Enterprise IT rant

[sactoking]

What is it with enterprise-level IT personnel that makes them so disconnected from reality? I sent in an IT ticket last week because I was having slow system performance. Every day at 4:15.20 my system would come to a standstill. I opened task manager and saw that the system was running a virus scan that was using >50% CPU, >40% physical memory, and had a 1.2GB page file with no other programs running.

I took a screenshot and included it in the ticket and said "Hey, I'm getting really terrible system performance and I'm pretty sure it's this. Can you take a look for me?"

The response was: "Due to a high number of viruses discovered on workstations recently we have to do a weekly scan to ensure system stability. The scans should occur in the background and will use fewer resources if they are needed by other processes."

I replied: "Hey I get it. But here's another screenshot of my system at >90% CPU, >70% physical memory, and 2.8 GB page file with just Word 1998 running. Also, this happens every day, not every week. Could you look into this b/c as it is I just sit around for the last hour each day."

I got no response to that, just a closed ticket. Today, the virus scan started at 3:00 and will be going until at least 5:00.

Cliffs:
Having problems with antivirus hogging resources
IT gives excuses
I call IT on their excuses
IT reschedules virus scan to be even more inconvenient

 

[ShawnD1]

Can you change the priority of it in task manager?
Try right clicking the virus scanner and hit "End Process Tree"

 

[Bateluer]

Stop downloading viruses and cruising porn sites at work, and they wouldn't have to run a virus scan.

They should be running their virus scans at night, but some users power their systems off at night. More scripting needed to kick them on.

 

[sactoking]

Can you change the priority of it in task manager?
Try right clicking the virus scanner and hit "End Process Tree"

It's already set to 'Low' priority and I don't have permission to end the process. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's a bloated system resource hog: it's a Norton product.

 

[TheNinja]

You need to supply your IT folks with more and/or better food. All IT folks love food and will instantly give you preferential treatment if you supply it.

 

[webdave]

If it is really affecting your performance escalate it to your manager/boss.

 

[seepy83]

Enterprise IT using a "Norton" product? That's not likely...maybe Symantec Endpoint Protection, as that has the centralized management tools that an enterprise would require.

Like was said...escalate it to your manager if it's that bad. If that doesn't work, then start applying for IT jobs and see if you can do it better. Information Security is paramount for many businesses these days...if the people responsible for security say that an antivirus scan needs to be started before 5:00pm when lots of people leave and turn their computers off, then good luck getting them to change their position.

 

[sactoking]

My bad, it is a Symantec branded product, not a Norton one.

If IT is perfectly reasonable in running the scan before 5:00 to get people who might shut off their terminals, the I guess I'm perfectly reasonable in telling the Legislature that I could have found more money for the State if IT hadn't given me a 2 hour paid vacation every afternoon.

 

[amdhunter]

Your IT people know how sucky the AV is, but are powerless to do anything about it. Most places have auditors that require such software, and they don't care about the end user experience.

 

[Theb]

My bad, it is a Symantec branded product, not a Norton one.

If IT is perfectly reasonable in running the scan before 5:00 to get people who might shut off their terminals, the I guess I'm perfectly reasonable in telling the Legislature that I could have found more money for the State if IT hadn't given me a 2 hour paid vacation every afternoon.

Today, 04:03 PM

So the web browser is the only thing that works after 3?

 

[sactoking]

So the web browser is the only thing that works after 3?

It took 15 minutes for the page to refresh to reply to the post.

Normally I use audit databases with hundreds of millions of entries per table. If a page refresh takes 15 minutes guess how long a table refresh takes.

 

[FoBoT]

hahahaha
that is funny

 

[Theb]

<< This is the face I make when people expect me to believe a busy bulletin board is using a Timeout value greater than 15 seconds.

It took 15 minutes for the page to refresh to reply to the post.

Normally I use audit databases with hundreds of millions of entries per table. If a page refresh takes 15 minutes guess how long a table refresh takes.

 

[classy]

I have ours configured but for 2 am in the morning. You still run word 1998, lol, seriously?

 

[MovingTarget]

I have ours configured but for 2 am in the morning. You still run word 1998, lol, seriously?

Thats a much more sensible time to run a PC. If the place is an 8-5 establishment, then IT should just set it to run after 5 followed by an automatic remote shutdown. People would just leave their PCs on.

And yes, that does not suprise me AT ALL. Word processing software doesn't need to be all that complicated. Many haven't had reason/justification to pay for an upgrade to that. It works, so why mess with it?

 

[ultimatebob]

Bah... reset the admin password on that thing with a password recovery disk and use it to reschedule the antivirus scan.

Bullshit like that is why I don't let IT screw with my work computers.

 

[Doppel]

lolololol

First, IT loves to close tickets on a whim, I've seen many closed without any resolution at all, to support metrics.

Second, I've had to break (rename exe or whatever to fail out its auto-load) virus scanners on a personal machine before because some genius decided that the right time to have a pervasive scan run was at 12:30 PM (when I'm on my computer) and it destroys the ability of the machine to do anything.

My favorite is mcafee's on demand scan, basically looks at files as they are opened up just to ensure that the system is nice and slow.

 

[seepy83]

Bah... reset the admin password on that thing with a password recovery disk and use it to reschedule the antivirus scan.

Bullshit like that is why I don't let IT screw with my work computers.

You must work for a very small organization with no regulatory mandates to comply with. Know-it-all's like you are the reason IT people don't let end users screw with the assets that they are responsible for managing and securing.

 

[Anubis]

I have ours configured but for 2 am in the morning. You still run word 1998, lol, seriously?

we still have computers running DOS

 

[ultimatebob]

You must work for a very small organization with no regulatory mandates to comply with. Know-it-all's like you are the reason IT people don't let end users screw with the assets that they are responsible for managing and securing.

Nah, I pulled stunts like this in the big shops too... I even got to the point where I would make a VM with the IT assigned machine name so it wouldn't report my laptop as missing from the network

 

[seepy83]

Nah, I pulled stunts like this in the big shops too... I even got to the point where I would make a VM with the IT assigned machine name so it wouldn't report my laptop as missing from the network

Good for you. Although, depending on the regulations that the IT department needs to comply with and the tools they are approved to use to enforce compliance, you wouldn't get away with that "stunt" with the VM so easily. Some day when you stop wagging your eDick around, maybe you'll realize that the bullshit you claim to have gotten away with would get you fired from almost every employer in the country.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Nah, I pulled stunts like this in the big shops too... I even got to the point where I would make a VM with the IT assigned machine name so it wouldn't report my laptop as missing from the network

Your ass would be so fired from where I work... and I am in a pretty laid back environment (University).

 

[classy]

Bah... reset the admin password on that thing with a password recovery disk and use it to reschedule the antivirus scan.

Bullshit like that is why I don't let IT screw with my work computers.

LOL

That's why my antivirus runs under policys that refreshes the passwords and for good measure people like you are locked out of the AV applet completely.

I run this thing here, you're just bleeping prisoner

 

[Red Squirrel]

lol if we did that where I work we'd get a beating for it.

But because we're not allowed to do changes to the environment as per the IT manager, we would not be allowed to fix it either, so we'd just have to keep telling the user we are looking into it, but in reality we can't do anything and we're stuck with an open ticket. At some point the IT manager, even though it's his own policies that are blocking us, would come pissing in on us as to why we arn't doing anything with that ticket.

That's why I'm trying to get out of that crazy environment.

 

[Genx87]

Bah... reset the admin password on that thing with a password recovery disk and use it to reschedule the antivirus scan.

Bullshit like that is why I don't let IT screw with my work computers.

Great way to get yourself fired. Plus if the IT staff is worth anything they will have disabled the ability for even local admins to change the schedule. Each client will be running off a policy set on the management server.