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Comment by cprecioso | Hacker News Reader

If this is really the kind of things this company would do… why are you working for them?

Because people need money to pay bills. And it's a sad fact that companies who do shady shit tend to have more money. Simply because they outcompete companies who don't, all else being equal.

Tugging against this evolutionary pressure is really hard, not only for individuals but also on the society level.

"Just quit LOL!" is a commendable act of grassroots activism, but not everyone is able (or willing) to afford such luxury.

> If this is really the kind of things this company would do…

Because, until last week they didn't.

Now I have to figure out if I'm just an unreasonable, stubborn old guy, or if this requirement is out of band.

Tell them to provide you with a Virtual Desktop or a dedicated Laptop..never install Spyware on your own machine.

It is out of band. Refuse or this becomes normal.

I like others idea of getting them to spring for a dedicated computer. You just have to make it palatable to their accounting department. Maybe lease a laptop and expense the payments or something. If you have an accountant, I'd consider asking them for suggestions on "good ways" on how to make your client pay for your laptop.

In my case, I just outright said "hey, you guys I really want you to be my client but I'm gonna need a new laptop". So we bought a new laptop as part of the contract.

Presumably the client will terminate your contract with them if you don't comply. So you don't actually have to install the agent until the day that they terminate the contract which is also the day that you no longer have to install the agent.

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