This one should be a no-brainer, but that doesn't deter some people.
"From school teachers on school-issued laptops to politicians, this issue crops up continually in the media," Kerr said. "A highly-publicized report revealed there were more than 300,000 searches for porn from with the parliament offices of Great Britain. A City of Baltimore employee was fired for watching porn for 39 hours at work, including one day where he watched over six hours during an eight-hour shift. And if you aren't fired, you will, at the very least, end up in a potentially embarrassing situation."
"If you know there are things that are off limits for a reason, don't try and access them on your own," Kerr said. "Without question your IT department will be aware of every attempt you’ve made to gain access into a secured area."
If you're juggling a side job, resist the temptation of letting that bleed into your nine-to-five.
"If you are moonlighting at a second job or running a side business on your own, be exceedingly careful searching for sites that will be obviously out of the normal scope of your work duties," Kerr said. "Numerous employees have been fired when they've been caught running their own business while on someone else's dime, and your internet activities will be one of the biggest red flags available to employers."
Never use your work computer to look for a new job. Even if you're super unhappy in your current role, you'll be taking a serious risk.
"Everything you do on your work computer could be secretly observed and recorded by your employer and looking for another job could immediately terminate your current one," said Ryan Kahn, a career coach, founder of The Hired Group, and author of "Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad.
Your troubles could also extend beyond getting fired.
"If you are caught excessively searching for other employment, it will raise a red flag," Kerr said. "If you are caught looking at a competitor's job offerings it may raise a burning red flag, with issues over security, confidentiality, and non-compete agreements."
Résumé Writers' Ink founder and career expert Tina Nicolai said that it's best to avoid splashing your love life across your work computer's search history.
That means avoiding searches that have anything to do with "... pick-ups, online dating and corresponding ... in short, anything personal."
Nicolai added that your employer doesn't want to see that you're spending time planning purely personal activities.
So researching anything involving weddings, parties, or vacations is out. She said that you also probably want to steer clear of sites like Pinterest or services that help you send out invitations.
Just remember that you're not getting paid to surf the web.
"Consider the length of time and frequency of searches as well," Kerr said. "Few employers will be concerned over an employee taking a quick look at last night's sports' scores or checking in on how the stock market is doing. But when an employer finds out you've spent the better part of your day researching your next vacation, you may find yourself in the hot seat."
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