'If your boss spies on you, spy on him too!'

Today's organisations are extremely particular when it comes to monitoring their employees' online activities and prohibiting access to social networking sites.

Based on this fact, we recently published a feature -- Is your office spying on your online activities? -- and asked readers to share experiences, opinions and advice regarding Internet use at the office.

Should individuals be allowed their privacy in the workplace? Does the surfing of social networking sites have a negative effect on productivity? Do people defy company rules and continue to engage in forbidden Internet activities from the office?

Here are a few of the interesting responses: 

If net access is given without any restrictions, most of the so called "sincere workers" waste their time surfing - some go for live cricket!!!!!! some go for music!!!! This is the true fact. To reduce this, this type screening helps.

-- Ashok

DO NOT WORRY AT ALL. DO WHATEVER U LIKE. ALWAYS DO GOOD IF U WANT GOOD.
If u r being spied, try to spy ur boss too...

-- Suman Sibal

The real technology has not been covered in this article. This seems to be a marketing piece by Sonic Wall.

Guys there are "n" numbers of ways to avoid these spies...! So who says you cannot enjoy ORKUT or NAUKRI @ office..!

But remember ORKUT is dangerous, if ur on orkut dont reveal much of your details. In this digital age, guarding personal details is of utmost importance.

-- Biju Krishnan

Biju,
Why do you steal company time? You have been hired to do a job for the company not waste company time and resources surfing the net or searching for jobs. If you are a man with any sense of decency, you would search for a job in your own time using your own resources.

-- Suji

A balance should be maintained between Work and pleasure and a self restraint should be practised by the employees.
Companies pay you to work not fool around.
(Even if I would like fooling around, i still sincerely say, Work hard, Part harder Cheers !!)

-- Karan Singh

This is really a good article. Nowadays, most companies are cocerned with improving the productivity of their employees and they are actually monitoring the surfing of their employees during office hrs.

-- Ashok

While some may believe the ideas presented here outdated, I found this article very informative and quite interesting (considering that i did not have this much of an information on the subject). One aspect to however add from a legal prespective : There has been a case in US where monitoring (internet usage) by employers including scanning official emails have not been held violating an individual's privacy right, provided the employer has already cautioned its employees about such official scrutinies, either by wording it in their employment contract or as the company's standard corporate/HR policy. The Indian IT Act also has made spying emails or computer network an offence. However, we do not have any judicial ruling on the subject, and as legal commentators often say, even if there was to be a judicial verdict, it will necessarily follow the US decision. An aspect that we may all like to keep in mind next time when we blatantly use official emails or internet in office...Cheers

-- Harsh ABC Kumar

It's really useful articles.Orkut site has been blocked just recently in my office and i am totally cut off from my frens...now i can get back to them easily...thanks rediff..keep it up....

-- Riggo

Do you think that your office guys may not read this article.. !!!

-- Alex Ben