This article is a bit dated... (Score 2, Interesting)

I've been doing technical support for a Fortune 500 company for the last 3 years and I have never had unrestricted internet access. In fact, I had to fill out a form and submit it to "Data Security" and wait approximately 2 months before I was even granted the almighty firewall password.

Sure we have access to commonplace sites like cnn.com, espn.com, and the like, but this is a very, very touchy situation. Traffic is monitored and regularly audited. The only way you know whether or not a site is restricted is by clicking a link and hoping to god you do see the dreaded WARNING!!! YOU HAVE VIOLATED COMPANY POLICY BY ENTERING THIS SITE! banner. Hell, I once got wacked by our firewall for a URL that happened to have "sex" in it. (ex. www.transexpress.com)

Needless to say, I rarely do much surfing during downtime at work for fear of a PHB confrontation on my internet habits.