Software discovery

I hate having to tell clients that they must choose between securing their network and easing their employees' workload, but when the safety of your corporate assets is at stake, tough love is sometimes the only real option. I'm a security expert and software discovery consultant, and I dealt with a situation recently that brought this dilemma to life when one of my clients called me in a bit of a panic. The client's Help desk had reported suspicious configuration changes on a remote employee's laptop. My client called me in to assist the IT staff and investigate a possible security breach. The background information I was given about the problem was troubling, to say the least.