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I have a computer from the company and, while working at home, I would like to know if the company could be capable of monitoring or spying on my computer. I am not connected to any company's server and I am using a personal no-log VPN for security reasons.

I am not sure if me being logged in to the company´s mail (gmail), they could be capable of monitoring my network traffic or the data in my internal storage, or even access my computer and monitor and find out what I am really doing real-time...

I know they can check my activity related to that google account. Nonetheless, using another browser with my personal account, would they be capable of monitoring that traffic or activity?

mallocation
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LazyTurtle
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2 Answers2

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It depends on the very nature & purpose of your laptop. Since you mentioned that it is a work laptop, I would not rule out the possibility that the company installed software to log down user activities.

I know for a fact that logging into the company's gmail does not allow them to "monitor your network traffic and internal storage." So rest assured on that.

It all comes down to the software that is installed on the laptop, and the forms that you would need to sign to notify you of the 'monitoring' aspect of the device (most companies must adhere to their own respective legislation)

mallocation
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I'll refrain from discussing employee/employers rights, this is a very tricky field, so I'll stick to the facts:

  • Is your computer connected to a corporate domain? If yes, then they can install monitoring and control relatively easily and monitor your activities, regardless of you being connected to a VPN or otherwise;

  • Do you have any remote control software that you know of (yeah, I know it sounds obvious)? This is often installed to enable remote support. If yes, then it's quite possible that this is enabled without you knowing about it;

  • Do you have local administrator privileges on your laptop? If yes, you may be in the clear and you may be able to detect if anything changes;

I don´t know if, being logged to the company´s mail (gmail), they could be capable of monitoring my network traffic or the data in my internal storage, or even access my computer and monitor what I´m really doing real time...

Without additional software, they can't really monitor anything other than your usage of that service, and even at that the monitoring will be limited.

Pedro
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