how to be velly sneaky......

[st0nes]

Linux ROCKS. I've got Vista on my laptop, which sucks, but Windows 7 on my PC - which is awesome. I got a separate internet dongle-thingy from Vodacom with a separate number/account etc. It's awesome, very fast and about the best if you don't have access to a land-line.

3G is cheaper too, provided you don't use more than about 3GB per month.  The whole lot comes to less than the line rental from Telkom.

[BoogieMonster]

If you use firefox:

Install TOR: http://www.torproject.org
It re-routes your traffic through a series of random servers on the internet, all of which cannot see where the final payload is going. That includes your employer. It also encrypts the data, so no-one can sneak a peak.

Then Install Torbutton add-on for firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2275

This allows you to click a button in the bottom of your browser to enable secure traffic. It's slower than internet normally would be, obviously, and your other tabs (like gmail) will become non-usable while the browser is in secure mode. BUT: I've found it quite effective in hopping employer firewalls.

You can use this with other browsers too, but the setup and use is a bit more involved.