In today’s day and age, I feel like they really should be giving employees laptops which are sufficient for working anywhere ~~both powerful and portable~~. Then you just connect to their VPN and you’re good.
I would not install anything, VM or otherwise, on my own personal machine. That’s just giving the business an excuse to not provide the right computer and saving them money.
I suppose, but this is a minimum wage entry level job so they might see it as unnecessary to provide me with a computer (especially since I have my own high-spec PC at home).
Why are they not providing you a computer to do your work? It sounds like you are an employee so they should be providing equipment needed to do the job. If you are a contractor... Different story.
It's a minimum wage, entry level position at a call center. They probably don't see it as worth their time to offer us our own equipment unless we 100% need it. I have my own high-spec computer so it's unlikely they'd provide me with one.
Personally, I wouldn't be too keen on installing any software provided by my employer onto my personal computer. I do work in IT though, so I might be extra sensitive to this.
With that said, the software they are asking you to install is probably fine.
If you go here: https://kb.thinscale.com/secure-remote-worker-knowledge-base/getting-to-know-your-secure-remote-worker-profile
search for the word "Virtual", it'll jump down to the section where it talks about Virtual Machine detection. So.... yes, it can detect if its running in a VM. It also has options on how they (the employer) wishes to proceed if they detect a VM, either to allow it or not. So if this is your plan, you would be wise to ask the employer if this is acceptable to them or not. Don't just do it and hope for the best or you are risking losing the job. Just ask them, they will appreciate the fact that you thought to ask first.
If they say it's not you tell them to provide all the equipment required for you to work. They are taking the piss and saving money by trying to get you to use personal equipment for work.
What exactly will they be installing?
I tried the VM route, as well as second logins and such, eventually thought too much trouble.
Just buy a cheap laptop/desktop to use only for work. Or ask if they have a avd, vdi or Citrix type thing you can login to.
I have my first day of orientation on Monday but right now they've only asked me to install a program called Secure Remote Worker (SRW), which they only describe as a program that "allows our employees to safely and securely work from the comfort of their own home, on their own computer".
I've thought about buying a cheap laptop, but I was hired on short notice and would need more time to pick one up. Though I do already have a dual monitor set up at my desk and I'm running out of desk space.
# [https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/](https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/)
What is Secure Remote Worker?
A software-based solution that locks down a user’s personal Windows device to deliver a secure and compliant BYOD workspace.
I think that it can be (very) intrusive. If they doesn't provide you any laptop maybe you should use a virtual machine.
Virtualization software like VMware Workstation/Fusion or Parallels integrate very smoothly into your home computer. It is very easy to keep a virtual machine just for work. How will you be connecting to resources for your job? Most employers will require that you use their vpn to connect to internal resources if you are using a personal device.
Right now they've only asked me to install a program called Secure Remote Worker (SRW), which they only describe as a program that "allows our employees to safely and securely work from the comfort of their own home, on their own computer". They're supposed to tell me more during the orientation, I'd probably have to install more.
Looks like a solution for BYOD. Personally, I'd use a VM or buy another cheap computer.
[https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/](https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/)
If this is your personal machine, it’s your prerogative if you want to put work software on a VM. I know that’s exactly what I would do.
I recommend VMware Workstation Pro if you’re running Windows. Parallels of you’re running a Mac with Apple Silicon. VMware Fusion if you’re running an Intel based Mac.
It might be annoying to deal with, and you will have to license another instance of Windows.
They should provide you a machine unless part of the employment agreement is that you provide one.
They shouldn't care if you're running in a VM, particularly if it's your personal machine. They should welcome you not connecting your personal system to their network.
A quick google search tells me that Thinscale’s Secure Remote Worker can be configured to detect if it is running in a vm and can be configured to refuse to run in a vm. It’s going to depend on the settings your employer has configured.
You could install VMware Player (which is free) to deploy a vm and try running the software from there.
Sorry but I would never install any work software on my personal systems. Either buy a crappy laptop second hand to run their software or make them supply you with something. Hell my work laptop doesn’t even have access to my home network, it lives on the separate guest network that most WAPs/routers provide.
You can forward RDP port from your firewall to the VM, but DON'T do that! You'll get hacked within minutes. You MUST have a VPN from home to the work firewall then you can RDP over the VPN.
Why are these facts not clear before signing a contact?
Normally a company should give you a full configured device for the job. DLP, Endpoint Security and other tools like Crowdstrike/ Tanium are standard today. You don’t t want to work in a company without it-security.
In today’s day and age, I feel like they really should be giving employees laptops which are sufficient for working anywhere ~~both powerful and portable~~. Then you just connect to their VPN and you’re good. I would not install anything, VM or otherwise, on my own personal machine. That’s just giving the business an excuse to not provide the right computer and saving them money.
I suppose, but this is a minimum wage entry level job so they might see it as unnecessary to provide me with a computer (especially since I have my own high-spec PC at home).
Why are they not providing you a computer to do your work? It sounds like you are an employee so they should be providing equipment needed to do the job. If you are a contractor... Different story.
It's a minimum wage, entry level position at a call center. They probably don't see it as worth their time to offer us our own equipment unless we 100% need it. I have my own high-spec computer so it's unlikely they'd provide me with one.
Personally, I wouldn't be too keen on installing any software provided by my employer onto my personal computer. I do work in IT though, so I might be extra sensitive to this. With that said, the software they are asking you to install is probably fine. If you go here: https://kb.thinscale.com/secure-remote-worker-knowledge-base/getting-to-know-your-secure-remote-worker-profile search for the word "Virtual", it'll jump down to the section where it talks about Virtual Machine detection. So.... yes, it can detect if its running in a VM. It also has options on how they (the employer) wishes to proceed if they detect a VM, either to allow it or not. So if this is your plan, you would be wise to ask the employer if this is acceptable to them or not. Don't just do it and hope for the best or you are risking losing the job. Just ask them, they will appreciate the fact that you thought to ask first.
Thanks for the tip. Yeah I'll make sure to ask them if it's ok, I think you make a good point with that
If they say it's not you tell them to provide all the equipment required for you to work. They are taking the piss and saving money by trying to get you to use personal equipment for work.
What exactly will they be installing? I tried the VM route, as well as second logins and such, eventually thought too much trouble. Just buy a cheap laptop/desktop to use only for work. Or ask if they have a avd, vdi or Citrix type thing you can login to.
I have my first day of orientation on Monday but right now they've only asked me to install a program called Secure Remote Worker (SRW), which they only describe as a program that "allows our employees to safely and securely work from the comfort of their own home, on their own computer". I've thought about buying a cheap laptop, but I was hired on short notice and would need more time to pick one up. Though I do already have a dual monitor set up at my desk and I'm running out of desk space.
# [https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/](https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/) What is Secure Remote Worker? A software-based solution that locks down a user’s personal Windows device to deliver a secure and compliant BYOD workspace. I think that it can be (very) intrusive. If they doesn't provide you any laptop maybe you should use a virtual machine.
Virtualization software like VMware Workstation/Fusion or Parallels integrate very smoothly into your home computer. It is very easy to keep a virtual machine just for work. How will you be connecting to resources for your job? Most employers will require that you use their vpn to connect to internal resources if you are using a personal device.
Right now they've only asked me to install a program called Secure Remote Worker (SRW), which they only describe as a program that "allows our employees to safely and securely work from the comfort of their own home, on their own computer". They're supposed to tell me more during the orientation, I'd probably have to install more.
Sounds like a vpn to me. It should work fine in a virtual machine on your computer. I do this myself with our corporate vpn.
Looks like a solution for BYOD. Personally, I'd use a VM or buy another cheap computer. [https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/](https://www.thinscale.com/products/secure-remote-worker/)
Probably Horizon client
If this is your personal machine, it’s your prerogative if you want to put work software on a VM. I know that’s exactly what I would do. I recommend VMware Workstation Pro if you’re running Windows. Parallels of you’re running a Mac with Apple Silicon. VMware Fusion if you’re running an Intel based Mac.
Thanks for the tip. I'm familiar with VMWare so I shouldn't have much trouble with it.
It might be annoying to deal with, and you will have to license another instance of Windows. They should provide you a machine unless part of the employment agreement is that you provide one. They shouldn't care if you're running in a VM, particularly if it's your personal machine. They should welcome you not connecting your personal system to their network.
A quick google search tells me that Thinscale’s Secure Remote Worker can be configured to detect if it is running in a vm and can be configured to refuse to run in a vm. It’s going to depend on the settings your employer has configured. You could install VMware Player (which is free) to deploy a vm and try running the software from there.
Sorry but I would never install any work software on my personal systems. Either buy a crappy laptop second hand to run their software or make them supply you with something. Hell my work laptop doesn’t even have access to my home network, it lives on the separate guest network that most WAPs/routers provide.
You can forward RDP port from your firewall to the VM, but DON'T do that! You'll get hacked within minutes. You MUST have a VPN from home to the work firewall then you can RDP over the VPN.
Why are these facts not clear before signing a contact? Normally a company should give you a full configured device for the job. DLP, Endpoint Security and other tools like Crowdstrike/ Tanium are standard today. You don’t t want to work in a company without it-security.