Webbased icq software#

Webbased icq software#

It's impossible to say how many companies actually use surveillance software as a routine business process. As many as 35 percent of all corporations already have these systems installed, according to Internet surveillance company Websense. Some programs, including the Silent Watch software that tracks employee computer use, retail for as little as $39.99. Keystroke monitoring is an even more extreme surveillance tool that enables employers to read every key employees push-from the URLs of Web sites to email and instant messages, including deletions or changes they make in the process. When planted in a computer that is connected to a network, sniffers behave like hidden recorders, capturing email and URLs of Web sites that subscribers have surfed and all passwords required to operate the computer or access sites.Ĭarnivore, the FBI's controversial online surveillance technology, is one of the best known sniffers, used ostensibly to monitor the email of people under investigation. Yahoo mail and similar products are susceptible to 'sniffer' programs that are readily available for download-and their popularity is on the rise. Yahoo, meanwhile, is currently running banner ads that boast, 'Only you can see your Yahoo mail.' A company spokesman would not comment on whether the ad may create a false sense of security or on assertions from competitors offering secure email services that Yahoo mail is easily accessible to employers. They each said, however, they rarely receive security complaints from users. Representatives for Yahoo, Microsoft's Hotmail division and AOL would not provide specific information on the security of their products. The reality is that employers can easily intercept such email traffic, with just slightly more effort than it takes to sift through chatter sent with an employer-supported product such as Microsoft Outlook. Such alternative email programs-which boast downloads numbering well into the millions-have become immensely popular in the workplace, partly because employees believe the messages are less accessible than the company account. 'Is it technically possible? Yes, and it's fairly easy to do.' Anyone along that wire, inside or outside of your company, has the ability to intercept, read and change the text,' said David Kennedy, director of research services for in Reston, Va. 'The information is essentially being sent back and forth along a wire. Messages sent via a Yahoo or Hotmail account, or through instant messaging products, such as ICQ or America Online's Instant Messenger (AIM), are just as accessible to nosy employers.

Unfortunately, security experts say many employees would be surprised to know that Web-based email services also offer little privacy. Everyone knows the boss can read all of the email you send and receive through your corporate account.