Tech Support: Here’s what your boss can see on at-home work devices

Yahoo Finance’s Tech Editor Dan Howley shares what your employer can preview on your company devices while working from home. He joins the On The Move panel to discuss.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: Dan Howley covers tech for us. And in "Tech Support" today, he's going to explain to us what your company can look at on your computer-- whether it's their computer or your personal computer, right, Dan?

DAN HOWLEY: Yeah, that's right. With millions of Americans working from home, it's obvious that occasionally, we're going to get a little bored and probably start to watch YouTube, go on the web, maybe even watch Netflix. And importantly, your office knows you're doing it too-- especially if you're using a work-provided laptop or phone. But don't freak out just yet-- this is what you need to know.

Now, if you're on your computer, even if you're on your personal computer and you're using what's called a VPN or virtual private network to access companies' websites, maybe go and fill out special forms online, your company can see exactly where you're navigating on the web. That's because a VPN works as kind of a filter. And while your web traffic passes through there, they're able to see where you're going. So if you're going to YouTube, they know you're going to YouTube.

After that, you want to start to think about things like whether or not your company is able to see how productive you are. Some companies have things like key loggers built into their own devices-- not yours-- to see that you're remaining productive. And that's important, because if you're sitting around with your laptop open for a while, they will know that you're not doing anything with it.

There's also something important to keep in mind, and that's something like Microsoft's Teams or Slack. Now, companies are able to see exactly what you type in there regardless of whether it's on your personal device, your smartphone, your laptop, or your company provided smartphone or laptop. They will hold on to records for that for some time. The same thing goes for your email, believe it or not. And that's because they need to hold on to those for records. And a little tidbit on the side for fun-- if your company or you end up getting sued, all of that stuff can be subpoenaed. So make sure you're keeping all of your chats nice and work-centric and PG.

And finally, I just kind of want to point out the fact that if you're using something along the lines of your work computer or your home computer and you're still typing away and you know, browsing the web, it's really nothing to be too nervous about. Because if your company allows you to visit websites that aren't blocked, chances are they know you're going to use their device for personal reasons. It's just important to know that anything that you put on that device can be seen.

So for instance, I did my taxes on my work computer. My company can see that. It's important to recognize that and be safe.