Another correspondent weighs in on the lock-or-not-lock debate - BobDear Bob ...I'm not sure that workers downloading "stuff" on their PCs is really the place that innovation should come from. The reward that something might happen there of value is far out weighed by the risk the corporation faces of being out of compliance or having unauthorized or inappropriate software on company owned PCs. And there is no w Another correspondent weighs in on the lock-or-not-lock debate – BobDear Bob …I’m not sure that workers downloading “stuff” on their PCs is really the place that innovation should come from. The reward that something might happen there of value is far out weighed by the risk the corporation faces of being out of compliance or having unauthorized or inappropriate software on company owned PCs. And there is no way to really quantify the risk of “catching a virus” on the back of a downloaded executable. That being said there should be a process to initiate approval for test software, down loads, etc. that can be pretty simple and not a bottleneck. That’s what my previous company did.– Download PreventerDear Preventer … I agree that workers downloading stuff isn’t where innovation comes from. Workers downloading (for example) open source solutions that will fully or partially automate a business process that is currently handled in a cumbersome way, and that isn’t important enough to be a priority for central IT? That’s a different story.Your phrasing is telling. “The reward that something might happen there of value …” makes it clear you consider any potential upside to be, not the result of thought and planning on the part of employees, but an accidental byproduct of random, aimless activity.I agree. The risks associated with random, aimless activity far exceed the potential benefit. All I have to say is that if your employer hires employees who spend most of their time engaged in random, aimless activity, the company has a much bigger problem than the risk of a computer virus.– Bob Technology Industry