How to tell your boss he can't look at porn! 11

[Stevehewitt]

Hey.

I work in a small business enviroment (under 40 machines) and my boss is the general manager of the company. He only has to report to the head office who are based in Switzerland.

My problem is that even though he has agreed to a Conditions of Usage (AUP), the firewall is showing that he has attempted to look at banned images such as sex.jpg which he has repeately tried to look at.

Other are joke images and pages, or URL's with xxx in. Nobody else in the company has this sort of stuff reported about them, and I can't see how its related to work (we sell bulk timber to merchants.)

Normally I would suspend the account and report the issue to the boss, but as it is my boss, I can hardly send the issue to head office!!!

Any ideas on what to do?

Thanks,


Steve.

 

[spikestik]

I am not sure of the issue is here...if you are the person that is left to enforce the AUP than you have to say something to him or his Boss...depending on the wording of the AUP.

Understanding that you need to be 100% positive that this is the case and that you are not having problems with pop-ups or spyware.

The only way that can happen is to install spysoftware on his machine...that then poses another problem for you.

I would mention to him that you are seeing an increase in this activity and that you need to re-load his machine once you do that you will have a true read on this is him/her or the unit.

 

[OhioBill]

He's the boss. At a minimum, leave him alone. He's already got enough headaches to occupy his time, and he doesn't need someone who salutes him mumbling about porn sites. If you wanted to do him a favor, provide him with another path to the Internet, one that doesn't leave a trail or log file, and set up his browser so it doesn't store history. Provide him with a decent popup killer and spyware protection/removal utility. Then have a conversation with him. Explain that his system no longer leaves a log file behind it, so his Internet activities are not monitored. Explain about popups and spyware. Explain that rank has privileges and one hand washes the other.

 

[spikestik]

OhioBill....what if this is a test? What if the Boss is looking to see if they are doing their job? So he is busy and he has headaches .... that doesn't make him exempt from a policy that the company has.

If we say ok .. let me hide this so that you can do it and not get caught...are we not saying that we are helping him steal from the company.

Economics 101... RealValue: the value of time that is lost when it could be spent doing something else. Like work.

 

[EBGreen]

Go to the boss and tell him you are planning to do an audit looking for this exact sort of thing. Explain what you will be able to detect. See how he reacts.

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]

 

[Nortellian]

if you like your boss and you are sure what they are doing is against policy than tell them to quit it. If you don't like them follow procedure. There now this thread can end.

 

[OhioBill]

Spike,

I subscribe to the live and let live policy. I don't care if the boss, or anyone else for that matter, 'steals' Internet time from the company. Moreover, being the boss does make him or her exempt from most company policy, at least in the US of A.

 

[strongm]

>being the boss does make him or her exempt from most company policy

I'm sure that's what they thought at Enron...

 

[GwydionM]

Make up a person you knew who got fired because of it, and how hard it is to avoid leaving clues that a tech-savy person could read.

Maybe also show them the history file on your own machine (presumably that has nothing that it shouldn't, but your boss will get the message if he tries it on his device.

Suggest that anyone's free to look at porn on their own home machine, with a right to privacy so long as it is nothing illegal.

Advise also that only a fool would use a computer for something illegal, because I know of quite a few layers of check beyond the simple "erase history" option. Yet I don't suppose I know it all, or even very much of the inner workings.

------------------
A view from the UK

 

[CajunCenturion]

Explain that rank has privileges and one hand washes the other.

Make up a person you knew who got fired because of it

Good thing this discussion is in a Ethics thread.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[DrJavaJoe]

Walk in and say "You pervert, you make me sick. I dare you look at porn on company time. People like you are what's wrong with the world. If it was up to me I would fire you on the spot." I'm sure he'll respect your honesty and probably offer you a promotion and a raise.


"Two strings walk into a bar. The first string says to the bartender: 'Bartender, I'll have a beer. u.5n$x5t?*&4ru!2[sACC~ErJ'. The second string says: 'Pardon my friend, he isn't NULL terminated'."

 

[manarth]

SteveHewitt - you posted this thread on 21[sup]st[/sup] January 2004...how's it going?

Did the issue resolve itself?

<marc> i wonder what will happen if i press this...[ul][li]please tell us if our suggestion has helped[/li][li]need some help? faq581-3339[/li][/ul]

 

[SemperFiDownUnda]

As far as if "he's the boss let him go" goes....I would ask what level of boss is he....even then I'd try to do what is right

If he is the boss (ie owner) of a private company then I would give him more room.

If he is the boss of a public company then I would would approach him tactfully

If he is a mid level boss I would agian approach him tactfully.

Just because you are the "Boss" doesn't make you exempt from laws and rules. When I was in the USMC we had the general of one of the bases I was stationed at stopped by a MP (Military Policeman). The MP didn't recognise the car and stopped him for speeding. When he saw who it was he, saluted & greated the general , told him why he stopped him, saluted him agian went to leave. The general stopped him and asked if he was a sgt would he have gotten a ticket and the MP said yes. So he ordered the MP to give him a ticket. At the next Battalion formation the general got up and recounted the event and reminded that no matter who we are, we are accountable for our actions. If the president breaks the law then the president should be held accountable. So unless the boss is the owner of a private company I would have to point out that something needs to be done to correct the situation.

If you conspire to cover things up...well be prepared to get hit with the backlash if it ever found out.



Hope I've been helpful,
Wayne Francis

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

 

[johnwm]

Absolutely so, Cajun

Good thing this discussion is in a Ethics thread

Well put, SemperFiDownUnda!

It's also just as well this is an anonymous forum! There seems to be several people with a sense of business ethics that I wouldn't consider employing!

________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'

 

[Stevehewitt]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been back (that applies for all forums, not just this thread). Because of the issue this thread is about, and many other problem I have left this particular company and moved on to new pastures.

Never really got to the bottom of the issue, but I by giving my ex-boss the administrator password he would of seen that the administrator get a email everytime something is blocked - Well it hasn't happened!

Thanks again everyone,

Steve.

 

[rosieb]

If the organisation has a policy about what can be viewed AND if you, as the IT Manager have a responsibility to enforce that policy; you are vulnerable, you have to do something or you become responsible for covering up any infraction of the rules.

I'd suggest approaching the boss pointing out that logs are showing inappropriate Internet useage, but that you haven't had time to record the infractions.

Show how they're monitored and say that you plan to record from xdate, as you are obliged to do so, maybe suggest to him that a memo goes out under his name, reminding staff of the rules, so no-one can misunderstand.

If he(?) can see that he has no hiding place, but without feeling pressured (imply that you dont't see any point in going back over old logs), you should get a buy-in without him feeling threatened.

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[manarth]

Because of the issue this thread is about, and many other problem I have left this particular company and moved on to new pastures.

May these new pastures be greener than the last
Good luck!

<marc> i wonder what will happen if i press this...[ul][li]please tell us if our suggestion has helped[/li][li]need some help? faq581-3339[/li][/ul]

 

[Stevehewitt]

Thanks,

Things are looking better already. Because of this new job I'm spending a lot of time there (about 1 1/2 hours away) so very little left for TT at the moment. (But this will soon change).

Thanks again,

Steve.

 

[rosieb]

[Stevehewitt]
<off topic>
Missed you the other week, shame, hopefully you'll join us next time. We managed 7 - it was a good evening.
</off topic>

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[TomKane]

Maybe this could act as a deterrent as to why your boss shouldn't look at porn:

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentS...StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1085944395350

 

[ANFPS26]

Then here is a completely different view on this subject:

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_969464.html?menu=

Jim