Employee Monitoring Software: your advice, please.

[Jed_87]

Here's what I'm asking:
there're about 200 employees to monitor their computer usage activity while working hours.
Obligatory features:
- social networking (how much time employees spend in Facebook, Twitter other social networks)
- time spent in every application

I need your experience, please, share.
Thanks!

 

[mudpuppet]

We use Websense and block a number of sites by content (social media, lifestyle, sports, etc) but it has some monitoring tools as well that might be worth checking out

My personal opinion:
We have roughly 600 employees on site. We have an internal company network with restricted web access and then a lounge/breakroom area with PCs set up with a different network connection and no restrictions. The two don't touch or connect so people can check their email or facebook while on break, but not from a work PC. There's so much out there and you really have to treat users as a worst case scenario. They WILL download and install things they shouldn't. They WILL open suspicious emails. You need endpoint security to help with that, but you should prevent issues where you can as well (blocking personal email and social media).

My former coworker used to spend his days on imgur and reddit... he had warnings for about 2 months... and he still used the most bandwidth in the company, so it was all blocked to finally put an end to it. He wasn't very productive regardless, but it's something to keep in mind as well.

 

[Jed_87]

We use Websense and block a number of sites by content (social media, lifestyle, sports, etc) but it has some monitoring tools as well that might be worth checking out

My personal opinion:
We have roughly 600 employees on site. We have an internal company network with restricted web access and then a lounge/breakroom area with PCs set up with a different network connection and no restrictions. The two don't touch or connect so people can check their email or facebook while on break, but not from a work PC. There's so much out there and you really have to treat users as a worst case scenario. They WILL download and install things they shouldn't. They WILL open suspicious emails. You need endpoint security to help with that, but you should prevent issues where you can as well (blocking personal email and social media).

My former coworker used to spend his days on imgur and reddit... he had warnings for about 2 months... and he still used the most bandwidth in the company, so it was all blocked to finally put an end to it. He wasn't very productive regardless, but it's something to keep in mind as well.

Thanks for your answer! Very informative!

 

[Sanders]

EaseMon is a monitoring program specially designed for employee monitoring purpose.

 

[Jed_87]

EaseMon is a monitoring program specially designed for employee monitoring purpose.

Thanks for the option! Still choosing the right software.

 

[Jed_87]

We use Websense and block a number of sites by content (social media, lifestyle, sports, etc) but it has some monitoring tools as well that might be worth checking out

My personal opinion:
We have roughly 600 employees on site. We have an internal company network with restricted web access and then a lounge/breakroom area with PCs set up with a different network connection and no restrictions. The two don't touch or connect so people can check their email or facebook while on break, but not from a work PC. There's so much out there and you really have to treat users as a worst case scenario. They WILL download and install things they shouldn't. They WILL open suspicious emails. You need endpoint security to help with that, but you should prevent issues where you can as well (blocking personal email and social media).

My former coworker used to spend his days on imgur and reddit... he had warnings for about 2 months... and he still used the most bandwidth in the company, so it was all blocked to finally put an end to it. He wasn't very productive regardless, but it's something to keep in mind as well.

Please, tell me, how much does it help to have lounge room with unrestricted internet access? You say, employees WILL open suspicious email, etc. So, is there a sense in such lounge rooms?

And regarding your former coworker: procrastination is somethithg that is really hard to fight. Simply blocking reddit or imgur won't change him in a split second...

 

[mudpuppet]

Yeah it was his attitude, among other things, that led to his departure. But it was first thought that removing access would help narrow his vision on what he should be doing, instead he "fought the system" to find ways around it... like his phone which he went over data cap on... then started downloading movies to it at home so he could watch them at work while hiding in the bathroom.

Back on topic though...

The lounge/breakroom network serves as a place to check personal mail, catch up on the sports news, print off directions to your doctors appointment, etc. It's a network on it's own so anything that happens to it, or those PCs, can not directly impact the work network. People will open suspicious things, yes, but it's through the work network, from the work email so there is already some degree of filtering and more layers of protection. The lounge is more of an employee moral thing. Have a 15 minute break? Grab a soda and check tonight's football schedule. On lunch? Find out who slept with who during the making of the new Star Wars movie.

 

[Jed_87]

Yeah it was his attitude, among other things, that led to his departure. But it was first thought that removing access would help narrow his vision on what he should be doing, instead he "fought the system" to find ways around it... like his phone which he went over data cap on... then started downloading movies to it at home so he could watch them at work while hiding in the bathroom.

Back on topic though...

The lounge/breakroom network serves as a place to check personal mail, catch up on the sports news, print off directions to your doctors appointment, etc. It's a network on it's own so anything that happens to it, or those PCs, can not directly impact the work network. People will open suspicious things, yes, but it's through the work network, from the work email so there is already some degree of filtering and more layers of protection. The lounge is more of an employee moral thing. Have a 15 minute break? Grab a soda and check tonight's football schedule. On lunch? Find out who slept with who during the making of the new Star Wars movie.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Extremely useful!

About the topic - I've downloaded several trials of monitoring software. Among them - Websense (now they are Forcepoint, besides), Activtrak, Spectorsoft and Worktime. Will be choosing withing 2-3 weeks.