Aug. 9, 2001--

If you use a computer at work, did you know there's a good chance that someone is monitoring what you're doing on that computer?

More and more companies are keeping track of what employees are up to, all in the name of productivity.

Ever wonder whether you're being watched? Keith McCord says, now you can find out!

Wes Austin/Pres. Trapware Corp.: "THE NUMBERS ARE A LOT HIGHER THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK. IF THEY'RE WORKING ON A COMPUTER EVERY DAY IN SALT LAKE, THERE'S A 50-50 CHANCE THAT THEIR EMPLOYER IS WATCHING THEM IN SOME WAY."

And that may be a conservative figure!

A couple of recent national surveys showed that more than three-quarters of major U.S. firms keep tabs on employee e-mails, phone calls and internet use.

A computer software program, usually refered to as a "snooper," can keep track of it all-- from the web pages you visit, every keystroke, the files you open, to the emails you write.

Enter Wes Austin and his brother Dave. They've developed a "snoop detector"-- that is, software that tells whether someone else is watching you!

AUSTIN:"IF YOU GET A SNOOPER DETECTOR, LIKE OUR PROGRAM, WE WILL CHECK YOUR COMPUTER AND TELL YOU IF WE FIND ANY SNOOPERS ON YOUR COMPUTER."

The programs that can watch you come in a variety of names: "Keyboard Spy", "Activity Monitor" and "Picture Spy" to name a few.

And, look at this-- these programs can also scroll through and display every page that you visited, embarrassing or not!

Wes and Dave Austin's downloadable product, called "Who's Watching Me", comes at a time when employees are becoming more concerned about their privacy-- even if they are shopping on-line at work!

WELL, IF THERE'S A SNOOPER ON MY MACHINE, THEN SOMEONE HAS GOT MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER, EXPIRATION DATE, AND THE NAME. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO BE HAVING?"

Legally, employers can monitor what you do, as long as they own the equipment. And most companies do let employees know if they are snooping!

But, the snooping now goes both ways!

An amusing anecdote: Earlier this week, a group of federal judges discovered that they were being watched, by computer software.

The judges of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco claim the computer snooping is illegal, and have asked the Supreme Court to review it!