Ethically speaking, no he has no right to request a password from you. The computer belongs to the company, not your supervisor. If he feels there is something inappropriate on your computer he can request that his supervisors investigate the matter. If you feel that your supervisor is sabotaging your work, give him some bait to expose his true intentions. Make up a false file and leave it exposed to see what he does with it. If that's the case you can go over his head to his supervisor and discuss the situation, hopefully with a positive outcome.

Considering that he is your boss, yes. You have virtually no right to privacy at the workplace. However, I find in highly unlikely that he is looking for a reason to fire you. Why? Well, because in most states he does not need a reason to fire you (assuming you don;t have a contract). And if he does need a reason in your state, your refusal to give him your password (i.e insubordination) is reason enough. If your boss has a boss, you may want to consult him. Your boss is certainly not doing anything illegal, but he could be breaking company poicy.

The company owns the computer, and while the question of whether he has a right to your password is dubious, the fact that he's asking for it is quite suspicious -- pretty much everybody understands that handing out passwords to other people is a bad idea. If he needs to see files on your computer, all he needs is his OWN account on that computer with appropriate permissions, he doesn't need YOUR password. Most people use the same password for many things, so sharing your password could expose your personal accounts to your boss, perhaps. He really should not be asking for it, and you should stand firm and not provide it. I would ask him to put a request in writing for whatever information he needs -- and tell him that you will provide it if it's on the computer. Getting that document may be very helpful later if the dispute escalates. Also, take notes: what he said, when he said it. Often the person with the best records wins in cases like this.

if he insists tell him/her ..that you will open your terminal in there presence but you will be staying until they have finished what they want to do .... then when they have gone change your pass word, or just make copies of whats on your computer with up o the minute time and dates on it that way if anything happens at least you can prove that it wasn't you at the terminal if anything does happen

If he had the right to it he would already have your password.

In some companies, you are not allowed to give out your password to other employees, including bosses. In fact, you can, in some cases, be fired for giving it out. Don't give your supervisor your password for any reason. Is there a manager you can trust whereby you can get a correct answer about your company's policy? Better yet, is there a manual?

So sorry to hear you work or "worked" for a monster. Let us know what happened... I am curious.

You have no right to privacy on a company computer however, According to any IT policy that is SOX compliant you are to give your password to no one, Not even the IT guys (not a big deal because if you are on a domain they can change it on a whim, but such changes are tracked) so get a copy of your company's IT policy find the section he has broken and change your password. When your boss requests your new password refuse via company email if he leaves it alone you are fine. If he presses you for the password refuse via email and march your self to IT Managers office. If your boss is the head of IT than go to Accounting or HR. SOX violations are very grave matters and usually mean immediate dismissal for the offender.

My boss just asked all the members of the group for their passwords. He said it was so that others could access a person's machine in case they are away on vacation or "in case of emergency". However, we all know that he's aware that anyone can log in on any machine with their own name and password. (It's a company-wide domain.) We've seen him do it. So, what does he REALLY want the passwords for? None of us are concerned about him seeing anything on our computers. Lots of code and documents. Just company stuff. The creepy part is what ELSE he could do with our passwords. With your password, a person could pretend to be YOU and cause you a world of hurt. He could send e-mails from your account, maybe getting you in trouble for sexual harassment or even sending technical secrets to competitors. If he used your login to send hi-tech stuff to China, you could go to JAIL. If he wants you to get fired, he could use your login to damage critical files, put deliberate bugs or exploits into code, etc. Everything he does while logged in as you will be BLAMED ON YOU. Knowing your password, he could secretly spy on your screen using VNC or other remote desktop software (just like the IS dept. already does, wink-wink) and see your personal web-mail when you read it at work. If you walk away from your keyboard, he could even pretend to be you on your own web-mail right from his own desk. Knowing your password, he could make it look like YOU were in the office at a certain time when some expensive equipment "happened" to go missing. Even if your password at work is different from your outside passwords (HA! Sure it is!), he can still wreck and ruin your life just by knowing your password at work.

Well for one if you have a company bylaw i would read it, for 2 yea this could be bad if hes doing what you say hes doing. One question i would ask is why were the passwords implemented in the first place if he is supposed to have access to all of them?? I would try to go above his head if its possible at all. Where i work i am a computer Admin, i have access to all passwords, and the boss above me does not for reasons such as this, even if i didnt i know enough i could log on, anyhow what i am trying to get at is why were the passwords put in place to begin with, who is supposed to have access and who is not???

If the computer is company owned, then absolutely the company has the right to your password. I have all of my employees passwords. If it's changed without my knowledge/consent, they'll be out of a job.

depends on why he wants it