Big Brother

…first draft and written at work!

You are not alone on your computer any more. Over in a corner there might quietly be sitting one of the new big brother programs humming along in the name of security and accessibility.

The applications of these new big brother programs are endless. If you have a problem with the your computer, the maintenance tech can be right there to see just what your screen sees. Are you in Boston and want access to your work computer in Schenectady? You have it. In Oconomowoc and want access to your computer at home in Bonsall? You can do it If your company has built a network and wants access to your work, they now have it. Firewalls? They are built in. Security to safeguard your network? There it is. If management wants to watch their employees, these new programs can keep an eye on them too.

The one G found on my office computer this morning is called Watch Guard Mobile User VPN. vpn.schmoo.com asks, “What’s a VPN? Virtual private networks are secured private network connections, built on top of publicly-accessible infrastructure, such as the Internet or the public telephone network. VPNs typically employ some combination of encryption, digital certificates, strong user authentication and access control to provide security to the traffic they carry. They usually provide connectivity to many machines behind a gateway or firewall.”

Not only do I now have a camera over my shoulder in the name of safety, now my every keystroke is monitored. Continually. My daughter Lenora says, “So what?” But the ethics of using VPNs as a tool stagger me.

Minimal research into computer ethics tells me that computer engineers are still fuzzy in the areas of computer privacy, security, and ethical behaviors. There have been great efforts made to minimize the data collected and then to dispose of this data. But these thoughtful and focused engineers and designers do not work for a corporation that hires middle to bottom feeders out of the available pool of job seekers.
Lot managers are on occasion themselves minimal in the areas of ethics and security. One of two of them have been known to bag their drop then say their car was broken into. Sometimes any excuse will do when one of them has spent money that belongs to the company. This is not a pristine business at times.

Business ethics tell me that I should not be hammering out this little article on my office computer. But work is slow. Nonexistant in fact, and I have already completed the paperwork and done everything but wash the windows. My daughter the boss tells me that using the computer at work does not matter. She reminds me that I have lunch plus two breaks that are mine by law. I can type on the computer then. My dear Husband, another boss who has strict ethics, says the Towing Company shouldn’t be adverse to my doing a game of solitaire on occasion. Solitaire is his passion, not mine.

I write. I would write every spare moment of every hour spent at work. In dead time, now I read after I have shelved, sifted, sorted, cleaned, picked up, tossed out or any other odd and end my job might need me to do after releasing cars, taking in cars, and inventorying cars. Today I am writing. The VPN isn’t hooked in to the network yet though it is turned on.

I’m still feeling guilty. If this persistant guilt needs assuaging, I can tell myself that I have been writing about work. It’s my only excuse.

Computer Privacy, Ethics, and Security

Computer Ethics

Workplace Monitoring

Workers, surf at your own risk

High tech snooping…

Is big brother…or his server…watching you?