cwhitmore
March 16, 2018, 9:20pm
1
We need to monitor a user running Windows 7 in a remote office. We use LogMeIn for remote access, but I want their manager to have the ability to monitor without the end user knowing it.
What are you using?
7 Spice ups
da-schmoo
March 16, 2018, 9:22pm
2
Wow, I just had a customer call me and ask the same exact thing. I haven’t looked into this for a few years but am currently reading:
I know years ago Veriato 360 was the go-to for this but doesn’t look like it any longer. (had a different name back then)
Make sure you check your local laws.
1 Spice up
Rod-IT
March 16, 2018, 10:58pm
4
As above, if you do not clearly have a UAP during login or they do not know (as in they don’t have a hard copy of the fact you may, can and will do this) then you shouldn’t unless you like lawsuits.
If the boss of this person believes there is activities taking place that shouldn’t or has doubts of their work skills or competence there are better ways to test this, if you or they believe they are abusing work kit, this may be traceable if it’s internet usage or email usage relating to another business etc.
If you don’t use or have a proxy for internet, get one, if you are not capturing all emails in and our, start journaling - but prior to ANYY of this, the users need to be made aware of this and your rights as a company and theirs as a staff member by way of a UAP.
1 Spice up
cwhitmore
March 17, 2018, 12:23am
5
The computer is company property. I don’t know about other states, but in Texas if it’s company owned we have the right to monitor user activity.
shnool
March 17, 2018, 1:23am
6
goverlan has a way to observe with no end user notification…
1 Spice up
https://activtrak.com .
Free version and paid. One of my clients had me install this on a employee PC and it’s incredible the amount of detail this little app will track. Also it’s completely unseen by the end-user. Do make sure your local laws permit such things and that the end user is notified that their actions on company equipment may he monitored. It’s probably best/easiest to set up a text screen when domain users log in to display all that.
juliekean
March 17, 2018, 4:53am
8
Where do you draw the line in privacy?
But you don’t have the right to “investigate” users’ activity in Texas. That requires a Private Investigators License. It is a very gray area and easily open to lawsuits. This is specific to Texas.
shnool
March 17, 2018, 10:53am
10
Best I can tell there is no right to privacy of computer usage when in a privately held company, utilizing the company’s computers, with the company’s internet, when what is as stake is nothing less than the company’s data.
It helps to have a corporate policy that states that all data generated by corporate systems, is owned by the company… this also pertains to software developed on site.
It is my personal code to go out of my way to ask permission if at all possible. If loss of data/systems is eminent though, I’m gonna take over generally with a large banner that I am doing it and why.
da-schmoo
March 17, 2018, 11:02am
11
In the US, there is no expectation of privacy on a company owned computer regardless of whether you notify the employee or not. The law is quite clear on this.
2 Spice ups
Rod-IT
March 17, 2018, 3:27pm
12
While I have no way to disagree with you, because i don’t live in the states, surely they need to be made aware you are going to or can do this before you actually do it, given they have rights as an individual?
da-schmoo
March 17, 2018, 3:32pm
13
Rod-IT:
While I have no way to disagree with you, because i don’t live in the states, surely they need to be made aware you are going to or can do this before you actually do it, given they have rights as an individual?
No notice needs to be given. This has been well litigated and the law is quite clear that there is no expectation of privacy on company owned equipment. Even when checking private email from a company owned computer can be monitored.
Would it be worth clarifying with the user or even having a disclaimer text screen warning that activity is monitored and at least that way if they are in the wrong they could at least stop what they’re doing or have second thoughts.
If the traffic goes through a proxy, maybe check the logs, or change the rules for certain users so they can only go to sites that would be work related.
Depending on their browser. If they were using Chrome you’d be able to copy the appdata folder with all the history etc and open it at your end, which may also give a fair idea of what they’ve been up to.
If you’re just looking to monitor web usage activity, you could potentially do this using your company’s firewall / web gateway’s log files, avoiding the need to install agents.
Our software makes sense of these logs to provide a more accurate view of a user’s online activity, but it works with a select number of firewalls. Check them out at https://www.fastvue.co
Hi Carlton, Goverlan Reach can be configured on your endpoints to disable any visual notification of a remote session.
You can register here for a 30 day trial of Goverlan Reach here: EV Reach | Remote Support Software Free Trial EV Reach | Remote Support Software Free Trial
And you can see our user guide to setup “stealth” mode here: https://www.goverlan.com/knowledge/article/how-to-configure-the-no-visual-notification-stealth-mode-flag-for-a-remote-control-session/
Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
@cwhitmore
