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General discussion

Blocked domains/apps at work

Mar 4, 2006 2:45AM PST

It was briefly mentioned in a recent podcast, but I'm wondering how common tightened app security is in various companies. At my job, Websense blocks pages containing the following, and some of it is common sense:
- sexually suggestive stuff, though Google can still pull up graphic images as part of a search
- anything to do with games (any kind) or gambling
- I found that certain kinds of alternative news (the Drudge report, for example) were blocked, though I found a banner ad for my company on the Drudge report when I got home
- ANY kind of web-based email or messaging (though we can still post to forums)
- all instant messaging

We've had one instant messaging app approved, but of course, you have to go through a formal request process which will include the question ''Why do you need instant messaging?''. Outside communication via IM is blocked.

Oh, and possession of a USB flash drive on the property will land you in a Turkish prison.

Is this the national average now?

Discussion is locked

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unfortunately
Mar 4, 2006 9:46AM PST

Yes. At the company I work for, we refer to them as the Internet Nazis. Not only is everything filtered, our $2000 laptops aren't even allowed to display content locally. It's all mirrored through head office servers. Makes trying to watch video like running through water..

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New and Weather Only
Mar 4, 2006 12:22PM PST

I work for an airline and for the longest time we could only access usatoday.com nytimes.com weather.com and bbc.co.uk (our Dublin office must have pulled strings for that one) from our work stations. We can also access the three big travel sites (Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity). They just recently loosened the reigns and we can now access most news sites. Everything else is blocked. Which really kind of sucks becuase I can only read so much news in one day, and working for an airline means I don't have to search alot of the travel sites.

Other than management the only other people that have pretty much complete web access is the folks in our web support department. Just because they take calls from people having problems navigating our web site, my company feels for some reason that they need to have complete web access. I have yet to figure out why one department would need access to espn.com when someone calls in because they are having trouble booking a flight on our website.

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School Blockings..
Mar 4, 2006 1:17PM PST

At my school, last year Myspace was not that popular, but this year it is, and they just recently blocked it. Becasue they did that mopst students tried to hack it and made kids try more to get on before. It was pretty funny. They do not block anything else........yet!!!


Peter

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Proxy Server Access
Mar 4, 2006 10:16PM PST

At work all external, non-VPN, connections are routed through a company proxy-server which blocks for:

- MP3 (includes most video)
- Humour
- Personal Pages
- Mature
- Anonymizer
- Webmail (including a university webMail such as McGill)
- others I can't think off the top of my head

Interestingly if I access Gmail through the https link I was first provided when I signed up for Gmail I can get my mail. Also, if I access the McGill webMail through mcgill.ca I can also reach it. Looks like the proxy does not block https connections or does not recognized them

Finally, Mozilla Firefox cannot be installed on my work machine. Or at least I cannot get it installed. It is specifically blocked.

Thank goodness CNet does not set off the proxy's filters. Wink

- Micah