Three Reasons You Must Filter Your Employees' Web Browsing

Many business owners are reluctant to control their employees' Web browsing, because they don't want to be seen as the "Internet Nanny". However, there are very good security reasons to block access to non-work-related Web sites.

The most obvious reason to restrict access only to work-related sites is to decrease time-wasting and increase productivity. This is probably the worst reason, though, as it actually has the opposite effect. Instead of quickly checking Facebook or shopping Amazon during a lull in the day, employees will simply use their smart phones. They'll take longer to do it, and their attention will be completely off of their work computers at that point. Additionally, as I've always contended, anti-productive behavior is a management problem, not a technological one.

The second reason to block certain sites is to prevent liability problems. While this may be effective in some environments, you'd have to talk to a lawyer about your specific case. Again, this seems like more of a personnel issue in most instances.

The real reason your business should be blocking certain types of non-work-related Web sites is to prevent malware. As this article explains, popular pornography sites are regularly (and successfully) used to distribute malware—malware that can not only destroy your files, but steal your passwords, and even gain access to your bank accounts. That's not hyperbole. This is a lucrative and destructive criminal enterprise, which continues to grow, year after year.

Clocktower Technology Services customers with managed service agreements already have the ability to restrict many classes of sites, whether their computers are in the office or out of the office. If your IT services company doesn't provide this ability, maybe it's time to ask them why.