This (and other interventions along that line of reasoning) makes sense. Although we would all
like to consider our at-work computer as a personal tool, the fact remains that it is owned by
your employer and should be used in the best interest of your employer.  Your employer defines
it best interest and you are bound to respect it. The best way to establish all this appears
to be a written policy of some sort which would prevent both unwise use of computers ans
snooping on the part of the employer.

Hervé Gagnon
(my opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer)

Angela Putney a écrit:

> Actually, you may find that the contents of one's desk at work aren't all
> that private. Technically the desk and PC belong to the company you
> work for and I know of places that reserve the right to go into the desks
> with due cause. There are times when it is necessary for a boss or
> co-worker to get into ones files (in desk or PC) when one is not present
> (e.g., a secretary is unexpectedly out sick and a mailing needs to go out
> THAT DAY. Well, into the computer we go to get the file to print out and
> send). Going in for the purpose of snooping is not usually acceptable, but
> there are times when the desk/PC need to be "invaded."
>
> I believe the policy where I currently work is something like personal net
> surfing, game playing, or other work is acceptable during breaks and
> after work hours, however, if such files take up space needed on the
> computer or otherwise corrupt the system, they must be removed and
> the computer people are allowed to remove such files if they deem that
> they are the cause of slow down, a full disk, etc.
>
>                                                 Angela
>
> (my opinions are my own and not necessarily those of my employer)
>
>                                                              Angela Putney, Ph.D.
>                                                              Physics Management Fellow
>                                                              American Institute of Physics
>                                                              One Physics Ellipse
>                                                              College Park, MD 20740
>
>                                                              Phone: 301-209-3135
>                                                              Fax:     301-209-3133
>                                                              E-mail: [log in to unmask]