A Search Engine For Corporate Desktops

Chibi writes: "Wired has an article about Altavista creating a new application that allows corporations to search their own networks, e-mail systems, and computers. It allows for certain areas to be designated off-limits and companies can determine who has access to the application. They claim it is a tool to increase productivity, but what are the chances it will be used to monitor people instead?" As the article points out, if a business implements this kind of desktop snooping, though, they could face additional liability as well.

Comments

Corporate Monitoring

[jazman_777]

There goes the heyday of reading /. Surely this will reduce the incidence of sites getting /.ed.
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Ya know,

[VFVTHUNTER]

I like the Slashdot crowd, and I recognize that most people here are only paranoid in an intelligent fashion, but it seems like every article I see on here anymore is people whining about how this new technology X is going to be used against us.

The problem with this viewpoint it that it flies in the face of the fact that most of us think DeCSS should be legal. We sit here and say that the new X technology is bad because it will be used against us; Judge Kaplan basically said the same thing when he ruled against DeCSS.

The fact of the matter is, this new corporate technology does have a legitimate business purpose. The same can be (and should be) said for DeCSS. We don't come down against DeCSS just because it can be used for piracy; we should not come down on this because it can be used for snooping.

If you are doing sketchy internet stuff at work, either use PGP for mail and browse the web through www.safeweb.com, or SSH to your home machine and be sketchy from there.

What!?

[zpengo]

This is getting absurd. It's a perfectly logical business solution, and hasn't anything to do with Big Brother.

Hey, did you hear that Windows has installed a "Find File" feature in windows so that my sister can spy on me?

Hey, did you hear that Google allows Government thugs to search my personal websites?

Hey, did you hear that flashlights a violation of our personal rights because they are being used to perform surveillance in previously dark corners of my garage?

Shut up already.

Re:It's THEIR equipment...

[_xeno_]

You've managed to inadvertantly hit onto something that really annoys me - the idea that if a programmer isn't writing code, he's not being productive.

and if they're getting it done in half the time, then spending the other half browsing porn and napstering, I'll want a goddamn good explanation

Well, I wouldn't be browsing porn or napstering, but I often read Slashdot after coding for a while. Why? What am I doing, reading Slashdot instead of working?!? ... Well, I'm trying to solve a problem. I've looked at the problem from one angle for long enough and now it's time to move on. It's not at all abnormal for me to come up with a solution to something after I've stopped actively working on it for a while.

In fact, generally speaking, if I were forced to be actively working on something every minute of an eight-hour day, my productivity would fall sharply. Many times I've spent an hour working on something, than left to do something else, and come back and looking at it fresh realized that instead of starting the variable with a "t" I meant to start it with an "r" - a stupid typo just wasted an hour of my time.

The bottom line is that computer programmers and network admins probably won't spend their entire day "working" - however, even when they're doing other "worthless" activities, their subconcious is still attacking something from earlier in the day, and when the programmer gets back to the task, they'll be far more productive than if forced to just pump out code all day.

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It's THEIR equipment...

[hyehye]

and you shouldn't be doing anything on it or with it that they would not approve of. Why is it that so many people tend to ignore/forget property rights? Monitoring a home user is evil, monitoring your employees is just smart. If I'm paying someone to do work, I want to know that they're doing it - and if they're getting it done in half the time, then spending the other half browsing porn and napstering, I'll want a goddamn good explanation. Either reward them for their efficiency, or give them more work to do (probably accompanied by a raise due to their heightened value to the company). Sheesh, guys - if it's not your box, and not your network pipes, then shut the fuck up and recognize the owner's rights to his own property.