There’s a good chance that somebody will be able to view your personal life on your business computer if you conduct your personal life on it. Employees are often warned not to click on weird links that could invite malware into their business networks, but employers must also remind them not to mix their work and personal lives. Here are some things you might find on company-owned laptops and probably on all computers.
Illegally Downloaded Media
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According to Nizel Adams of Nizel Corp, a Chicago-based IT consulting company, this is also pretty common. Every company has at least 3% to 5% of employees doing it. One of Adams’ clients distributed cellular hot spots to sales reps.
These hot spots used a shared pool of data. It’s noticeable when a few hot spots use 200GB a month when everyone should only be using 4GB. Overage charges were outrageous. “We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars accumulated over a certain period of time,” he said.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi
Old Love Letters
Andreas Grant runs Networks Hardware, a website that helps people choose the right networking equipment for their homes. Grant started as an IT assistant, handling employee laptops for a company. Once, he found an incomplete love letter on a returned employee laptop.
It did feel weird to know that both the intended receiver and writer worked in the office. Grant said it was a great lesson despite not reporting any of it. You should consider whether you want your co-workers to know about your feelings if you’re holding a torch for someone in your office.
They’ve also found old love letters, adult films, criminal activity, and unhygienic discharge ON the laptops. It’s a lesson to be mindful of how you use your work laptop because they’ll know pretty much everything you do.