PSA: When you call your IT Group.. and you can't access something...

[guyver01]

Make sure you tried accessing it recently.

And by recently.. i mean.. right before you picked up the phone to call us. :twisted:


User: I can't access my account

Me: Ok.. what happens when you try?

User: It says i'm not allowed.

Me: (i check his account.. its not disabled... access is valid.. and password is 4 days old.. which means he logged in and changed the password 4 days ago.. access logs show no errors within the last 48hrs.)

Me: Ok.. what username are you using to access?

User: (user gives me the username... its the same one i'm looking at)

Me: When did you last try accessing?

User: oh.. a short time ago.

Me: I'm not showing any errors on your account, the account is enabled and valid.. and i'm not showing any recent errors ... how long ago?

User: 3 days ago

Me: Can you try accessing now?

User: ok. one second.

(30 seconds go by)

User: It works. Thanks. Bye.


:twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted:



oh... btw... the server the user tried accessing is a unix server.
the way we have our unix system set up... they change their password in a "password" server.. which propagates the password changes out to the production environment. it takes about 5-10min for the replication to occur, and they even get a message that says "Password has been changed.. please allow 10min for the new password to go into effect" .. i bet the moron changed his password, then immediately tried accessing. Its gonna give 'em an error because the password they enter doesn't match the production password system.

 

[Viperoni]

Users...

 

[Phoenix86]

If ever there was a case of preaching to the choir.

 

[Jeffg010]

The number one tech support call is for passwords. I'm second level tech support and thank god because our help desk deals with 98% of them but when they do get to me it show how brain dead people can be about passwords. On our system we have to have number and letters and @ # $ and 6 to 8 total characters. Some people brains can't handle that much info.

 

[rh71]

Users...

replication...

I gotta say, I've seen that "wait 10 minutes" message many times before and most if not all the time it's instantaneous anyway.

 

[Phoenix86]

The number one tech support call is for passwords.

Passwords are the largest failure of our industry, how long has LDAP been available but applications still house their own effing user stores.

Here's a question, as a L2 tech you probably have a fair level of access to various systems... How many accounts/passwords do you have? I have around 20 these days.

Also, as rh71 said, replication... Really? Come on now... I have one system that can take up to 45 minutes to replicate a password. FAIL.

 

[guyver01]

Also, as rh71 said, replication... Really? Come on now... I have one system that can take up to 45 minutes to replicate a password. FAIL.

Replication really depends on what the server admins set as a refresh timer.

We have a 'training' system (users can get training videos in this system) that uses their AD account for access. The replication on password changes to this system is set at 30min. Can it be done sooner? Probably... but really... do you want to waste server resources pushing out password replications to a training system? In a small, 10-20 user environment.. maybe... but in a 20,000 user environment... why? 30min is more than enough time.

 

[Wyndru]

Job security, I welcome those types of people for the low level techs. Otherwise they would have far less calls, and these days help desk reps are becoming the target for budget cuts (at least in my experience).

 

[rasczak]

The number one tech support call is for passwords. I'm second level tech support and thank god because our help desk deals with 98% of them but when they do get to me it show how brain dead people can be about passwords. On our system we have to have number and letters and @ # $ and 6 to 8 total characters. Some people brains can't handle that much info.

try 12 characters, 2 upper 2 lower 2 numbers and 2 special characters.

 

[KMFJD]

There really are 2 different types of people in the world, those that remember passwords and those that do not....It's always the same people that forget their passwords. Serious IT people never seem to forget their passwords i find.

 

[Platypus]

lol helpdesk

 

[Zargon]

There really are 2 different types of people in the world, those that remember passwords and those that do not....It's always the same people that forget their passwords. Serious IT people never seem to forget their passwords i find.

:\

I have an encrypted spreadsheet

I hope I never forget the encryption password or I am totally ef'd

I have like 15 accounts, some with rediculous pwd requirements

 

[Mike Gayner]

Wow, another IT person bitching about users, you never see that

Guyver, I suggest that if you hate users so much, you're in the wrong job. Or maybe you're just not good at your job.

 

[Genx87]

One thing I love is admins who set ridiculous complexity requirements for passwords. They should go walk around the office and see how many users write their ridiculously complex password down on a piece of paper stuck to their screen

I stopped requiring that years ago when I saw the end result. Ill take a 7 character length non-complex password anyday over a 12-16 length complex password that is written down!

 

[thepd7]

Users...

This. and I am one.

try 12 characters, 2 upper 2 lower 2 numbers and 2 special characters.

Why the hell would you need that? I'm sure you get tons of calls a day about forgotten passwords.

Wow, another IT person bitching about users, you never see that

Guyver, I suggest that if you hate users so much, you're in the wrong job. Or maybe you're just not good at your job.

Most IT guys got into it because they like computers, not stupid people. Everyone has a part of their job they don't like, for IT it's dumb users. I'm an Engineer and yet I have to do writing. What the hell, seriously? I bitch about it, doesn't mean I don't like my job or I'm in the wrong job. I'm damn good at problem solving I just want the fact that I solved it to be good enough.

 

[Zargon]

Wow, another IT person bitching about users, you never see that

Guyver, I suggest that if you hate users so much, you're in the wrong job. Or maybe you're just not good at your job.

calling about a problem you had 4 days ago without checking it again is stupid......

 

[Jeff7]

try 12 characters, 2 upper 2 lower 2 numbers and 2 special characters.

My favorite was a site that allowed you to create a password using crazy characters such as ╟•§▀ - but only while creating it. When you'd try to enter that same password into the login page, it told you that the password had invalid characters.
Congratulations, you've just created a key that has now locked you out.

 

[guyver01]

Or maybe you're just not good at your job.

yes... cuz it's my job to make sure 20,000 users remember their password.

I'm sorry.. but if you're too stupid to remember H31L0wor1D... don't make that your password. Make it Hello1. DUH.