Released on: April 11, 2008, 1:43 pm

Press Release Author: Andrew J. Spinks

Industry: Internet & Online

Press Release Summary: An alarming new trend at the workplace is causing employers
to take note of tasks left unfinished as employees leave from work. This is due to a
new wave of addictive "flash games" (games that are played in an Internet browser).


Press Release Body: Sacramento, CA - April 11, 2008 - An alarming new trend at the
workplace is causing employers to take note of tasks left unfinished as employees
leave from work. This is due to a new wave of addictive "flash games" (games that
are played in an Internet browser). Of course, employees slacking of at work is not
a new trend, but there has been a notable increase in the amount of "cyberslacking"
as of late, due in part to a new genre of flash game called "tower defense."

Tower defense is a genre of strategy game that was born out of "mods," or user
created maps, for a popular real-time strategy game. The premise is to build towers
that shoot at invading monsters, called "creeps." If too many creeps get past the
towers and reach the end of a maze the player will lose. The immense popularity of
this style of game has spurred uncountable amateur and professional developers to
create their own versions of these games, and they are popping up all over the
Internet.

This may sound like a good innovation. The problem is, people are playing these
games at their job when they should be working. Some companies deploy Internet
blocks to stop their employees from accessing game sites, but web pages that allow
users to play these tower defense games are coming up faster than anyone can contain
them. Such as the popular site, http://www.defendthetowers.com, which has set an
unprecedented growth record in it\'s number of visitors.

Games such as Vector Tower Defense and Desktop Tower Defense (whose owner has made
over 100,000 dollars from in-game advertising) get players so involved that they
are becoming more blatant in their disregards for their employer\'s wishes. Employees
are now using a Windows shortcut key, Alt+Tab, to switch windows when their boss
comes within their proximity. Some of the people interviewed even referred to this
keystroke as "boss defense."

Managers need to be educated on this new trend. Increased supervision is not a bad
idea for offices with Internet access. Network administrators should not rely on
browsing history logs alone, as there are many "proxy" sites that can hide the
user\'s tracks, and even let them access web sites that are blocked. Some of the more
tech-savvy Internet users have been using these for years without the workplace
knowing.

For more information: http://www.defendthetowers.com or
Contact: redigit@tehgamez.com
Phone: 530-300-5604

Web Site: http://www.defendthetowers.com

Contact Details: Contact:
Andrew J. Spinks
1701 Ellis Lake Drive #85
Marysville, CA 95901
Phone: 530/743-3006
Cell Phone: 530/300-5604
http://www.defendthetowers.com
redigit@tehgamez.com