A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

I caught my company's spyware in the act. - s/msg

Posted: Jul 24, 2012

I'm not going to identify the company (let's face it - they ALL have spyware these days) or how I did it, because I don't want to be identified. This is a company that requires you to have an instant message feature turned on the entire time you're working. I turn it off when I'm off the clock.

HOWEVER, the other day, when I was not logged in to work, I was doing some shopping online. When I was finished comparing items, and decided to close the page and log out of the computer, come to find out the instant message feature had turned itself on, even though I was not logged in to the company's software.

Normally this would just be an annoyance, and not too alarming, but just as I was getting ready to close the website I'd been visiting, I noticed that what the instant message feature was showing, most likely for all to see, was NOT just the names of contacts in the company, like it usually shows. No, it showed the entire webpage of the store I was shopping at.

That's over-the-top INTRUSIVE, don't you think?

your own computer? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Why not just run a spyware program? How do you know it's not some other virus/trojan? Seems odd and outlandish to me.

Yep, own PC. Yep, I run 2 spyware/malware programs. - I wouldnt have believed it, either -s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do about it yet, but the first order of business was to warn other MTs who have similar work setups to beware of that instant message feature, and keep an eye on it.

Elaborate please - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Can you tell us what it was called, how you knew, etc.?

As I stated above, I can't give that much detail - about software, method, etc. - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
because unfortunately I still have to work there. However, I think they've crossed the line, here. No way do they pay me enough to be okay with having them monitor what my own personal computer is used for when I'm not working. If they want us to have pristine, virgin, non-web-surfing PCs, then they'll just have to supply them to us, won't they?

Answer to KRYSTAL: - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
The way I could tell it opened was as I was closing my internet browser and the page I'd een comparing products on, there was the instant message page on my screen. It shouldn't have been there because I didn't open it. Moreover, it normally should've had just the list on company contacts on it. Instead, it showed a smaller picture of the same site I had been shopping on. It has never done this before, but it did it now. I don't know if I missed it previously, or if this is some new feature of the company's transcription software. Whatever it is, I don't like it. I think it's ultra-creepy, too, that any employer could be on that much of a power trip.

company spyware - Kelis

[ In Reply To ..]

hmm . . . . i have heard of companies installing spyware to monitor "inactive" time but this is beyond the pale. can you provide any additional details? how infuriating, and scary. :o

Does the company name start with an "A" - just had that happen to me

[ In Reply To ..]
That happened to me about a month ago.

VPN - Just wondering

[ In Reply To ..]
Do you sign into your system via a VPN? If so, they should not be able to track what you are doing after you log out. Also, if it's your computer, they should not be allowed to do that. If they provide the equipment, that's a different matter.

I would not be surprised at all if the place I work at - does it too. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I think all the big ones are doing it, but that - still doesnt make it right! N/M

[ In Reply To ..]
NM

Yes - OP

[ In Reply To ..]
starts with an A. Cant give much more info than that, as we all know they not only monitor our PCs, but this board as well,so can't give name of software.

Still, I dont think it matters what software anyway. If they're monitoring your idle time, or keystrokes, or their IT people can get into your PC for <> and <>, it'd be prudent to simply assume they're watching more than your keystrokes.

That said, its not going to change my web surfing habits. If they dont like what they see when they're spying on me, the answer is simple: STOP SPYING, MTSO's!

IM - (see message)

[ In Reply To ..]
Could it have been cookies from that webpage that activated your IM? Is the sender identified in the IM?

If it really is the MTSO monitoring your private life on your off time, I'd escalate the issue. Check your employee handbook first, to make sure you didn't sign something giving them permission to do this at any time, any day.

spyware - pookbina

[ In Reply To ..]
You know I have always felt that they do this, and that is one reason why when they pressed me to have instant messenger on when logged on I had some excuses why not. I have noticed too sometimes there is like a certain feeling on your keys sometimes when they are monitoring. I think they have all kinds of capabilities and I certainly think probably several companies do this. I have mentioned I thought this to other MTs and they didn't believe me but now I see others are noticing too. It shouldn't be legal but nothing we can do about it. For now, I don't have to log onto Messenger and I am glad, but I still think they can monitor and track all you do.

company spying via IM - beentheredonethat

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been using a 3rd-party IM program that I pay for called Trillian. It synchs hotmail, aol, yahoo, etc into one. You can also check your privacy settings in yahoo or whatever IM program you use.

If you have a Facebook account it could be from them too. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I do know that they have monitoring devices that follow your web searches.

"spying" - COME ON!!

[ In Reply To ..]
First of all, this is as silly as the warning that went around about not sitting down on public toilet seats because a spider might bite your rear!! Why would a company waste that much man power to monitor your shopping habits. How ridiculous! You guys have to be smarter than that. Computers get hacked and stuff happens, but it's a little far fetched that any company would be that interested in your down time.

Call it what you want, but what I saw was happening - on my MTSO messaging system. nm

[ In Reply To ..]

That actually has more to do with the IM platform - probably Yahoo

[ In Reply To ..]
tracking your whereabouts versus your MTSO. Your MTSO wouldn't have the capability nor would it pay for them to be tracking your shopping habits, whereas web browsers which own the IM platform in question would for advertising profits, etc.

No, this wasn't just suspected. I saw an eBay store - I had looked at come up in - S/M

[ In Reply To ..]
its entirety, photos included, on the company's intranet IM. It was NOT an open IM system. It is only for company employee communication. Or so I thought, before I saw this.

Are you flippin' serious? - so-called suit

[ In Reply To ..]
I am what most of you would call a suit. I just have to say that you are a real paranoid bunch. Do you HONESTLY think that any of us have the extra free time or even desire to know what you are shopping for on your free time?! I also wouldn't pay good money to have someone else monitor this silly information for me either. Take the tinfoil hats off people, my goodness!

Don't over generalize. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
You will note several people pointed out it was probably Yahoo or Facebook. They DO monitor your habits and try to market to you using your IM and pretty much anything else.

We are not all paranoid. I certainly don't think my MTSO would bother with that, they do enough to make life a living nightmare and likely don't have time for additional stalking duties.

This was no marketing ploy. It was a full-on - screen shot of the web page. N/M

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Internal Company IM programs - The Other Guy

[ In Reply To ..]
The poster is saying that it isn't an IM program open to the public - it is her company's personal IM program, created specifically for them.

My last job had the same thing and I had a LOT of problems on my PC after they insisted on installing it. NO ONE used it, by the way - we would open it up for appearances sake and then just continued using Yahoo and Messenger to communicate, because their program was horrid and very user un-friendly. I still suspect the problems with my PC were due to this internal IM, and I wouldn't for a minute doubt that those micromanaging, psychotic control freaks weren't monitoring my personal use of my own PC.

Maybe "So-Called Suit" doesn't do this at his/her own company, but maybe "Suit" has just never had the misfortune to work for some of the horrible companies out there in the business either.

LOL! Why are we not surprised that a suit would - deny up and down that MTSOs spy?

[ In Reply To ..]
Actually, here's another clue. Do I think it's U.S. based company management sitting there spying on MTs' internet habits? No.

However, this is an India based company, and the India contingent uses the same IM system, and has access to our computers. So much for HIPAA.

I suggest using a Virtual Machine! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I use VMware Player (Player is free/Workstation is not). You can run multiple virtual machines on 1 computer (need to have enough memory though) with different Windows operating systems (I use 7 Pro and XP Pro) and Word versions (Mine are 2007 and 2000) as well as different versions of Internet Explorer (some platforms require nothing newer than 7).
"They" can load their software on a virtual machine; thus, you keep your private and personal computing reserved for the host partition.

FYI - reserve a complete afternoon for installation of the VM and software, including all the Microsoft updates.

Also, the virtual machine built into Windows 7 Pro does not support foot pedals, that's why you need a separate player such as VMware.

Good suggestion. Still, I don't intend to change my - web-surfing habits for anyone! S/M

[ In Reply To ..]
And I really have nothing to hide (other than maybe my bank-account information, SS#, and the like). I don't visit lewd or questionable websites, but even if I did, it would be my business and not the company's. If they want to spy on my visits to eBay, Amazon, coupon sites, news and weather sites, I may not be able to prevent that, but if they see something that gets their panties in a wad, they better not come crying to me about it.

I have another suggestion - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Keep two workstations (computers). When I checked into a local outpatient dept last week, the clerk had two screen/monitors on her desk. Those two screens were (most likely) connected to one CPU. What I'm suggesting is different. USe one CPU ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY for work. Use a different CPU and ISP for pleasure. Yes, it costs about $20/month more. Yes, your privacy is worth it.

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