This will probably be pretty tame compared to most Pit threads (it’s my first one, cut me some slack) but I have to let a little steam off here.
Late yesterday afternoon I got a sealed envelope from Human Resources marked “confidential.” Not that uncommon, it’s usually stuff dealing with insurance, 401k, or whatever. I open it up and there’s a letter from someone in H.R. in a different division bitching at me that someone (my sister) has sent me some e-mails (turns out to be about 50 of them) that contain an .exe file which is a virus.
The letter goes on to say that I should inform everyone in my address book not to send me .exe or MP3 attachments as it is against company policy and if it happens again I may be disciplined (there is a cutie in H.R. that I wouldn’t mind being disciplined by, but I digress).
I never even opened the attachment because it looked suspicious. Now, I’m thinking “Hello? Dumbass. It’s a virus. It sends itself. What, do you think my sister sat down to play a little gag and sent me a virus 50 times manually?”
I could tell everyone in the fucking world not to send me any e-mails with attachments (or any e-mails at all for that matter), but if I’m in their address book and they get a virus of this type I’m going to get a copy! Should I tell everyone I know, both work related and private that I wish them to take me out of their address books? Yeah, that’s a convenient way to do it. Why not just tell them we’re not going to use e-mail at all anymore?
It wouldn’t have pissed me off if someone had just called me up and said “Look, we keep getting e-mails with .exe files attached that are contaminated. Please do not open the file and please contact the sender to advise them.” But to act like (a) I have some sort of control over it; and (b) that I can control it is fucking insane. I’m considering asking my sister to send it to me again so I can forward it to the dumbass in HR and laugh like a motherfucker when she opens it and sends it to everyone in the company.
Maybe you could get someone in your IT department to,
A) Back you up on the fact that your sister didn’t send you the same thing manually, 50 times.
B) Install some anti-virus software.
C) Install a message inspector that stops unwanted emails from being recieved.
The whole damn thing started because the IT rep, whoever it was, kept getting the e-mail in the “filter” or whatever the hell they use. He e-mailed the bitch in HR that I was getting a virus sent to me and he requested that she address it (printed copies of the e-mail were included in the envelope I received).
I think the IT guy just wanted her to be the communication link to let me know that a virus was repeatedly coming in addressed to me. She, however went overboard in my opinion.
What is it with HR people that they think they are GODS or something? We have similar problems with HR here, people getting on our ass about timecards at 9:00am on the day they’re due, threatening not to pay us if we don’t submit them on time. Who do you think you are? You can’t just NOT pay me. I’ll give you my time card when I’m damn good and ready and I have time to finish it. And you know what, no matter when I give it to you, you’ll still have to process it anyway, so bitching to me is just gonna make me wait until 5.
Sorry if this is considered a hijack. Those f’in hijackers are another bunch of f’s.
He-freaking-lo? As an out of work but experienced Network Admin, I can tell you that if there is a problem with receiving attachments, your IT department can likely put parameters in so they won’t even be accepted by your company’s e-mail system. (Through Exchange server or your e-mail software)
Perhaps you should point them in the direction of some internet virus information so they understand how viruses are spread. What a bunch of dumbfucks.
Also, if you company has a policy about e-mail being for “work use only”, be prepared to be bitched at for getting personal e-mail at work. Just a quick warning for ya’.
Hey, I’m all for a good rant, but have you tried going to HR to explain this like you did to us? At best, the apologize (not bloody likely). At worst, you bring a few kleenex to help them wipe the drool off her chin while she gives you a blank stare.
I don’t think going to HR yesterday afternoon or this morning would have been a very good idea. I was not in a very, shall we say, diplomatic mood.
I have since however discussed it with my boss and he agreed entirely with me. I then sent an e-mail to people in my address list requesting they not send me .exe files. Finally, I sent an e-mail to the HR bitch and advised that I had done as she requested and pointed out the futility of her request in hopes that she won’t send a letter to any others blaming them for something they (nor the sender of the e-mail) had control over. Hopefully that will be the end of it.
Go fuck yourself. You think you’re the only goddamn employee there waiting for a check? We have a JOB to do you dickhead. How about when it comes payday and there’s no money in your account we just tell you, hey tough shit we’ll get to it when we get to it. Wouldn’t like that would ya? You can’t even do the one simple thing that’s required to get paid can you? You need someone to babysit you and beg you for the information you are REQUIRED to provide in a timely manner. No, we DO NOT have to pay you assface. You go ahead and wait with that timecard as long as you want you fuzzy nutsack. It’s lame shitheads like you that make this job a living hell.
I don’t have an address book. Occasionally this means having to look up an email address, but I vastly prefer that to the whole virus thing. I can also usually scour old emails for the addy I need.
I would wager that Gazoo’s company, like most, has a standard address book that gets installed on EVERYONE’S computer. Of course, I don’t add in any of my friends to it. I also don’t use Outlook at home.
Just out of curiousity, how the HELL is one supposed to prevent a third party from sending oneself e-mail? I would document that you’ve e-mailed everybody not to send you executables (or non-business messages, if that’s called for.) But the recipient has absolutely no control over what someone else sends him.
Trust me. I know. My father (who is a wonderful man whom I deeply respect and love dearly) sends me every:
a) chain letter
b) urban legend
c) inspirational message
d) heartwarming glurge
e) lame-ass warmed over joke
f) HI-larious photo hi-jinx
g) canonical list from 1993
h) greeting card
i) dial-a-prayer moment
which he comes across his desktop, despite my daily pleas to cease the endless barrage of internet dreck. The man signs me up for inspirational mailing lists, FOR GOD’S SAKE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! WILL IT NEVER END!!!
ahem. Sorry. Lost control there for a second. Point is, I can’t control what other people send me. All I can do is ask them to quit. This can (unfortunately) prove to be ineffective. Perhaps you should suggest that your e-mail address be slightly changed and you could control who you release the new one two.
LNIX sed:
While I certainly respect the frustrations that a job like yours must carry and I cannot condone the willful withholding of time information from the paymaster; I feel compelled to point out that Yes, YOU DO have to pay employees. There are federal wage and hour laws in this country. Involuntary servitude was made illegal almost 140 years ago.
But, that doesn’t justify employees acting like chumps.
I SO feel for you Gazoo. I can’t tell you how many situations similar to this I’ve seen and have gotten completely, unjustifiably out of hand.
I’m not referring specifically to the e-mail situation, but rather in more general terms to a situation like this:
Employee does something (or doesn’t do something) that, on the face of it, is “against company policy” or otherwise frowned upon.
Employee had no fucking choice but to act (or fail to act) as he did, because (pick one):
(a) he was doing what his fuckwad boss told him to do,
(b) he was working down to the wire to meet a deadline that was completely beyond his control; rather, said 11th hour deadline was completely avoidable if 3 other company fuckwads had done been doing their fucking jobs in the first place, or
Employee is reprimanded, warned, whatever; any attempt to explain one’s actions is completely ignored because (pick one):
(a) higher ups are watching their ass and don’t have the balls to say ‘well, I can see your point, in this one case it really doesn’t matter’
(b) there is such a thick web of fuckwad-higher-ups that any attempt to explain will quickly disappear in the communication network like a fart in the wind , or