I work at a large university and have a computer supplied by my employer. I woul
ID: 659890 • Letter: I
Question
I work at a large university and have a computer supplied by my employer.
I would like to find out whether my employer is snooping or can snoop on my files or activity on my computer. Can I find that out? How would I go about?
There is apparently some sort of remote management that the help desk can use if I call them and accept their request to log onto my computer. Program updates are also pushed out automatically.
The machine runs Mac OS X, I have admin privileges and can install any software I want.
(Note that this is a technical question, not a policy one. Also note that I understand any computer can be hacked. This question is more pointed towards assessing typical threats from my friendly sysadmins and their equally benevolent bosses.)
Explanation / Answer
The short answer is yes, technically speaking. They will have another admin account on the computer that they can access. By policy, though, access to this account is (hopefully) tightly controlled and will only be accessed if necessary.
Also, there is no such thing as your computer legally speaking if it is a work issued asset. They can look at anything at anytime for the most part with little or no justification needed. It's theirs and so is all of the data you put on it.