When using your Blackberry to tether, are the contents trackable?

Hey guys-
I was just wondering. I started using tetherberry recently, and my company strictly prohibits sites such as myspace and youtube, and other inappropriate sites that I will refrain from mentioning, lol... Anyway, I was given a phone by my company to use, but was wondering-

if I were to tether it to my computer and did go onto whatever sites, is there a way for my company to find out where I've been browsing on the computer?

**EDIT**

I should've clarified...
I'm actually not connected to a BES...
The company just provides the phone w full internet access
I don't access my work emails at all from it

Thanks

I'm not a BES admin, but regardless, the URL will show up in http logs somewhere I imagine. The increased data usage might set off a bell or two depending on how the plan on your phone is setup.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

hmmm.. thanks for the response! So you think that the phone will have a url log, even though i'm browsing on my computer?

There may even be logs in the company's routers/firewalls. If you're friends with the IT group you can always clarify the purpose of the restrictions. Some things are pretty easy (visiting porn sites not only is a great way to pick up viruses but it also leaves explicit images in your cache and a whole host of other problems), but social networking sites may be restricted because they reduce productivity. If you're using TetherBerry for legitimate reasons (you're on the road and need Internet access) they may say it's fine to do in your downtime but don't use it during business hours. If you're using TetherBerry to try to circumvent these restrictions you're out of luck.

Oops,
I should've clarified...
I'm actually not connected to a BES...
The company just provides the phone w full internet access
I don't access my work emails at all from it

Thanks

But how do you want to access the restricted sites? With a work laptop? With your home laptop? During business hours? After business hours? Do you have unlimited data? Are you talking about checking MySpace during your lunch break or downloading porn while you're in a meeting?

If you're trying to use TetherBerry to do things at work that aren't allowed by IT then you should assume you will get caught. If you're using it during your free time especially with a personal PC it's worth making friends with the IT department to find out how against the rules it is.

If you want more information, Google "fired" along with your favorite social networking site. From inappropriate pages to being caught surfing them after calling in sick it's pretty easy to find infractions even if you use your own Internet connection and computer.

Off subject: What does tetherberry do for you that VZaccess Manager doesn't?

Originally Posted by Goon

Off subject: What does tetherberry do for you that VZaccess Manager doesn't?

Okay, a little bit of searching and I've answered my own question.

The computer is my home computer. Thanks

Originally Posted by silverline122

The computer is my home computer. Thanks

yupz if its your home computer then its not being logged by your company..

if its not on a BES I am pretty sure there is no way for them to tell..

However the company who provides the cellphone may have the information on what sites you are visiting ;)

I doubt the cell provider tracks the urls, imagine the vast amounts of url logs they would have to keep for all the smartphones in their system. While they may be able to track these at the request of say a police dept I don't think they use a lot of server space to track them "just because".

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Interesting... I had no idea that they could track the contents when using tetherberry...

Funny-
For whatever reason I thought that the contents would be stored on the computer, not the phone's data log...

Thanks guys

What it comes down to is how much you like your job. You can't get around the fact that you're using company resources (your phone and/or data plan) to access sites that are explicitly forbidden by the company. In most companies doing something like this (as long as it doesn't add to the charges they're already paying) this is a non-issue, it violates the letter of the law but not the spirit (as long as you're not working from home and doing this on company time). However, while it's very difficult to fire someone based on poor performance or personality conflicts, it's very easy to fire someone for breaking a rule. I've seen people fired over a few dollars on an expense report because they were incompetent and it was easier to list that as the reason. There are lots of ways for people to track what you do if they set their mind to it (especially if the phone is in the company's name), so if your job security is pretty low why would you risk it? On the other hand, it only takes an email to IT or your manager to get clarification on the company policy and you'll have a record of who gave you permission.

not to mention if you and or company have privacy issues

What about illegal downloading. Not that I download torrents but for people who do, what if they use their bb. Does the ip address get linked back to a mobile device, att, or a normal comp?

The only "illegal" thing I downloaded was the software to debrand my bold. Pretty ironic I wad downloading leaked RIM software through their servers.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

hmmm.. Weird. I just can't wrap my head around how they would find out- especially when using a program like tetherberry, something completely unsupported by Verizon.

good info though..

I might recommend TCP/IP Illustrated. EVERYTHING you do has a source IP address, otherwise you couldn't get any response from the server. Every illicit image you download, every illegal torrent, every legal torrent is associated with an IP address. Anonymous proxies help, but who says a proxy designed to help people do things of a questionable nature has the moral fortitude not to track everything you do anyway? With a willing service provider (the person who pays for the Internet access, Verizon, the server owner, or just a fellow peer in the case of torrents) or with a court order that IP address may be able to be exposed. Once you have that source IP address and a timestamp Verizon can look up who had the lease on that IP during that timeframe. Just because you CAN get caught doesn't mean you WILL get caught, but don't do the crime unless you're aware of the time you'll have to serve if you do get caught and you're OK with that.

Again, to the original poster an email to your manager will clear things up a lot more than speculation about what can and can't be done on a forum. Can you be tracked? YES. Will you be tracked? Unlikely. Can you be tracked without a court order? I don't know. If you're OK with running the small risk of losing your job over this go right ahead, I use company resources for non-company purposes all the time but I have a good relationship with my manager and he knows what I'm up to. If you're asking the question, you must think you're doing something wrong and you should follow your gut.

Originally Posted by Goon

Off subject: What does tetherberry do for you that VZaccess Manager doesn't?

It allows you to save an extra $30 a month. You only pay the software fee for the tetherberry, but don't have to pay the monthly, like you would with vzaccess manager

Originally Posted by jdbower

I might recommend EVERYTHING you do has a source IP address, otherwise you couldn't get any response from the server. Every illicit image you download, every illegal torrent, every legal torrent is associated with an IP address. Anonymous proxies help, but who says a proxy designed to help people do things of a questionable nature has the moral fortitude not to track everything you do anyway? With a willing service provider (the person who pays for the Internet access, Verizon, the server owner, or just a fellow peer in the case of torrents) or with a court order that IP address may be able to be exposed. Once you have that source IP address and a timestamp Verizon can look up who had the lease on that IP during that timeframe. Just because you CAN get caught doesn't mean you WILL get caught, but don't do the crime unless you're aware of the time you'll have to serve if you do get caught and you're OK with that.

Again, to the original poster an email to your manager will clear things up a lot more than speculation about what can and can't be done on a forum. Can you be tracked? YES. Will you be tracked? Unlikely. Can you be tracked without a court order? I don't know. If you're OK with running the small risk of losing your job over this go right ahead, I use company resources for non-company purposes all the time but I have a good relationship with my manager and he knows what I'm up to. If you're asking the question, you must think you're doing something wrong and you should follow your gut.

Very educational and informative post. Thank you