Monitoring workers' screens is now easier, less expensive

By A.S. Berman
Gannett News Service

Since the Internet became an integral part of the workplace, businesses have wrestled with the challenge of limiting employees' Web surfing without hamstringing productivity.

More than one-third of U.S. employees who have Internet access at work — roughly 14 million individuals — have their office e-mail accounts continuously snooped upon by employers, according to a 2001 survey by the Privacy Foundation, an advocacy group in Denver.

A worker who accesses a Web site or "downloads something they shouldn't is really taking their job in their hands," says the foundation's executive director, Stephen Keating.

What your boss can see

Do you occasionally take a moment during the workday to check ESPN.com or consult local theater listings online? Do you then delete these little online excursions from your browser's "history" menu so as not to arouse suspicion?

Once this might have been enough. But, thanks to innovations in Internet monitoring and the low price of snooping software, your boss may know a lot more about you than you ever thought possible.

Devices that plug into the end of your keyboard, such as KeyKatcher by Allen Concepts ($59 to $79, www.keykatcher.com), can preserve every sentence you type.

ExploreAnywhere's

NetObserve software ($54.95, www.exploreanywhere.com) allows whoever's at the controls to see what sites you've visited, record your instant-messaging conversations, and even read, move or delete any file on your computer.

Finally, if the boss wants to know absolutely everything you've been up to on your PC, Spector Pro (www.spectorsoft.com) delivers complete omniscience for $99.95.

Not only does your employer have access to every e-mail and instant message you send and receive, everything that takes place on your PC screen is recorded — surveillance-camera style — and can be played back like a VHS tape. For an additional $99.95, the company's eBlaster software will send the boss a copy of every e-mail you send immediately, and an hourly report on the rest of your computer activities, too.

Consider this all an invasion of privacy? Tell that to Jim Farnes, an entrepreneur who might've lost everything if not for Internet monitoring.

A cautionary tale

The Coconut Creek, Fla., computer consultant spends much of his time on the road, making his four employees back at the office vital to the continued success of Farnes Computer Systems.

Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, Farnes was surprised to find that a technician was falling behind with his paperwork.

While testing an early version of SpectorSoft's software, he found out why.

"Out of eight hours, he spent seven hours on sports and fishing sites," Farnes says. When the technician continued to waste time online — even after being confronted by his employer — Farnes fired him.

The person he took on board a few months later could well have cost Farnes his company.

Although the new hire seemed ideal, a remark he made about a vendor the company did business with made Farnes uneasy.

"I popped up my spy program and found (the technician was sending) my vendor lists" to his old employer — Farnes' competition. Item codes, serial numbers and other proprietary information also were being relayed — information that could have done a lot of competitive damage to Farnes.

Necessary creation

SpectorSoft president Doug Fowler can relate to both sides of the Internet-monitoring issue. It was a workplace addiction to news sites and eBay auctions that led him to create Internet monitoring software in the first place.

While handling the marketing for the last technology company he worked for, Fowler found the lure of the Internet irresistible.

"I'm a pretty good employee," he says, "so (I thought) if this can happen to me, this can happen to anybody."

Internet abuse even reared its head in SpectorSoft's own Vero Beach, Fla., offices.

"A few younger employees found (instant messaging) to be a nice flirting tool," Fowler says, still amazed that people working for a company specializing in online snooping tools could make such a mistake.

On another front, the Recording Industry Association of America won a $1 million settlement from Arizona's Integrated Information Systems last April after employees there were found to have downloaded digital music files at work.

Fowler believes the best policy for all is for employees to be told up front that their online activities are subject to review.