You might be an IT Nazi if!

You might be an IT Nazi if

• You think all end users are a headache waiting to happen
• You feel the need to keep all user settings locked down tighter than a drum
• You’d rather cut off your right thumb than let users tinker with anything, including their mail filter settings
• You’re all decked out with the latest and greatest in malware-huntin’ tools, and you love the smell of frying spam in the morning!

Okay, so that might be a little over the top (and my sincere apologies for messing with Apocalypse Now)!

When it comes to email content and filter settings, let’s suppose you have to keep a tight lid over what users can and cannot access. Or maybe you’re just too keenly aware of how people can get themselves into trouble and all the man-hours required to clean up the resulting mess.

But if you’re that dedicated to the job that you need to oversee, monitor and lock down everything that moves on your network, then you’re a very, very busy guy (or gal). So why would you set yourself up for more work by not letting users have a view of their own quarantined content? Because, let’s face it, all filters produce some false positives, and certain types of legit messages (especially sales and marketing related) are more prone to getting caught.

Of course email security is important, and yes, you do have to be careful about who has access to what. But productivity is also important yours and theirs, which can ultimately suffer if you’re too vigilant about restricting access. There’s also the potential for lost business or even bigger problems if key messages just disappear into a black box.

Unless you truly enjoy dealing with angry, frustrated users when they can’t access those ultra-important missing messages, then it’s time to loosen the reins a little and lose the Nazi title. And if your current solution doesn’t provide granular user-level controls, look for something that will.

With balanced filters and settings in place, you and your users will feel more in control. But, you’ll always have the final say when it comes to verboten content