‘Mouse Movers’
December 8th, 2021Via: Vice:
Bossware is spyware from your boss. Some companies make employees use keyboard or mouse-tracking software to ensure that they’re working every moment they’re on the clock, even if they’re at home. Even if managers aren’t spying on your mouse, chat apps quickly turn users’ activity bubbles to “away” when they’re inactive for a short time, like in Leah’s case.
…
Company computer surveillance has been a problem since long before 2020, however; Lorenzo, a founder of a mouse mover device company, told Slate that he tried tricking Microsoft Lync (a chat platform, now called Teams) with a DIY moving platform made of plastic and wood way back in 2017, because his boss would message him whenever he briefly got up for a drink of water.
Recently, more remote workers have been hacking together DIY mouse movers, like this one made of LEGO pieces or as brutal as a brick on a spacebar, as their own recent revolts against bossware. But online retailers like Amazon are also full of plug-and-play mouse movers, with options that physically rotate the mouse’s cursor from below, or USB sticks that come preloaded with software that mimics mouse movements. Plugging in the stick tricks the computer into thinking it’s an active mouse.
