Remote Access Without Explicit Permission: Convenience or Liability?

Posted by routeNpingme on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by routeNpingme
Published on 2009-09-24T03:02:05Z Indexed on 2012/06/19 9:19 UTC
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For outsourced professional IT remote support, one habit most new technicians get into is the "instead of getting the user to start up remote support each time, I'll go ahead and install LogMeIn / GoToMyPC / Remote Desktop / whatever so that if they call again, I can just jump on and help them".

This of course opens up a potential liability because a client PC on a network that we don't own is being accessed without a user explicitly providing permission by clicking a "Yes, allow technician to control my PC" option.

I realize the rules totally change when you're an IT admin over a network that you "own", but this is outsourced IT support. Just curious what others' policies are. Is this an acceptable practice for convenience and I'm turning into one of those "security is more important than anything" people, or is this really a liability?

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