Downloaded torrent software at work?

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Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Is it possible to accidentally download torrent software just by viewing a You Tube video or maybe viewing sites with pictures?

Unlikely. I've never heard of any virus/malware that installs a torrent client that runs in the background, but theoretically it's possible, I guess. However, you would normally have received some pop-up message while browsing asking you to install something.
 
This sounds like good advice.
I wouldn't know what torrent is either.
I also think that telling him not to just hand over the laptop is good because if they have screwed up they are not going to want to admit it and will probably want to conceal the error. I don't know what you all think but maybe if possible he could do with having someone that does understand with him during the conversation with IT if that happens.
My further comment is to document and file EVERYTHING. Keep notes of conversations, who,what was said, when, where and time.
 
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Well I did not go to any torrent web site and did not willfully download anything on my work laptop. I do remember the strange pop-up window I described earlier in the thread. I tried to close the internet right away when it came up and it did not close. I opened Task Manager to close it and the internet shut down on its own. Then I got a notification from Macaffee it had blocked some malicious file or virus or trojan. I don't remember exactly what it said. The computer did not exhibit any of the tell tale signs of malware so I kept on using it and have been using it with no problems since.

So if there is a torrent on the laptop how did it get there without my knowledge and without me deliberately going to a torrent site to download it? That is what I am planning to use as my line of defense on Monday.
 
Good luck. I'm sure that we will all want to know how you get on. Stay cool, think of England during the blitz.
 
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You're only human. They'll paw through your internet browser history and see you're up to "normal stuff".
 
Thanks again for the support. I have not done anything out of the ordinary on that laptop. I am only human and maybe that weird pop up window was some kind of download, I have no way to know for sure. If there is torrent ware on my laptop I know for a fact I did not install it willfully or deliberately. I hope they will be able to see and understand that and not give me a hard time about it.

I can't find anything odd or strange, and can't find any torrent program on the laptop but that does not mean IT has not already remoted in to the laptop and removed the program, if it did exist to begin with.
 
You may not have intentionally do anything wrong, but they should take a look at your laptop to see what's on it whether it is intentional or not.

Did anyone else have access to your laptop (like your children or your coworkers)? They may have installed something at home and then forgot to tell you about it.
 
I have no kids here at home PandaBear. My daughter is 21 and in college in another state. I never turn the laptop on when it is here at home. Coworkers had no access to my laptop, it stays locked and password protected when not in use. My boss, IT and anyone else who wants to is more than welcome to check my laptop, I have absolutely nothing to hide.

I hope the IT people are able to see that I did not intentionally go to any torrent sites and did not intentionally download any torrent software. I also hope they are able to tell that even if there is torrent ware on the laptop, I certainly did not use it. I have no idea, not even the foggiest idea how to torrent anything. I would not want to torrent anything anyway. If I want a movie I can rent it at Red Box for $1.00. If I want an MP3 song, I can buy it for 8 cents at mp3million.com.

This whole ordeal has me worried sick. I worry they might say "Intentional or not, it's still a security violation, you're fired". I am trying to keep my chin up but that is what bothers me the most. I do hope they will hear my side of the story.
 
I am so thankful to work at a company that has 450,000 employees. I know they do not monitor any internet activity.

Why??? Because they are too cheap to store all the data and then mine it latter. They balk when our mail files hit 100MB.
 
Calm down. Some glitch raised a flag and nothing will come of it. Don't let this ruin your weekend.
 
I wouldn't worry too much. Sometimes it's just a false alarm, a false positive.

One time, I had the same complain to my boss from IT.

They claim I was doing bittorrenting, but I didn't.
I never had any BT client installed in my work PC, so how could I be doing what they claim ?
 
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Calm down. Some glitch raised a flag and nothing will come of it. Don't let this ruin your weekend.


Yep, exactly.
As long as you didn't knowingly engage in downloading programs or software nothing will come of the incident. I'm sure you are not the first person this has happened to at your workplace, they are simply following protocol.

As for your boss informing you just before the Thanksgiving Day Holiday, that was very poor form, and incredibly inconsiderate. Reason says it could have waited until the next work day, even if the "policy" says to inform the employee immediately after a discovery of errant material on the PC.

Commonsense and Reason are really increasingly RARE commodities today. As far as I am concerned your boss is guilty of the biggest mistake here.
 
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Thanks for all of your support on this. Yes, I agree my boss was extremely inconsiderate to spring something like this on me just before the end of the day before Thanksgiving. I am trying not to think about that part of this problem. I have tried not to let it ruin my weekend, but it is still on my mind and will be there until about this time tomorrow morning.

The problem is I have never been in any kind of trouble at work, let alone been accused of downloading illegal software at work so I don't know how they handle this kind of thing. I am sure it has happened to others but I don't know what came of it. I hope and pray they listen and understand my side of the story.
 
My boss emailed me this morning saying she had to reschedule our meeting for Wednesday at 11:00. So it must not be too darned important..she has yet to apologize for ruining my thanksgiving holiday. I am not holding my breath for an apology either. I am sending this reply with my new Samsung galaxy s4 smart phone. I do not need the Internet at work any more...
 
I should add here that my wife's nephew works in IT for some big company in Ohio. We talked on the phone last night and he helped me check my laptop for torrent ware and any other unwanted programs. We went through the registry and also msconfig files, did not find even one scrap of any torrent ware, and we found nothing out of the ordinary on the laptop. Of course, we did not run MWB or any other malware detection/removal programs, that will be up to the IT folks where I work.

I told my wife's nephew about the weird Adobe pop-up I received the other day when I was Google searching catalytic converter parts and the subsequent Mcafee window saying it had blocked some malicious program. He said that is likely where this supposed torrent alert came from. He also said that Mcafee also popped up right after that Adobe thing and blocked it. So IT should have a Mcafee log showing what happened, which should be more than enough to prove I did not download any torrent stuff on purpose. I agree with him and am not as worried about this now, but still have to meet with my boss and take whatever medicine she sees fit to give me. I do think if this problem really was as serious as I thought in the beginning, she would not have postponed today. She or someone else would have hauled me out on the carpet somewhere.
 
Time to clear your desk! J / k, but your boss sounds like a major 'B-word' on a power trip flexing her muscle and I predict that this is absolutely nothing but a display.
 
You guys are gonna love this. . Our I.T. guy is here at my office today. He comes here once a week to fix any issues. I asked him about the torrent ware thing and he said "oh we know about that. It wasn't you. It was someone else in a different department here in my building with a similar I.P. address." That person actually did purposefully download torrent ware on their work computer and I.T. already removed it. So they ruined my thanksgiving and kept me on ice for the last 3 days but at least I still have a job. ..thanks for your support on this.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
but at least I still have a job. ..thanks for your support on this.


It seems you're pretty thankful that you still have a job even though you had no reason to expect to not have one, and for the support; so your Thanksgiving couldn't have been ruined that badly: it gave you the opportunity to be grateful for your gainful employment and your internet friends! :^)
 
Look at it this way. You know you didn't do anything wrong, and it's not like you can torrent by accident, really. If there was malware, that would be apparent to the tech people. Given your story from that start, there was really no other way for it to turn out than you being innocent.
 
I'd like to know when exactly it was that they knew it was not me but someone else doing the torrent thing. If it was last week or even this past Monday or yesterday it sure would have been nice and a decent thing to do for someone to call or email me to let me know they had made a huge mistake and I had nothing to worry about. Yeah, OK fat chance of that or any sort of apology happening. I have not heard from my boss since her email Monday morning. I can guarantee you if I had made an error that big they would have crucified me without wood or nails.

I did not ask our IT guy when they found out it was not me. I didn't ask him who the actual guilty party is either, because that is none of my business. I am glad it's over but I sure wish they had told me sooner. I had their "mistake" hanging over me like a pall the entire Thanksgiving weekend and have been on pins and needles since Monday. I know I did nothing wrong but given the environment I work in, the higher-ups would very likely have taken IT's word over mine. I had a hunch IT had made a mistake but I worried that it might be super tough or impossible to prove my innocence because I had an idea that IT would not even show up at the meeting with my boss. If it had gone that way I would not have had a leg to stand on, much less any solid verification I had not done anything wrong.

I am just glad this is over. I am trying to forgive and forget now. From now on I will use my phone for personal internet use at lunch. I surely do not want anything like this to ever happen again. Thanks again for all of your support.
 
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