Normal 'shared' folders with company IT Admin?

TenneR said:

I've just realized that all my folders (desktop, docs, downloads, music, pictures and videos) are shared with an IT admin who I believe setup my company laptop.

Is this normal as part of the set up (I suppose it's company policy), but I mean somehow setup by default by Windows 10 if an admin creates user?

Fortunately, I shutdown my system daily 90%+, but would the admin have been able to snoop on my files whilst I'm logged on without me knowing?

Are there any other folders which may be affected?

Also, is there a log which can indicate if there's been any sharing over the past year?


Thanks

Is this a company owned laptop, used for company business while you are on the job? Job use only, or are you allowed to use it for personal business?

TenneR said:

Hi f14tomcat - Yes, company-owned.

Any mods/changes to that laptop must be through your company IT department. Unless advised otherwise by the Tenforums site Administrators, I cannot suggest any course of action for you. I hope you understand. TC

TenneR said:

Well no, not really.

I understand changes to the laptop is a matter for the company but I don't understand what it has to do with Tenforums?

All I'm seeking are opinions as to what private files could have been compromised, what other areas may be compromised and what logs there may be.

I note that my previous system has no such shared folders - is there anything sinister here?

Thanks.

It's not Tenforums, per se. If the company owns the laptop, they have the right to set it up anyway they want, administer it any way they want. And have access to anything they want, unless there is an agreement stating otherwise. What I am trying to say is that no outside concern, Tenforums or any other non-company entity, can tell you what your company has set up. We/I cannot advise you on matters we do have proper access to. How you are authorized to use that laptop is between you and your company. Any access to data, private or otherwise, is between you and your employer.

Maybe an Administrator here @Brink ,could explain it in more detail, or correct my understanding.

One might also observe in this connection that anytime IT is responsible for (and sets up and administrates) a device, it can look at anything it wants to there any time it wants, unless it provides private encryption to the user of the device in question. If you wish to avoid snooping and have access to encryption for which IT doesn't have the decryption keys (often or usually it will) only then can you prevent them from looking at certain items you wish to keep private. But part of what Dick/F14Tomcat was saying is that if you want to keep stuff private, it's better acquired and kept on a private machine that belongs to you. That is true for legal reasons and also to make sure that what belongs to you stays with you: once it goes onto a company machine, most IT policies then also acquire legal ownership of the content and/or intellectual property it represents. Read your company policy for the details, please!
HTH,
--Ed--