would a Group Policy be a good solution for?

We have tons of users here that do nothing but run limewire, surf gambling sites, etc all day long. They get so bogged down with crap they start to complain they can't do their job because their computers are slow. I was thinking that making a policy that would not allow people to run limewire, kazaa, etc on their machine would be a good thing. We do have some of the ports blocked on the firewalls but I am really interested in developing a 2k Policy that can handle this.

Has anyone attempted this before? Pro's , con's? Thought's?

 

Assuming you are running a domain why don't you just link a group policy that restricts their ability to install those non-business programs in the first place. If you block limewire people will simply start using Ares ect (im not sure if they use the same port range) Possibly consider a mandatory roaming profile?

 

Ummmm, yeah.

Not sure if a GP will suitably restrict access to limewire, etc, since its just too easy to circumvent (I've done it without realising it).

I reckon tight controls on browser settings, and more restrictive firewall settings would probably be more effective. But, thats just my opinion.

 

Problem is I work in education and when you start restrictions domain wide like that , they say it violates their "Academic Freedom".

Anyways, I have been playing with it and have managed to block limewire so far. Its not a permanent solution but should get the point across for now.

 

I don't think it is that difficult to change the default port on any of those p2p programs, only a matter of time.

 

Are these student or faculty PCs?

Student lab pcs can be ghosted on a nightly basis.

There may be no one solution - Bandwidth managers, software inventory apps, proxy and internet filters, port blocking, group policies - all are used in some combination to limit this kind of activity in private and educational settings.

PS When they start talking about academic freedom remind them that the school can be liable if they knowingly run software for illegal purposes.