At the WSJ, the idiots are running the asylum

I just read the worst article ever on the Wall Street Journal Online edition. The July 30, 2007, edition of the Office Technology column tells non-IT workers how to get around the limits and policies that IT sets for office workers. The article is called Ten Things Your IT Department Won’t Tell You.

You’ve got to read the article to believe it, and when you do, you will be angry…very angry. Why? Because the author is advising WSJ readers to do the following things:

1. Send large company files using free consumer file transfer services. Never mind that these services use unsecured peer-to-peer networks to do the job. What’s a little shared corporate data among friends?

2. Use software that your company won’t let you download by putting it on an outside device like a USB drive. As long as you are aware that it could put malware on your PC, it’s OK.

3. Visit websites that your IT department blocks by using a proxy service. You never know when you need to check your personal email or view something on YouTube during your workday.

4. Hide your tracks of what you’ve been doing on your PC by deleting all history files. After all, why should your boss have the privilege of knowing what you do with your work computer?

5. Search for your work documents from home. Who needs a VPN? Just use Google to search your work desktop PC. It’s so convenient that Google will keep a copy of your work documents on its own servers for you to access anytime you want to!

6. Store your work files online with an online storage service. The article offers great advice on this one: “When you’re thinking about storing a file online, ask yourself if it would be OK for that file to be splashed all over the Internet or sent to the CEO of your company’s top rival. If so, go for it. If not, don’t.” [This is an ACTUAL quote from the article! I did not make this up!!]

7. Keep your privacy when using web email by encrypting everything. This way your boss won’t be able to track your emails.

8. Access your work email remotely by forwarding all your work email to your personal email account. [This tip must have come from WSJ writer Lee Gomes, who wrote an article June 13 that advises everyone to ‘archive’ their work email by sending it all to a Gmail account. Seriously.]

9. Access your personal email on your company-owned Blackberry by enabling a POP setting. Once again, the article provides a bit of advice: “Cross your fingers and hope that your personal email provider is doing a decent job weeding out viruses, spyware and other intruders.” [Again, that is an actual quote. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.]

10. Look like you’re working when you aren’t. Learn to use Alt-Tab to quickly shift from one application to another if the boss walks by. This way you can play Solitaire all day but flip over to your quarterly report just to look busy.

Go online and read the reactions this absolutely asinine article has generated. Readers are rightfully slamming not only the article author, but also the editors who let it run. I hope you’ll add your two cents worth to let them know how irresponsible this article is.

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