Can't you just TELL me my password? Tech Support |
- Can't you just TELL me my password?
- O server, where art thou?
- "No I haven't changed any of the router settings" - He had changed them
- You're already connected to the network
- "But it said it was wireless"
- I want to be able to use both of my monitors.
- User typed in the entire text of a label instead of the container ID
| Can't you just TELL me my password? Posted: 05 May 2020 07:13 AM PDT I'm not tech support, but I maintain a small website for my company. To view some of the content on the website you need to be logged in. Today I got a message from Karen in marketing. Karen: Can you give me the credentials for website? I need to login. Me: If you forgot your password, you can reset it at this link. [Sends link to password reset page.] Karen: Can't you just tell me the password? Me: Uh, no, I don't know your password. Karen: Don, who used to run the site before you, would tell me. Record scratch. Yeah, well, about that. Don the third party contractor was an incompetent and stored the passwords in plaintext. I have no doubt that he would tell Karen her password if she asked, because there was no other password recovery system. Don had somehow managed to get paid several thousand $$$ for designing a website full of bugs and broken links, with a design that seemed straight from the 90s. I know that in web design companies often get what they pay for, but in this case my company had set a reasonable budget for a small project and hired a local web design company, it's not like they were paying 50$ to someone on fiverr. Unfortunately the marketing dept had commissioned the website, and they're not very tech savvy. Somehow Don convinced them that all issues were due to "technical limitations" and "low time and budget for the project" and delivered a website that was pretty much unusable. My boss eventually stepped in, got rid of Don, and I was tasked with "fixing" the website, which meant pretty much remaking it from scratch. So I deleted the database and the website, remade the website so it looked like an actual thing on the internet from the year 2020, added a password recovery system and all that jazz, and now I have Karen complaining to me because our database is no longer a security liability. Awesome. I walked her through the arcane process of resetting her password (enter your email, check your mailbox, click the link on the password reset email) and at the end she's like "Well I don't know, this all seems very complicated, can't you put it back like it used to be?" Worst part? You might imagine Karen as an older lady who struggles with technology but nope, she's a millennial like me! I'm very tired and it's just Tuesday. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 03:17 PM PDT Back Story: Since the plague descended upon us, we've had to migrate 90% our users into teleworking. We had to send their workstations home with them and set them up with a VPN. It's gone about as smoothly as sandpaper on a lion's posterior. But enough about that... on to the story at hand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So one of our "frequent flyers" calls in. Says he can't get signed into Windows. Me: "So once you click connect, do you get a green checkmark by networking?". User: "No, it says server not found.". Me: "Hmm... Can you double check that the ethernet cable is plugged in correctly.". User: "That blue cable?". Me: "Yes. Looks like a big phone cable.". User: "Oh, I didn't use that.". Me: ".............. you need that plugged in for the internet. That's why it's not working.". User: "No, I have wifi here.". Me: "Sir, our desktops don't have wifi. They need to be plugged in directly.". User: "So you're telling me I have to move this across the house next to that box?". Me: "The modem? Yes.". User: "Is there someone else that can help me maybe?". Me: "No sir. We're all on calls.". He proceeded to call another 5-6 times after this call. My coworkers told him the same thing. [link] [comments]  |
| "No I haven't changed any of the router settings" - He had changed them Posted: 05 May 2020 09:29 AM PDT So I'm not in tech support but am decent enough with computers that I'm the go to guy for my friends and family when they have problems. So that aside here's my story. My uncle lives on a farm that's still on very old copper wires that were first set up for dial up internet so his internet speed is dreadful. Fiber optic cable was being laid down before the lockdown but its now been delayed and he is convinced that due to the construction his "internet is being blocked". However there is decent enough data coverage that a phone hosting wifi will give, not amazing but, much better internet speeds than his internet even before it got worse (his wifi is ~0.5Mbps my phone hosting ~5Mbps), this is what I did if I ever stayed at his house. A key point is that there is good 3G coverage but almost no 4G coverage. He knew that I did this and so asked for some help doing it himself as a temporary solution until the lockdown ends and he gets his new fiber optic. After discussing it with him we agreed it would be more effective for him to get a separate router that would have its own SIM card. So I find him a router that would do the job and even order a larger antenna too help with the possibility of bad mobile signal and he sorted out the SIM card for it. Once everything has arrived at his house we have a video call where i walk him through how to set up the router and attach the antenna. The router could be programmed and set up remotely so I did that part for him. I immediately noticed that the router wouldn't provide any internet connection when it was set to try and pick up 4G signal but as even the mobile provider said that the local area had poor 4G reception this wasn't surprising and the router had the option to only search for and use 3G networks. So I finish everything and he is very pleased as its faster than anything hes ever had in his home. Job well done, I bid him goodbye, feeling quite good about myself, and tell him not to change any of the settings cause that could affect its performance. 3 days later I get a call at 9 in the morning, now I'm a university student and its a lockdown so I was peacefully dreaming and the call woke me up. Uncle: "This thing is useless it keeps cutting out and its far too slow" Me (half asleep): "Ok that's odd have you moved it from where you set it up and is the symbol saying it has internet glowing green?" Uncle: "I haven't moved it! This this costs so much and its not b***** working!" Me: "OK noted, but is the symbol green?" Uncle: "No its flashing white" Me: "OK that means it is searching for signal but cant find it, have you changed the network settings at all?" Uncle: "No I didn't change anything its just useless." I then clamber out of bed and log into his router from my computer. I go straight into network settings and see that the router is only searching for 4G networks. Me: "It says here that its searching for 4G signals, I didn't do that." Uncle: "Yeah I told it to do that, 4G is faster and i wanted faster internet." Me: "So you did change the settings?" Uncle: "No that just makes it faster, you were telling it to be slower." Me: "No you told the router to only search for a signal that's not in your area." Uncle: "There is signal in my area my phone is 4G and it never has any problems." Me: "Pull out your phone and look at the signal bar on it, what does it say next to it?" Uncle: "3G" Me: "There you go." [link] [comments]  |
| You're already connected to the network Posted: 05 May 2020 06:43 PM PDT I work in IT/ tech support for truck drivers and the associates of the company. They are not very tech savvy, just putting that out there now. I got a call from an associate. He was in office, travelled from home because he couldn't log into windows (if he couldn't log into just his VPN, he wouldn't have had to go back to the office). Password reset, no problem. Well I get his password reset for him on my end, assist him in making a new one and syncing it to the system. He starts talking about wanting to try the VPN to make sure itll work from home. The convo ensues something like this. Associate: "Okay, I took out the blue cord and I'm trying to connect to the wifi." Me: "Why are you trying to connect to the wifi, sir?" Associate: "To make sure the VPN will work." Me: "Sir, you're at a company site. The VPN is part of the company network and if you're connected to it through the wifi or the ethernet cord, you're not going to be able to connect to the VPN." He said something after that and I cant remember exactly what it was but it was something about how he knew it would need to work in office first. Me: "Sir, you already have access, you can't have access a second time, if that makes sense." Associate: "Okay, I'm connected to the wifi. Now let me try to connect to the vpn." At that point I put myself on mute and started cussing the guy out because the guy wasn't listening to me. He tries to connect to the VPN and gets the message "you already have access." And he read that aloud so I was hoping he'd get the idea that the VPN wasn't going to connect in office. Associate: "Aw man. It's probably not going to work from home if I'm getting that message." I'm glad I was still on mute because I face palmed and it was loud. Me: "Sir, I promise you it will work from home. I will give you the ticket number for the call and if you have more issues, call us back. We are 24/7." I gave him the ticket number and sent him on his way. As far as I know, he didn't call back. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 12:45 PM PDT I'm not tech support, but handy with computers, friends and family often ask me to "have a look" at anything that may not be working. This story starts with a friend's Mum who was setting up her laptop to be like a desktop, (separate monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.) So she could work more comfortably during lockdown. I had been on call with her for roughly an hour the previous day to talk her through what she had to do. She was using the TV from the guest bedroom as a monitor and bought a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse set. These came with small USB sticks to plug into the laptop that then connected to the controller. $ME: = Me $Sue = Friend's Mum. (Not real name) Sue: I have everything set up now, except for my keyboard and mouse. I can't figure out how to connect them. Me: okay, have you got the USB stick. Sue: no let me grab one now, (I was a little confused why she said "grab one" rather than "grab it") Sue: Okay, got one. Me: okay, in the box there should be instructions on how to connect them Sue: I threw the box away... Me: Facepalm deep breath okay, well it shouldn't be too complicated, are the batteries in? Sue: in where? Me: in the keyboard and mouse Sue: hang on, I'll check... yes they are. Me: okay, plug the USB stick for the mouse into the laptop Sue: done, Me: now there should be a button on the stick and the mouse, try holding them at the same time. Sue: I can't find the button on the stick. Me: okay, (I began piecing together) are you sure it's the right stick? Sue: it's just one from the drawer, I think it has some files on it, does it matter? Me: hang on? Are you using a MEMORY STICK? Sue: yes you said I needed the stick. Me: No, the stick it came with Sue: but I threw that away, I already have loads of memory sticks... Me: it's not a memory stick!! Its to connect to the mouse, why didn't you keep it?? Sue: I don't think I need to plug anything in. The box said it was Wireless!!! annoyed grunt I'm not a good writer so pick me up on any mistakes. [link] [comments]  |
| I want to be able to use both of my monitors. Posted: 05 May 2020 08:43 AM PDT COVID19 remote work fun. Had a user submit a ticket that they could not use both of their monitors. (Laptop and second screen) I respond to this ticket with how to adjust the display settings in windows.User sends a message back that it is still not working. I remote on to look. On my side, I only see one screen as well.I then go over making sure settings are correct, and that she has everything plugged in correctly. Me: Tell me what you see, is the laptop the screen that you can see an image, or the second monitor. User: I can see the display on the monitor. Me: Okay, (double checking the settings) is the laptop screen black? User: I'm not sure, the laptop is closed. Me: Wait what? (Nice part about remote work, is that the user can't see me hit the desk with my head…) User: Well, I wanted to get everything working first before I setup the location of the laptop in its final place. (Guess the user was setting up their workstation at home.) Me: Please open your laptop the dual screen will not display an image / show up in the display settings until the laptop is open. User: Oh, well now I feel silly. After the user opens the laptop, everything shows up correctly, and I verify that the position of the laptop and monitor are to the user's liking.I finish up, and get off the users machine. Then at the end of the day, I get an email forwarded from my boss. The user had sent a thank you email to all the upper management stating the they were very thankful for me and all of IT, for the good work and patience with them. Me: (Is this real life?) [link] [comments]  |
| User typed in the entire text of a label instead of the container ID Posted: 05 May 2020 08:45 AM PDT My position at my company is mainly geared toward maintaining and adding to a system that's been slowly built up over five years, which is used by the employees to track the movement of devices throughout our company. Last night a user ran into an issue while attempting to reprint a container label. The system asks them to type in the item's ID, and prints it out. (They can reprint device labels, container labels, work bench labels, etc all using the same page.) Every work station on the floor has a scanner. The labels print out with barcodes. Scanning the bar code types in the ID written on the label. There's a tricky bit since the labels display the container ID with underscores, but the actual ID (and the barcode) doesn't have any. But scanning the bar code works very well. Nobody has had issues with it for a while. Enter this user. They attempted to reprint a label for a container, with a label that reads The system gives them an error message: They got in touch with another developer overnight. Now, i didn't create this part of the program, but I've been working on a lot of the code adjacent to the reprint process, so the other dev tried some troubleshooting with the customer but didn't go into the code itself. Which is fine - I don't expect someone else to try to figure out a problem with code that I've been playing with, and since this wasn't a show-stopping issue, it could wait until morning. So I get logged in this morning and see I've been added to the email chain, and take a look. My first thought is that the barcode was printed incorrectly, somehow adding the "ID:" part. Nope. Created some new containers, reprinted existing ones (fed the output into an online label previewer, since I don't have a Zebra printer at home) and the barcode scanner app on my phone was able to pick up the correct info from my monitor. So why did the scanner pick up "ID:" along with the actual ID string? Then I get an idea. I ask the user and the other dev if they were typing in the container ID, or scanning it. They were typing it. Specifically, they were typing "ID:BOX_123_456". At no point did the other dev, who has access to the same database information that I do, realize that none of our containers get an ID that starts with "ID:". They had the user try typing it with underscores, without underscores... but never without "ID:". I don't know if they knew that the user was writing that, or just didn't know that it wasn't part of the actual ID, but this obvious mistake on the user's part wasted a significant amount of time for several people. I'm changing the program to remove "ID:" from the user's input, as well as any underscores or whitespace. That'll teach me to rely on users equipped with barcode scanners to actually, you know, use them, instead of typing in the code manually. I mean, the device ID's are 12-15 numbers long, but I guess some people like typing that in each time. Let's see what they manage to break next. [link] [comments]  |
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