Generally, the answer is NO! The employer can’t monitor your personal computer at home.
The importance and trend of working from home have increased since the time of the coronavirus. But even when working, there remains the possibility that the employee’s PC will be monitored by the employer at home.
With the revolution in technology, you might think that monitoring is possible, but in general, it’s impossible. Yes, but it’s possible in some cases and only if certain conditions or steps are taken.
In today’s article, we will take a detailed look at the possibility of being monitored by that employer.
What Is The History Of Employee Monitoring?
This history of employee monitoring is very old. It was first coined about 130 years ago, by William Bundy; The purpose of which was to determine the working hours of the employees. A clock was then created, which was named the Bundy Clock.
In this clock, the bell rang after a certain time. Traders used to sell it as it was a very popular method. In 1911, the company combined all its products into a new company called the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation. Later that company is now known to us as International Business Machines (IBM).
Companies now want to digitally control their employees. Various software tools have been invented and are in the process of being further developed in the future. Software is constantly following new methods and ways to provide more clear and specific information.
Why Your Employer Cannot Monitor Your Personal Computer At Home?
There are some reasons that an employer may not be able to use your personal computer. There are two ways through which your employer may monitor your personal computer. These 2 are: VPN and WiFi
VPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. If you have a VPN on your computer, your employer won’t be able to see your personal computer data. But if the personal computer office is provided to the employer’s office, then only they have the ability to view the data. Since the device has a personal IP address VPN, no one can monitor it. VPN prevents all intrusions by acting as a mask from all traffic and all threads.
WiFi
As employers and employees will not be part of the same WiFi if they are at home, they will not be able to intrude. But if the private network or the company is connected to the same network, then there is a possibility to monitor.
Why Do Employers Want To Monitor employee Computers?
- Employers can monitor employees for a variety of reasons. For example,
- To check productivity. That is, to get an idea about how much time the employee spends productively or how much time he spends idle time.
- To get an idea about an Employee’s online workplace. To learn more about what the employee is doing, and what tools they are working with.
- To know about the attitude of the employee.
- To protect the security of the company. That is, whether using any means through which the overall security system is undermined.
How Your Employer Can Monitor Your Personal Computer?
Using Same Network
When you are connected to the same Wi-Fi with everyone in the office, it will appear that everyone is connected to the same IP address so that they can monitor your personal computer by giving access to the network IP address.
By Using Remote Spy Software
There is some remote software that allows the monitoring of employees even when they are not connected to the same network. In that case, the software monitors certain things through it. For example,
- Internet and app usage.
- Screenshots.
- Video and audio tracking through speaker and camera.
- GPS location tracking.
- Keylogging
These are one of the ways for monitoring this software. Some apps that do this include
- Teramind
- InterGuard
- ActivTrak
- Hubstaff
- TimeCamp
Law For Monitoring Personal Computer Of Employee
There is an international law called the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA). Any attempt to check, control, or discover anything through unauthorized or intrusive means is absolutely illegal. Other countries also have prescribed safety laws.
Verdict
The above-detailed discussion can be summarized as whether monitoring can be done depending on location, time, and need. However, it is generally not possible for an employer to monitor, unless the employee is aware of his or her Internet use and activities, without sophisticated methods.
At last, there is no alternative to taking precautions while using the Internet to keep everything safe from this ever-increasing sophistication of technology.