Get passed a screen saver

[mrblonde]

I have a user that probably has adult material on his workstation. We've found some of his mischief on other computers around are network but don't want to bust him until we know the full extent of what he has done. He leaves his computer on all day at work with a screensaver (one of the default windows ones) and it happens to be password protected. He does a lot of work in autoCad2000 so I don't want to reboot his PC for fear of him losing stuff. I'd go in an snoop around his drive through the P2P network we got but he isn't sharing his C drive. I was going to install 007Star on his machine. But I can't seem to get in. Any suggestions on how to trick out his Screensaver. Otherwise any strategies for a little social engineering would be good too. He's fairly good with computers and would probably not let me to far out of his site, if he did let me use his PC. We have a win 98se P2P network. (FYI)

Mat

 

[rtshort]

Only way I'd know is to hit the reset button and hope he doesn't have a bios pword unless you have the time to clear cmos. Even if he does auto-cad, what would he do if the lights blinked off for a few seconds? He shouldn't leave anything open. If he is good with computers he should know to never leave anything open without saving it first!!! Every day above ground is a GOOD DAY!!!

 

[SimonDavis]

If you're in a position to bust him for 'misuse' of computers, why can't you just ask him to make his machine available for inspection?

If you have rules governing employees use of their computers, but none governing your access to their machines, it sounds more like a management problem than a computer one.

I don't know which country you're in, but in most English speaking countries the law will allow you to insist on verifying any machine that belonged to and was used in the premises of your company.

I would suggest, if you really are battling with him, that you plainly spell it out to him - you should insist on access to his machine in say 24 hours. He then has the option to remove any offending stuff, which should keep everybody happy. A regular inspection should stop him from any repeat behaviour. Of course this requires support from your management, but if you don't have that, you're on your own anyway . . .

 

[kjonnnnn]

If you're admin, you dont even have to ask. Just go inventory his computer.

Ive had people try to lock me out of their computers... and change password.

I end busting them down to user with no rights. Its not their computer, its the company for whom u work.

 

[spacekowboy]

im kinda curious, are you the network admin? if not, why are you interested in what he has or has not on his computer? you say he does a lot of work and is good with computers..sounds typical geek-like.

just askin

X-)

 

[mrblonde]

The big thing here is it's the Bosses-girlfriends-kid. (Kinda soap opera-ish I know) We got to be real careful about what we accuse him off. We aren't so much concerned about the content, but how much time he's spent at work looking at this stuff, downloading it or whatever; We want to negatively hit his pay. We can't just go barge in on him though, it'll be embarassing to the owner and the kid. As for me, I'm just the tech guy, I fix PC's, install DSL lines, config routers, that kinda junk. Oh, and write the occasional access database. (They know me well in the Access Forums)

 

[spacekowboy]

i have been a manager before for years.
and this is hardly tech advice but...

politically and in real world, leave the guy alone. period.
its not worth your time or the trouble, not your issue.

legally kjonnnn and simondavis above hit it correctly.

 

[AidanEnos]

I'm with space...

Ignore it if it's political and of no real concern because he's in a position of personal influence.

If you want to see what he's doing look for a sniffer or URL logging program from the internet and track what he does with the company internet connection.

It sounds like it's not worth your time.

 

[Odis]

A friend told me he downloaded a program off the internet that works on Windows 95. Don't know about Windows98. The name is SS95DECO.exe. She put it on a 3.5 floppy for portability. When you execute it, it will decode the standard screensaver passwords. It does not work on other scrensavers such as Webshots. The only problem is that you have to run the program when the screen saver is not on. I suggest you lure him away or watch when he leaves the PC. It only takes a minute to run the program. Once you get the password, you can come back at atime when he is gone for a longer time.

 

[mrblonde]

You guys I agree with what your saying but he's got like a gig of porn on a networked PC. If I get rid of it he's going to know we are on to him. (Which for some reason beyond my comprehension is bad) My Supervisor, (Who is aware of everything including the weird soap opera) wants me to find out as much as possible, so he can decide what to do. AdianEnos, could you tell me a little more about this URL logging?

 

[Voyager1]

If you are using a firewall, most of them include the capability of logging the websites that everyone hits. I'd start there... - Bill

"You can get anything you want out of life, if you'll just help enough other people get what they want" - Zig Ziglar

 

[paulwood]

I don't know if it would work for this situation, but Surf Spy is a simple URL logger which logs URL's under users name. You can download a trial version from shareware libraries, but to use it invisibly you have to buy (only $30).

Good Luck

 

[Spiggsy]

Share his local drives. If it's locally stored, why not just boot it when he's gone home too, then get his screensaver password from the registry.
If it's all local and you only run P2P on 98, this should be simple for you.

 

[thadwalt]

There isn't anyway to my knowledge to get around the screen saver password. Other than just type in some possible passwords.