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If you work remotely, your bosses are probably using software to track you. Here's how they'll catch you slacking off.
(www.businessinsider.com)
this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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Privacy Guides
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If you care about privacy; you tell your employer clearly that you do not tolerate "Boss-ware" or other spyware on your personal devices.
If they give a shit; they will then be forced to issue one that the company owns and manages. If they don't give a shit; you walk away. Lots of companies will hire you without that crap. Don't believe people who gaslight you by saying "But every company uses it!" or anything sounding remotely like it.
On a company-issued machine; you tell your employer clearly that you do not tolerate "Boss-ware" that will be used to track or manage your time. Walk away; if they refuse to keep your machine clean of it or attempt to raise any concern that you're not at your PC every damned moment of your core hours. You have a right to live your life. As long as your immediate bosses and supervisors are happy with the quality and quantity of the work you submit, you've done your job. If they are unhappy with the quality or quantity of your work then, they can respectfully schedule a meeting with you to discuss it. The way an actual adult should be treated, and, would be treated in an actual office that observes all standard rules of professionalism. With respect.
TL;DR: Do not accept the implementation of Boss-ware as if the decision was made with any professionalism or respect for you. If they implement it; you leave as fast as possible. Take any friends that you can with you too, if you can.
My employer bought my laptop and had it shipped directly from Apple to my doorstep. No nefarious software installed. I must be missing out on some good old fashioned fun.
Fyi: At least with windows, you can get devices which are pre configured straight from the manufacturer. It's called Autopilot (and it's awesome).
It's fairly obvious it's configured since you have to login to a corporate MS account so you don't have to worry about it, but it's just neat.
Receiving a Windows Autopilot device direct from the manufacturer or vendor in no way prevents your employer from installing whatever software they want on the device, of course. I can't speak for the Apple device but I would imagine there are ways to remotely manage the device even there - requiring the employee to sign in to Jamf, perhaps.
You can buy a MacBook and have it preregistered with your apple business account. From there the first run will auto add it to jamf and apply policies.
That was my point precisely.
My apologies. I felt a little like you were agreeing with the previous commenter ("no nefarious software") when you were talking about Autopilot, and I thought it worth pointing out that your employer certainly can install "nefarious" things even if they didn't directly provision the device for you.
Of course I know that a lot of work still goes into setting up Intune so that your Autopilot devices are fit for use!
As an aside; there are USB devices which can act like keyboards and mice; some of which are very clever and intricate. You can use them to your advantage while using work-issued equipment; but keep in mind you'll need to program it on your personal PC.
You can definitely get creative with some of them and have them simulate the typing and clicking of a lot of different things at random intervals.
Some devices on Amazon are completely separate from the computer and can be powered from the wall.
But in the end, you should really look into switching jobs, if you worry about this.
Also worth noting: if at all possible you'll want to program a different USB ID onto the device.
They typically suck. A lot of them just click 5 times a second, constantly. Often they are recognized as odd hardware.