If you are a freelancer then your contract should allow you to do work for others. In which case, your response to this client has to be "Sorry, but my business laptop potentially has data from other clients on it. I can't let you install this monitoring agent without violating my contractual confidentially agreement with those other clients. I always maintain client confidentiality and will do the same for you. If you want to ship me a dedicated laptop for your engagement, I would be happy to install whatever you want on it."
> If you want to ship me a dedicated laptop for your engagement, I would be happy to install whatever you want on it.
I wouldn't offer this. You're still going to need to login to Github/email/wherever with your personal password, manage private keys, and stuff like that. Just say no.
It's a widespread practice that companies provide laptops to contractors to compartmentalize the way they interact with the company's IT. But I'm really quite opposed to it.
At one point I had 3 sets of machines: Two different 14" laptops from two different clients and my own machines. At some point you simply run out of space on your desk and end up constantly either working on screens that are too small (14" really isn't enough to be productive), or plugging laptops in to and out of screens as you're context-switching. Carrying three laptops with you when you're travelling if you anticipate having to work for both clients during that timeframe is also not exactly my definition of great fun. And you end up duplicating a lot of effort around managing that IT, like tweaking settings the way you like them etc.
The argument "we own this laptop, so we can do with it whatever we want, including spying on you" is just not valid. They're either doing things that I'm okay with, in which case I'm okay doing it on my own hardware. Or they're doing things I'm opposed to, in which case I'm opposed to it no matter who owns the hardware.
Also: In many European countries, authorities are clamping down hard on practices whereby companies pass people off as contractors who really are employees. They usually work off of lists of criteria of what makes an employee, and if you fit too many of those criteria while, on paper, passing yourself off as a contractor, then you and your client can be in for a world of pain. One of the criteria that makes you look more like a contractor and less like an employee to the government is providing your own facilities like the computer you work with.
And, last but not least, it's just not a good way of dealing with the planet's resources.
I had informed the client that I will be disposing of them when I’m back if they don’t handle it and that any and all third party liability well fall on the direct supervisor if he can’t organize the transfer.
Needlessly to say even me connecting them directly to the courier was not enough.
My guess is that the OP depends on the money otherwise he wouldn’t be asking for help. So either but a cheap laptop and then control it with barrier[1] from your main driver and don’t ask(because whatever you ask they will probably say no). Or let them ship theirs to you, but I’m willing to bet that it be worse than whatever second machine you get.
In the meantime I would suggest you look for a new client because judging from experience there is a lot more pain to come. I didn’t do it in time and ended up paying dearly for my lack of initiative on that front.