A business is much like a machine: it cannot fully function properly if any of the pieces are refusing to help or even cooperate. Anybody who has ever been involved in this area can attest to this truth. But modern technology has decided to throw an extra burden onto the already heavy shoulders of those in charge. Social networking is becoming popular in society, with people developing a constant need to communicate with their family and peers, both online and offline, no matter where they may be

Some companies have wisely decided to block certain websites and services, including a program called msn messenger. Taking this route not only benefits the business owner, but the IT network administrator as well.

Benefits for the Business Owner

-Your employees will become much more productive. No longer will they spend every moment they can talking with people that they don't work with or have never even met before. No longer will you need to worry that they will be too busy to work on what it is you pay them for. When you block msn messenger, they won't have a choice in the matter. -Any member of your staff will also be unable to leak important company files to an unknown source. Nobody will be able to steal your ideas or report a story you are trying to keep from the public or certain people. This is the most important benefit for a business owner. -Finally, the integrity of your business will be kept. If an employee is hostile or otherwise unprofessional to somebody they are talking to on msn messenger, that fact will spread and soon many people will think poorly of you.

Benefits for the IT Network Administrator

-Viruses, as you full well know, can be quite damaging to a computer, and can be spread around in many different ways. If no individuals in the office can access msn messenger, there will be fewer viruses to have to fix and deal with, saving you many migraines in the long run. -Some people like to exchange software programs, usually bootleg in nature, while sending messages to each other. No longer will this happen. -Besides programs, they may also choose to exchange pictures and video files for their own amusement. This can very quickly fill up space on a computer's hard drive and slow down efficiency. Blocking msn messenger will prevent this, too.

How It's Done

Watch the video below to see a step-by-step walk through on how to use a SonicWALL firewall to block msn messenger. In the video we are using the following: - SonicWALL NSA 2400 TotalSecure firewall - IPS category IDs implemented are: 94, 2953 and 2954.