Desktop search new target for viruses? | CNET News.com

Desktop search new target for viruses? CNET News.com gives a warning that should be heeded by enterprise and home users alike. Do _NOT_ install any of the current crop of 3rd party Desktop search tool add-ons for Windows, under any circumstances. In the rush to get on everyone's desktop, security has been forgotten.

First they all require Internet Explorer to be used as a host environment. Other browsers are not useable as they employ ActiveX technology to leverage the browser as a client, rather than providing a standalone client that can communicate with the server portion of the tool.

Secondly there are problems with the context in which these technologies run. Because they have access to everything on the desktop it means that private information from one computer user may be visible to another user on the same computer. This could lead to lawsuits as a result of inappropriate exposure of data, especially in the workplace.

Clearly there is a need for a good desktop search tool. The current desktop search tools have extremely poor performance or require exorbitant resources in terms of either processor or diskspace. This crop of tools purports to fix some of these issues, but the mechanisms expose too much information. Enterprises and users need to emphasize that yes the tool is wanted, but that it must meet basic security concerns.

The requirements to be acceptable are:

• Run as Local Service on Windows systems that support this account;
• Have a standalone client or use a non-ActiveX technology (do not use Internet Explorer);
• Do not return information about any data, file or email the user performing the query would not normally be able to see;
• Use minimal processor cycles;
• Do not return information about deleted content;
• Tell the user how much harddrive space will required (estimated) at install time;
• Have a consist manner of managing Remote Directories mounted as Network Drives across multiple users.