Just curious how many folks log on to TER at work at risk of running afoul of "no obscene websites" rules that almost every company has.

I never log-in at work, but sometimes use my work-issued Blackberry to check TER when I am on the road and have no personal computer to access.

What do folks think?  Is TER, because it is an all text website, safer than explicit XXX porn sites, for at work viewing?

Many companies audit the web traffic moving through their servers.  Some go so far as to remotely audit the laptops and pdas issued to employees.

Given that even a text-based site like TER is going to throw up undoubtedly flagged terms like "prostitute" or "vagina", I would be VERY hesitant to use company owned or provided equipment to access it.   TER is great, but it's not worth my job.   I can wait until I get home.

I was visiting a very rural area in Tenn where the only WIFI was at a local coffee shop which my family is very good friends of the owners. All are very christian oriented and this could be a very big problem for me.

My choice....Stay away from TER until it was safe to cum again.

Only you know what you have to lose by visiting this site where others may be able to monitor you. For me it just worth hurting my family

Kisses Haley

I work for myself, but I am looking at a position in a Medical School.  Whenever I am working in an environment like that, I never look in on questionable sites at work or on a work provided computer. Not worth it.  Like going bare back on a lady with needle tracks on her arm or sticking your penis into a hole in a fence to see how it feels.

I was in Panera Bread surfing the net, when I saw I had a PM.  I tried to log and even the wireless connect had a sweeper called Sonic.  I know in libraies or network like at my job have sweepers but wireless?  I have to check my blackberry for my smut activities.

Is TER, because it is an all text website, safer than explicit XXX porn sites, for at work viewing?

Nope. Doesn't matter if the site is text based. Doesn't matter if it's your Blackberry instead of your laptop.

If you're using ANY company issued equipment, your websurfing and email activities are on record.

It may not be something IT looks at, pays attention to, or even cares about. Then again, it may be. Even if they don't review this info as a mater of regular protocol, someone up the chain could, for whatever reason, decide to take a closer look at what you're up to---something as benign as reviewing you behind the scenes for a promotion.


Stick to your personal equipment, and don't use company network to surf, or send emails you would not be compfortable with your boss, and your boss's boss reviewing.

I've caught so many people checking personal things via Black Berries, I-phones, and Laptops unbeknowns to them.  I've caught a man recieving naughty pics from a girl at the Sushi bar.  I've also been at the train station and watched someone chat on TER... I was like OMG, "you never quite know where that person is when your chatting" lol.
I am not sure how busy your work place is, but catching a glance is quite a habbit for some people.  
XOXO
McKayla

Introduce you to my cousin, BigFollowmeBrother.

We are watching, and likely in ways you are not aware.


Thank you
2009 = 27

Please excuse my tech ignorance but wouldn't using a proxy server allow you to see sites undetected?

For me I log in at work but as my boss knows what I do and has even answered calls to verify employment no big deal. I did try once at Kinkos and it's blocked.

There is always a way around everything. If you're behind a corp firewall you may, or may not be able to pull off configuring a web proxy address that would allow you to circumvent network security.

But that act, in an of itself, would be a violation of corp policy and would be in conflict with whatever fine print you signed, somewhere along the way, that says that X,Y or Z behavior can be grounds for termination.

In fact, getting caught using a web proxy might get you into more trouble than surfing inapproriate sites in the first place. A 3rd party proxy could be capturing who knows what kind of data; including potentially proprietary corp info.

How much are you willing to risk your job to read TER?

or as they say: good luck with that

TER at work is probably a bad idea. It exposes the company in a lot of ways, and in most places would be frowned on to say the least.

In most corpoate environments, the web proxies log every where you go, either by machine or by user, so nothing is done in secret.

I get a report every day of the top users to the obviously non-work related sites (typically you tube, myspace, facebook, and the sports in season) I also get a report of any user that triggers the "acceptable use policy" on the intrusion detection system. This is where TER surfing would show up (I have not seen it). I have seen hits from a handful of escort sites and CL.

I like to consider our IT policies much more user friendly than most. The worst you'll get on a single snag by the security systems is a "chill out" call from me, without getting your management involved. I think we are rare, and you shoold review your own companies policy and judge your risk accordingly.

The most common thing to trigger the systems is external mail. If you check hobby mail from work, and your mail provider supports it, use https, as the content will be encypted as it transverses most of the systems. I know gmail supports this, I am not sure of the others.

A cautionary note a blackberry surfing. It all depends on how your company sets it up, but the default behavior is to use the "blackberry browser", which routes web traffic through the blackberry enterprise server, which means you are essentially surfing from inside your company. You can change this to use the Internet browser by default, which will stay with your cell provider.

You should assume you leave tracks everywhere you go electronically in a corporate environment.

Of all the risky things we do in this hobby, the one that scares me the most are the contact forms favored by so many providers. It may be "secure", in that it is encrypted between your browser and the server, but sesitive info is completely out of your ( and the providers control) once it us on that mystery server in the sky. I do believe the least risky thing to do is use one of more of the verification services, and minimize the amount of personal info you send electronically.

Of course all that said, I still cough up whatever is required to play, as I am hooked :

.. If you want to get caught.
As a Network Security manager I say stay off at work unless you know how to tunnel(encrypted) your web browsing. We geeks have many ways to see what you are doing, where you are browsing.
Most of these monitoring devices are for the protection of our corporate data, but the HR departments have figured out that we have this data and can alert them when certain things are viewed, or when they need to check what you have been doing.

Do not browse on your blackberry to TER or other like sites, too many ways to be tracked.

NO emailing from you work email at all.EVER!!!

Also as another poster pointed out, don't do it on your work computer unless you know the computer monitoring strategy of your company.

YOU WILL GET CAUGHT.

Unless your career means nothing to you, you just can't mix business with pleasure these days.

The VP I mentioned threw away a 20-year career at a very good company.  It just isn't worth the risk.

Best post here.  I am not an IT dude, but I am savvy enough to know that browsing sites like TER is foolish while at work, and not having total control of the network.  I have people that work for me; I get monthly reports about their web use.  If they browse in the wrong places, guess what?  They are in trouble!  It won't necessarily be my choice; if HR gets involved, the outcome is not going to be pretty.  Bottom line: don't believe for a second that your internet usage at work isn't monitored, especially if you work for a big company with lots of data and information that needs to be protected.

You can view sites such as TER while at work...just have a personally owed smart phone, and be discreet when surfing.

At the end of the day, only those who run their own business and at the top of the food chain are safe.

Wireless goes through the same firewalls and web filters (Content Filters)such as Barracuda Networks.

Don't use company assets like a Blackberry. You are bound by the same policies on these as you are at the office.

As an IT consultant, I'm on my personal laptop, but almost 90% at my customer's site.

I tunnel ALL of my web browsing, even the DNS requests.

Outside of them asking why I have a constant connection to a host using port 443 (make it look like an https connection) (they never had believe I know I've had the traffic!), is there any risks to them finding out where and what I'm browsing?