A Myspace Lockdown - Is It Possible?

Raxxon asks: "We (my business partner and I) were asked by a local company to help 'tighten up' their security. After looking at a few things we ran some options by the owner and he asked that we attempt to block access to MySpace. He cited reasons of wasted work time as well as some of the nightmare stories about spyware/viruses/etc. Work began and the more I dig into the subject the worse things look. You can block the 19 or 20 Class C Address Blocks that MySpace has, but then you get into problems of sites like "MySpace Bypass" and other such sites that allow you to bypass most of the filtering that's done. Other than becoming rather invasive (like installing Squid with customized screening setups) is there a way to effectively block MySpace from being accessed at a business? What about at home for those who would like to keep their kids off of it? If a dedicated web cache/proxy system is needed how do you prevent things like SSL enabled Proxy sites (denying MySpace but allowing any potentially 'legal' aspects)? In the end is it worth it compared to just adopting an Acceptable Use Policy that states that going to MySpace can lead to eventual dismissal from your job?"

Internet on an "as needed" basis...

[VitrosChemistryAnaly]

I worked at a place (~200 employees) that had a really crappy policy.

There were about 20 people in management type positions that had absolutely no blocks set on the websites that they could visit.

The rest of the employees had a whitelist of work related websites that they could access. Everything else was strictly verboten. No checking personal email, no checking the weather or news.

To me it seemed somewhat Draconian, but that was the policy in place.

God I'm glad I left that job.

Hosts File

[jconley]

Assuming it is a windows environment, use policy/login scripts to update the hosts file on the client to map the myspace domains to yahoo, or something else harmless.

Limited Internet == Lobotomy

[Peter Trepan]

Amen to your policy. I started out in print design, and got my current skills ((X)HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL, etc...) entirely through online tutorials and documentation. I write copy with the help of Reference.com, stop first at Wikipedia to learn the outline of any unfamiliar technology, and of course, keep up with tech news here. None of these sites were work-related when I worked in print, but they enabled me to move to web development.

And MySpace? I use it to keep up with old college friends. It's not directly productive, but it helps me avoid burnout. For those who use the full potential of the internet, restricting their access to it is like forbidding them from using a portion of their brain.

Re:Privacy

[Ashe Tyrael]

Likewise, I would be suspicious of giving high sensitivity projects to employees to frequent lots of forum sites, as they might be more inclined to share things.

My, what an.. interesting point of view. So people who are more social are more likely to spill your secrets? The fact that someone likes to discuss things with people means that they are more likely to be telling everyone things you've asked them not to tell people?

Sorry, but I think that's absolute bunk. Knowing what to say and what not to say, what things are secret and what are public, is a large part of learning to be social in any medium. Frankly, I'd be more worried of people selected for such a policy, not less. At the very least, I'd never want to work with them.

I work for a state government IT department

[spun]

We filter heavily. Not any technical sites, but games, shopping, many message boards, and sex of course. Some blocked sites can be accessed using 1/2 hour discretionary time. Not the sex sites of course, but shopping and such-like. This is mandated statewide, and not up to the individual IT departments.

I work for Child, Youth and Family Development. We oversee the foster programs, youth activities, and detention centers. Even with all the filtering, we are investigating several net abuse cases per week. We have about 2,500 employees statewide. Most of the abuse cases are from the detention center guards.

All in all, I agree with filtering in this case. This is the state, and we are browsing on your dollar. Many state employees feel no compunction ripping off the tax payer through laziness or outright theft. I'm not one of them.

What do you all think? If you had a chance to vote on a ballot initiative (assuming your state is not one of those still stuck in the stone age and actually has ballot initiatives) mandating filtering for all state employees in your state, would you vote for or against?

Gosh, you sound angry.

[spun]

First, we have limited bandwidth. People watching YouTube would seriously impact productivity. Second, the state being as it is, trying to discipline people for excessive usage would cost more than simply blocking access. Third, we deal with children. Having counselors downloading porn would look... bad. Fourth, we do not allow people to bring in novels to read during work hours, why should they be able to browse the web? Fifth, some of our employees were at one point in time our clients. They are still kids, and not very well socialized kids. They need boundaries.

Blocking access to unnecessary sites saves money by keeping our limited bandwidth free and helping to ensure that employees don't waste time.

How does the number of abuse cases we investigate per week compared to our number of employees tell you anything at all about whether we are wasting money or not? Did I mention what type of abuse cases were involved? Do you even know how we operate and what sorts of special conditions might apply to an agency such as ours?

Finally, why are you so angry? You're not that guy who has a beef against all child protection agencies everywhere because one took his kids away, are you?