A method for enforcing a security policy for selectively preventing the
downloading and execution of undesired Executable Objects in an individual
workstation, comprising the steps of, (1) providing a security agent
suitable to be installed in an individual workstation, said security agent
being provided with means for introducing at least one marker in one or
more data packet transmitted by a workstation to a server through a
gateway, said at least one marker indicating that a security agent is
installed in the transmitting workstation; (2) providing means in or
coupled to the gateway for analyzing the first one or more data packet(s)
received from a transmitting workstation initiating communication to a
remote server, to determine whether said first one or more data packet(s)
comprise at least one marker indicating that a suitable security agent is
installed in the transmitting workstation; (3) If at least one marker
indicating that a suitable security agent is installed in the transmitting
workstation is detected in said first one or more data packet(s), deleting
said marker(s) from said first one or more data packet(s), and allowing
said data packet(s) to be transmitted to their destination; and (4) If no
marker indicating that a suitable security agent is installed in the
transmitting workstation is detected in said first one or more data
packet(s), preventing any data packet(s) received from the server to which
the workstation is connected from being transmitted to the workstation.