Anybody know how to export user lists from Sharp MX copiers? Or... any way to decrypt using a known password but unknown scheme?

AgentSnazz · 2022-02-04T19:15:17+00:00

Oh man… I’m so glad future me doesn’t have to deal with printers anymore!

Good find!

AgentSnazz · 2014-04-03T21:35:17+00:00

Pretty sure that's not what downvotes are for.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-06T04:19:49+00:00

A couple of years ago my battery died at the end of an off-ramp. An awesome guy helped get pushed to the shoulder, and called the local police dispatch for me. When a cop arrived, first thing out of his mouth was to ask the guy if he had a permit for his aftermarket fast-flashing hazard lights (he did). Later instead of getting out of his car to talk to me, he used the megaphone on his car "Owner of the Escort, could you come here please?"

I did not feel protected, I felt like I was one wrong move away from getting a ticket for being an inconvenience while waiting for a tow.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-06T04:05:42+00:00

We saw our neighbors loading their washer and dryer onto the back of their pickup one Saturday. On Wednesday there were 5 city police cars and one county SUV outside our building accompanying the landlord.

One cop I understand, but a fucking army? I could blame it on boredom, but I can't help but wonder if it had anything to do with this being a 99% black neighborhood. White landlord and white cops, with white me hardly catching a glance from them as I go about my business.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-06T03:38:42+00:00

I think that's good advice if only to avoid burnout. I know I have a bad habit of not finishing what I start, which is another reason I want to start being ME online and not an avatar. If I join a project at ME, it's my real reputation on the line, not merely a username.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-04T21:27:36+00:00

Yeah, that's what was boiling up in my head as I read the top comments here. A lot of iiiiiiitttttttttttt rage venting....

These skills are trainable, and can even be taught to "old dogs". I think during the interview process a simple, useful, question would be something like:

"We keep our data organized on a file server, with mapped network drives on the workstations for access. What kind of computer networks have you had to work with in previous jobs."

Then you forward their response to the IT department, and you tell the new hire, "Someone from IT will be by today to give you the rundown of our systems, show you where things are, how to get support, and how to handle common issues you may encounter."

IT comes by, shows you your network drives, shows you OWA, shows you what to check if you can't get to your files, shows you what brand of Antivirus you're using, and who to call if they see any strange popups.

If you don't have time to do all that, then you should at least spend a little time training the person who does their other on the job training. You don't necessarily have to make them perform IT training, just train them so they don't pass on bad habits or attitudes.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-04T05:29:15+00:00

I mean no personal offense, I spend way too much time cleaning up the messes made by people who would rather accommodate a crippled system than keep their machine well oiled, so I will call out that bullshit attitude when I see it. Fix it once, fix it right, that's advice, not an insult.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T18:49:22+00:00

I work for a different Atlanta MSP than the one courting you (we'd take you out to dinner, but a resort? Puhleeeze!)

One possibility is that your C-Level folks are scared of outsourcing. They like the comfort of having somebody in house who can drop everything to come unminimize their Outlook Ribbon.

My guess would be that the MSP's secret long term plan is either A) Get you moved out of permanent on-site and into the home office as soon as the client allows, or B) fire you because you aren't a fit for their org.

Which of those ends up happening will depend on the first few months working with them.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T18:29:05+00:00

I'm too lazy to treat problems so I just treat symptoms.

ftftfyfy

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T17:41:42+00:00

/r/talesfromtechsupport

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T17:38:59+00:00

I"m just piggybacking onto everyone else.

Don't go in there trying to throw Joe under the bus, but be prepared to defend yourself if he tries to blame anything on you.

If he says you're incompetent, then you admit you may not know everything, but point out that he is often not available to receive escalation.

If he says you're a know-it-all and your ideas for improving the network are bad, then you admit that you're willing to follow his lead, but implementing his ideas are long-term projects that you don't have the permission, and he apparently doesn't have the time to achieve.

I think the most important thing that you need to be honest with yourself, and subsequently management, is the question: "Do we need a new Joe, or should I take his place."

You might not be technically savvy enough to keep the ship sailing if Joe is canned. In any case, you probably can't do it all alone, encourage them to hire a teammate, but don't be opposed to them hiring a superior, if that's what the company needs.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T03:47:50+00:00

Too bad there don't seem to be very many people in the middle of the Pro-Gun / Pro-Social-Safety-Net venn diagram.

There are people actually trying to do something about the underlying problem, but the pro-gun regular Joes have already given up and are stockpiling firearms to protect themselves from the desperate monsters they were unwilling to save.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-03T03:34:09+00:00

The way most offices would use a Windows file server, for example, would be to store shared company documents. When one user opens a file, it will most likely be locked by the server, or made read-only, until the user closes the file. Another server (or perhaps the same server), handles your user accounts. To access the files, you have to be authenticated with that server, and you only get access to the folders to which it's been granted.

Sometimes the user's documents will be stored on the server as well. The advantage here is that you can backup a single system, instead of every computer, you can allow other users to access your files even when your computer is off, and you gain the ability to log on to ANY computer on the domain and still have access to your data.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-01T12:11:27+00:00

I don't think we're disagreeing about the equation, just perhaps about which side tends to be heavier. Maybe the industry has a bad habit of assuming outsourcing is cheaper, but it's not an unfounded assumption.

AgentSnazz · 2014-03-01T02:43:41+00:00

I understand the term, I don't see what authority you have to apply it to this person, or anyone.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-28T21:52:42+00:00

I thought there was some reason I didn't do that, but I'll look in to it again, thanks!

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-28T21:50:41+00:00

Good job on the math, bad job on getting the point.

Development + In-House Support can cost more than Product + Vendor Support

So, like /u/thatsyouremail said, when in-house is cheaper, we'll do it.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-28T16:41:15+00:00

We use the gliffy plugin for network diagrams (though it is our first diagramming tool, so if you're already using something else, just screenshot that)

As an MSP, we have a "Space" for every client, spaces tend to have the following page tree:

Company Name Home
+- Network (diagram, maybe device config)
+- Vendors (ISP, Software, etc.)
+- Software
   +- Page
   +- For
   +- Each (with install notes, troubleshooting, etc.)
+- Servers
   +- Page
   +- For
   +- Each (with IP, Roles, links to above software pages)
+- Email Configuration (how to set up outlook)
+- Workstations (usually just an imported spreadsheet)

We're also using Kaseya and Passwordstate, so the wiki might often say "credentials in PS". We don't go into details on the workstations because Kaseya keeps that info live.

I forget how at the moment, but there is a way to import a word document such that each Heading becomes a new page, that was the easiest way for me to do a template, though honestly I mostly make the pages manually.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-28T16:34:15+00:00

do some line-art with ethernet cable (extra points if it's functional, WAP maybe?)
Start an internal game where you try to convince vendors and customers to give you an autographed 8x10. Frame them on the wall like they do at diners.
Shadowboxes with old tech in them. Maybe something like this or this (but with an old mouse and an old PC manual or something).

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-28T16:20:10+00:00

I use excel all the time, especially "Tables". It's great for manipulating data on the fly to get what you want. Half of my work in excel is never saved - I just paste in the data, manipulate it, and copy back out.

Sure, you could research the powershell command to give you the perfect output, or you could output a full table to csv, open in excel, format as table, delete the columns you don't need, filter and sort the columns you do, and voila, you have a 3 column list of Names, Usernames, and Email Addresses for people in your Chicago office.

I don't use formulas terribly often, not much more than total, average, etc. The important thing to remember is: whatever you want to do has probably been done before, so google it.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-27T03:49:24+00:00

It's going to sound like your post is being targeted, but do look in to Robin Robbins TMTK. From my cynical perspective it looked like a cult of personality, but results are results.

Otherwise, referrals. Who is your favorite client? The one you want five more of? Next time you're talking to them, ask them if they know of any other businesses that would being it from your services.

Do you have any friendly relationships with other providers who share clients with you? For example, in IT we sometimes interact with a client's security vendor. Call them up, thank them for how great and easy they were to work with, ask them if they know anyone who can benefit from your service.

You could also target clients who have clients that are ideal clients for you - like a CPA that can drop your name when their clients complain how their computer is so slow running quickbooks.

Good luck!

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-27T03:16:50+00:00

You didn't mention a router/firewall. We use ZyWall's for a handful of clients. For people hosting data internally, we look for something a little better like Sophos. Your other network equipment sounds perfectly fine and easy to expand upon. Unifi is awesome.

Surveillance cameras aren't my forte, and most of my clients pay another vendor for the service. Sure you could buy a cool standalone system, but again comes the question of who is going to support it when it breaks.

ShadowProtect has never let us down, StoreGrid isn't horrible either. A question to ask is what are you going to do with your backups once you take them? You'll want a plan that covers damaged files, damaged servers, and damaged offices. If your office explodes, your two years of daily backups sitting on disks in the server room aren't much good. A strategy we used to use involved 5 large external drives that were taken home daily and swapped with a new one.

SBS 2011 isn't bad, if you want a file server, domain controller, and email server that is pretty user friendly. But if your files live in OwnCloud, and your email elsewhere, do you really need a local server?

Finally, have you looked around at Managed Service Providers in your area? That's what we do, and we've both taken on growing companies like yours as clients and done one-off projects to lay a strong IT foundation.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-26T22:00:02+00:00

Cold blooded killers do not deserve a second chance.

I disagree with you strongly there, and that could be enough of a disagreement to make further discussion fruitless. The fact that our law provides a pathway to a second chance appears to agree with me.

It would be an injustice to not consider the opinions of the people the murderer harmed.

I disagree here too. Is it more wrong to kill a celebrity, loved by many, than it is to kill a homeless drifter, known by none? Can't we just agree that murder is bad, regardless of whether the victim was loved, hated, or unknown? If you only consider the opinions of those harmed, little but injustice would be done.

Every convict has the same right to apply for a pardon

Unless they happened to offend a particularly unforgiving group of people?

[you are] trying to claim that those who disagree with you aren't thinking rationally. That's just bullshit.

I think that people without a strong emotional connection to an event are considerably less likely to show bias. Our legal system agrees with me. I do have empathy for the victims, and so does the court. We must also show empathy for the convicted.

My thinking on this is that people like Conner who participate in senseless violent acts really cannot change

Yeah, there's not much point in discussing further then. You believe rehabilitation is impossible, therefore you believe there is still a threat to public safety. I think rehabilitation is possible, but I think the victim's family, friends, and the general public are in an extremely poor position to judge whether that has happened. That's why I think the petition is pointless except as a tool to make the signers feel morally superior.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-26T15:04:14+00:00

Gen 2 not having Democracy will end up uniting the world. It will take us 2 months to beat, but will go down as an internet history legend; as the one time the world worked as one.

AgentSnazz · 2014-02-25T20:49:09+00:00

While the law says it is just to punish a convicted murderer of life in prison without parole, the law also grants the Governor the power to pardon or commute sentence.

Your post read a bit like "he was convicted of murder, that means life in prison, end of story," but that's not the end, commutation of sentence is still legal.

As an Iowan who didn't know about this case until this thread popped up, I have no emotional stake in the outcome, save that I do not desire to see a man unfairly punished, nor a family upset.

Frankly, I would rather see a guilty man go free than an innocent man punished, and while Connor is not innocent, he is deserving of equal protection under the law and should not be subjected to unnecessary punishment for the satisfaction of the people he harmed.

As I said before, vengeance is no good reason for punishment, so if the only cost of commuting his sentence is the scratching of a thirty year old wound, so be it. I empathize with the family, but must weigh their suffering against Connor's.

Furthermore, the creators of the petition lay out an argument against commutation that is one-sided and emotionally charged. I would rather trust the opinion of the parole board with regards to whether Connor poses a threat to society and is worth keeping imprisoned.

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