Just wondering if I'm not the only one whose company blocks you from going most places on the net. Anything with streaming video - blocked. Blogs, chats, myspace, twitter, facebook, etc - blocked. I cannot even get to the local tv news station (ABC 7)! Frickin amazing. I am super annoyed. My favorite...NASA videos are blocked. Never used to be. Now they are. No landings, launches, live feed video casts...blocked.

I guess this is more of a rant. :mad:

Oh yeah, Quality magazines websites, blocked. Quaity e-newsletters links, blocked. I have to beg to get those un-blocked and then it takes a week or two. unbelievable. :mad:

Just wondering if I'm not the only one whose company blocks you from going most places on the net. Anything with streaming video - blocked. Blogs, chats, myspace, twitter, facebook, etc - blocked. I cannot even get to the local tv news station (ABC 7)! Frickin amazing. I am super annoyed. My favorite...NASA videos are blocked. Never used to be. Now they are. No landings, launches, live feed video casts...blocked.

I guess this is more of a rant. :mad:

Oh yeah, Quality magazines websites, blocked. Quaity e-newsletters links, blocked. I have to beg to get those un-blocked and then it takes a week or two. unbelievable. :mad:

This is the time-honored management strategy of punishing the many for the sins of the few. Someone in upper management reads one of those silly trade magazine articles that trumpet the "fact" that billions of dollars in productivity is lost to Internet surfing, and knees start jerking and buttons get pushed. There is some actual basis for worry; all it takes is for someone to have an "offensive" image on their screen (intentionally or otherwise) and another person crying that a hostile work environment has thus been created to lead to trouble.

This is the time-honored management strategy of punishing the many for the sins of the few. Someone in upper management reads one of those silly trade magazine articles that trumpet the "fact" that billions of dollars in productivity is lost to Internet surfing, and knees start jerking and buttons get pushed. There is some actual basis for worry; all it takes is for someone to have an "offensive" image on their screen (intentionally or otherwise) and another person crying that a hostile work environment has thus been created to lead to trouble.I agree with much of what Jim has written, but I want to add that management and IT (one setting policy, the other the nitty gritty of making it happen) can set up tiers of access so that those who NEED to access the internet and sites blocked to rank and file employees can access them. Be warned, however, that such special access also comes with tracking and logging all site visits and nosing into the wrong sites can bring dismissal with no second chance.

Bottom line:
You have to make a case for access during work hours or limit your visits to the verbotten sites to access from your home computer.

:topic:I have seen a lot of abuse of the privilege of internet access from work machines and I, myself, am convinced few employees need unrestricted access during work hours. An employee who does NEED access should be able to make his case. If not, employee seriously needs to reconsider the employer/employee relationship. If the employee and the employer can't agree on the need for access, something is definitely wrong in the relationship, especially regarding the understanding of each party relating to job duties and functions and value to the organization.

We are pretty much blocked from everything here also, but if you have justification on why something is applicable to your work, IT will usually unblock it for you after permission from your manager. Yep, I had to have them unblock the Cove.

We are pretty much blocked from everything here also, but if you have justification on why something is applicable to your work, IT will usually unblock it for you after permission from your manager. Yep, I had to have them unblock the Cove.

same here - that was awhile back.

We have a firewall that blocks a lot too. For a couple years I con't even post an attachment or a symbol on the Cove. We were hit with some identity theft a few years ago from info on our server and about 3 of our senior managers found some huge charges against their credit card accounts. We traced it to 3 guys and nailed them.

Here's an excerpt of an IT company's guidelines for email and internet access policy (under fair use for educational purpose): Employee use of the company computer system can open any organization to potentially costly and protracted risks including litigation, regulatory investigations, security breaches, malicious intruder attacks, lost productivity, business interruptions, and public embarrassment should a workplace lawsuit be filed or the media get wind of a particularly salacious electronic disaster story.

You cannot be present in every office on every floor of every facility every hour of every day. You cannot rely on managers and staff to exercise sound judgment and good taste 100% of the time. And you should not discount the damage external intruders and internal saboteurs pose to your organization.

• Should a female employee walk into the office of a male associate who, at that moment, is viewing pornography on his laptop, you, the employer, could wind up on the wrong side of a sexual harassment or hostile work environment claim.
• If a former employee subpoenas company email and other electronically stored information in the course of a workplace lawsuit, your organization could face a lengthy and expensive search for messages, attachments, and other data.
• Were a disgruntled employee of your publicly traded company to jump the gun and forward confidential financial data to the business media, you could find yourself in violation of security laws and facing the scrutiny of Wall Street and the possibility of a stock decline.
• If a malicious intruder unleashed malware, spyware, or a virus on your system, you could lose valuable intellectual property and other confidential information, resulting in lost productivity, sales, and professional credibility.

Best Practice: For employers who are eager to reduce business and security risks associated with electronic communication, there is a solution. Implement a clear and effective email and web acceptable usage policy (AUP) enforced by proven technology - —and watch electronic threats decrease as compliance with organizational, legal, and regulatory rules increases.

I am completely unconvinced about the 'need' for employees to have unrestricted access in work hours. And like Wes, I've also seen plenty of abuse by employees of these privileges also.

IT, email, phones, etc etc. are facilities provided for work purposes. That doesn't, to me, mean you just show up, be physically present and then do whatever you like with your time and the tools supplied to you.

You want to use facebook, twitter, whatever? Fine, but do it in your own time and you supply your own facilities, maintain them and pay for them as well. You'll get zero sympathy from me about these being 'blocked'. I'd do it as a boss too, unless blessed with reasonable employees who didn't abuse such privileges.

I totally agree with having limitations as to what can or can't be accessed from work computers. Facebook, twitter, Myspace etc are social networking sites. Isn't social time the time you spend away from work? Watching streaming videos takes a lot of bandwidth, but if it work related I suggest contacting the IT department and maybe they could grant access for a certian period of time?

On the other hand, I have my own problem that I've talked to our IT man about. I am blocked from the FDA website. :mg: I talked to him about it and he said he'd try to give me access. Well, guess what, it is listed under "Adult and Sexual Content". He tried to change the rating of it but for some reason it won't change.

I wish IT could provide more access during lunch hour. It is the streaming video that kills it here. But our advertising dept has unlimited access and I've seen those guys just sit there wasting time chit chatting away on company time. There is a dbl-std here.

I wish IT could provide more access during lunch hour. It is the streaming video that kills it here. But our advertising dept has unlimited access and I've seen those guys just sit there wasting time chit chatting away on company time. There is a dbl-std here.The Founding Fathers wrote about the PURSUIT of Life, Liberty, Happiness; they never wrote about actually CATCHING any of them.;)