​The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has offered assistance to financial institutions to protect against instant messaging (IM) troubles. The Guidance on Instant Messaging provides risk-management considerations such as how to implement antivirus checks on IM and how to configure firewalls to prevent IM traffic. It also includes technical notes that describe different IM types, and points out that even if users are not allowed to download software, "IM can still be accessed by sending messages directly from a Web browser" such as Internet Explorer. @ More on the FDIC's IM guidance is at SM Online.