3/4 of Companies Monitor Employee Web Browsing

Bad news, folks: Your boss is probably watching you read this blog post. A whopping 78 percent of CIOs in a recent poll confessed to installing content filtering or blocking software on their networks or otherwise watching what you do. The good news, I guess, is that you can always say it's work-related, right?

If you're worried about sweaty IT guys looking over your shoulder, the news isn't quite so bad. Most of the "monitoring" seems to be done on an ad hoc basis and as a matter of policy which blocks content or allows for monitoring. Only 14 percent of those queried actually use site filtering software and 4 percent block all web access.

While a shocking 60 percent of executives said "they want to keep their employees from wasting time at work," an even greater number cited genuine issues behind why they need monitoring software. 75 percent want to block inappropriate content (which can land an employer in legal trouble if it falls on eyes that don't want it), and 71 percent block websites to prevent viruses and malware from getting onto the network. Infected websites are possibly the most prevalent way that spyware is distributed today. It's hard to be angry over monitoring when ill-advised browsing can genuinely harm the company.

Is your boss watching where you surf? Do you even know? 

LINK: Majority of tech execs watch employee Web use