I once worked for a company with a similarly lax attitude - till the Blaster virus disappeared up their backsides faster than a rat up a drainpipe, and their inbound sales center ground to a halt for a few days. After that, they became very security-conscious, and started paying a lot more attention to what their employees were doing with their time.
Maybe you just need to let the Conficker loose on your network to get a bit of buy-in? :-0 Although the attitude you seem to have there is probably a lot more deeply ingrained 2009/4/3 Jon Harris <[email protected]> > "However I am lucky to have the full backing of the CEO, he likes people to > come to work to work, not to do anything else.' > Now that is a novel idea! I wish ours did. He is allowing staff to come > and go at will, not show up at all for days, and use "company" time to > browse the Internet without any controls. I have one user that to put it > lightly likes young ladies but as long as no one see's it on any of his > systems no comment is made. No it is not illegal what he is looking at but > there are limits to comments I have heard out of him. All but a few of the > staff enjoy those perks. Less than a third of the entire staff get quized > if we call in sick and as far as not showing they call us at home even on > vacations. Sour grapes maybe but try being told to reschedule vacations and > doctors appointments because you are needed at the office only to show up > and maybe 2 or 3 others are here working the rest are out. > > Jon > On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 5:43 AM, James Rankin <[email protected]>wrote: > >> We only have about 500 users. We are just about 98% thin client though, >> which means users have no local storage. So their personal "dumping grounds" >> cut across my file storage. It's mostly a case of changing people's >> perceptions of things. They expect these WinCE thin clients running on >> Citrix desktops to virtual servers to respond as fast as the PCs they had >> before, and they don't. Same way they can't understand why I am bothered >> about them filling up their "My Documents" with junk, they seem to think it >> is all stored on their monitor :-) >> >> I have my sights set on their Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries next >> (cue evil laugh). However I am lucky to have the full backing of the CEO, he >> likes people to come to work to work, not to do anything else. >> >> I certainly could cope with a Minnesota winter - however the commute back >> to the UK may alienate my girlfriend slightly :-) >> >> >> 2009/4/3 Sam Cayze <[email protected]> >> >>> James, I hear ya. And glad to have the feedback. Security is a big >>> concern for my stated mindset on employee PC use. I still lock these guys >>> down to the 'T'. No admin rights, no USB drives during virus scares, no IM, >>> OpenDNS block any porn, etc... Trust me, I have still done my fair share in >>> alienating them. >>> >>> Curious, what size is your org? >>> >>> I haven't really felt all the struggles you mentioned... All photos are >>> stored locally on their PCs, I just exclude My Music/My Pictures when I back >>> up their machines. So it really takes up zero space on my servers. If they >>> fill up their 100gb drives with MP3s, I tell them 'tough beens' and they >>> have to trim down. Yes, my mailboxes are huge (2-11GB), but haven't found a >>> reason why I should be bothered by it (even after DR drills). I have >>> sifted through our email, and 99% of the bulk is work related [yes, they use >>> our email for personal use] The only thing that I am erked out about lately >>> is SMS usage. Yes, we also let our employees use their company provided >>> cells for personal use. The minutes don't matter one dime, but SMS is >>> started to take a toll. We used to get it free from Sprint, but not any >>> more :( >>> >>> -Sam >>> >>> PS: If you can bear Minnesota winters, you have job ;) [Yeah, it snowed >>> here yesterday - It's April]. I'm confident Rollouts will be alright >>> through these tough times. >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* James Rankin [mailto:[email protected]] >>> *Sent:* Friday, April 03, 2009 3:45 AM >>> >>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>> *Subject:* Re: Time to relax content filters? >>> >>> You must have fantastic employees. Ours are far from that. When they >>> did have access to every website on earth and could play music on their PCs, >>> they didn't reciprocate with utter devotion. When we did block Facebook, I >>> had customer service advisors phoning up at 8.05 asking why they couldn't >>> get on it. When I did an audit of our file servers, I found 85% of our >>> storage space was cluttered with mp3s, wedding photos, photos of their >>> friends, joke programs, etc. I hate to think how much of our email storage >>> is also full of non-work-related crap. >>> >>> our productivity is up massively since we went with thin clients, web >>> filters, disk quotas and the like. We still allow quota time for Internet >>> access to shopping and entertainment sites, etc. The environment is much >>> more secure. A few weeks ago an unregulated internet cafe went in at one of >>> our remote sites. The machines are now full of porn, so I have been tasked >>> to secure the place and replace the PCs with thin clients. >>> >>> However, it is always different at different places - do you have any >>> vacancies? :-) >>> >>> 2009/4/3 Sam Cayze <[email protected]> >>> >>>> >>>>Unless you like paying people to work on there Facebook page and >>>> talk with there friends, etc etc rather doing the work they are supposed to >>>> be doing and getting paid for. >>>> >>>> [With all due respect / not trying to start an argument here, I am just >>>> passionate about this subject, and well, kinda enjoy it. The point is very >>>> valid, and I can see it's place at many organizations. But not across the >>>> boards...] >>>> >>>> Yeah, actually WE don't mind paying people to these things. Like I said >>>> before, our employees will bend over backwards for our company, 24/7/365. >>>> We have a very grey line between company time and personal time. The thing >>>> is, we have a dedicated work force that is more than happy to compromise >>>> their personal time after hours and help the company if needed. Whether >>>> they are at home after hours, on vaca, etc. Therefore, I feel a need to >>>> reciprocate the same treatment back to them during business hours. >>>> >>>> Treat your employees like humans, and they will give you amazing >>>> results. Personal lives should NEVER go on hold. Alienate your employees >>>> with robotic mandates (In this context: Facebook filters), and they will >>>> quit giving you 110%. >>>> >>>> iTunes on all machines, make your personal appointments on company time, >>>> 8am sharp does not exist... I could go on, and it's besides the point. >>>> Yeah, the perks here are great, but the way our workforce is whole heartily >>>> devoted to our company is priceless. These guys are great, and will do >>>> anything for us. It's not through chance or luck that we have great >>>> employees, it derives from the way we treat them. >>>> >>>> -Sam >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> *From:* Rob Bonfiglio [mailto:[email protected]] >>>> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 4:13 PM >>>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>>> *Subject:* Re: Time to relax content filters? >>>> >>>> Hold on, I'll answer you after I'm done updating my Twitter. >>>> >>>> On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 2:18 PM, Ziots, Edward <[email protected]>wrote: >>>> >>>>> I think not, >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Facebook is personal stuff not to be done on company time. Unless you >>>>> like paying people to work on there facebook page and talk with there >>>>> friends, etc etc rather doing the work they are supposed to be doing and >>>>> getting paid for. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Z >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Edward Ziots >>>>> >>>>> Network Engineer >>>>> >>>>> Lifespan Organization >>>>> >>>>> MCSE,MCSA,MCP+I, ME, CCA, Security +, Network + >>>>> >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> Phone:401-639-3505 >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> >>>>> *From:* Jonathan Link [mailto:[email protected]] >>>>> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 1:55 PM >>>>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>>>> *Subject:* Time to relax content filters? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> > > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
