While it's safe to assume that all office computers will 'occasionally' get used for purposes other than work - there are limits to what you can get away with.Using your desktop to check your Facebook at lunch? Fine. Hijacking your organisations entire network to aid the search for extraterrestrial intelligence? Definitely pushing it.
Unfortunately for Brad Niesluchowski - a school district IT director from Arizona - he found this out the hard way, after he started installing 'alien contacting' software onto school computers, back in 2000.
The SETI(at)home program he used, combines the computing power of internet connected machines to analyse radio telescope data. Some hope that this equipment could result in finding extraterrestrial communication signals.
Alas Brad should have started the search for intelligent life in his own home - he has been rumbled. Why? Because his ET hunt has slowed down the district's entire computer system.
Brad has now resigned (hopefully to 'go full time' on the space search) and it is now claimed the costs of fixing the network and uninstalling the software could cost upwards of $1 million (around Rs.4.6 crore). No sign of intergalactic travellers, either.
