Windows service packs are a special problem, because some software inevitably has problems with them. In the case of Service Pack 2, Microsoft acknowledged that 50 major applications initially wouldn’t run with it, primarily because SP2 turned on the firewall by default. It usually takes weeks or months after Microsoft releases a service pack before all the vendors are singing off the same page. If your users need software that stops working when a new service pack comes out, a common solution is to “temporarily” forgo installing the service pack until the software company catches up. That means going back through later and checking that those systems are updated when it becomes possible—if you remember.

5. Missing Security Agents
Many companies require agents to be installed on all their endpoints. These agents may monitor network traffic, make sure patches are up to date, or track and report on stolen computers. However, requiring such agents and actually having them installed are two different things. About 1.2 percent of the endpoints that were supposed to have such agent software installed didn’t.

According to Kolter, the next five issues each showed up in less than 1 percent of the sample.

6. Unauthorized Remote-Control Software
Remote-control software is invaluable for troubleshooting hardware and software. Unauthorized remote-control software is invaluable to the bad guys as well since it offers a royal road into the computer.

In some cases, remote-control software, such as PCAnywhere, is installed by a user who wants to be able to access the desktop from elsewhere. In other cases, the installation is a rogue, with software either installed or modified to allow a third party to use the system without the user’s knowledge or consent.

In spite of the obvious danger, the survey found nearly 1 percent (0.82 percent) of the computers surveyed had remote-control software installed that wasn’t supposed to be there.

7. Media Files
Unauthorized media files are dangerous both because of their content and what can be hidden in them. Video and music files are an increasingly popular method of sneaking malware into an organization, including spyware, Trojans, viruses and just about any other kind of bad stuff you can think of.

One popular method is to include code in a media file that exploits security flaws in the media player. For example, the infected media file can open a malicious webpage on the user’s computer and use that to automatically infect the system—and from there the network. Since these attacks require minimal interaction from the user, often he or she isn’t even aware of what has happened.