unknown locked files on my C drive

I work in an office and am on a network. Recently I discovered some folders on my C drive which have funny names, i.e. "a8edec3adaff2d25271d301d3c4ae2ea". When I try to go into these folders I see subfolders called 'sp2' which are locked.

Anyone know what these folders are.
Also, how do I tell if they are monitoring me at work?

I hope I am in the right thread for this.

Thanks

 

Sounds like those files are related to Windows XP Service Pack 2? What's the full path to them?

As for being able to tell if "they" are monitoring you: A good place to start would be your company's acceptable use policy. Many companies have them now, and if yours does, it would be part of the employee handbook. It would detail the terms under which computer access is given to employees, penalties for infringement of same, and also have a section stating at the very least that they reserve the right to monitor all activity on company computer systems (which is their right in any event, as they own the equipment). However, nearly all the companies for whom I've done service tend to be fairly relaxed with personal use of company computer systems, within reason. Sending an email to one's spouse saying that you're going to be a little late coming home, for example, would be perfectly acceptable (and saves them the cost of a phone call). Surfing the Internet for porn, on the other hand, would not. Those two examples are at opposite extremes, and there's a LOT of ground in between...

It's easy to watch Internet access at the point where the corporate LAN attaches to the Internet. All that traffic can be logged, and you have no way to tell whether it is or not. If there's a reason to suspect a particular user, it's a simple matter to filter just that one user's Internet activity, gather enough evidence to present to the HR department... and watch as that person gets escorted off the premises after being fired for violating the company's acceptable use policy (and it's amazing to watch the volume of Internet traffic drop once word gets around ).

Another example: Some corporate LANs inventory the software installed on PCs on a regular basis, either as part of the login, or after hours by waking up the PCs and doing it. This is done for compliance purposes, to ensure that all of the official software on all the computers are at the same revision, patch level, etc. One side-effect of that is that non-authorized software will stick out like a sore thumb.

Generally, it's a good idea to use company computer systems for work. That way you don't have to worry about whether "they" are monitoring you or not .

Regards,

dj