O.M.G.

[red-scully.livejournal.com]

First time post!  I am so glad I've found a community that makes me feel like I'm not alone in dealing with stupidity every day of the week.  I'm a lowly administrator on an IT helpdesk, so all I'm allowed to do is password resets etc (although I do actually know how to do a lot more.. but It Is Forbidden by the powers that be.  OH NOES)  Anyway, I had this little cracker yesterday:

Me:  Hi, this is red_scully of the WECAN'TCOPE Helpdesk.  You called to say you needed to have your password reset?
Scottish Idiot:  Yes, that's right, I can't remember it since I changed it yesterday.
Me:  *rollseyes*  Not to worry sir, I've reset it now to PASSWORDNOUSEREVERUNDERSTANDS.EVER.  You'll be prompted to change it to something new when you log in.
SI:  Ok, thanks.  I can't get to the PC at the moment so I've made a note of it.
Me:  That's fine sir, please just call back if you encounter more problems.  *PLEASE DON'T RING ME*

-- end call --

Ten minutes later...

Me:  WECAN'TCOPE Helpdesk, how can I help you?
SI:  Hi, this is Scottish Idiot, you reset my password, but it's not working.
Me:  Ok, let me just check the account isn't locked.  *it isn't*  Ok, can you just tell me what password you're using?
SI:  *recites password perfectly*
Me:  Ok, that is correct, can you just try it once more and tell me what exactly happens when you try to log in?
SI:  It tells me I need to change my password.
Me:  Ok, that's good, so then what happens when you try to change it?
SI:  Oh... so I'm allowed to put in the new one?
Me:  Yes, that's why we reset it... so you can change it to something new.
SI:  Oh, ok.  Thanks.
Me:  *HEADDESK*

Comments

[tecie.livejournal.com]

I know exactly where you're coming from... right now the UNIX Sys Admin group I'm in doesn't have a level 1, so we get all of those wonderful pw reset tickets.

The worst ones are the dbas. I swear I've a few that didn't know how to telnet into a server to change their passwords and asked me to just set it to non expiring so they wouldn't have to deal with it.

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

"I don't care if anyone knows my password-- I don't keep anything important on my computer."
"Hmm, well, what about the files on the server you connect to-- are those important? Anything confidential in there?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, anyone with your computer password can see those files and delete them. So change your password."
"Okay, I will."

SURPRISINGLY LITTLE TIME PASSES.

"I don't care if anyone knows my password-- I don't keep anything important on my computer."

[megpie71.livejournal.com]

At this point, it is time to start removing privileges. Things like network access are a good start, because that usually means their innernets access goes away too.

Of course, if things get really annoying, the best thing to do in the interests of good computer security is to remove their breathing privs.

[goose-entity.livejournal.com]

is there any particular reason why you felt you had to specify the luser was Scottish?

[red-scully.livejournal.com]

No, actually - I guess just to give you an idea of what he sounded like, lol. Didn't intend to offend but I can see why it could be misconstrued!

[goose-entity.livejournal.com]

usually no qualifier beyond "luser" is needed - despite the red dots that Firefox insists on putting below "luser" ;)