BizTech

NETIZEN BE WARNED THE BOSS IS WATCHING YOU

A variety of tracking solutions allows companies to monitor everything from Internet use to speeding in company cars

E-mail junkies. Web lackies. Cyber slackers.
No matter the name, almost every business has employees who spend time surfing the net, checking personal e-mail, shopping online or tracking their office sports pool—all on the company dime.
Not only do such habits sap worker productivity and waste payroll dollars. The time spent online actually consumes bandwidth—or the volume of data the company pays to travel through its Internet connection. The more bandwidth employees use for personal habits, the less is available to the company.
The average American spends roughly two hours a day dealing with personal and professional e-mail, according to some statistics. If even a portion of that traffic is personal use on company time and resources, employers essentially are paying for employees’ online activities.
Enter employee computer monitoring applications. Though a product like NetNanny is a household name, a variety of employee monitoring and tracking applications are available to help companies keep tabs on their workers’ habits. Software is available that logs keystrokes, watches web surfing travels and chatroom activities, blocks access to specific sites and catalogs and stores e-mail messages. Once installed, the software allows the system administrator, employer or authorized user to review individual’s usage habits.
Big Brother is watching. But Big Brother also signs the paycheck. And employees had better get used to the prospect of employers keeping tabs on their online whereabouts. About 80 percent of U.S. companies monitor employee Internet, e-mail and file activity, according to the American Management Association, and 14 million Americans have such practices monitored at work.
From a single terminal to large corporate offices, tracking
solutions can give the boss an eye on a variety of employees. Even teleworkers, or corporate employees who work remotely or from home on company-issue computers, can fall under the technology’s watchful gaze.
“These solutions were designed to prevent productivity that’s wasted,” says Ricardo Garza, a long-time corporate IT consultant and special agent with Geek Squad in Orlando. “If you think about how much productivity can be lost on an eight-hour shift, or how much work they’re doing versus personal time, it can be compelling. Everything is done on the computer now, so unless you’re standing right over their shoulder, you don’t know how much you’re losing.”
Applications and uses vary by product. Some applications track websites visited, turn off access to specific sites or take screen shots of what’s on the PC monitor at set intervals. Key logging software logs keystrokes and keeps a text file of everything typed on a specific computer. Think it’s safe to check your e-mail? Loggers can be set to track any site or service visited, even for personal e-mail, Garza says. The level of tracking is up to the business owner.
Manufacturers include Norton Symantec, McAfee.com, ZoneAlarm and TrendMicro.com. Others include Spector.com, PCAcme.com, ResourceMonitor.com and SoftActivity.com.
Think it’s an intrusion? Then do it on your own computer on your own time, experts say. Uncontrolled usage can jeopardize company systems and proprietary data. Spam, viruses, racy jokes, pornography and other habits and file types can not only waste time and corrupt the system. They can tarnish the company’s reputation and open the company up to claims of sexual harassment if content is viewed by other employees.
“If they’re sending inappropriate e-mail on their personal account, they’re still held accountable,” Garza said.
Keeping an eye on employees doesn’t end at the office door. Global positioning system (GPS) technology—installed in a company-issue wireless phone or on company vehicles—can track employees’ whereabouts. Tracking employee travels can be as simple as having a GPS chip or module installed on employees’ company-issued cell phones. To ensure good driving habits, products like DriveDiagonistics.com can be installed on vehicles. The technology tracks acceleration and deceleration, the force of turns and other potentially unsafe driving habits.
A caveat to searching the web for the latest employee monitoring application: Some applications profess to monitoring employee’s online habits, but once installed actually track company activities—and report back to the software maker. Worse, some are “malware,” or malicious software designed to corrupt systems or damage data and documents. Thus it’s important to download and install only those applications recommended by IT consultants or trusted sources.