Possible to maintain privacy using hdmi port on work pc monitor?

Question

If I’m using the HDMI port on my computer monitor at work (in order to view my smartphone or tablet on a larger screen), does my employer’s network see what I’m doing? I currently have a dual monitor setup at my desk, and both monitors are connected to the PC’s VGA port. When I go to the control panel, the PC recognizes that one monitor is a particular Dell model, but lists the other one as “unknown”. (I would only consider using the HDMI port during my break, and just wanted to know if I’d be losing any privacy by using one of the work monitors. I work for a company with about 700 employees, and who knows whether the IT folks are using any screen capturing software.)

Answer 1

The network will not see what is coming out of your device through its hdmi port and going to the monitor. HOWEVER, if your mobile device is using the work WiFi then yes IT will see the WiFi traffic.

Keep in mind what is happening behind you, or you may end up like this guy in the background, who opens an email that is NSFW on national TV: Macquarie Analyst Looking at Porn During a LIVE Interview with Martin Lakos .

The main reasons IT is monitoring people at work is because

• We don't like being told by our bosses that the internet is slow, only to find out it is because someone is downloading/viewing heaps of stuff they shouldn't.
• We don't like cleaning up people's infected computers
• Our bosses tell us to
  • make sure no one is doing anything illegal on their company network, it has bad consequences for them as well as the perpetrator
  • make sure staff are not wasting company time or resources
  • use computer stuff until it explodes, so we need to keep track of what equipment the company actually has. One of the tools in this task is to ask each network connected device what it is and what properties it has.
• We don't like it when staff complain that the equipment is not working, only to find out that someone has messed around with the cables and not plugged it back in the right way, or at all. This is particularly a problem when IT staff are trying to help you from a remote site over the phone.

All that being said, most companies I know of do not mind people using the company internet a little on their lunch break for personal things. Just be aware of how much of an impact you are having on the system.