Ok. I'm putting this here because of ethnic and morality implications.

The other day, my boss stops me in the hall and asks me what I know about hyper threading technology? Now I have to ask where he read about hyper threading and he informed me that a user asked if it was ok to turn on hyper threading on his workstation. Boss, not coming from a technical background, says no. Don't mess with the hardware, contact the Help Desk with any requests. I've trained him well and am proud.

I explain how hyper threading works and send him off to Intel's site so he can read many white papers and leave me alone. I then visit said user and inform him that it's against company policy to muck about with hardware and software.

So - today said user calls Help Desk requesting that someone please install the really cool wireless mouse he purchased last night. I do a quick hardware / registry scan and find that user has been naughty. USB devices have been plugged into the box, multiple attempts to download and install software, install hardware...

Now user did boot into bios and enable hyper threading. I know this because it's disabled by default on Dell boxes and there is no reason to enable hyper threading for two reasons. We don't run any software that could benefit from hyper threading and the processor in that box is only 1.2 GHz

Here's my dilemma. The user is an engineering intern and has taken a few computer 101 classes in college. He wants to learn more about computer networks and the like. He's not trying to do anything destructive or malicious. He's just trying to play with things to learn how they work. I can do one of three things:

1. Report his AUP violation, that would end his employment - Though I aspire to be a BSOFH, this option doesn't sit right with me.

2. Lock his registry to the point that he can only launch approved programs and can't even change desk top settings. i.e., taking the toys away from the child.

3. Take the kid under my wing. Give him power user rights on the box and instruct him on the do's and don'ts with hardware and software in a network environment.

What would you do. Especially you Gore, in case I choose option 1.