* Privacy-protection software raises red flag
Some years ago I was looking at privacy-protection software and ran across an interesting note on the Web page of a particular product (the specific product is not the point of this article).
The product provided the following functions:
* Runs at an interval of your choosing (every 1 minute, 5 minutes, hour, etc.)
* Can destroy specific records from your Web-browsing sessions
* Can clear Netscape and Internet Explorer cache, cookies and toolbar entries
* Clears Internet Explorer history
* Clears America Online cache/cookies
* Automatically empties Recycle Bin and clears out temp folder (C:TEMP)
* Clears StartMenu >Documents folder and last Find/Run folder
* Advanced settings let the user customize default directories
* Can run periodically in the background without any user intervention
So far, so good. Based solely on the description, it looked like a potentially excellent tool for maintaining confidentiality on one’s workstation.
However, my eyebrows rose when I saw the next part of the blurb, which I quote exactly: “[The product] hides in memory so that nobody will know you are using it! Use Stealth Mode to hide the program in memory under a different name. Combine this with Password Protection so that not only will nobody know what you are running, but they won’t be able to get to it.”
Hmm, this sounded a little alarming for network administrators. Stealth mode? For a utility that prevents tracking of what employees are doing with corporate resources? Didn’t sound good to me.
Some of the customer testimonials confirmed my fears. A few highlights:
* “My company’s computer policy is so strict now I can visit the sites I want without leaving any trail.”
* “My surfing habits are nobody’s business. Finally, a product that understands this.”
* “I work for the ‘State.’ I needed some way to protect my Web experience and your most excellent utility is just the Jedi mind trick I have been looking for! I have passed this information on to several friends at our office so they too can have a life!”
From my perspective in system management, the software is not so much “privacy protection” as “consequence avoidance.” It seems to me that this product is being praised by people who want to violate corporate appropriate-use policies – and that raises a whole host of issues, which we’ll get into next time.
