How to surf discretely at work?

September 6, 2008 12:55 AM

How to surf discretely at work? Looking for a replacement for WorkFriendly and Ghostzilla...

For the next few weeks I'll be working at a client's office. This client is a bit of a jerk about allowing us to use the Internet. I used to rely on WorkFriendly, but I see that's no longer online. Ghostzilla is no longer being supported, and GhostFox is filled with problems.

Any suggestions on how I can find a good browser that can visually hide my browsing would be awesome!

posted by m2002 to computers & internet (11 comments total)

Some alternatives -
Hidie
Magic Boss Key
Panic

I've never used them and if I was your client and I caught you using them, you'd be looking for another client.
posted by zaebiz at 2:28 AM on September 6, 2008

w3m is always nice when you are supposed to be programming. Just add it to your screen session and you are always a keystroke away from your "real work" (assuming your real work is done in screen :)

BTW, if a client ever pulled this on me, I would probably just tell them to find someone else.
posted by jrockway at 5:21 AM on September 6, 2008

Cell phone. Data plan. Lunch break.
posted by devbrain at 5:58 AM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you're using Firefox disable images and stylesheets. Customise the toolbar to remove the address bar and all the 'web buttons' (back, forward, reload). It'll look like a word processing document.
posted by PenDevil at 7:44 AM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ditto on PenDevil's idea^^. In Firefox, go to View menu, click on Page Style, then No Style. Then disable images by going to Tools/Options/Content and you are good to go.

But unless it is work-related surfing maybe just keep it in your pants, as they say. Surely there is a Starbucks you can go to during your lunch or before work for your fix of the Blue?
posted by JJ86 at 8:06 AM on September 6, 2008

Wouldn't recommend it less u get caught but sometimes discretionary browsing is required even for simple tasks like email checking soo...

Use Firefox with the Stealth extension
OR
use Google's Chrome in the Incognito mode

both can be carried around on a thumbdrive - firefox - http://portableapps.com/news/2008-07-21_-_firefox_portable_3.0.1
and
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/09/04/google-chrome-goes-portable-carry-it-on-a-usb-flash-drive/

:)
posted by bbyboi at 9:05 AM on September 6, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

[a few comments removed - stop please, thanks.]
posted by jessamyn at 1:43 PM on September 6, 2008

So why is it a problem that Ghostzilla is no longer being supported? It still works, I have it.
posted by IndigoRain at 4:42 PM on September 6, 2008

Thank you for the advice everyone. I will try to Firefox mods and flash drive options you guys suggested. That sounds like the best bet so far.

I apologize if the idea of surfing at work offended anyone. There is a ton of downtime in my line of work. 99% of the time our clients understand this and allows us to at least use the internet to check emails and read the news (of course I'm not downloading porn or anything at work). This particular client shares his floor with a lot of other fancy businesses. He wants to look like a big shot so he told us he didn't want any of his contractors to do anything that doesn't look like work in case his neighbors stop by (we are working in very nice, but also very public conference rooms with glass walls).

IndigoRain, I heard Ghostzilla doesn't have the most updated security fixes. If it is working fine for you maybe I'll give it a shot as well. What is the best download link for it? Thanks in advance.
posted by m2002 at 7:06 PM on September 6, 2008

You can get it at Softpedia.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:27 PM on September 6, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks IndigoRain!
posted by m2002 at 2:26 PM on September 7, 2008