you're doing things you aren't supposed to, right?

Um yea Keira

Thats the point of the question on this specific forum...

It just all depends on the office. Take your time, get to know everyone around and you will soon find out the person who takes care of the computers, if anyone at all.

Fortunately for my coworkers, I am the network admin and I don't monitor anything except anti-virus, anti-malware and ports. We are a small office and know what everyone is doing anyways. I don't personally use SL at work but there is a coworker that does. Have been known to sneak into the forums here a few times everyday thou. Our work still gets done which is the only thing that matters.

Meh. In reality, as long as you aren't doing anything particularly bad, and you're getting your work done, nobody cares too much. If you're slowing down the network, or anything like that, you're likely to get in a bit of trouble, but not much.

Then again, some workplaces have strict rules about it, and being caught doing stupid things can get you into much larger amounts of trouble.

The biggest rule:
Don't download child porn at work. (Or anywhere, actually. Ever.)

ouch!!!!
From the places I have been over the years on a computer (very, very bad places) I have accidently ended up with the wrong files more then once. Deleted them immediately and cleaned up as much as possible. BTW there is no way to make the traces totally FBI proof without physically destroying the harddive, but then you still have the traffic across the internet anyways.
We just hired a new man to run a drill line. He was caught with kiddie stuff while working at the FBI offices as a contractor of all places. Don't know the particulars, if it was accident or on purpose but do know there were federal charges and he still has 5 years probation which includes NO INTERNET AT ALL. And this last week there was another man here in Virginia that the judge ordered no internet access for 25 YEARS.

Can anyone here imagine life with out the internet now? I know I can't. And while we are on the subject, the foreseeable future is not looking very rosy. President Obama has hired 5 RIAA lawyers for top positions in the Justice Department. This affects not only internet piracy but more importantly, they are trying to legalize active monitoring by the internet providers.

Well thanks you 2!

I'm familiar with the points you point out... especially child porn, lol (Which isn't funny actually). But my question still stands, I don't think I'm on a network but I'd like to know for sure. Where would I find out? Control Panel > Network Connections? Is that the only place?

What we have been trying to say is that it does not matter if you are on a shared network. It all depends on your admin, if they are worth their salt at all, they can still monitor everything that happens on your computer and you will not be able to detect it. So as already suggested, learn who it is that is taking care of the company computers and slowly learn if there is any monitoring going on and to what extent.

EDIT: Not trying to scare you, just tryign to be factual here. I am by no means an expert, I am just decent. Yet with even my level of expertise I can install a program on a computer that I have physical access to and there will be no traces of it in the OS. If your are extremely smart then you might see there is extra bandwidth being used if I monitor real time. But If I chose to just log everything and check after hours, then you would never know. Just the facts.

ok, thanks.

Essentially, as long as you aren't using your own connection (Which, in the work place, would basically mean using a dongle from a cell phone company to access the internet) you're on a network of some sort. It doesn't matter if they have a proper network, with passwords and names, and servers hosting programs and whatnot, if you are hooked into their internet, via cable or wireless, they can monitor your usage, and usually everything you do on your computer.

I would suggest if you are on some public computer or a work computer then you have no privacy even internet cafes can check what was used and by whom.
I am wondering whats your worry though, are you wanting to play SL while your at work and if so unless your the boss forget it i mean is your job worth playing a "game" for

What you can do, or should do, on a company-owned computer during your work day varies a lot by company, and also depends a lot on what your job is.

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Best rule of thumb: If you would be the least bit worried if the manager you work for appeared without warning behind your shoulder and started to ask what you were doing on the computer, then DON'T DO IT! If you are not CERTAIN that it is an allowed and justifiable activity, then it isn't worth risking your job over, is it?
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There are some jobs where, because of the nature of the work that a person does, and the level they are employed at, the employer's main concern is simply that the assigned work gets done on-time and at an acceptable level of quality. If the employee can do that and can multitask business calls and work tasks and surfing the net and playing on-line games all at the same time, no one cares. But that is a rare circumstance, and is almost never the case for anyone getting paid an hourly wage to work.

In most larger workplaces, there are filters in place on the network activity between company computers and the Internet. These filters may do things like detecting that you're trying to access a porn site, and denying the access. Such systems also log all your access - every page view. Companies usually also have VERY clear policies about use of company-owned resources for non-work activities, from Internet access to office supplies. Your Human Relations department can answer any questions you may have on such matters. In most cases, surfing porn sites or accessing sites that allow you to download 'free' music or videos is forbidden using company computers or networks, even if not "on company time", like when you're on a lunch break or afer your work shift is over. In a lot of cases *any* personal use of company resources is prohibited, unless approved in advance by your manager (for example, being allowed to use company computers and office supplies to make a flyer for a local charity program, outside of your normal work hours).

I was once involved with an investigation of an employee who was suspected of surfing porn sites while on the job. I was handed a VERY detailed log of every website that they had tried to access, and exactly how long they had ben connected to each page. In that case, I was able to determine that most of what they had been doing was using travel websites to plan a personal vacation trip and make reservations, which was an allowable use. While searching for info on their trip destinatin, they clicked on a few links that dumped them to porn sites. They bailed from those sites immediately, and went back to innocuous activities. So they were cleared. Yet it still triggered an administrative review of their use of company resources.

I don't know which is worse, that or the drive to give the president the power to shut down the internet in times of emergency. Of course they never define "emergency".

Well, if you bring in your own computer and mouse and keyboard and run your own clean copy of an OS they don't support in-house and use Socks or IPSEC to tunnel your connection over a stealthed connection (eg, IP over DNS or IP over ICMP), and you do it in an electrically noisy environment (between the racks in the computer room is almost as good as a TEMPEST grade Faraday cage) where you're reasonably sure there's no monitoring cameras...

Nah, even that's not certain...

From a command prompt type:

netstat -an


You will see a list of established connections.

Given the economic climate, some places are looking for any excuse to lay off workers. Don't give them any.

I can't see many bosses happy about workers using company resources for non-work purposes. The 'boss looking over your shoulder' test is a good one. SL looks like, and is considered, a game to most casual observers. How would you feel about paying someone to play a game while they should be working for you? If you're doing it during breaks, well, I guess that's down to company policy. The last place I worked allowed internet browsing during breaks, but wouldn't have tolerated game-playing.

If you're using a company PC through a company connection, they can find out pretty much everything you do if they want to. Bear that in mind.

For everything you think there is that people don't know about you... There's someone who knows. (^_^)y