There are reports online that your average company worker wastes around 1.15 hours per day, a good chunk of which is surfing the internet. This is costing companies millions of dollars per year. If you are going to do it though, don�t get caught! Lifehacker has a great article out today on how to get a little more privacy while browsing at work. Their first suggestion is to get Firefox, if you don’t have it, get it for home for sure and so long as you are allowed to install software at work, put it on there. You can get the link on the right side of this site for Firefox at anytime.

The article can be found here.

A few things not mentioned:

• If you are getting up from your desk for any reason, even for a short bathroom break, hit Ctrl + Alt + Del and choose Lock Computer (Window only). The easiest way for someone to get snoopy with your private stuff is to sit at your desk. Locking your computer will not close any applications running but will require you to Ctrl + Alt + Del and then enter your password again.

• Don’t surf porn at work. That is the most sure fire way to get busted and fired. It is going to be really hard to explain to the unemployment office that you are trying to collect because you were trying to get porn at work instead of at home.

• Be aware of social networking sites like MySpace and Digg. A good portion of job recruiters are searching these social networking sites prior to hiring you, you can expect that there is a good chance that they will monitor them even after you are hired. Nearly all of these sites have timestamps on the. It will be very hard to come up with a story as to why you were posting a lame Own3d picture on your friends MySpace page instead of working.

• If you piss off your network admin, they will reign down on you and turn your life into hell. They have the ability to do everything from cut you off the internet completely to install key logging software to see everything you are typing.

• Ask for the policy on computer usage when you are hired or if a new boss is appointed to you. Many companies do not have a problem with using the internet or computer for personal use if you are not on their time, including before and after work and during your lunch hour. Better to know the rules prior to getting caught.

• Emptying your recycle can or trash can doesn’t always erase everything like you think it does. It’s not worth going into all the boring details, just be aware that when you erase things, they are not fully erased and could be retrievable. So don’t download anything you know you shouldn’t be.

• Be aware who you give your work email address to. We all have that one friend who has to forward you every stupid email in the world that you don’t want to read, that is someone you want to steer clear of. Again, the network admin can track how much email you are getting, where it is coming from and what is being attached to it. Likewise, try not to subscribe to too many non-work related email lists.