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Its hard to like “spy on your neighbor” programs such as Telemate.Net Software Inc.s NetSpective 4.7. Company policies should clearly state what is in and out of bounds when it comes to Internet use and leave well enough alone.
IT managers have bigger problems than technology can solve if they need to snoop in the proverbial wastebasket to see where employees have been surfing. QOS (quality-of-service) utilities provided with routers and firewalls often do a better job of blocking bandwidth-hogging applications, such as gaming or music downloads, than specialized products. This is because QOS tools actually do something about the specific problem.
Otherwise, use a good protocol analyzer and a clear, well-communicated company policy to keep people focused on tasks. —Senior Analyst Cameron Sturdevant can be contacted at cameron_sturdevant@ziffdavis.com.