Marco HorTA: 10 things your IT department won't tell you

The Wall Street Journal talks to 3 IT experts to find out what risky computing they try to keep you from engaging in, then asks 3 productivity mavens (including our very own Gina Trapani) how to get around the blocks. The list offers a nice point-counterpoint of why your IT department considers something a risk, how you can bypass their roadblocks and do it anyway, and—perhaps more importantly—how to get around it in a manner that won't completely freak out your IT department. (I'm not saying it won't just a little.) For more, see how else you can.

Geek to Live: Survive IT lockdown

by Gina Trapani

I visited a friend at her office recently, and watched her launch Internet Explorer on her computer.

"Um, there's this new-fangled thing called tabbed browsing," I told her, teasing. "You should try it some day. It's totally bleeding edge."

She looked at me, annoyed.

"I'd use Firefox but I don't have privileges to install anything on this computer. It's for SECURITY REASONS."

Sound familiar? Using a workplace computer with limited user rights can be a serious pain in the arse. Now, we here at Lifehacker would never recommend that you break your workplace's IT department computer usage policy (ahem) but there are ways to get stuff done with the software you need on a machine where your user login has restricted rights.

Run portable software from an external disk

They may be able to restrict your ability to install software, but they most likely haven't blocked access to your computer's USB ports.

Whether it's a thumb drive or your iPod, you can run the software you want at the office from an external writable disk. Namely, Portable Firefox and Portable Thunderbird will let you browse the web with extensions and tabs, and check your Gmail, Yahoo Mail and personal email all from the plugged-in drive. Tons of other standalone, self-contained apps exist from word processors to media players for an external drive. The more space you've got the merrier, so if you don't have a thumb drive, be sure to use the extra space on your iPod in disk mode.

Here's a quick rundown of portable app downloads for your escape from IT lockdown:

Portable Firefox web browser - includes extensions & plugins
Portable Thunderbird email client - take your email settings with you
Portable GAIM instant messenger client - if you can't install AIM or Trillian, includes your buddy list

A whole bunch of other portable software downloads are available at PortableApps.com, the IT lockdown inmate's best friend. Also, if you've got an iPod you want to use at work but you can't install iTunes, see yesterday's feature on playing music on your iPod without installing a thing on your computer, The Self-Sustaining iPod.

Route around web site blocks

So you were playing Yahoo! Games at the office happily for months, and then one day the site was blocked. What to do? Well, there are a bunch of methods for routing around web site restrictions, and it'll take some trial and error to hit on the one that works for you.

Here are a few options:

Lifehacker reader Amit Agarwal also compiled a list of 7 different approaches in his article How to Access Blocked Web sites.

Luckily I'm administrator on my machine on an unrestricted network, so I want to hear from the lifehackers out there dealing with lockdown. Necessity is the mother of invention, so how do you deal with IT restrictions at work? Let us know in the comments or at tips at lifehacker.com.

Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, wishes everyone free access to the tools and information they need to work (and play) efficiently. Her semi-weekly feature, Geek to Live, appears every Wednesday and Friday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to get new installments in your newsreader.