As a network manager, I am oftened approached about ways to stop “productivity killers”. Some of these productivity killers include instant messanging, web browsing, etc. When it comes to instant messanging, it used to be easy. You could simply prevent access to the IP and port of the instant messanging service such as AIM, MSN, or Yahoo. Even better would be to prevent the installation of any IM client. But now it is getting more difficult to prevent your employees from chatting as some services are starting to utilize port 80 which typically carries http traffic for web sites. A prime example would be Google’s Gmail + Talk web site. If you’re working for a company that does not allow you to install chat clients, try giving Gmail + Talk a shot. Chances are that Talk is not blocked and that you could be chatting away all day. It does not appear that Gmail + Talk needs to install any software either.