Would this bother you?

We had cable internet and phone service installed today (woohoo!) but I left he guy do his thing while we all sat in the livingroom talking and laughing. He took FOREVER and we wondered what was the holdup. But he finally finished and went on his merry way.

Hours later, I sat down at my computer and noticed that there were quite a few websites visited that I never went to. Nor did the girls or hubby. Excluding the cats and Nicki.... that leaves the installer.

Now, I feel violated and it feels odd that someone else was playing online at my house, on my personal computer without letting me know they were doing so. PLUS, the guy was supposed to be WORKING. How would you feel?

Just now a quality control guy from the cable company came to check the guys work and he was not happy with what he saw. I mentioned the internet surfing. Hubby was mad at me for saying anything.... I felt violated! He felt the guy probably just quickly peeked at a favorite site while waiting on hold with his tech support guys. Even if I was wrong in saying anything, I can't take it back now. The QC guy noted it on his clipboard.

It really did bother me. Would it bother you?

I would assume he checked a few different websites at first to make sure your machine was seeing the whole Internet. And, as there's always "hold" time when they're doing an install (they have to call in and get an IP address established, etc.,) it wouldn't have bothered me at all.

I'd rather he surf the web while on hold than poke through my files, or around my desk!

P.S. Congrats on getting cable! Woo hoo! Weeeeeeee!

I guess it depends, did he go to those websites to make sure everything was working or was he just messing around wasting time?

Yeah it would, Of course if he was checking to see if the sites would work then I probably wouldnt, I know when I got mine done the man went on yahoo and then did a quick search but he said just to make sure the internet was connecting properly so maybe thats what he done? I personally dont let anyone but my boyfriend on my computer, Especially when you dont know what they are up to because I have photos and documents on here that are not personal but they are mine! :p

If he hit websites that were linked from the company's homepage.... fine. No biggie. He was testing the line. I would have been impressed they tested it like that. But he typed in the web addresses; he was checking up on concert tickets, etc.

I just voted yes, but, then read some of the other responses. If he was actually visiting sites that were related to the work or making sure it was working properly or whatever, I probably wouldn't be bothered. But, it's a little odd that he'd go to personal sites, even if he was waiting. Honestly, though, I wouldn't have left him alone in the first place. Not that I'm saying it's bad, I just personally wouldn't. It seems odd that he wouldn't at least say something to you about having to use the computer, though, too. Just as a professional courtesy, I would have thought he would mention it, either before or after.

Nope, wouldn't even phase me.

However, if he was looking up his personal stuff not work related, he should have been smart enough to delete the history.

Unless he was looking up my personal favorites and my information, wouldn't care at all.

My husband used to install cable internet. First of all if they are doing a good job they usually have to access your computer to make sure the modem is working okay. But the other thing is they have to check a variety of pages to make sure that they aren't just getting a cached page. He would doublecheck that it wasn't cached info that was loading and type in a web address the owner was not likely to have cached, i.e. some site he personally knew like his home page or whatnot. I guess I wouldn't have thought anything of it or even thought to check my history. As long as he wasn't looking into my personal info on the computer which is the reason I'd not let him be alone in here with it to begin with :p.

It does bother me. What if he went to weird sites? I'm also glad you said something to the QC guy. The guy needs to be doing his job, not surfing the web on your 'puter. If he needed to check to see if it was working, fine, go to Yahoo! or Google.

As long as it wasn't a porno site, it wouldn't bother me a bit! :)

It depends what kind of sites he was surfing.

I don't think it is a big deal.

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Originally Posted by K9soul

First of all if they are doing a good job they usually have to access your computer to make sure the modem is working okay. As long as he wasn't looking into my personal info on the computer which is the reason I'd not let him be alone in here with it to begin with :p.

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I never thought of that. If it's part of the job, I don't see a problem with it. Again, though, I would just think that they would say something like "hey, i'm going to have to check to make sure the modem is okay..." before they did it. But, if he was in the room by himself, I guess I don't blame him for not going into the room you were in just to say that. I don't know. But, Jess, I'm the same way, I don't think I'd be leaving him alone in the room anyway. But, I'm glad you had that perspective to share.

THE WAY i SEE IT IS THAT IF THE GUY NEEDED TO LOOK ON THE NET TO MAKE SURE IT WAS WORKING PROPERLY HE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT YOUR ATTENTION TO IT! I WOULD FEEL DISTURBED BY THIS AS WELL! I DONT BLAME YOU FOR FEELING VIOLATED, NOR DO I FEEL YOU DID ANYTHING WRONG BY TELLING THE QC GUY. BESIDES IF IT WAS CUSTOMARY, WOULDNT THE QC GUY HAVE TOLD YOU?? INSTEAD OF GETTING UPSET??JUST MY OPINION!:)

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Originally Posted by critter crazy

THE WAY i SEE IT IS THAT IF THE GUY NEEDED TO LOOK ON THE NET TO MAKE SURE IT WAS WORKING PROPERLY HE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT YOUR ATTENTION TO IT! I WOULD FEEL DISTURBED BY THIS AS WELL! I DONT BLAME YOU FOR FEELING VIOLATED, NOR DO I FEEL YOU DID ANYTHING WRONG BY TELLING THE QC GUY. BESIDES IF IT WAS CUSTOMARY, WOULDNT THE QC GUY HAVE TOLD YOU?? INSTEAD OF GETTING UPSET??JUST MY OPINION!:)

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If you bring someone into the house to work on your internet, you have to ASSUME he's going to check to see if it's working. To not assume he will check websites to make sure stuff work, is just sily. That's why he's there, of course he'll check. Why would he need to tell you he has to check it? That's part of his job. Most people wouldn't leave someone alone in a room to work on the computer and the guy isn't just going to wander through your house to find you if you don't stay there, to tell you he need to check the internet...that's worse than accessing the internet from your computer. Goolge and things like that are often cached and are not a true test of the internet wroking. Google pulls up on my machine even when the internet is down. He probably typed in sites he knew would test it, and if he was truly worried about the sites he looked up he probably would have cleared the history. I am not going to assume he did something wrong just because...I know lots of people who work on that sort of stuff and they DO type in sites they know will test things to make sure everything is working properly.

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Originally Posted by caseysmom

I guess it depends, did he go to those websites to make sure everything was working or was he just messing around wasting time?

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That's what I was thinking.

I guess I wasn't really realizing that he was there to install internet. It does seem odd that he checked on concert tickets, but, maybe that was just a site he knew was unlikely had been visited before. Again, the more I understand the situation, the more I wish I could change my answer. ;) But, at the same time, I wouldn't leave him alone with the computer, though, just to avoid a creepy situation. ;)

Wouldn't even give it a second thought (unless it was the type of site to bring in a virus or a lot of spam OR he was trying to stretch his time for more money).

I voted "other" because to me it would depend on what kinds of sites he had visited. As long as there wasn't anything inappropriate, I would have assumed that he was just checking on the service.

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Originally Posted by K9soul

My husband used to install cable internet. First of all if they are doing a good job they usually have to access your computer to make sure the modem is working okay. But the other thing is they have to check a variety of pages to make sure that they aren't just getting a cached page. He would doublecheck that it wasn't cached info that was loading and type in a web address the owner was not likely to have cached, i.e. some site he personally knew like his home page or whatnot. I guess I wouldn't have thought anything of it or even thought to check my history. As long as he wasn't looking into my personal info on the computer which is the reason I'd not let him be alone in here with it to begin with :p.

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Yes they would need to visit several pages just to be sure they weren't cached- that's really the only way to make sure everything's up and running correctly.

I guess it would only bother me if he were getting paid by the hour and he was fooling around unneccessarily.

It would bother me if he was goofing off, but not if he was testing random sites to make sure things were working properly before he left.

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Originally Posted by Vela

I am not going to assume he did something wrong just because...I know lots of people who work on that sort of stuff and they DO type in sites they know will test things to make sure everything is working properly.

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I agree. Certain sites will not or will work with some Internet browser. If set up properly, the connection can eliminate some of these issues. I am sure he was just checking sites he's familiar to verify/check some issues he may have been concerned with. And even if he did check ESPN to see if his favorite soccer team won today in The World Cup... SO WHAT? Wasn't gambling or Porn Surfing, was he? Then I say A OK! Just me though!!!

Would not bother me.

I had to vote "other" because I build all my computers and wouldn't let anyone else near them (except the cat). I'm quite capable of setting up my own cable or ADSL internet. :)

It's one thing to go to different ticket websites to check for cashe, it's another thing to actually go to a ticket site and actually look for tickets. That's what bothers me.

I don't like strangers poking around my house, yard, computer, or anything. Service people included! I usually hover around in the background nearby when there is a service person in the house.

it depends on what sites he went to. if he was surfing porn sites i'd be a little...er..a lot freaked! but if he was surfing general stuff it probably wouldn't have bothered me too much. i would have wondered if he's looked up any of my personal info.

It depends on which sites he was looking at. If they were inapropriate(sp?) sites then I would be freaked out. Can't you tell how long someone was on a certain site for by looking in the history? If you can, and you see he was on one site for 20 minutes, then I would be mad. But if he was on one for 3 or so, then he was just checking.

YUP!!! It would most certainly bother me!! Every site he went to, knows now your address, so I wouldn't be surprised if you would be getting "unfamiliar" messages from now on...! You did good with reporting that guy!

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Originally Posted by cyber-sibes

I don't like strangers poking around my house, yard, computer, or anything. Service people included! I usually hover around in the background nearby when there is a service person in the house.

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Same here. :)

yes somewhat. i wouldn't like someone on my computer. :p :rolleyes: :eek:

I voted yes only because I have a phobia of idgets touching my computer. I've had a DSL install guy go to a site so adware infested it took me two weeks of constant diging and fiddling to fix it. Being a software troubleshooter (dealing with windows installs, virus/spyware removal etc) I've come to know what sites have the worst problems...and 9 times out of 10 the installers (I'm only speaking of installers in this area) pick THEM to test out the internet. :rolleyes:

Every internet installer I've ever had deal with my machines screws something up. What they fail to realize is that usually the vanilla settings don't work, even when I tell them they are dealing with a custom OS (I've tweaked with my windows install so much not many people can cope lol) they still say their way is the correct way. I have college coursework and work experence under my belt, most of the installers here (Especially the cable morons) only have what experence they've gained installing regular cable. One cable install guy told me that he had NO prior computer/internet experence before he started installing internet, and that the only training he got was a book that tells ya slightly more than the self install guide.

That makes me feel REAL comfortable.

I have a distrust of installers in general, hence why I never leave them alone lol. I guess it goes under the same principle of doctors making the worst patients.

Oh and I'd also get a little sispicious (sp?) when the QC guy became unhappy with the guys work.

I'm really surprised at the number of people who don't seem to care what others do on their computers. :)

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Originally Posted by G535

I'm really surprised at the number of people who don't seem to care what others do on their computers. :)

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Well to clarify for myself, the poll was if it would bother me that an internet installer went to different sites on my computer while installing my internet. No that wouldn't bother me. It certainly doesn't mean that I just don't care what anyone does on my computer. As I said MY concern would be that the installer would look at my e-mail etc., which is why I wouldn't leave him alone with my computer :).

Anyway, as far as pop-ups and spyware etc.. I've had no problem with this since I changed my browser to Firefox so I wouldn't really be worried about that either.

Bottom line is I'd be in there watching him, but no I wouldn't care if he went to a few sites to check on the connection or even if he looked at something while he waited.

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Originally Posted by Vela

If you bring someone into the house to work on your internet, you have to ASSUME he's going to check to see if it's working. To not assume he will check websites to make sure stuff work, is just sily. That's why he's there, of course he'll check. Why would he need to tell you he has to check it? That's part of his job. Most people wouldn't leave someone alone in a room to work on the computer and the guy isn't just going to wander through your house to find you if you don't stay there, to tell you he need to check the internet...that's worse than accessing the internet from your computer. Goolge and things like that are often cached and are not a true test of the internet wroking. Google pulls up on my machine even when the internet is down. He probably typed in sites he knew would test it, and if he was truly worried about the sites he looked up he probably would have cleared the history. I am not going to assume he did something wrong just because...I know lots of people who work on that sort of stuff and they DO type in sites they know will test things to make sure everything is working properly.

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Well I have to say that last week I had the cable/Internet Reapirman out Because our cable Fried due to a lightning strike. He was here for at least an hour, and during that time he informed me of everything he was doing. He asked if he could look in my closet(where the cable comes into the house). He also informed me that he needed me to get on the computer to verify if it was working. I had the computer on and no password required, so he could have gone on himself, but he called me downstairs to do it. I have never in my years of having Internet Service ever had a repairman go onto my computer without at least telling me. That is why I would have been bothered! Just voicing my opinion and that is why we have these polls! So people can voice their opinions and not be chastised for it!

Ok, I missed one piece of info -- he asked me to check it. I DID. I went to sites I KNOW are hard to load. I promnounced it to be in working order.

It was an hour later that this surfing episode happened. AN HOUR LATER! It was AFTER the internet was all set up, AFTER I deemed it working, WHILE he was fussing around doing god knows what that he surfed the web. AFTER he did his job and we were all wondering what on earth the dude was doing. We were honestly cursing him, and I constantly left the livingroom to see what he was doing, but every time I walked in to my office, he was talking into his headset as if he was talking to tech support.

PS: One website he viewed had to do about a teacher being fired after kids saw him having sex. It could have been a link he tried.... but why press on THAT link? It made me feel weird and violated.

Well that's kind of an important piece of information you left out. Yes I probably would have wondered why he was still there, and was he was donig, and would have stayed in the room to find out if he was still messing around with my computer an hour after it was supposed to be working, but you didn't tell us that. The poll was "would I be bothered if someone was checking websites on my comptuer if they were there to fix my internet", so I answered no. Would I be bothered if someone was still there an hour later messing around on my computer? Yes I probably would but I wouldn't leave them alone and I'd ask and find out why they were still there. If they had a reasonable explanation then no it wouldn't bother me, but I'd be REALLY wary of leaving somone alone with my computer for that length of time after it was supposedly working.

When ours was installed the guy showed us a bunch of different websites that usually take a long time to load. I think he was just checking your connection.

I'm sorry, I may be over reacting.. but I would call the service company.

You TOLD him it was in working order. He had no reason to go online and surf. Maybe if he checked ONE site, but you said he checked concert tickets and read a news article? Not called for.

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Originally Posted by G535

I'm really surprised at the number of people who don't seem to care what others do on their computers. :)

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Funny, I am surprised by the number of people that care! Really. I have such bigger issues in my life to be concerned with. So what if he was playing around on my computer? As long as he didn't harm anything, why would I care? Maybe he had something on his mind, and wanted to be distracted? Maybe he was killing time, as his next appointment wasn't for 45 minutes? Maybe he WAS trying to check his concert tickets? I just can't muster up the energy to care about something as seemingly innocuous as this.

Use my bathroom and snoop through my medicine cabinet, snoop through the magazines in the living room, and open the fridge to see if I have any beer or wine in there. You know what? Look through my mail box! I couldn't care.

I can't STAND being in the house when someone does a service call. I tell them where the key is, warn them I have cats, and go on with my business. Wait for someone to repair my toilet? To put up a ceiling fan? To paint a room? I have better things to do with my time. In the 17 years I have lived on my own, I have not been "violated" by a stranger. Now, the kid down the street that did some yard work for me stole some jewelry (something he could have done easily enough if I were at home 'watching' him).

No harm, no foul.