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 transmittedto the workstation.