Re: Locking down users

> I mean, sometimes you just need to get something installed
> quickly in order to meet a deadline: and going through the
> hastle and red-tape of convincing the sys-admin to install
> it for you could result in kissing that deadline goodbye.

All too many times, yet so many companys have very strict policies,
and our company's W2K system has finally been set up to prevent user
installation of software. (Well, nearly, some software such as SQL
Navigator needs to be root to run as it writes back to its install
directory, so there are holes).

The quoted fear is that the user installation would break something - DLL
Hell perhaps - and the user would be running to helpdesk for help. There's
also tracking of licenses etc.  Fortunately, I have my own Linux box to
do as I wish on, and thats how I reach and beat deadlines.

Corporate IT likes control. I was thinking about this new DRM system
Microsoft are pushing very heavily for email. Unless it allows corporate
IT to run their mail scanning software and anti-virus and to be able to
read what their minions have said at a later date - its not going to be
wanted. My company blocks PGP at the corporate mail gateway (though PGP
followed by ROT13 gets through fine) - then appends 21 lines of legal
junk to the effect that we really wish we could encrypt mail. 

The people that add the 21 lines of junk are probably going to initially
be rubbing their hands over this, then I think perhaps not as they
realise that they may lose control, and that they have to pay anually
for the keys.

 - Richard

-- 
   _/_/_/  _/_/_/  _/_/_/ Richard dot Corfield    at    ntlworld dot com
  _/  _/    _/    _/      Fortune Cookie: Laura's Law:  No child throws
 _/_/      _/    _/       up in the bathroom.
_/  _/  _/_/    _/_/_/