Millions of workers were working from home once the COVID-19 pandemic hit full power. Companies innately tried to find ways to make sure that their distant location group members were not wasting time.
In less than a few weeks, there was a growing market for time tracking and employee monitoring software. Although many interrogated the system's knotty privacy concerns, others discovered ways to fool the tools they were using.
Admittedly, it's human instinct to outwit technology that disrupts their daily lives. Even if you understand how to supervise your employees' computer actions, you must never be complacent. So how do you trick employee monitoring software?
Mouse Movement Automation
People can computerize mouse clicks with a battery-powered toy, which may appear ludicrous and astounding. They connect the gadget to their mouse and then let it dangle the peripheral. As a consequence, they trick the monitoring tool into thinking there is a mouse motion or activity.
A brief look at the review would lead you to believe that your worker was doing something fruitful. In actuality, they've simply discovered a way to fool the worker monitoring system. However, after reviewing the screen captures, you will realize what is going on. This is why it is critical to have a device that also has a display monitoring function.
Making Use of a Window as a Red Herring
A few people still manage to watch movies while pretending to be productive on their computers. They do this by opening a full-screen window with the material they would like to watch. They then open a window for just a work-related curriculum.
For example, they could be watching Game of Thrones while simultaneously using Excel, Word, or CRM. The second window will serve as a "red herring" distracting the monitoring tool and fooling it into sensing activity. Simultaneously, the tracker will document the productive work of the small window.
Making Use of a Second Monitor
A dual-monitor system is convenient for many people. It is more convenient for them to get everything they require right next to their eyes rather than repeatedly hitting ALT+TAB to swap windows.
Even so, the best employee monitoring software programs capture screenshots and data from both monitoring devices. Several people are aware of this loophole.
All of their work-related apps are accessible on their primary monitor. In the meantime, they're surfing Facebook or buying stuff on Amazon.com on the backup monitor. As a result, you should select an expert, high-quality surveillance app that supports dual-monitor setups. This reduces the possibility of your employees deceiving you.
Screenshot Timing
The majority of monitoring apps include a screenshot feature. Even so, some people have found that there is a specific interval between both shots.
Therefore, the clock this period and try to fool the framework by acting as if they were working at the exact second of the screengrab. After the shot is taken by the tool, the worker returns to being inefficient.
You should select a tool that displays a pictorial depiction of the team members' levels of activity. In this manner, even if people deceive the screenshot feature, their overall efficiency will not misrepresent.
Make Use of Remote Access
Using 2 different computers may appear to be inconvenient, but some individuals can go to lengths to fool monitoring software. They can play games, shop digitally, or watch videos while the monitoring tool considers them to be 'fruitful.'
Besides, time tracking software classifies the use of a remote management client as work-related.
Attempting to Change the Software's Code
A few tech-savvy employees may even interfere with the code of a monitoring app. They can personalize it to monitor and locate specific activities when they have the necessary skills and tools.
We're not implying it's simple or that everyone can do it. In actuality, it is incredibly difficult. Nonetheless, we can not eliminate the possibility.
If you seriously doubt that something similar occurred in your institution, you should consult the surveillance app's support team.
They would be able to pinpoint and resolve the problem for you. When choosing a time tracker, ensure that their support team is dependable.
The majority of time trackers are problematic
As most of these applications are imperfect, staff can effectively find simple and innovative ways to dodge their time tracking system. The following are some of the most common issues found in popular employee monitoring tools:
They Lack Real-time Tracking
Time is also tracked by Wrike, Basecamp, FreshBooks, and Harvest. However, when recording the time spent on a task, these web-based programs require people to rely on their memory. People must predict, which may result in erroneous time tracking. Managers also have no way of making sure the credence of their employees' reports.
They Do Not Categorize Manually Added Time
While Toggl provides real-time monitoring, it does not differentiate between how the app automatically records and what staff members add individually. They do not provide managers with information about what an individual is doing.
Thus, this is the answer to how do you trick employee monitoring software? Many times tracking apps do not allow managers to confirm what an employee is doing at any given time.