Security is job one nowadays and when someone offers a free service to help keep your systems secure, it's definitely a benefit. GFI Software, an international developer of network security, content security and messaging software, has released EndPointScan, a free online service that allows you to check what devices are or have been connected to computers on your network and by whom. Using this diagnostic tool, you can identify those areas where the use of portable storage devices could pose a risk to the integrity of the company's systems and data.

The uncontrolled use of portable mass storage devices, such as USB sticks, CDs, floppies, smartphones, MP3 players, handhelds, iPods, and digital cameras, coupled with data theft techniques such as 'pod slurping', are a major threat to network security and could lead to security breaches, data theft, viruses and other malware being uploaded to a company's network. Earlier this year, for example, a scientist who worked with DuPont was arrested after he had copied $400 million worth of commercially-sensitive information from the network.<p<Security companies, including GFI Software, have long warned of the risks of portable storage devices and how vital it is that companies do something about it. Knowing what devices are on your network and the threat they pose is the first step towards minimizing these risks and this is what EndPointScan is designed to do.

EndPointScan carries out granular checks across all types of ports including USB, Firewire, Bluetooth, Infrared, PCMIA and Wi-Fi, on all machines. This utility provides complete and thorough information about all portable devices and can scan multiple computers simultaneously. GFI EndPointScan is compatible with existing network management or administrative tools such as Active Directory and will also work on Vista systems. EndPointScan is completely free.