3 Ways To Keep Your Time Clock Software Secure
Timeclock software instantly, accurately, and impartially records every employee start and stop time. This means the time clock program interacts directly with your computer’s operating system clock by utilizing the time and date control functions already built into your computer in order to record the real-time punches of each employee. You’ll want to make sure your employee computer time clocks have been properly setup to ensure your time clock data is secure and accurate. This article will show you how to prevent employees from changing the computer’s clock to manipulate their start and stop times.
Since the punch clock program utilizes the time from your computer’s clock to record timecard entries, there are several steps you can take to prevent tampering with the time.
Restrict access to the operating system time
A simple way to prevent employees from tampering with the computer clock is to limit access to changing the clock settings.
To prevent changes to the computer clock on Mac OS X:
- From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
- In the System section, click Date & Time.
- Click the Date & Time tab.
- Click the open lock icon to secure the Date & Time preference pane.
Now you must authenticate with an administrator name and password in order to unlock the secure preference pane, even if you’re currently logged in under an administrator account.
To prevent changes to the computer clock on Windows XP:
There is not a way to lock the Date and Time control panel if you’re logged in under a computer administrator account. Limited accounts are unable to alter the system time.
To prevent changes to the computer clock on Windows Vista and Windows 7:
There is not a way to lock the Date and Time control panel if you’re logged in under a computer administrator account. If User Account Control (UAC) is turned on and you’re using a standard account, you’ll need to provide the administrator password in the User Account Control credential prompt to change the clock settings. If UAC is turned off on Vista or set to ‘Never notify me’ on Windows 7, standard accounts are unable to alter the system time but they can still change the time zone.
Use a networked time clock solution
Another way to secure your employee timeclock software is to eliminate the effect that changing the local system time has on your employee’s timecard entries. This can be accomplished using a server-client configuration based time and attendance system. This is usually effective because the time clock server computer provides the timestamp for all timecard entries. Therefore, manipulating the system time on the time clock client computers has no impact on the actual time that is recorded.
Use an Internet time server
The final way to secure your employee timeclock software is to get the timestamp for timecard entries from an impartial Internet time server. The punch clock program will use the local computer time zone settings to determine the appropriate offset to use. Most professional time and attendance programs will have a setting for determining what time source to use when employees clock in and out.
By taking a couple of easy steps, you can make sure your employee timeclock software is secure and accurate, holding employees accountable for the actual hours they work.