If you are like most people, you will occasionally use your work internet connection to perform non-work tasks. This may be as simple as checking your email or the current stock reports once in a while. Many people receive personal emails at their office email address, making the assumption that the boss will not mind.
Or you might be using your work connection for more insidious tasks such as checking out the resumes on your favorite job site or perhaps surfing hard core pornographic pages.
In fact, it is not unknown for employees to set up their own web sites on their companies web servers! Believe it or not, these things happen. Some very unethical employees may even be putting their company in danger by using work computers to hack into other sites!
Some good advice for everyone who is using your company computer for anything personal ... stop. Next time you get a chance, copy everything to your own personal computer at home (buy one if you don't have one yet - the prices are very low right now) and do what you need to do there. If you absolutely believe that you must access the internet at work, then do it from your own palmtop or laptop. Do not use you company computers for anything personal!
What's the problem? Your boss is possibly watching what you are doing, or he at least has the capability of doing so.
I know of one young man who received personal emails at work (he works for me). One day he started receiving vulgar jokes from one of his friends. Unbeknownst to him, all emails in our company are checked for naughty words. His friends emails went straight to the Human Resources department, earning him a stern discussion which I'm sure he would rather not have had.
Another person I know decided to download some hacker tools to his work computer. He was just curious, but they were found by our security auditor. This person had some long, hard discussions about his use of company resources - and I'm sure he would rather have been doing something else.
I've heard of a case where a male employee decided to surf pornographic sites during lunch - he figured it was lunch and he could do what he wanted (I guess). Some female employee's saw what he was doing and had him disciplined on harassment charges.
Legally, it's important to remember that everything on your work computer belongs to your employer. I remember one instance of someone who developed some software on his own time using his office computer. The company found out he was selling the software and claimed it belonged to them! The case went to court and the company won!
You must also remember that your company has the right to monitor and examine everything on their own property - especially their computer systems. So personal files, emails, pictures and even your browser's history files, cookies and temporary cache may be examined and used against you if necessary.
However, if you are doing it on your home computer it belongs to you and it cannot be examined (except, of course, if you are suspected of some crime or in a high security job).
So the safe thing to do is to do your own business at home and your job's business at work.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.