Outed by an apprentice !!! yes really

[katie elouise]

A cautionary note from harsh experience . Before Christmas last year while at work on a major project ( New hospital ) I was on site going over engineering drawings on my laptop in a private office , unbeknown to me and apprentice decided to sneak into the office to check his e-bay account ( bear in mind that this is a private office with no un authorised access ) I had been called out on site for a moment leaving the office / laptop unattended .
when the apprentice closed the open page ,hey presto he opened a minimized page highlighting this site and Katie's profile !!! .
I cannot begin to tell you the embarrassment and aggravation this has caused ...... but I am sure you can imagine ??
So in damage limitation I deleted all non work related matters including my profile along with history / files /and friends from this site ,this is the main reason for this post to try and rebuild my profile and relationship with friends lost .
I do so hope that as I try to re-connect that you understand my situation and accept my sincere apologies as I try to rebuild Katie thank you .

Katie x.

[Suzie Petersen]

Ouch Katie! That is a good reminder to us all to be careful with the online presence.

Did you edit this post? I thought I read that you "didnt blame the apprentice, knowing how youth is" But .. now I dont see it??
Any way, I wanted to say that it is big of you to not place blame for what happened. However, I have to disagree! One thing is that he snug in to use the computer, but if this became such a big problem for you, he must also have shared what he saw with others! And for that, there is no excuse in my opinion.

I hope the dust is settling a little and that you can put this behind you soon.

Hugs
Suzie

[mykell]

hello katie,
welcome back....katies profile looks good from here, no need to apologize, hopefully you have passwords for the laptop now.... i hope you are able to find your lost friends. i also hope you dont have too much trouble from those who found out at work, its hard enough to accept this part of ourselves and having to deal with co-workers you were not prepared to deal with about it and during the holiday season when stress levels can be high as well must of been overwhelming....glad you pulled through it....

[Katey888]

Dear Katie... :)

Nice to see you back and reasonably unscathed... I hope... :hugs:

Of course you're welcome back and you've missed so much! Well... you've missed a lot of repeated stuff and a few interesting bits, but a cautionary tale for everyone... can't be too paranoid and have passwords on screensavers that act in very short durations... I'm sure you don't need anyone telling you how to slam that stable door shut now... never mind.. :)

I hope the worst is over and I applaud your self restraint in not firing the little sh...hawk on the spot - but that would have given him a grievance and I'm sure your generosity of spirit will be rewarded somehow. :D

Nice to have you back with us - swelling the abbreviated Katherine ranks again...

Katey x

[katie elouise]

Ouch Katie! That is a good reminder to us all to be careful with the online presence.

Did you edit this post? I thought I read that you "didnt blame the apprentice, knowing how youth is" But .. now I dont see it??
Any way, I wanted to say that it is big of you to not place blame for what happened. However, I have to disagree! One thing is that he snug in to use the computer, but if this became such a big problem for you, he must also have shared what he saw with others! And for that, there is no excuse in my opinion.

I hope the dust is settling a little and that you can put this behind you soon.

Hugs
Suzie
Hi Suzie yes you may well have seen my original post but as I was suffering from dozy cow syndrome and posted it in the wrong section it has been deleted ,hence
my revised post . And yes the dust is beginning to settle a little ,some folk have been great and other not so............. it seems that you have to bear your sole to see what people are really like . Katie x.

[pamela7]

i use a completely different browser for work/meetings, then nothing "unexpected" pops up on search bars or home pages!

[katie elouise]

Dear Katie... :)

Nice to see you back and reasonably unscathed... I hope... :hugs:

Of course you're welcome back and you've missed so much! Well... you've missed a lot of repeated stuff and a few interesting bits, but a cautionary tale for everyone... can't be too paranoid and have passwords on screensavers that act in very short durations... I'm sure you don't need anyone telling you how to slam that stable door shut now... never mind.. :)

I hope the worst is over and I applaud your self restraint in not firing the little sh...hawk on the spot - but that would have given him a grievance and I'm sure your generosity of spirit will be rewarded somehow. :D

Nice to have you back with us - swelling the abbreviated Katherine ranks again...

Katey x
Thanks Katey I have missed you too . Friendship is such a precious gift ,I remember helping you to" get out there " a year ago and here you are helping me" back in"
what an eclectic bunch we all are !! thanks for your support Katie x.

[RADER]

Hi Katie;
I have been a Carpentry Foreman for years on big projects.
I was on a 350 unit housing home for retired people, with special
needs. If a Apprentice came in and look at my computer, with out
permission, He would have been hung by his thumbs from the top of the
Gantry Crane Jib.
First, he had no rite to even be their;
Second, he had no rite to touch the lap top.
Yes I under stand Unions, I am even in a Union,
But toughing something personnel is a big NO-No
He would have Had all the worst jobs that could
ever be found o invented. Hope all worked out for you,
Glad to see you back.
Rader

[reb.femme]

Hi Katie,

Ouch! ouch! and treble ouch! I have to say I have nothing on my work laptop that relates to personal matters. My reasoning is simply that I give no-one in the company a reason to sanction me in anyway for private usage. Same with the mobile too.

However, back to the case in point, you could always show said apprentice a new place to store rolled up engineering drawings. That would bring a whole new meaning to First or Third angle projection. Lets see the medical profession retrieve that. Mind you, the drawing would probably look more like a 'brown field' site after :heehee:.

Rebecca

[MsVal]

You may have missed this piece of advice while you were away:

You believe something significant has happened and it affects your relationship with others. You did not cause this to happen, but it did, and now people are beginning to react to it. What should you do?


At a management seminar many years ago I learned these three tips for handling unexpected, unplanned events (good or bad).


1. Own it. Don't hide from it; don't wait for someone else to own it; make it yours. Define what "it" is before someone else comes up with a definition that is unfavorable.
2. Get in front of it. This is your opportunity. Become the local expert in "it'. Develop a plan for dealing with "it". Don't let anyone else take "it" away from you.
3. Manage it. You've taken ownership, defined it, and developed a plan, now execute your plan and take credit for your accomplishment.


Best wishes
MsVal

[Amy Fakley]

This is reason El Numero Uno that no work device I am ever issued will ever be used for anything at all but work, and why no personal device of mine will ever so much as connect to the wifi at work.

In this day and age, you can get a cheapie android tablet or phone that has its own separate internet connection and can only be unlocked by fingerprint. Which isn't to say that it isn't sniffed, tracked and thoroughly pwned by your carrier, and facebook, and google, and yahoo and the NSA and whoever else, but at least those people don't know me personally .

I hope the professional and personal fallout isn't too harsh. If anyone confronts you about it you can be like "well its not like I wanted you to know my personal business, if it bothers you, perhaps you shouldn't be engaged in gossip"

[Julie Denier]

Yikes -- so sorry for the grief, but glad to have you back here ;)

[Kate Simmons]

As usual the world is full of nosy people snooping into other people's business. Glad you are back in any case my friend.:)

[katie elouise]

Thanks for your support girls . I have tried to look upon this " experience " as a learning exercise because for me it's the best way to deal with it and take something positive away . I have to forgive the apprentice because he's young and self centred but I am sure he did not mean to do this with malice .
secondly I have to shoulder most of the blame because I had become lackadaisical with security as the computer was my own .
And finally it has not all been bad ,some people have been a great surprise in a pleasant way on a one to one basis no body is pre paired to nail their colours to the mast but a few seem to " know somebody like me " while others are more at home in the toilet bowl of life .
That will be the" brown field" Rebecca is referring too thanks girls Katie x .

[kimdl93]

Well, unless you are the owner and control IT practices, there can be no assurance that someone doesn't have a log of sites visited, even if you delete them from your computer. I simply never visit this site from the work address nor work computers, day or night.

[katie elouise]

Experience ................. the one thing we have just after we needed it ................Katie x.

[Suzie Petersen]

"Experience" is a wonderful teacher! Only problem is she gives you the test first and the lesson later!

;)

[Teresa]

Katie,
I was under the impression that very little could be deleted from this forum ! Maybe I'm wrong, you can't remove your membership or posted threads and replies ?
Perhaps Katey can correct me on this one !

I had a similar thing when my son borrowed my wife's laptop , she complained about me spending time on my computer so I discretely go on her laptop while she's watching TV ! I don't know if he looked at Google search history despite clicking on clear all when coming of line ? I just don't trust Google, it's all stored somewhere in their system !

[Victoria Demeanor]

Hello Katie,
I'm pretty new around here and I don't think I've met you yet, but I am sure glad you are back.
Your experience is truly a lesson for all of us whether on a computer or with our person records. In the office I'm in at work we have several apprentices and student works who come in and think nothing of jumping on someones computer if they are not there. Not to snoop, but to check their FB page or what ever and I do have to remember to lock my work station when ever I step out. I know how easily it can happen and I am so sorry it happened to you. You have a good soul and I'm glad you are taking it well, much better then I think I would have...
Welcome back and I hope all goes well for you.
Victoria D

[chelyann]

Katie
Welcome back , and keep smiling.

[Beverley Sims]

Katie,
It shows how desperate some are to check their face book and other pages.
Forget what you had on the computer, the implications of trespassing in the office to start with.
It is tantamount to theft and unlawful trespass.
I feel he risked a lot doing what he did.

[Jilmac]

When I was working in the trades, apprentices and journeymen never had access to the field office without direct consent of management. As a crew leader I was granted access on an as needed basis but I never would have used an unattended computer without asking first. Yours is an unfortunate situation and I hope you will be able to rebuild your profile and friend base.

[Nancy Sue]

Katie,
... then

I had a similar thing when my son borrowed my wife's laptop, she complained about me spending time on my computer so I discretely go on her laptop while she's watching TV ! I don't know if he looked at Google search history despite clicking on clear all when coming of line ? I just don't trust Google, it's all stored somewhere in their system !

When I come here I open a New Private Window. Safari does not store any of the information of where I went or what I did, and as soon as I quit Safari it all goes away. I have tried to "find" it on my computer, but there is no history remaining. Another option is to Erase History before you turn off the computer.

[Marcelle]

Hi Katie,

So sorry to hear about your incident. Has everything settled or did the little busy body decide to share that information with others?

Hugs

Isha

[katie elouise]

Good morning Isha . Yes as you can imagine a young lad with " hot gossip " and little life experience told pretty much anybody who would listen ,that's everyone then .
As you can imagine it was a hell of a shock to find out some folk just came right out and asked so I told the truth others were more sheepish and kind of offered some support as they " new someone like me " and some were bordering on vitriol , it has been a very interesting time and I have truly found out that to see others in their true colours you have to bare your soul completely .
Believe it or not I always thought something like this would happen at some point in my life ,just not how and when .
Some people find it hard that I don't blame the apprentice but it was also my fault ,I had only called into site for a spot off problem solving bringing my personal laptop with a copy of technical info along so it wasn't as if I was on the company computer .
In a strange way I feel relived that there is less of my life to live in secret ,and I am lucky that as senior management there is only so much that people can say before they no longer receive a pay check but I would rather not go down that road with anybody ,education for me is the way forward .
Isha I do so hope that you also are well on the road to recovery after your unfortunate incident ? it seems that we have both been the victim of poor timing .
Take care and heel well Katie x.

[Rogina B]

You are OUT now! So enjoy it ! The initial shock is over,so own it and be yourself...

[AccidentalDresser]

Hi Katie,
Not sure if it was the 2 stiff drinks I had or how tired I am but before I opened and read your post I was scratching my head wondering how and why you had an apprentice cross dresser lol

I hope it has had little to no effect on your professional life and I hope the little brighter got the sack for his dishonest actions.

Perhaps you should have turned it around and claimed that the person who broke in to your office was surfing some disturbing porn sites and cross dressing sites.
Then just take the computer offsite for a while and claim you had it in a computer shop having all the viruses removed helping to build a very believable case in your favour.

[katie elouise]

Well as Rogina has said its out there now!!!!! and I am glad up to a point that I no longer have to live in hiding with my work colleagues .
For those people who have asked my directly I have been open an honest, and for those that will not / dare not ask me ,well I just refuse to be any form of sport for them . I would like to say thanks for all the good advise and support shown by all you ladies its good to be back thank you all so much Katie x.

PS also a great big thank you to my fully supporting wife ,without her who knows how well I would have copped with this ????

[Annaliese]

I really admire you for the way you are handing this, taking responsibility, and making this a education experience for all.