disabled internet properties at work

[Flolondon]

We have new computers installed at work with all the properties being disabled. I am no longer able to clean off where I have been on the internet i.e. hotmail, etc etc.. Is there any other hidden way I can clean my internet cache details from the computer without having to go to the internet properties area.. thanks..

[encyclo]

Do you have Administrator access to the machine? If not, your only option if you're worried about your employer seeing your Hotmail details etc. is not to go to the site.

You can try to manually delete stuff from the appropriate directories or using the disk cleanup utility, but if you don't control the machine, you've got no guarantee that your personal details won't go straight into the hands of your employer or sysadmin.

[Flolondon]

hiya..

No i dont have administrator rights....

[encyclo]

The big question is: how far do you trust your employer? If they're not the kind of employer who permits reasonable work-place personal surfing, then you're in a difficult position (I assume this is the sort of problem you're facing). Basically, even if you could clear the cache and history, there's no telling whether the employer hasn't used some key-logging or similar software to monitor your browsing habits.

If you're in a quiet office with no-one looking over your shoulder, you could check to see if you can boot of a CD, then you could use a bootable Linux distro for personal surfing: but that means having to reboot each time and it would look pretty suspicious if someone walked in!

Do I sound paranoid?! I'm not, I'm just careful...

[ddent]

What about Opera or Mozilla? I believe someone did some work such that you can run firefox off of a USB key.

[reuben101]

I think ddent is correct about the USB key, but I have to wonder if it is worth the trouble and risk.

If the employer has gone to the trouble to disable properties on your computer is it unreasonable to assume you could get canned for circumventing their efforts?

It would be a shame to get fired for clearing spam out of a hotmail account!

If you need access to the web for your own business reasons but need your day job to pay the bills right now, why not get a Blackberry or Treo and check on your breaks to avoid breaking any company policy or having your web movements tracked?