Wanted: The strictest IT department in Britain

Most users moan about the 'kill-joy' policies their IT departments put in place. We've all heard complaints from staff who get upset because they can't use their A-drives, or who take umbrage when what they consider to be fairly mildly worded emails are quarantined for containing inappropriate language.

Well, if you are such a moaner - tough. Most of these policies are put in place for very good reasons, although it could be said that some companies go too far. For example, it's emerged that Intel has implemented an extremely strict policy to force users to upgrade profiles on their PCs.

The chip company's staff are asked to upgrade anti-virus software from time to time - and if they postpone that action, the second request must be acted upon straight away. If it isn't, the PC freezes and becomes inoperable.

The result, according to sources within the company, was that on one occasion a user had an important presentation interrupted and couldn't continue until the IT department came along to carry out the update.

Have you been similarly affected? What's the most restrictive regime you've worked in or under? Do you agree that tough policies are needed in this age of viruses, hacks and self-installed network devices? Or is better user education more effective?

We're on the hunt for the strictest IT department in Britain. Let us know your experiences by posting a reader comment below.