Really Embarrassing Moment with the Boss

[pat fan]

If we're meandering down the path of awkward Google searches, there's a great band called "Sidewalk Prophets". My mom wanted to get lyrics to a song I played her, so she Googled "Sidewalk Profits". She kept telling me it couldn't be a Christian band, and I kept telling her that yes, they were. Spelling is everything

 

[justgrace]

If we're meandering down the path of awkward Google searches, there's a great band called "Sidewalk Prophets". My mom wanted to get lyrics to a song I played her, so she Googled "Sidewalk Profits". She kept telling me it couldn't be a Christian band, and I kept telling her that yes, they were. Spelling is everything

Off topic, but I love that band!! I'll have to remember to spell their name right!

 

[Julie's Haircut]

 

[EmbarassedEmployee]

To be clear it wasn't a bad google search either. The fact he went thru the motions to make it an incognito window, and then typed in the name of the porn site...and clicked on a video.

 

[book_junkie]

My boss often logs into my computer so we can go over stuff that needs to be done. He called today, and we were going over stuff. I hang up, and go to make a few calls.

While moving things on the calendar, a internet browser is opened, and its made to go private. Alrighty then. Next thing I know, the web address being typed in is a PORN SITE.

At this point, I'm on the phone with a client, and I start to freak out. I try to close out of it (I wasn't the one opening the site), and get on to what I'm going.

Needless to say this is so awkward. A video was even being opened why this was going on. I'm trying to tell my self he met to go to some other site but .

He shouldn't have your password or need it to "log on" to your computer remotely. There are a number of software programs that can be used to share desktops, and he (or IT) can set an admin and a training login if he needs to train you on computer things. If there's not an IT department, find out all you can about what software you're using.

You should also be able to tell what software is being used to share the desktops, and see how it's being monitored- typically there's a computer icon in a corner somewhere that changes color repeatedly when the remote software is in use. When the session is over, log out and log back in- that will definitely end the session.

And change your password ASAP. He doesn't need it to see your screen with ANY sharing software. He shouldn't have personal appointments on his business calendar for anyone to see, who knows what else he's doing under your login.

 

[low-key]

lol

 

[Shanti]

 

[EmbarassedEmployee]

He shouldn't have your password or need it to "log on" to your computer remotely. There are a number of software programs that can be used to share desktops, and he (or IT) can set an admin and a training login if he needs to train you on computer things. If there's not an IT department, find out all you can about what software you're using.

You should also be able to tell what software is being used to share the desktops, and see how it's being monitored- typically there's a computer icon in a corner somewhere that changes color repeatedly when the remote software is in use. When the session is over, log out and log back in- that will definitely end the session.

And change your password ASAP. He doesn't need it to see your screen with ANY sharing software. He shouldn't have personal appointments on his business calendar for anyone to see, who knows what else he's doing under your login.

It is one of those screen sharing services. I know which one it is, and it pop's up when he's logged on.
He's the owner of the company, its small, there is no IT department. He owns the computers.

Likely he thought he was on his computer, except he was still on my screen. It's go to my pc.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Oh my heavens! I could never work for a man who viewed pornography. You should quit immediately and find a job working for someone who is upstanding and proper. I don't care if it was a mistake or an inadvertent series of events on his part. There simply is no good excuse and quitting immediately is the only proper thing for you to do. I'll clutch my pearls extra tight for you tonight in hopes that it helps you find your way.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I wouldn't be shaking his hand this afternoon.

OK I literally almost just aspirated a hunk of cantaloupe!

That would be awkward!

In defense of your boss possibly maybe he was searching for a company product that happens to be heavily promoted on porn sights.

I say that jokingly. Years ago I was assigned a product search from HQ in Germany for sugarcane wax. The R&D guys needed a sample of this type wax for testing. I had never heard of it before. Calling around the wax product was a mystery to others. So I began an internet search, and all that came up when searching for sugar wax was porn after porn sight. It was awkward. I was trying to shield my computer screen from others. In the end I excused myself to go home to continue the assignment and call around. Eventually I found the wax. A company in Cuba made sugarcane wax, so in the end being in America I was not able to obtain a sample. The guys in Germany needed to call Cuba and made arrangements.

Yeah, one of my dogs had a peri-anal fistula. Went to look that up one time... whoa! Thereafter got a lot of, shall we say, unusual advertisements, lol.

Oh my heavens! I could never work for a man who viewed pornography. You should quit immediately and find a job working for someone who is upstanding and proper. I don't care if it was a mistake or an inadvertent series of events on his part. There simply is no good excuse and quitting immediately is the only proper thing for you to do. I'll clutch my pearls extra tight for you tonight in hopes that it helps you find your way.

He doth protest too much? Haha

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I wouldn't be shaking his hand this afternoon.

I think you win!

 

[dclpluto]

What kind of porn was it. Was it regular porn or some kind of sick stuff.

 

[marlynnp]

Good lord, 50% of American men watch porn at least once a day.





The other 50% are waiting for Comcast to fix their internet connection.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Good lord, 50% of American men watch porn at least once a day.





The other 50% are waiting for Comcast to fix their internet connection.

Okay, I laughed.

 

[EmbarassedEmployee]

I mean, I don't care that he watches it. Its a bit weird knowing he does. But what makes it super weird is the fact he likely knows I know he was watching it.

 

[Bilberry]

Hopefully he was just being careless on where he watched the porn.

It might not be a bad idea thought to begin documenting events. That way in the unlikely event the situation spirals out of control you will have some evidence backing up your side of the story.

 

[elphaba91]

That would be awkward!

In defense of your boss possibly maybe he was searching for a company product that happens to be heavily promoted on porn sights.

I say that jokingly. Years ago I was assigned a product search from HQ in Germany for sugarcane wax. The R&D guys needed a sample of this type wax for testing. I had never heard of it before. Calling around the wax product was a mystery to others. So I began an internet search, and all that came up when searching for sugar wax was porn after porn sight. It was awkward. I was trying to shield my computer screen from others. In the end I excused myself to go home to continue the assignment and call around. Eventually I found the wax. A company in Cuba made sugarcane wax, so in the end being in America I was not able to obtain a sample. The guys in Germany needed to call Cuba and made arrangements.

I work in a small suburban law firm, but thanks to one client have found myself on the websites of several brothels as well as a brothel broker (who knew there was such a thing!). While we generally act for him in conveyancing matters and various other pickles he seems to get himself into, he made a large portion of his millions operating a brothel and now wants to buy out one of his competitors.

 

[tvguy]

He owns the company. He owns the computer you were using, he can do what he wants. He has every right to look at whatever you are doing on that computer. And I would just forget it, unless it keeps happening, it was an accident.
My son works for a contract computer IT firm. Their service contracts state they do not report or police what sites their clients and client employees go to. He was even called in to restore one employees hot list of porn sites after a software upgrade. This isn't 1994 when the the Internet was this new evil thing. Employees and employers go to porn sites. Fewer employers to have restrictions on where their employees go, this is 2016.
Now, I know a number of my co-workers view sites my employer would not like, but they make sure to do it on their smart phones, with the WIFI turned off using their data, but there are times we do have legitimate reasons to go to questionable sites as part of our jobs.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

Ok, am I the only one who is not getting a hand-wringing, pearl-clutching, "my-boss-is-a-horrible-person-because-he-looks-at-porn" vibe from this post? Just a "omg-this-is-a-hella-uncomfortable-situation" vibe?

My boss can look at porn until he is blue in the...face, for all I care, and it's not my business if he does it at work (although I hope to God he doesn't, since he is a school principal), but it would be extremely cringe-worthy (for me) if he knew that I knew.

It's funny how he immediately began watching the video after a conversation about calendar appointments...who knew?

I do, however, find this a very interesting first post.

 

[ronandannette]

He owns the company. He owns the computer you were using, he can do what he wants. He has every right to look at whatever you are doing on that computer. And I would just forget it, unless it keeps happening, it was an accident.
My son works for a contract computer IT firm. Their service contracts state they do not report or police what sites their clients and client employees go to. He was even called in to restore one employees hot list of porn sites after a software upgrade. This isn't 1994 when the the Internet was this new evil thing. Employees and employers go to porn sites. Fewer employers to have restrictions on where their employees go, this is 2016.
Now, I know a number of my co-workers view sites my employer would not like, but they make sure to do it on their smart phones, with the WIFI turned off using their data, but there are times we do have legitimate reasons to go to questionable sites as part of our jobs.

This part I totally agree with. But that said, I am confident enough in my relationship with my boss that I would have brought it up to him and told him to watch what he was doing on my screen because it made me feel creepy and I don't appreciate his "cookies" impacting my pop-ups and searches. I'd also bring the incident up in case future IT work tracked the history on my computer so it would have already been established that it was him and not me because bosses can sometimes have a double standard for their own behaviour v.s. their employees, KWIM?