Existing versions of the company's software focus largely on Web filtering, allowing companies to set which employees can go to which types of sites or specific Web addresses, and when. Websense's new software, expected to be released early next year, will bring that filtering function to desktop computers. A small application would be installed on every employee's computer, periodically indexing the entire contents of the hard drive and sending a report to the central server. Any unauthorised applications -- ranging from file-swapping services to instant messaging -- could be disabled. Unauthorised files such as MP3 or movie files could also be targeted, at the discretion of the employer. "A lot of these (problems) are migrating down to the desktop," said Websense spokesman Ted Ladd. "It's not just Web sites that are the issue." Some of these desktop control features are found in software from other companies such as Altiris and have been long present in corporate versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Macrovision component will be added later in 2003, the companies said. Macrovision creates copy-protection technology for games, movies and music CDs. The partnership with Websense will initially create a new kind of digital marker inside entertainment media, flagging it for review by the Websense software. That means that even if a company hasn't turned on all game- or MP3-blocking functions on employees' computers, Macrovision-protected content would still be flagged and found by Websense's software. The Macrovision component would have no effect on unprotected content such as MP3s downloaded from the Net, however.
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I liked Spy Subtract. It found all kinds of stuff other programs did not.