Can my employer see my web browsing history on my work computer after it has been deleted?

Answer 1

This depends on the employer's specific data retention policies and implemented technologies. Employers may install monitoring software on each computer that tracks all network addresses accessed, which may further be logged to a server. In this case, the system is usually locked down so the software cannot be uninstalled or disabled.

Next, the organization may choose to set up their own DNS servers on the network, and configure the network firewall to prevent all DNS traffic. Using this configuration, only websites authorized by the DNS server will be available (though one could still access sites by their IP address, if the firewall allows it). This DNS server could log all accessed server names.

Next, the company may choose to use a proxy; in this case, all requests must go through a proxy server, or they will be denied by the firewall. In this case, the proxy can record which websites are accessed, including full URLs and payloads, if so configured. Finally, the firewall itself might have logging capabilities, and simply log which sites are accessed.

In short, there are a number of technologies available that a company can use to keep track of their employee's internet activities. Employees are encouraged to ask an authorized employer representative as to which sites are allowed, and what disciplinary actions may occur for accessing unauthorized resources.

Some companies do not log this information at all, simply trusting their employees to behave. If the employee is fortunate enough to work for one of these organizations, it is vital that this trust is not violated by visiting non-business sites during non-break times. Wasting company resources hurts the business' bottom line, and that is not tolerated anywhere.