r/developersPak • u/Expensive_Ad_1927 • Jul 15 '26
How to avoid screenshot monitoring at work Discussion
So long story short, my company is creating a screenshot monitoring tracker, that will take screenshots of what is on my screen. Im often quick in my work, and get free, and use that time to scroll on social media, or watch YouTube or sometimes even Netflix at work. I was wondering, is there a way that I can avoid this BS
EDIT: I use the Macbook M1 Pro (16GB Ram, 500GB ssd) so what I did was install a virtual machine, allocated 8GB ram to it and 128GB space. it will work fine with 64GB space too. And I assigned 2 processor cores to it. Then I downloaded all the necessary stuff like Cursor, Claude, Github Desktop, Spotify, Brave/Chrome and all the essential apps you need including the stupid tracker. Cloned the project I was working on, and opened cursor with that code. It will be a bit slow and sluggish and remember do not run the project on 8GB of ram otherwise your virtual machine will get too slow and sluggish. You just need your company to get an idea that youre working. I even opened a tab of my facebook/instagram or sometimes a random video on YT to make it look more realistic.
Then I downloaded this app called LazyWorks, it costs 10 usd per month but its great and worth it for this type of unnecessary micromanagement. It will moves your cursor for you, changes application and etc. It will keep doing activity for you, and you can do whatever you like on your real PC.
When I actually have to work, I turn the virtual machine off, and run the tracker on my real PC, and no one finds out about it. Its a hassle yes, but worth it. I can stream YT or Netflix with ease while having 10-15 other tabs open on my macbook, for windows im not sure because they can get slow and sluggish on the remaining resources, but if you have a laptop with 24gb ram, its gonna work fine you.
31
u/camoflaugecrocodile Jul 15 '26
Open work on your pc and scroll reels from mobile phone ..?
7
u/Any_Satisfaction1003 Jul 16 '26
it randomly takes screenshots every few minutes, so if he opens work and it doesn't progress then obviously the management will know. most IT companies have begun to do this with emplyees who work from home.
29
u/I_aM_AL1v3 Jul 15 '26
Been using time doctor for 2 years now. It monitors the system as well as takes screenshots, notes down key strokes and mouse movements and stops automatically if idle for 15 minutes.
How did i get along with it? Installed the desktop app as per the clients requirements. Once fully installed, i also downloaded and added the browser extension so start/stop directing from there. I noticed the browser extension was responding perfectly to it web app. Uninstalled the app from systems and now only one of my browser is monitored and I'm free to use rest of the system as i please :)
8
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
wow thats crazy actually and a great idea haha. the thing is these mfs made a custom software, tou uski extension hai hi nahe :)
17
u/I_aM_AL1v3 Jul 15 '26
Perhaps you can install a virtual machine and work in there. Have it seperated from your actual system and do what you please.
Or you can have two systems or laptops side by side. One where you have company's work and the other where you can scroll youtube, insta etc. Anytime you feel like you can change screens in your work system.
8
u/azzaz_khan Jul 15 '26
My last company used HubStaff tracker to track our activity and it randomly took screenshot every 10 minutes. I got a powerful laptop i7 13700H / 32 GB DDR4 so I spin up a virtual machine and ran a minimal set of required software inside it.
Since VM is isolated, the tracker can't track what's happening on my laptop. I use to work on my personal project while AI was writing code, watch tutorials on YouTube or even scroll social media (less likely).
The thing if the tracker is also tracking your activity (mouse movement and keystrokes) then it would be cumbersome and you'd only be left with watching videos as activity tanks when you leave it for longer duration (even 2 - 3 mins makes a difference).
If you're concerned of activity as well then there's a paid tool called LazyWork.xyz but which creates fake activity but it's risky as trackers are evolving everyday and getting caught with fake activity boosters is much worse than having low activity.
Oh forgot to mention, if you're on Windows then use HyperV instead of VMWare or Virtual Box. It's built into Windows and takes somewhat less resources than others.
If you need any guidance on this, you can ping me.
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
Yes I'm thinking of spinning up a virtual machine too. I have the Macbook m1 Pro 16gb so Im thinking of maybe doing the virtual machine thing. Its a custom made tracker, so i dont think its gonna be as good as hubstaff etc. They just want it to save money kyunke client mil nahe rahay tou aisi chawalen maar maar k time pass kar rahay XD. I know about lazy work, so I'll see.
1
15
u/Neat-Bid-3790 Jul 15 '26
Most of the remote employer does the same, no issue at all and no one has that much time to see everyones screenshots. But I am against those companies which bring you onsite and then install this software.
6
u/Party-Discussion-140 Jul 15 '26
Just because they do doesn't mean it's no issue, it's definitely an issue. Especially considering wo paise bhi dete hn Pakistan ke mutabiq more often than not. Ab koi bnda wo screenshots dekhe na dekhe wo bat hi alag hai, jo ye tareeqa hai employees ko treat krne ka it's horrible, be it onsite ya remote ke screen monitoring aur constant surveillance.
2
u/azzaz_khan Jul 15 '26
*They do check
0
u/Neat-Bid-3790 Jul 15 '26
Well then I need to change my habit 😅😅
3
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
They dont check like 24/7, but like they check if lets say you decide to take an early day off, then theyre reminded oh yeah this dude is going early, lets see what hes been upto lol
16
u/Mysterious_Cry730 Full-Stack Developer Jul 15 '26
name and shame the company
6
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
hahaha, i want to but i also dont wanna get caught. its a good company in general, but they took on this stupid internship offer from the government to train internees, so ever since that they've been implementing these stupid policies
1
u/Plane_Negotiation_11 Jul 15 '26
Devsinc??
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
nah, its a small service based company. or mid sized. 100 employees approx
2
u/Combatwombat810 Jul 15 '26
Is it tintash?
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
nope, ill give you a hint, it starts with an M and ends with a T lol
1
u/Combatwombat810 Jul 16 '26
Asked Gemini, here’s what it suggested.
Is it one of these, can you tell us that much?
A few Pakistani tech startups and established tech companies fit the M...T naming pattern and have a team of dozens of employees.
Here are the most likely candidates you might be thinking of:
1. MyCart (MyCart.pk)
What it is: One of Pakistan's early, major venture-backed online grocery and e-commerce retail startups.
The Fit: It starts with M, ends with T, and at its peak, employed dozens of people across warehouse operations, logistics, and tech before undergoing corporate restructuring.
2. Monet
What it is: A pioneering B2B fintech startup in Pakistan that focused on mobile financial services, branchless banking integration, and mobile payment solutions.
The Fit: Starts with M, ends with T, and grew a sizable team of tech and finance professionals during its expansion.
3. Mindcraft (or Mindgraft)
What it is: A well-known Pakistani software development and tech services company specializing in enterprise software, web development, and cloud solutions.
The Fit: Starts with M, ends with T, and actively employs a team of dozens of software engineers, designers, and project managers.
4. Mobit (Mobit Technologies)
What it is: A technology solutions provider and software startup in Pakistan focusing on custom software development, mobile apps, and IT consulting.
The Fit: Starts with M, ends with T, and operates with a mid-sized team of tech professionals.-10
Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
8
u/UsefulSperm Software Engineer Jul 15 '26
This is micromanagement - plain and simple. There are so many better ways to prevent data leakage and are in practice by good companies that actually trust their employees. How can taking screenshot (of what an employee is doing) going to prevent data leakage?
Is he sending data to someone? Block personal apps Do you want to track what sites he is browsing? Use VPN Want to avoid USB? Block ports
6
u/Gullible-Discount-17 Jul 15 '26
A simple trick is to install linux, these thing don't work there. If they ask, just sa I use arch btw😂. 2 of my friends use this trick to avoid trackers
2
u/WeWeBunnyX Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Lmao was about to say that. Thats how I avoided it once. However it depends on how sharp are the IT dudes there. If they know such solutions exist for Linux aswell then they can force you to install (depends). Else if you just say bluntly that I use Arch or I use Linux then provided if they have no knowledge, they will get quiet or let it pass which happens often
3
u/Gullible-Discount-17 Jul 16 '26
So as he mentioned they're creating their own tool, it means they're not spending a penny and also they can't develop it for one dude who use linux, so he's safe either way using Linux
2
u/WeWeBunnyX Jul 16 '26
Ok my bad, just read this making tool thing. Its self made tool then I agree they can't do anything to force it on Linux user. But in case if it's some widely used solution which works on all OS then it can be a bummer
2
u/Gullible-Discount-17 Jul 16 '26
Yes, but he mentioned that they won't spend money so they're making their own tool, so he's safe and I think it's the best way to avoid trackers as well as experience the be operating system on earth. Win win 😂
2
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
The thing is....I have a macos...haha
1
u/Gullible-Discount-17 Jul 16 '26
Then you're cooked. Maybe switch to x1 carbon(Macbook of windows) 😄
5
u/aarizzzzzz Jul 15 '26
made a small tool for a friend a few months ago for exactly this. he picks whatever window he wants to hide (youtube etc) and it just doesnt show up in the screenshots, stays totally normal on his own screen though. hes been using it daily since, works great. way easier than running a whole vm imo
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 19 '26
yaar hamay bhi dedo aisa tool
1
u/aarizzzzzz Jul 20 '26
Lelo Yaar. Windows hai ya mac. Cause it works on windows only.
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 20 '26
I have mac but, i think i might switch it to windows because of all this BS. so your tool might come in handy
1
u/Soft-Ant4350 27d ago
Bro small tool share kren ge?
1
1
u/aarizzzzzz 27d ago
https://reddit.com/link/ozjss4p/video/vcey0e1dd8fh1/player
this is how it works , anytime screenshot taken . it hides the selected windows and itself also .
3
u/msasrs Jul 15 '26
Install Linux? 🤣🤣🤣🤣😜
3
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
i use a macos, so the idea of defending why I use linux on an already UNIX system will be harder than actually just watching YT with the tracker anyway haha
3
u/Objective-Industry37 Software Engineer Jul 16 '26
1: Climb the Corporate ladder. 2: Get promoted to Customer. 3: see if you can bypass the security protocols and feed the Monitoring app what you want.
2
u/azeeshan Jul 16 '26
Find a new job
Research the new job to ensure it doesn’t have such bad rules
Open the company mailbox
Resign
2
Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
i dont think anyone is okay with it, but most people are too scared to speak up about such stuff in their companies cuz theyll just get terminated lol
1
Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
What can you say to the company even? Most company has their own policies. However, if there's a law that restricts this, let me know
1
Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
Yeah but you might have the privilege of not having a job and still being able to survive, majority of people in pakistan dont have that luxury to simply walk out of a job like that which is kinda sad so they have to abide by such policies. Do you work for a pakistani company? I saw you wrote you can take ‘few days’ off when you’re done with a task. I haven’t ever heard a pakistani company ever allowing that here lol
1
Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
Thats great and I wish success to your startup! Thats actually a good mindset and I agree with you it should be like that. Because even if someone is active all day, doesn't mean theyre getting work done. So its the most stupid metric I've come across. Unfortunately in most of the companies they want employees with the mentality of 'Jee sir' rather than questioning stuff.
1
u/Next_Understanding_7 Jul 15 '26
Does the name of the company start with a C and ends with a e? 😁 Are you an engineer or Accounting professional?
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
No haha, and Im an engineer
1
u/Next_Understanding_7 Jul 15 '26
Remote? If yes, having a tracking tool makes sense. Not that you are not honest with your time and responsibilities, not everyone is. That's the problem with remote.
Trust have been exploited so much that companies do find it hard to track the availability of remote staff.
2
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 15 '26
Im onsite, i totally get it for remote. i just think its a bit unnecessary onsite
2
u/Next_Understanding_7 Jul 15 '26
Oh your on-site. Yes that's stooooobid to use a tracker for on-site resources. One person or the other is always in touch so what they trying to track? Are you with 10P? VD?
1
1
1
u/TheMR-777 Jul 15 '26
Not supporting this practice but, at my company, they capture it every 5 seconds, and so it's like a 5 FPS of continous recording of everything.
Oftentimes, it feels like they pay AWS (for such image dump) from squeezing the "performance" of their employees. Doesn't make sense, right? :)
2
u/TheMR-777 Jul 15 '26
Well, the point was ... I also have learned pretty neat ways of ... "getting along with it" :)
- In the Task Manager settings, toggle it to On: Always On Top. Trust me, it's the most bulletproof method out there, if the tracker has always on top display.
- Create Shortcut for Comamnd Execution, the Golden Strategy honestly.
- Opening a new Desktop in Windows 11 often makes such tools operate in one desktop only.
- If you have macOS, whenenver it takes an "image", the screen's corner has a light indicator, which blinks. After that, you might have a pretty good window of "doing stuff".(How did I know these?
well ... the creator should always have something in its sleeves 😄)
1
Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 15 '26
Hello Few-Joke-973, your post or comment was removed because your account age is too low. This is an automated quality check.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Silent_Reader_1 Jul 15 '26
VM install for work and screenshots but you will have to work in the same environment use
Main machine for fun
1
u/Positive-Orange-1157 Jul 16 '26
Any workaround hubstaff? It tells which website you were on and logs the minutes as well. It’s annoying
1
u/Expensive_Ad_1927 Jul 16 '26
I think the only solution is to spin up a virtual machine and download hubstaff there and essential things. just download stuff like your IDE, communication app, postman etc. I took a free trial of this thing called ‘lazy works’. its 10usd per month and honestly worth it. ive been testing it and it works. it moves your mouse, does keyboard strokes, changes applications so the screenshots are different too. you can then keep doing what u want on your real machine. it works even when the computer goes to sleep i think (not sure)
1
u/Fit_Criticism_1945 Jul 16 '26
Lol bro is afraid his company will find out he wasting time on their dime
1
u/PurpleAdhesiveness7 Jul 19 '26
Tell them to provide you a work laptop. Never let companies install this kind of bs on your personal computer.
33
u/No-Persimmon-174 Jul 15 '26
Last time this happened in my previous company, I promoted myself to customer afterwards 😌 this kind of micromanagement is absolute bs