Prohibiting user software-installation

It is very common to find software on your managed desktop computers that you (the admin) did not put there, because users are very good at figuring out ways to install applications and software that they use at home. Sometimes, this is with good intentions, utilizing an online tool to help their productivity at work, but other times—perhaps most of the time—what you find are apps installed for entertainment purposes. Maybe a user has installed the Chrome browser because your company-issued Internet Explorer is too restrictive for their tastes, or you sit down to troubleshoot a computer only to find a personal Dropbox application or Spotify running in the systray. I am not saying these applications are bad – in fact, I use all three. The scary part of this scenario is that the user was able to download and install these...