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> new laptops that are preinstalled with Okta’s management system

Okta doesn't make device management software, thats made by companies like Jamf. Okta can integrate with them but Okta isn't what manages your laptop at all.

> I wasn’t willing to use Okta’s login system if I have my own personal passwords or keys anywhere on my work computer.

Do not do this, its not a personal device.




> Do not do this, its not a personal device.

You think nobody's logged into their personal spotify on their work computer? All those guys wearing headphones in the office have brought in CDs to play in their laptop CD drives?

And that business traveller away from their partner and kids for a week+ isn't going to video call them? Or watch some netflix in their hotel room in the evening?

That's so unrealistic, you could write IT security policy for a Fortune 100 company :)


Not until just now I didn't. Do they not have a smartphone? A personal laptop? I'm waiting for something to build as I'm typing this right now. On a separate computer. I would never go on Hacker News on my work computer.

Why would I use a device to do personal things that they MITM everything I do on it? Privacy is too important to me to give it away like that. I'm sure all traffic on the corporate network is logged. Why open myself up for grounds for termination if my company hits hard times and wants to lay people off?


If you're sitting in the office waiting for something to build, and you get out your phone to go on HN I'm sorry to say that is probably not the sort of professionalism that's going to afford you much protection from layoffs.


This comes off as passive aggressive and misinformed. I agree with not putting personal things on work devices as much as possible.

Been in the industry for a while now, no one cares if you pull out your phone. Generally, people treat others like adults not children.


Probably so, but at least my company can't MITM and log all my traffic.


Agreed. The presumption should be that anything on a work computer is visible to, logged, and retained by your employer.

It was a public case, but the essentially unanimous Supreme Court opinion in City of Ontario v. Quon [0, 2010] shows what expectations of privacy you should have on any work devices -- none.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Ontario_v._Quon


Unsurprisingly, the EU has a different idea about employee's privacy when using a work computer.

Reasonable or limited private use of a work computer remains private.

https://edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/refer...


> All those guys wearing headphones in the office have brought in CDs to play in their laptop CD drives?

I've worked for large media companies where this is exactly the only way to have music available. The production network was blocked from accessing the www. To ensure content wasn't pirated, the original media had to be used. No CD-Rs were allowed. Personal devices were kept in lockers outside the restricted areas, so no streaming from them either.

Email was from a remote session. If you were emailed an attachment necessary for production work, there was an approved workflow to scan the data and then make it available to the production network.

So, while you were trying to be sarcastic, there are networks that are set up exactly like you thought didn't exist because it was too outlandish.


Presumably the company then takes on the task of passing personal messages from outside to their staff, e.g. if a school phones to say a child is sick.


you're free to check your device as necessary. the personal device rule is for things that have cameras and storage. so a smart watch that can receive messages would be fine. we seem to think that the only way to communicate with someone is via personal device, but in the corp world there is always a corp phone on employee's desk. you could provide that number to whatever contacts you wanted, so this lame concept of passing notes is just so unimaginative on your part that it just feels like someone grasping for straws.


In the last 10 years? Outside of govt? That sounds horrifically inefficient for 2024


This is the default knee jerk reaction, but I didn't have an issue with it. I'm not addicted to my device, so leaving it in a locker was perfectly fine with me. It was actually kind of refreshing to not approach a co-worker doom scrolling a social platform.


Parent didn’t say nobody used the device for personal actions, only that they refused to do so. Which is the only reasonable stance. Especially for well paid engineers who can trivially afford a dedicated device.


I’ve had company devices for over 20 years. I’m currently on the way back to my hotel.

I refuse to carry more than one phone or one laptop, and I sure ain’t brining a personal device into a country I wouldnt go to on vacation.


Totally agree on travel. If I'm getting on a plane for work I don't want to bring my own devices. I can't even trust that my own country won't steal/copy my devices at the border.


> I refuse to carry more than one phone or one laptop

Footgun, but maybe tolerable with your chosen threat model.


Nothing a smartphone can't do.

Even companies with these policies preinstall Spotify on work computers.


> You think nobody's logged into their personal spotify on their work computer?

I don't think anyone thinks that. No one also thinks logging into a personal account on a device owned by someone else gives you any claim of ownership over it.

The computer belongs to the company. You will do what the company says you need to with their computer.


Hiring people who don't understand technology to build your technology: my path to the Fortune 100 List.


All your examples are blocked on my employer's network. So yeah.


I use two laptops.


> Do not do this, its not a personal device.

Agreed, but I knew many devs in my career who mix personal stuff into work hardware. Maybe its just spotify/pandora, maybe some HR thing they needed their personal gmail to make it easier.

This included "senior" and other levels, it isn't just ppl out of college.




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