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Another option would be to just tell them and not play games with them.



Whilst an option, I feel it's a bad one if security is actually a priority.

Having worked at companies who actually have a high level concern over computer security, telling someone simply isn't enough. Being told is passive. Passive defence and active defence are two entirely different states of mind. Defending against an attack needs to be active and instinctual. Every time you open, close, or set down your laptop, a small part of your brain should be thinking about it. In computer security, a single failure is enough to lose control, so it's useful to have an environment that reflects that.

A simple example is being told to keep your terminal locked. This is a common rule for most workplaces but is usually met with dismal failure. One of the companies I worked at actually made a game out of leaving your terminal unlocked. I can tell you, after a few days of your colleagues kindly laughing at you returning to a screen full of Internet memes, you instinctively Ctrl + L upon standing up, even if it's to walk to the windows to look at the view.

Why is it important I lock the screen even if standing a metre away? My friend walks by whilst I'm staring at the view and invites me to [coffee|walk|game|X]. Security has already left your mind and you head off to do [X], leaving your terminal unlocked. Even worse, your screen might auto-lock in a few minutes, giving you a false sense of security when you return. Even if it was unlocked when you returned, you'd likely get back to work, not realizing your error.

Making security a game is a good way of instilling the practice. Colleagues make for cunning adversaries and make you actively defend yourself. This defence is useful against both pretend threats and real ones. Wargames are wargames for a reason.


> One of the companies I worked at actually made a game out of leaving your terminal unlocked. I can tell you, after a few days of your colleagues kindly laughing at you returning to a screen full of Internet memes, you instinctively Ctrl + L upon standing up, even if it's to walk to the windows to look at the view.

This was unofficial but standard practice at a support center I once worked at. It was a terrible work environment for other reasons, but individual computer security was great because the new guys very rapidly learned that leaving a computer unlocked left you a prime target for background changes, YTMND pages hidden behind other windows, the Dell ctrl+alt+up thing, etc.


A guy in my previous work came to me for help, we did some remote desktop to his machine from mine, only to find a big dick drawn in ms paint by someone... kind of funny, but the guy was a bit shocked and felt embarrased, not knowing what to do I simply ignored it as nothing has happened.


I lock my computer, but on top of that, I run a bluetooth proximity locker, just to cover my ass when I'm not standing by my computer. :)


Won't work.

If they can install they will and it will continue until someone starts firing people over it.

If they cannot install, prepare to get scolded when they cannot install fileshare clients, flash games, "codecs", -you name it: they'll install it if there is even the slightest chance it will let them watch something they wouldn't be able to watch without.

I sometimes have an image inside my head what it would be like if chefs would be like office workers in this regard: sharing their knives with friends and family, drag their knives into the garden, use them to poke in the sink, stir the paint etc.




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