A boss button is a privacy program or feature that hides whatever is on the user's screen at that moment and displays a dummy screen, such as a fake spreadsheet, to fool anyone else who might be looking.
One of the most popular uses of the boss button is on the CBS Sports and NCAA site for live streaming coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.USA Today: It's Tempting to Watch NCAA Basketball at Work, But Be Cool
March Madness Boss Button
A boss button is featured on the March Madness On Demand site. As many of the March Madness games are held during the work day, when pressed, the boss button displays a spreadsheet, to give them impression that the person is working, not watching college basketball.
In 2008, employment consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas estimated that companies lost $1.7 billion in wasted time from employees watching March Madness during the work day.USA Today: It's Tempting to Watch NCAA Basketball at Work, But Be Cool
Other Boss Buttons
There is also an unrelated application developed by Blue Lakes Technology Inc. that has very similar functions.
References
Fast Facts
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Displays an alternate screen, such as a spreadsheet, when activated
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Some employers are aware of this and have blocked the button's functionality
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Software that does this is sometimes called a boss key
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Built into certain versions of web browsers, including Mozilla Firefox
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