Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreaming 808
I'm far from an IT guy, but I've done this for years, as well as a few of my hobby friends and none of us have had any problems. But maybe you know something I don't.
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It all depends on your employer. On the one hand, except for really extreme cases, your employer will find it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to read the traffic you send and receive, or even what sites you are visiting when you run the Tor browser from a thumb drive. On the other hand, almost any employer who cares will be able to tell that you are using Tor even if you are running it from a thumb drive.
Most of you will want to quit reading here and go on the the next post or thread. Below I go through the various possibilities where an employer might
care whether you are using Tor.
I will start with the extreme. Your employer may install VNC or a keylogger on the computer you use at work. You may call it your computer, but it is not, it is the employer's computer. If the employer installs surveillance software, the employer has access to everything you do on the computer, what you type, what your screen is displaying, etc. They not only will know that you are using Tor, they will know what sites you are browsing with Tor. I don't know if any employer actually does this, certainly the vast majority of employers do not, but it is possible.
The next level down would be relatively large employers who are in business sectors that are regulated by the government. Financial institutions, health care companies, higher ed, securities, and several others. It also includes any employer, like a retailer, who processes credit card transactions, as well as businesses in highly competitive markets who are worried about corporate espionage. All of these types of employers are very concerned about controlling what data enters their network and especially what data leaves their network. They will not be able to read the data you send and receive using Tor, nor will they be able to tell what sites you are visiting. It is highly likely, however, that they will know that you are using Tor. These employers can face significant financial loss if they can't control the data leaving their network. For them, since they cannot monitor your Tor traffic, merely using Tor may be grounds for dismissal.
Below that are the employers who are security conscious, but not heavily so. Whether or not they detect you using Tor, or care about it if you do, is something of a lottery. Depending on the skill level of their IT staff and how much importance upper management puts on it, you might be able to use Tor heavily for years and not get caught. If they block adult sites and proxy sites, they might also detect using Tor, which could be described as a very complex proxy site. (Those of you who know better, don't bash me for simplifying Tor that much. I know it is much more, but from the point of view of detecting its use, it is not that much different from a traditional proxy.)
Finally, at the bottom are those employers who either don't really care, or who don't commit the resources to policing your on-line activity. With these, you are relatively safe bringing Tor in and using it. Even with those, however, you run the risk of the odd company who manages to get a top-notch IT security pro who will figure you what you are doing.
viewing websites from cell phones and I pads
