Electronic Communications: One-third of Belgians stressed out by email

One third of Belgians feel stressed out by the sheer volume of email they receive, according to a study organised by family agency Gezinsbond and the 55+ organisation Okra. The associations have released the figures to coincide with the 10th anniversary of No-Email Friday.

One in three Belgians also report feeling helpless at the speed with which they are confronted with new technologies at work, and one in 10 even fears losing their job because of it.

One in five, meanwhile, feel pressured to answer emails in the evenings and weekends when they really don’t want to. And nearly one-quarter of people aged 55 and over are anxious when they are forced to take care of business online.

A full half of those surveyed would support legislation that would allow workers to ignore emails when they are not officially at work.

Read more: One-third of Belgians stressed out by email | Flanders Today

Internet Security: How to Detect Computer & Email Monitoring or Spying Software

As an IT Pro, I routinely monitor employees computers and emails. It’s essential in a work environment for administrative purposes as well as for security. Monitoring email, for example, allows you to block attachments that could contain a virus or spyware. The only time I have to connect to a users computer and do work directly on their computer is to fix a problem.

However, if you feel that you are being monitored when you shouldn’t be, there are a few little tricks you can use to determine if you’re right. First off, to monitor someones computer means that they can watch everything that you are doing on your computer in real time. Blocking porn sites, removing attachments or blocking spam before it gets to your inbox, etc is not really monitoring, but more like filtering.

The one BIG problem I want to emphasize before moving on is that if you are in a corporate environment and think  you’re being monitored, you should assume they can see EVERYTHING you do on the computer.

Also, assume that you won’t be able to actually find the software that is recording everything. In corporate environments, the computers are so customized and reconfigured that it’s nearly impossible to detect anything unless you’re a hacker. This article is more geared towards home users who thinks a friend or family member is trying to monitor them.

Read more: How to Detect Computer & Email Monitoring or Spying Software