Corporate BES "Big Brother" Questions for a BES admin
- Is there a thread (I Searched for but couldnt find) that details what a BES admin can see on your phone?
I have seen a lot of "everything" posts
But it would be nice to see a post from a BES admin with the details of what they can see or typically see..
IE
SMS Text
BIS email
Blackberry Messanger
Internet
MMS
Phone Calls Placed
and if they can find your location via BES or GPS?
I am on Verizon.....
This would be a good place to create a sticky thread...with all the answers in one spot..
and any suggestions they have to keep things "private" or more shielded without getting a seperate phone...07-22-08 05:29 PMLike 0 - I'm a bes admin.. I can see your visited IE urls, your SMS texts, dunno about bis emails, never tried.. cant view bb messenger.. I can view your mms and all calls placed.
and yes, in the new service pack on the bes, it can track your location's long/lat and put it on the sqldb..07-22-08 06:21 PMLike 0 - I'm a bes admin.. I can see your visited IE urls, your SMS texts, dunno about bis emails, never tried.. cant view bb messenger.. I can view your mms and all calls placed.
and yes, in the new service pack on the bes, it can track your location's long/lat and put it on the sqldb..
Can you see my visited URL's if I used Operamini?
Do you have more detailed info on the new service pack? what is sqldb?
Thanks - sorry I am a newb07-22-08 07:02 PMLike 0 - is this what you are talking about?
What’s New in BlackBerry� Enterprise Server v4.1 with Service Pack 5 for IBM� Lotus� Domino�
Overview
The BlackBerry� Monitoring Service is a web-based management solution designed to help organizations monitor and manage their BlackBerry� infrastructure.
By providing automated, 24x7 monitoring, the BlackBerry Monitoring Service proactively identifies system alerts or events that could cause an interruption in BlackBerry service and sends detailed alerts to system administrators.
Key Benefits
Facilitates proactive issue identification and resolution – proactively and continuously monitors the status of the BlackBerry� Enterprise Server, and alerts administrators to events that can result in outages
Captures critical system and user performance statistics – better information improves analysis, optimization and performance tuning of the BlackBerry solution
Increases IT efficiency – narrowly defines issues related to BlackBerry deployments that today need to be manually performed.
Enables Help Desk support – provides Help Desk personnel with visibility into potential BlackBerry issues that may require additional troubleshooting
Reduces Costs – with the automation of BlackBerry systems monitoring and standardized 24x7 checks of your organization’s BlackBerry deployment, manual processes can be eliminated, thereby saving valuable IT resources
Features
Maintaining a high performing and highly available BlackBerry� infrastructure has become business critical for many organizations. To meet this need, the BlackBerry� Monitoring Service includes many features designed to help organizations efficiently monitor and manage their BlackBerry infrastructure.
Automated Health Monitoring and Alert Notification
The BlackBerry Monitoring Service can be configured to send email or SMS message notification to selected recipients when performance issues occur or predefined thresholds have been exceeded. This functionality enables administrators to identify trends that indicate potential service issues.
Additional functionality provided with the BlackBerry Monitoring Service includes:
Configurable Notification List
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Statistics and Thresholds
Server and User Pending Messages
Gathers Critical Server and User Performance Statistics
With the BlackBerry Monitoring Service, administrators get access to extensive user information, with the ability to do the following:
Create both system (Quick Reports) or customizable reports to analyze usage trends and system load statistics
Generate user lists across all BlackBerry� Enterprise Servers and sort them by key criteria such as PIN, name or date of last message forwarded.
Quickly determine which server a specific end user belongs to, and their usage level
Generate reports and graphs in a variety of formats (PDF, HTML or CSV)
Web-Based Administration Console
The included web-based administration console provides a single management console for BlackBerry administrators. It
Presents a consolidated view of the health status of multiple BlackBerry Enterprise Servers
Features a dashboard-style design to give administrators an easy-to-read, at-a-glance view of the health of their BlackBerry systems and smartphone users
Allows for multiple privilege levels to segregate admin, helpdesk and reporting
Can be managed remotely via a web browser07-22-08 07:07 PMLike 0 -
I dont believe so about Opera Mini..but if it becomes a problem, I can just uninstall it from the device remotely..
sqldb is Sequel Database.. it's where all the account info is stored..
Blackberrys are designed with the ultimate security in mind for businesses.. I can prevent you from using the camera, GPS, I can disallow use of phone, data.. if using MDS, all data goes through the BES so pretty much anything done on the device can be captured in some way, shape or form.
Since I'm also the carrier maintenance person for my company, I can request all the other info that the BES doesn't provide.. weeks worth of call logs, etc.. =)Last edited by sniffs; 07-22-08 at 08:45 PM.
07-22-08 08:41 PMLike 0 - Crucial_XtremeRetired ModeratorThat's UNFAIR. It's his job. I'm sure someone pays him good $$ for what he does. If I give you a "company device" it's just for that, the "company". If you want to conduct non-official business, get your own device. LOL. Not really, but the OP, sounds like he's trying to hide something. And it is this reason, the fact that employers can do such things and have such great security on their devices, that has made Blackberry #1 in the Corporate arena.07-23-08 05:53 AMLike 0
- Man this is scary, I had no clue a BES Admin could do all that. Now, if it was thieir (my companies) device, yeah I agree but Ive had this number way before crackberries were around, now that Ive upgraded my phone so I can work on the road you mean to tell me some admin can read any porn laced SMS my wife sends me? Im really not a privacy freak but still... Im not sure Im onboard with that though. (no wonder why I get all those strange looks in the office)07-23-08 06:17 AMLike 0
- Crucial_XtremeRetired ModeratorHaving the number or the device? Big difference. Regardless, yes, on BES Big Brother "can" watch.07-23-08 06:24 AMLike 0
- jeffhRetired ModeratorIf your BES is version 4.1 or later, then yes, the admins can read your text messages. There's a FAQ about that in blackberry forums, I think. I'm not at my computer, so I can't post the text, but I've posted it before.
Upgrading your device "to work on the road" won't have automatically put you on BES. You have to activate that in a two-step process that involves your IT department.
In my case, it's an employer-provided phone, so there's no question about the rules. If you attach a personally-owned device to a BES, unfortunately you make it subject to the same rules as an employer-provided device, whether you intended to or not.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-23-08 06:34 AMLike 0 -
- jeffhRetired ModeratorI got you Jeff. Check out BES Admin FAQ
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-23-08 07:18 AMLike 0 - This is the world we live in. That's why I won't let my IT guy anywhere near my personal Curve. We all know the company has the right to control everything they own -- my employer can't read every email we send, but they have software that monitors for key words. There is no privacy at work. My advice, and it is painful, but buy your own BB for the fun stuff. In my case it means I don't have my work phone except for when I am clearly on call. So the disadvantage for employers is that if they want to get in touch with me, they have to pay me -- unlike before when I carried their phone because I used it for personal as well as business. . It is a two way street and they have to give something up as well. (and for my work IT guy, Hi Shawn, I love you man!)07-23-08 07:37 AMLike 0
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- Man this is scary, I had no clue a BES Admin could do all that. Now, if it was thieir (my companies) device, yeah I agree but Ive had this number way before crackberries were around, now that Ive upgraded my phone so I can work on the road you mean to tell me some admin can read any porn laced SMS my wife sends me? Im really not a privacy freak but still... Im not sure Im onboard with that though. (no wonder why I get all those strange looks in the office)07-23-08 08:38 AMLike 0
- jeffhRetired Moderator
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-23-08 09:12 AMLike 0 - It's not possible to be on a BES without an IT admin setting up the account. Of course, they could have done that before giving you the phone. If you check in Options/Advanced Options/Enterprise Activation, you can see if you are on a BES. Another way to tell is, do your appointments, tasks, notes, and contacts sync ota? BES provides this capability. BIS only syncs the calendar ota. Everything else you have to sync by desktop manager.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com07-23-08 09:25 AMLike 0 - Heheh!! I do enjoy it.. I'm not the police so I dont snoop anything unless I'm told to.. for all I care, install all the software you want.. if your device crashes, and 3rd party software is to blame and I have to spend time fixing it... than you're being added to the policy that disallows 3rd party apps.. =P07-23-08 10:04 AMLike 0
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So far, it's not put anywhere on the BES Manager or the logs.. I've looked.. =)07-23-08 10:09 AMLike 0 - BES and BIS are easy to figure out.
Blackberry Enterprise Server = BES. It syncs emails, contacts, tasks and calendar events OTA and it reconciles all changes between your Outlook/Blackberry. BES is typically offered by the company you work for.
Blackberry Internet Service = BIS. To my knowledge from testing, it only syncs emails and it does not reconcile.. so if you mark an email as read, it doesnt mark it as read on the other.. and vice versa. This is typically offered only by the carrier.
BES requires licenses and maintenance fee's and a $45 dollar BES plan.
BIS doesn't require licenses, and is like a $29 dollar data plan.
BES is for corporate enviroment.
BIS is for personal enviroment.07-23-08 10:12 AMLike 0 - I believe in 4.1.5 sp5, if "Location Tracking" is enabled ON the BES, and your device has usable GPS, it randomly captures the longititude/latitude and puts it into the database where only someone with access to the DB can see..
So far, it's not put anywhere on the BES Manager or the logs.. I've looked.. =)
I have verizon. My GPS says
GPS Data Source - Device GPS - Cant Change
GPS Services - 911 Only or location on... I have it set to 911 only...
Do you think it capture the long/lat with this configuration?07-23-08 10:32 AMLike 0 - No.. The BES needs to be able to access the GPS.. and since Verizon disables it by service books, I dont believe it'll work.07-23-08 10:35 AMLike 0
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Corporate BES "Big Brother" Questions for a BES admin
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