Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 359 posts

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#221

Post by VectorLock »

asveikau wrote: post #143
readme wrote: post #30

PSA for businesses: how about instead of spying on the deadweight you fire them and reward the productive employees. There are tons of work from home employees (who normally work from home) who are 10x more productive than the in-office ones, because they realize the value of what they have. It's too bad most people will only work when you're looking over their shoulder, but lets not keep that on life-support with sp…

I think deciding which human being to label as "dead weight" and overfocus on that question is on the same path to paranoia as thinking you need to monitor them all closely. How many times have you seen contributing employees who are not understood by their bosses mislabelled as "dead weight"? I think it happens pretty often, especially in performance-review-obsessed cultures.

Especially in these times anybody who indicates a decline in performance might be having serious personal issues that you might want to approach with empathy rather than cutting them off like a gangrenous limb.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#222

Post by downerending »

closeparen wrote: post #99
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think less than 5% of comments on open-office design, that I have ever seen, were positive. It's basically taboo to say anything positive about open office spaces online. There are many, many legitimately terrible open office workspaces in the world. Suggesting that open offices aren't always bad feels like an attack on those who are miserable in their open office. So it's safer to just never bring it up. In the…

University libraries are silent. Focus is the first-class activity; groups that want to work together must book a conference room or go to a dedicated collaboration floor. You might go with your friends for company, but you’re only going to speak on e.g. trips down from the workspace to the attached coffee shop. A “library rules” open office would be just fine. That’s not what happens, though. The point of an open of…

Ha. University library silence seems to be in serious decline these days. Not long ago I was in one I'd describe as a cocktail party atmosphere. My theory is that universities have become more desperate to ply their students with various perks and services, they're more reluctant to crack the whip on anything that smacks of discipline.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#223

Post by novok »

gambiting wrote: post #67
lodovic wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if the employee is informed upfront. Otherwise it's a privacy issue.

Let's assume they were informed upfront - there's nothing illegal about it then, is there?

What kind of informed? Buried in hundreds of pages of policy documents, that they make you 'acknowledge'? A separate network use agreement when employed giving cart blanche? Or something specific and upfront?

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#224

Post by downerending »

RandallBrown wrote: post #148
prostheticvamp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think less than 5% of comments on open-office design, that I have ever seen, were positive. Who are the people you are describing as being “sold”?

Here's an anecdote for you. I LOVE open offices. If you need something, you can ask. If you want to pair program with someone, they can just turn around or scoot over. You can tell if the person you need to get help from is busy without leaving your chair. Hell, even the distractions are nice. I've never felt closer to coworkers than when I've worked in an open office. I like the occasional nerf dart whizzing past my…

I don't hate open offices exactly, as long as management agrees that I'm going to be 25% less productive that way. It's kind of working on a VT-100 instead of a 28" monitor. Unfortunately, in my experience, that's a condition that's lost on most managers.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#225

Post by Loughla »

balls187 wrote: post #37

This may be hard for those of us in tech to comprehend; not everyone can function without having a boss to keep them 100% accountable. In 2004, I worked for a startup and we had beer in the fridge. We'd have an occasional afternoon where we would grab them. No big deal. Most startups I worked at embraced a similar attitude. Finally I worked for a company that went a step further and had beer on tap, but had rules, no…

I've read this comment like 10 times in the last hour. I get what you're saying, but it misses the point, I think.

>entry-level roles.

>used to flex hours, and the ability to remotely (including WFH), that we forget that for many others, it's novel.

That's the point of management and leadership. You take new people and make sure they have what they need to get the job done. For most people, that 'what they need' is a literal statement of "I know you have access to beer, and I know you just graduated college, but don't get hammered on company time" or "I know you're 22, but flex hours means your work still gets done".

If you don't say it out loud, and assume people will pick it up via osmosis, you're a bad leader.

>bosses thrust into this new paradigm of working haven't necessarily picked up the skill sets to effectively manage remote

As someone who has never worked remotely, and manages a team very much focused on human interaction (higher ed), and who is now 100% remote, I need to know what you mean by this. Other than needing to automatically over-communicate everything (by my definition), how is remote different than in-person?

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#226

Post by novok »

tzm wrote: post #78
3fe9a03ccd14ca5 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No where is this a criminal offense in the USA. In fact, “spy software” installed on company computers is widely common.

Spying on your employee, or using covert monitoring tactics, is rarely legal. Not sure on the criminality, but privacy laws are enforceable. Also, there's a distinction between monitoring and spying. Ex: California Social Media Law (2013) https://readwrite.com/2013/01/15/californias-new-privacy-law...

They install cameras everywhere, they have a full rootkit on your machine, they log every network interaction and email/chat and they let themselves do it through 100s of pages of policy documents that you have to sign as a condition of employment. It might as well be covert in practice.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#227

Post by downerending »

flanbiscuit wrote: post #139

We need a tutorial on how to detect if you're being monitored like this. As an employee I would like to know just so that I'm aware. I don't necessarily think my company is doing this but it would still be great if there was some kind of a way to at least know. It's a given that any company you work for has full and complete access to your work email and private Slack workspace messages(DM or private channel). Same g…

Until they mention of it (or you hear of it), it doesn't much matter. Once they do, leave.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#228

Post by Loughla »

salawat wrote: post #103

My recommendation: A) Audit your base machine for any suspicious processes. Most of the time, something will stick out. For Windows boxes, pay attention to the Startup/Autorun sections of the Windows Registry/Group Policy. On *Nix boxes, either unit or init scripts; audit your launched plists. B) If you do suspect information exfiltration/monitoring; cripple/subvert the sensors/information stream. Exact details will…

I think 'D' only applies if (1) you work in a privileged sector, or (2) we're not expecting a 25%+ unemployment rate.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#229

Post by elbear »

ilikehurdles wrote: post #136
ianai wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears to be standard practice everywhere in corporate America.

I've only been a professional for 8 years but I've never had this experience as a developer.

I've had the same happen to me (and all my colleagues) at my first work place as a developer.

Re: Bosses panic-buy spy software to keep tabs on remote workers

#230

Post by anthonypasq »

novok wrote: post #214
djsumdog wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is? I guess I'm in a special boat being a developer and being able to run Linux at work since 2012, but even on the corporate Windows/Mac workstations, I don't think I've been at a company that's installed any type of spyware (other than standard remoting tools used by help desk and controlled with Group Policies).

They don't disclose what they do, and typically it's a function of company size. Once you get past a certain point and there is budget for an IT department, they start installing things like 'endpoint management' and redirect your DNS to something that logs all DNS records, etc.

that is entirely different from taking screenshots.

It seems blatantly obvious for security and audit reasons a company should log internet usage on their secure network

Post reply on HN