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Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

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Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#91
post #36

If a company can have most, if not all, of its software engineering workforce WFH, why would they hire in US or Europe for those/similar roles?

When an employee steals all your intellectual property, would you rather sue: 1) An American citizen in an American court 2) An Indian citizen in an Indian court

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Employees were to install software called Hubstaff immediately on their personal computers so it could track their mouse movements and keyboard strokes, and record the webpages they visited. They were told to put this on their "personal" computers. Not work computers. This is way over the line.

Yes, of course, putting something like that on a personal machine is odious. But how do you tell if that or something like it is on your work machine? Look for "hubstaff.dll"? ... half kidding, but seriously how do you tell if there's corporate fuckery on your work machine (eg screenshotting, logging time on URLs, keylogging, etc etc)?

Apps for auto mouse movements exist. It's also possible auto feed a stream of recorded video to the cam. If my employer automated stuff to spy on me, I would automate to feed the troll in that same manner.

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#93

My mother-in-law is trying to teach driver's ed over Zoom. It's a horrible clusterfuck, because they are trying to force everyone to keep their webcam on at all times as a means of tracking attendance. The first session was 75% her shrieking at kids because their internet connections were dropping out or Zoom was glitching and the video feeds froze. Not to mention that Zoom can only show a 5x5 grid at a time, and som…

Yesterday, one of my kids was in group class on Zoom. The instructor kept yelling about the kids being quiet. So my wife reached over and muted the microphone. The instructor unmuted it and proceeded to continue yelling about being quiet.

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#94

Would you be okay with tracking software if it was installed on a work provided computer?

Why would mandatory malware ever be okay under any circumstance?

Tracking software is not malware. I totally oppose the use of tracking software, but they are not the same.

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#95
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't have said it better. One of the reasons I'm a supporter of universal basic income is so that the employees can have a better negotiating position. I suspect many bullshit rules will go out the window when the alternative to employment isn't destitution. For far too long has this negotiation been highly in favour of the employer.

This is a bit of a tangent, but one should be careful with that path. Not all employers are 'evil' and have negative intentions for their employees. Think of an example such as the independently owned restaurant that cannot afford to pay employees high wages and their owners are not wealthy. Just as not all employees can be painted as untrustworthy and hostile, not all employers should be painted as untrustworthy and…

All employers will value the enterprise over any one of their employees individually. When is the last time you saw an employer shutter their business but continue paying their employees? It isn't that they aren't trustworthy, it is that it is a mistake to trust your employer to act in your best interest. As an example you yourself bring up, think of all the restaurants that only function because they pay their employees peanuts and give them unstable hours.

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, of course, putting something like that on a personal machine is odious. But how do you tell if that or something like it is on your work machine? Look for "hubstaff.dll"? ... half kidding, but seriously how do you tell if there's corporate fuckery on your work machine (eg screenshotting, logging time on URLs, keylogging, etc etc)?

Apps for auto mouse movements exist. It's also possible auto feed a stream of recorded video to the cam. If my employer automated stuff to spy on me, I would automate to feed the troll in that same manner.

Yeah, but is there a way you can tell?

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#98

I think it's time to start naming and shaming these companies. This doesn't increase productivity. It's disgusting. You don't own people's lives for 8 hours a day; you pay them to help you achieve goals for the company. It baffles me how the US has trouble not understanding that paying for someone's time does not make them your slave.

I had to laugh a little about your second paragraph. I grew up in the deep south and have actually seen caucasion slaves (they had no freedom or agency in their life), and being a military brat, their reality was almost too funny to bear. If someone was raised in slavery, they have no concept of 1st world perks.

If you were to name/shame them, how would you brand the companies? (ie. Would you accuse them of bringing communist values to America or using 3rd world surveillance protocols in the 1st world)

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#99
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would mandatory malware ever be okay under any circumstance?

Tracking software is not malware. I totally oppose the use of tracking software, but they are not the same.

The only difference is a clause in the contract saying the employee agrees to use the software.

Re: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance

#100
post #39

"If you're idle for a few minutes, if you go to the bathroom or whatever, a pop-up will come up and it'll say, 'You have 60 seconds to start working again or we're going to pause your time,' " the woman said. Solution to that using appliances available in every home: Dangle the mouse from you desk and put a fan next to it so that it hits the mouse from time to time. But also quit your job - managers who use such tact…

This is not a great time to be quitting your job.
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