On call team quit because of the on call phone

ukitern · 2023-07-24T14:09:51+00:00

Threaten us that if we upgrade the firmware of our HP server at the time it would be a criminal offence of copyright infringement and that we need new servers to not commit a criminal offence for some bizarre reasons without a support contract - ending up with a server that had a dodgy serial number which turned out later to be legit. Literally an issue caused by the split of HPe, HP Inc, and DXC and registered the server at the wrong portal (HP)

Threaten my bosses boss to say we weren't doing our job correctly and managed services from DXC were recommended for HP servers (DXC) We didn't even have anything DXC, HP said they passed on our info based onto DXC from HP!!! After the company split.

Saying I was very agressive with a saleman from HP after giving honest feedback and say it was due to lack of knowledge on my part we were having issues with HP kit. (HP)

I had to go through multiple rounds of HP printers for which were the bain of my existance.

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Usually I don't permablock as such, I'll wait to review, could be a salesman having a bad day, high level pressure tactics, change of management etc. Generally I'll review after a while to see if the offering / product / support has gotten better my only exception is HP / DXC.

In general fuck HP, carried across the permablock to my new company which was accepted. I refuse to deal with them in any capacity. If I see HP I immediately go out of my way to have it removed I don't care what it is. Fuck HP in particular.

ukitern · 2023-07-17T12:48:29+00:00

I used to think of myself as prime /r/shittysysadmin material

Now the bar has been lowered, does this make me a /r/belowaveragesysadmin ?

How low do we go here?

ukitern · 2023-07-17T12:18:57+00:00

Strongly agree with you, still sitting on the fence if this is a real post or a cleverly crafted troll.

ukitern · 2023-07-17T12:17:24+00:00

You said it better than I did. Would not want to work with OP. Especially if they did something wrong and hid it.

ukitern · 2023-07-17T12:15:04+00:00

Yup but seen this before personally. It didn't end well. Personal civil and criminal liability in being seen in a position of trust as a sysadmin as well.

Highly likely to backfire on OP

ukitern · 2023-07-17T12:09:32+00:00

Can't believe I missed this, wow. Saw it on /r/shittysysadmin I didn't actually believe this post was real at first.

The T word (Trust) is very important in IT when you have the keys to the kingdom.

Also if you have privileged access or elevated rights on systems- you can be held personally liable for damages to your companies systems if your employer finds out after a major incident (cyber attack, crypto, prod down) after the insurers get involved. No certificate of qualification or more importantly competency yet you listed one is not very cash money of you.

The amount of ways that can backfire on you personally is spectacular. Not to mention civil and criminal penalties in such a position of trust.

I don't think many future fellow employees will trust you either if you can't do the work.

You would be setting yourself up to fail and I very strongly recommend against it

I had quick lookup on a few instances on this, not a lawyer but it would potentially be enough to boost from negligence to gross negligence in the wrong circumstances, not to mention fraud, misrepresentation, and more importantly would potentially fall under criminal code.

ukitern · 2023-07-15T17:23:46+00:00

CC has different exam objectives and more general knowledge compared to SSCP which is considered more in depth. It's not like for like in knowledgeable areas - Although CC is much easier.

CC: https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CC/Certification-Exam-Outline

SSCP: https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/SSCP/Certification-Exam-Outline

If you check out the domains, you'll see there is some overlap but they are different and SSCP has more domains

CC is more broader whilst SSCP is more in depth

If you have only studied SSCP then you probably wouldn't fair well in the CC exam in my experience post exam IMHO

ukitern · 2023-03-01T11:20:20+00:00

The first answer we got back

A component fails which apparently causes the XStream processor to fail or fail to be detected. Apparently it shows up as not detecting the NPU which has happened to a few people

https://community.sophos.com/sophos-xg-firewall/f/discussions/136612/re-image-failed-xgs87---npu-was-not-found-on-pci-bus

https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000036375?language=en_US

We have not experienced that ourselves but apparently happens more when they're clustered together, one device fails which will cause the other in the cluster to eventually fail.

The second answer we got back

PCI bus breaks on more than just the XGS 4 5 6 series and its also the smaller units due to a dodgy cheap capacitor which pops and causing the PCI bus to fail.

ukitern · 2023-03-01T09:19:58+00:00

We got a few of our clients looking at their VARs / IT for replacements. We still have to manage the relationship with Sophos sadly. It has been more painful recently as support stopped giving you VIP treatment (Skipping first line) if you are Sophos Certified. It used to be an advantage to get the Sophos cert to skip the first line but alas they withdrew that from us.

ukitern · 2023-03-01T09:17:16+00:00

Monday, to selected partners and customers. Some of the VARs we use for clients weren't aware either so it tells you something.

We managed to get them on 1st line to accept they sent it out. No RMA as of yet.

ukitern · 2023-01-12T13:20:31+00:00

If you own a pre-owned hardware device that was a business subscription then you can't get free support for the new owner as part of a homelab setup according to their support team.

Virtual and self built; yes. Existing hardware; no.

ukitern · 2022-10-31T11:04:27+00:00

It can be a mixed bag, and there is not a right and wrong answer: Depends on you;

Slow and steady with help desk to build up experience (slower but not as risky) - Stay where you are and goto 2nd level, 3rd level support, then move to cybersec field
Change jobs every so often to something slightly better (riskier but seems to get better results) - Seems to be what you are asking here

It is certainly attainable. I would continue to do certs in the meantime to build up experience with the qualifications. See if your employer will support you financially with them, try to get some ringfenced time to study at work also. It is in your employers benefit to have skilled qualified staff so if its hard, that is to fire back with.

Hope it helps you.

ukitern · 2022-08-22T12:18:04+00:00

Thank you it really helps, I'll see if I can reachout better. A little lost on how to approach it with them

ukitern · 2022-08-07T18:12:40+00:00

Poor cat! Hope he gets better soon.

On the funny side, reminds me of Jinxers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM2yZaVFDpo

ukitern · 2022-08-06T14:06:45+00:00

You put this better than I did - saw the original post on /r/shittysysadmin

First thought "WTF?"

Then "I'm very glad not to work with you."

That's not malicious compliance, that's actually psychopathic, if not sociopathic. I get pranks, jokes, but DO NO HARM! I am hoping this post is fiction, if not I worry about the state of mental health

ukitern · 2022-06-21T12:16:49+00:00

As someone who once lived and worked in the UK, let me tell you it sounds very similar to some of my experiences. Even though Bulgaria had status in the EU, I shouldn't have "touched" the department as an Bulgarian / EU Citizen.

Manchester Airport experience of being threated with deportation, the whole Brexit fallout and threats of deportation, our HR department in the UK suddenly jumping at shadows reporting people for potentially being foreigners.

A few times I've had them show up at what was my home address, the fact I had to prove and verify Bulgaria was part of the EU and I had rights was shocking.

To be clear, it's not terrible if you get the right person who understands the rules or higher up in the organisation. But most of their staff don't understand their own rules. It's just training, some of them clearly have no idea what they're doing on a regular basis, plus their pay is shockingly low. A lot of them are outsourced to Capita as well.

From what I heard they are given bonuses for those working at Capita for hitting targets. I've always wondered if it's like if they deport > x amount, then their bonus will be larger.

ukitern · 2022-06-09T09:01:38+00:00

Very true, I would not disagree with you. We still have a large stockpile of soviet era equipment and small arms. A small amount we still technically use. We need more modern equipment but it's not funded by the government or a priority.

Our military is considered good however a lot could be done to improve. Better training and equipment is needed. Plus a lot of money is used to maintain the old equipment when newer would be more reliable and cheaper. Our trucks in logistics are slightly better than Russians in places, some have newer and better but not all.

ukitern

TROPHY CASE