Since some colleges and jobs look at your ISP history, can they see if you watch pornography?

[All day every day]

Ha just wondering...

[Tony]

they don't look at your internet service provider (isp)
they google your name

[Neil]

Look at your ISP history? No. And even if they could do that, and did do that, they couldn't tell whether you were looking at porn, or your parents were, or your sister, or whoever.

But you might want to give a thought to what you have posted (or others have posted) that can be associated with you. Just sayin'.

[BigE]

You talking about your home network?

If the job pays for the ISP, I don't think they need a supoena to look at your logs.
A college would need a supoena, I believe.

At any rate, the info is in the logs, dns logs would be one. If they put a filter or sniffer on, they can see the exact requests you are doing. They just have to match the IP to the mac (on your stuff) and they know it is you and when you are doing it.

Just whether how they can access the logs, that is the grey area.

[John S]

Let's clarify a few terms:

ISP = Internet Service Provider, these are the guys you pay for internet access. If at home , then typically the telephone company. If at work.. then Account dept. pays an invoice to an internet company.

ISPs don't give out people's Internet History... they only know the IP addresses you visited and they don't give that out, without a subpoena.

Internet History = A list of all the sites you visited recently. "recently" is a relative term as your browser can save 90 days, or 1 day, or it can be cleared everytime you close the internet.

Logs = various text files that the computer automatically keeps for troubleshooting purposes or based on company policy (group policy)

________________________________________


Private Companies and even Government institutions do have the right to log and later review the logs of any employee using Company or Government owned computers for work related activities.

A gray area exists in regards to Student Computer Labs, since these are not always used for work and the people using them are not "employees" but students.
Some colleges MAY have a right to privacy rule, while others may not.

But if you are using an employer's computer for NON-work related stuff.. even Facebook.. you can be disciplined or even terminated.


Companies can "log" your internet activity in various ways. Some Anti-Virus programs will actually track and report back your internet activity to a central server.
Some companies simply randomly 'audit' a computer and review its Windows logs without employees being notified. Any irregularities are then reported to HR or that person's supervisor.
Other companies employ special software specifically designed for that purpose.
Still others employ software at the Router or "border network" which records ALL incoming and outgoing web traffic. Such "perimeter monitoring" is usually automated and IT will only pull the logs on a specific computer if HR or the Supervisor requests it


A far BIGGER problem is the time wasted by employees on various Social Networks like Facebook and Linked In.
An increasing number of people are being repremanded or fired over using company time to go to Facebook.


SO.. WHENEVER you are in a public situation, be it at work, at College, at a Library, at StarBucks. I would NOT go to any site which is controversial or which may cause a problem for children.
I'd adopt the "would I go here if my Mom was standing over my shoulder" philosophy when surfing the web.

When at work, I'd add: "And should I be doing this on company time?" question to the mix as well.

[Arsenic]

Since many colleges and some employers require the use of proxies to access the internet, yes they can see where you have surfed. Firewalls also log all kind of access (including internet access).