Do your workers spend their free time at the office surfing the web and looking for sites that are fun to some, but possibly dangerous? You may not be blocking their way into these threatening sites right now, but the recent arrest of the suspected Craigslist killer may be giving you new ideas to keep employees away from sites that may be fraught with problems.

Right now, Craigslist is rethinking access to some of its sites, including the erotic services ads it displays that may have attracted Boston University medical student Philip Markoff, who is charged with the alleged murder of one woman and kidnapping another. It's not the first time Craigslist has come under fire. Last month, Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff Thomas J. Dart filed suit in U.S. District Court against Craigslist, accusing the company of knowingly promoting and facilitating prostitution.

"Craigslist is the single largest source of prostitution in the nation," contended Dart, who is asking a federal court to order Craigslist to eliminate its "Erotic Services" section.

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist, calls the sheriff's charges "baseless." Nevertheless, any manager should be alert if their employees are allowed to freely access websites that may be well beyond their work-related surfing. And it may be time to tighten the hatch to prevent your workers from going there.

For more on Craigslist:
- check out this ComputerWorld.com article

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