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151 Comments
- Devrdander, on 10/12/2007, -4/+87As a Network Engineer and System Admin let me point out a few things:
#1 If they Block Gmail odds are the web proxy will also see you visiting any other URL's. We use Websense and before that MS ISA and we receive usage reports of users and any site they visit regardless of the URL. Squid will also generate reports etc...
#2 We block pop access outbound, this might actually work however depends on the local system policies and the firewall.
#3 Installing Google Desktop is A) usually impossible due to required system access and B) unauthorized corporate software is a terminable offense. I wouldn't suggest this. Google Desktop is a big corporate no no due to security concerns over it storing data else where.
#4 See #1 comments above.
#5 May make us turn the other cheek but I wont make any changes that will incriminate me. Your email isn't worth my job security.
Generic Proxies: We block all proxy access, using google translate will still show up in our logs. If you generate too much traffic we'll start monitoring more closely.
Overall this is very risky. If the company has gone to any extent to block you from gmail, then that means you shouldn't be using it at work. If you want to get in trouble go for it. Trust me, not only can I see everything users do on my network when I want to, but we do period sweeps and packet captures to look for problem users. We log everything! And odds are if you aren't working in IT, you don't know more than the IT guys in your company. - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+49I wouldn't use GMail Lite hosted by someone else. "This lite service is not provided by GMail or Google." Just what I need, giving my credentials to an unknown third party.
The rest of the article is also crap. If your place of business really wants to prevent you from doing something online, they will. This stuff only applies if they want to annoy you, and be smug in their false sense of security. - jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -3/+37"I hope anyone at work who accesses non-approved email gets fired"
You must be a blast at break time. - monergism, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34@Krymore
But she has 414 friends on myspace. Don't hate. - elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29Our school blocks email from 9-2:45, so that if you used it to bring a paper to school, you have the first hour, but after that you can't use it to chat with friends.
- The2ndAct, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25Fidelity Investments.
- drgori, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21School districts often block all webmail services--blocking students and staff from using those accounts.
- monergism, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Hang on. The Waaaaaaaaaaaambulance is on the way.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19I definitely just had some lady at the McDonald's drive through ask me to count out my own change because not only was she incapable of doing it, she was also apparently unaware of how to get the freaking machine to do it for her.
- Phoenixfury, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Why did Wired4u get dugg down? I think Wired's solution is really the best solution and it's legitimate too. Using your cellphone to check your personal e-mail during your free time (breaks) won't get you written up or fired. This is a more legitimate way of dealing with getting your e-mail because you are using internet access you are paying for. The concept of the mobile web is for use where you don't internet access, or have restricted access. I doubt any business is going to give a crap about you using your own mobile web access because they won't be liable for what you do on your own internet account.
- TheKillDoctor, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18thanks, added to the blocked list.
- Wargalas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Be careful with any of these things. If you're found to have circumvented things, your boss could get pissed enough to fire you. Work is for work, not for checking your gmail. digg me down if you'd like, but advice like that will keep you employed and the light bill being paid.
- n8r0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Government
- jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14"What's a break? People who have awesome jobs don't have breaks."
That is really sad and unhealthy that you skip lunch everyday. Your boss must pat your head a lot. I want an "awesome" job like that. (why are you on here...isn't there more work to be done?) - wired4u, on 10/12/2007, -9/+22Just use your cell phone
- bullox, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16omg hax!!!
- plamoni, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12However, I would like to add to my above post that there is a really good reason that Jones and other Securities Industry companies block gmail. Sarbanes Oxley (spelling?) and SEC regulations require investment firms to keep all correspondence for a number of years. Because companies like Jones can't exactly keep all your gmail email, they are much better off blocking everyone from using it.
This isn't because they want to be jerks or anything, it's because they don't have much of a choice in the matter.
I would also note that using any of the described methods above has a much higher likely-hood of getting you fired than it does of even working. So if you work for a Securities Industry company, check your gmail at home... - lordsandwich, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Steve Ballmer.
Hey, someone had to say it! - kenjura, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12If people are going to waste time at work, they're going to waste time. If they can't chat, or check their mail, or read Digg, they'll just play solitaire. If you've got an employee who wastes too much time, that's a personal issue. Don't try to use technology to solve it.
However, speaking from experience, when your network blocks gmail and google talk (well technically all outbound connections except the proxy server), it's a bitch to work around...but possible. =P - TheKillDoctor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11@jay
If your work blocks all web mail then request that they have a few PC's setup for unfiltered type browsing for breaks. I setup a few monitored but unfiltered kiosks for all employees to access. It is a reasonable request. - underthelinux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11lockheed blocks it. and they make battleships. i'm not going to argue with them.
- jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12The last three places that I've temped at...I really was looking for this just today!
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11SSL has nothing to do with it. Businesses hire people to work, not to browse their personal email, play games and post at Digg.
- jarbro, on 07/23/2009, -0/+7Yeah good luck if you have IT who are worth there $$. We don't block gmail at my office, however we do block the chat feature in gmail.
- JexMedia, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13Cool hacks! I didn't know about gmail-lite before reading this article. Thanks!
- nickbender, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6All financial institutions.
In other news... the painful irony is that the page listing said hacks is also blocked >_<
wont be long before digg is too :(. - pixelate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@ starmanta... i don't like it any better than you, but it's not at all that mysterious why they do it.
1. Any company (not to mention specifically those in the financial sector, etc.) is going to be wary of giving employees an easy way to disseminate confidential information outside of official channels.
2. We already have heard ridiculous figures about the percentage of time American workers waste every day on non work-related websites. Personal email is probably a big part of it.
3. Gmail in particular is a bigger offender because they allow instant messaging from within the web interface.
@ devrdander... great post, good points. however i frequently come up against IT guys who don't know much about what they're doing aside from the basics of administering corporate software and networks. as an experienced user who doesn't have an official IT position, it's frustrating as hell. but i realize there are plenty of employees out there who believe they're experts (there was a great Digg post about this the other day) and probably cause fewer problems when they're locked down. anyone who ACTUALLY knows what they're doing can work around corporate security when they need to and can make the decision on their own about when to risk violating company policies. - clubmasta2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If you work/go to school at a place that blocks gmail and you need gmail that bad during those you've failed already, and this article will not help you in life. Though it will help you connect to gmail it might just get you in trouble...if the sys admin is smart enough to know how to block gmail it's more likely they know these exact ways you get around it.
- gonpost, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10There's another way...
Sign in too google's personalized web page (click sign in on the top right of the page when on the main google page), and then set your options so that it will notify you of recent mail. It'll show you your mail right there, and all you have to do is click on one piece of mail, and then you'll be inside.
It works for bess at school, anyway. I'd imagine it should work for most of you too... - decipherd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6My work blocks both gmail and blogs... so i cant see how to do it!
- unfinite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I use https://gmail.google.com
I've been using it for over a year and a half at school. - Irco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@jaycliche
no they really aren't, they haven't blocked digg - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Ah, disenfranchised youth; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
- sir1real, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@monergism
Given:
"People who have awesome jobs don't have breaks."
"Lunch is 1-2 hours."
Therefore:
You do not have an awesome job. - acejones, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6gmail is blocked for a reason at my employer. if i try to circumvent the policies, "the man" will fire me. not worth it.
- Arkitan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Many times when you have a real job, guess what you end up doing. Working at home. If I'm working on work at home, I should be able to check my email whenever I want, as long as I'm getting my work done. That being said, when I'm at work, I generally don't check my gmail, because I'm too busy with other things. If you can't trust your employees to be responsible with their time, then you shouldn't have hired them in the first place.
- jaycliche, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Doesn't work here...I guess our IT are smart.
- KicktheDonkey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5A lot of businesses block webbased email clients. You know, cause they're not paying you to check your personal email.
- kenflannery, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Go to Google Calendar, and click the gmail link in the top left of the page. Not sure why this randomly works, but it did where I worked.
Does this work for anyone else? - Hubso, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Surely the easiest way is to use the forwarding feature and just forward all your gmail to your work/school email address - to configure while in gmail just go to:
Settings > Forwarding and POP > Forwarding - plamoni, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Edward Jones
- dilbertmouse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, 'cause it's worth it to me to pay $80 a month to check my email. And I'm sure if the organization is worried about you using personal email, they'll have no problem with you bringing in your own personal laptop and your own personal Internet connection.
- KicktheDonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, I was wonder if it would tell me how to access the blog post that tells me how to access gmail when gmail's block when the blog post is blocked?
- lowbot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Get a shell account somewhere, many are free nowadays. Connect with ssh. run lynx. navigate to gmail.com. You'll get a usable gmail interface.
Buy a phone/PDA with a data plan and a basic browser or pop/imap client thus removing yourself from the corporate network all together.
Whether or not this is allowed at your place of work/organization is besides the point. - monergism, on 10/12/2007, -16/+19I hope anyone at work who accesses non-approved email gets fired.
As for those who fail at school, please give me back correct change when I order my #2. - op12, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Nougat, the best part about Gmail-lite is you can run it on any webhost that allows PHP. I agree that I wouldn't login at someone else's, but setting up your own is easy (and you can see all of the code involved, tweak it to your preferences, etc).
You can also name the URL whatever you want, so it wouldn't raise a red flag even if an admin was scanning through URLs in a log. - Rivetgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3ssh tunneling and port forwarding port 80 = FTW
- subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Umm....
Dude, you're the one in a position of power.
Screw #5, go straight to #6! - intekra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have to use the https://mail.google.com address or the http://www.google.com/a/mydomain.com for gmail on my domain. Additionally I have to add *google* to my proxy exceptions in IE and FF.
My company uses Websense, ISA, and proxy servers, and are probably taking screen caps of what I am typing at this moment. ;-) - subliminalurge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Don't ya just love digg? Posts like this are such a time saver.
Added to my blocked list as well.... -
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