Not a race I want to win!
Today is the last day for our IT Manager (a department of 1). We’ve known for 2 months that he was leaving. Our new IT Manager starts tomorrow. I mean, there’s no reason to pay for both of them at once is there? Surely the old manager documented everything so well that there isn’t any reason the two of them would want to talk?? :smack:
Every time I log in today…
“Your password will expire in 12 days. Would you like to change it now?”
No, I would like for you to FOAD for 12 days. I will change my password when I absolutely have to and not one femtosecond earlier.
Tomorrow…
“Your password will expire in 11 days. Would you like to change it now?”
See previous response.
And then in 12 days I’ll be bitching because I have to train my fingers to type a new password.
First world problems indeed.
I did find the warnings convenient when I was subjected to them (although I am pretty sure I was never subjected to ones for that long). It’s handy when the ultimate YOU WILL CHANGE IT NOW time and date comes at a time when you are in the middle of something else and really aren’t in the mood for mental gymnastics right then (which you will instantly forget because you had something else on your mind when you were thinking up the required arcane mishmash of symbols required for a new password).
When we received our new computers, we discovered they made one interesting change. Our old ones were programmed to start the countdown notice 15 days prior to the deadline no matter where you were. IT changed this to only receiving the countdown notice if you’re docked in office. Being offsite for two weeks is fairly common, so we’ve had a HUGE increase in suspensions.
LOGIC would say change that, but it IS government, so…
It was a never a real trial but I had a professor in college who swore up down and sideways that if you sent her an email with the same title as a previous email, the new email would override the old email. So if I sent an email with the subject Capstone Project and she responded with Re: Capstone Project, I’d have to respond with something like Re: Capstone Project 2 and Re: Capstone Project 3 and so on.
One day I, for one reason or another actually was at her computer and by golly if that isn’t exactly what it did. Unfortunately she was pretty territorial so I was never able to poke around and find out what she had done to make it do that. I believe she’s since been upgraded to Win7 which I’m sure was a wonderful experience for some poor student IT worker.
Oh what a fun day.
Our team’s Outlook server crashed. I call and get some arrogant prick who almost shouts over the top of me denying and contradicting everything I say and not letting me talk until I tell her which area I work for (a tech support area), that we’re a business critical support team, and the tone of voice is demonstrating that I’m getting really fucking pissed off. Tells me no one else has reported the issue. I say yeah, that’s what I happen to be doing right now.
Attitude changed for the better after the bit above, then she put me on hold for 10 minutes to check with the Outlook support people. Turns out that YES, our server is having issues, I am the first one to report it, and YES, every fucking thing I had said that she contradicted me on was, in fact, true. Major attitude change then, for the better.
Still emailed my boss complaining about the rude and unprofessional treatment. Later, he sent me a copy of the email he sent to that person’s manager, in which he basically professionally bitch slapped the person without ever naming them. (But provided the case information, which will show who it was).
Oh, and at the very same time our Outlook was fucked, our team website went down too! :smack: Completely different server. We spent the next half of the day unburying ourselves from the pile of work that accumulated while we were crippled.
Oh man, I fucked that up earlier this month. Got an e-mail, “blah blah, you have to change your password every 6 months, the last time you did was August 13…” I was busy, and noted on my calendar I should change the password Feb 12.
I got locked out of my computer the 10th. :smack:
See, if I’d kept reading and done a little first grade math, I might have realized that when they said X days, it wasn’t the 12th they were referring to, but the 9th. Sigh. One phone call later, after which I admitted I obviously don’t know when 6 months from August 13 is, I got the help desk to let me use my computer again.
You’re not helping with my aneurysm.
I guess I should be grateful I’ve never had that kind of setup: it’s always been “once a password expires, you cannot finish logging in until you set a new one”. Seems like the process you guys are describing would be very prone to getting people locked up.
I was always a big fan of logging in, learning that I had to create a new password, using their stupid rules, forgetting it and then trying to log in after lunch.
I’d call tech support “Hello, this is flatlined and I changed my password today…” Cue much laughing and a password reset.
Ever since our computer and OS upgrade, whenever I have to change my password I have to then call IT and tell them that it now won’t let me in. Apparently this version of windows does not play well with the version of Novell that’s also running.
Yeah, it’s only been twice, so far, but it’s going to come to this. Most of the folks who got the upgrade are fine, but a handful of us get this glitch. Either the Windows password is supposed to reset the Novell password or the other way around. And it mucks it up the first time.
Even with IT on the phone, resetting it from their end, it will take three tries. Which means that the first two passwords I try, which weren’t accepted completely, can’t be used. By the next day or after lunch, I’ll be second-guessing myself about which password finally got through.
If anyone ever complains about the post-it taped to my screen for a week, I’ll write the next successful password on the back of their hand. Oh, and we’re supposed to be phasing out Novell, so the problem is supposed to be going away. Although IT admits that we’ve been phasing out Novell for over a year. At least it’s only every 90 days.
I write my passwords at work down and put them in my purse. No one else should be looking in there, but I can still look them up. IT doesn’t need to know about that. 
I’ve been known to use a PDA or smartphone’s notepad capacity for that, since the device does not leave my physical possession (and no one would know where to find that file anyway, unless they have a very good handle on how my mind works).
Back when PIN numbers were assigned and unchangeable I used to carry a little list of phone numbers in my purse. Several of them were people I didn’t know at all and the last 4 digits were my PIN numbers. I searched through phone books to find actual people with those numbers so if anyone found the list each number would be real.
Since I never lost my bank cards I can’t tell you if I was as clever as I think I was but I think I hide my passwords with a totally different even better plan 
I used to stick a very minor variation of the password (such that the proper password was painfully obvious to me given the variant) in my wallet until I was sure I had the password remembered, then I would destroy it (the piece of paper, not my wallet). Poor security given the trivial variation, but I figured it had a tiny bit of security and I never needed to admit to forgetting my password.
Same boat on the passwords. Minor variations on a simple pattern.
About a year and a half ago on a team on-line meeting, I had to do an impromtu demonstration a scripting process. Pulled up one of my scripts. Obviously, there was my password for everyone to see.
Manager: * THAT is your password???* It’s pretty simple, isn’t it?
Me: Would you have guessed it?
Manager: No.
Me: Then it was secure. I’ll be changing it after this meeting.
I read something a while ago about how random words are actually the most secure passwords - words that mean something to you, but are too random for anyone else to guess them.
Thanks. We’re still in limbo because the training we need to actually be allowed to work in customer service isn’t scheduled. Also I just found out that the day after we were transferred management held a meeting to reassure the rest of the department that they fighting for them, and we transferred for performance reasons. :mad: Don’t you just love being stabbed in the back and shat on? :rolleyes:
Are you sure you don’t work for the same company I do? That’s about how long we’ve been retiring Novell.
What really hacks me off about our system is that it pops up a dialogue that I have to respond to every time I log in. And we have apps that ask again because of the way they’re packaged and delivered to the workstations. Of course they time out so I have to reconnect several times a day.
I can deal with having to change every 90 days, just don’t take every opportunity to piss me off the last 2 weeks before time is up.
I’m looking for a temporary job again, and I ran across this ad that caught my eye:
I did this :eek: at the “Required a Female Accounting and Office Clerk,” but then I went :rolleyes: at the “Bi-Lingual is preferred - specially in Hindi/Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic.” Gotta respect the people not afraid to be stereotypes!