There are many stories from those that work, or have worked, in enterprise I.T. where they were taken advantage of from the business they are paid to support. This is one of mine...
This is a story I found one one of my very first websites I ever built for myself. Enjoy :)
July 28, 2011
Most IT support personnel are banned from working on the personal computers of employees of the businesses they work for. The reason is because if that IT technician screws something up, the business is liable. In this story, we follow an IT support representative, who we will call Ryan, that is working on-call one night.
It was late at night and Ryan was about to go to bed when his on-call cell phone rings. It was Debbie, an end user at the place of business that Ryan supports. Since he is on call, Ryan answers the call.
Ryan: Hello this is Ryan.
Debbie: Hi Ryan. I am having a problem with my laptop. Microsoft Excel keeps crashing on me.
Ryan: No problem Debbie. Is this your work laptop or your personal laptop?
Debbie: This is my work laptop and I keep on having problems on it like this. I am getting tired of calling you guys up at night because I can't do my work.
Ryan: Lets get this fixed for you. Try this (Ryan walks Debbie through several steps to attempt to correct the problem.).
Debbie: Ryan, nothing is working and this is getting to be a problem.
Ryan: I understand. Can you at least connect to the internet?
Debbie: Yes, I can open Google.com in Internet Explorer.
Ryan: Great. Let me remote control your computer so I can see what is going on.
Debbie: Hang on, I am going to put my son, Chris, on the line because he knows what to do better than I.
Ryan: ... Ok. (In the background, Ryan can hear talking between one or more people but cannot make out the conversation. Debbie makes Ryan wait about 45 seconds and then Chris gets on the line.)
Chris: Hello?
Ryan: Chris, hi there. This is Ryan with IT Support.
Chirs: Hi Ryan. So what do I need to do?
Ryan: Please go to this website (support site) and enter this code.
Chris: OK. (Chris enters the code on the site, Ryan is now remotely connected to the computer.)
Ryan: I am now connected. (Ryan quickly notices that this is NOT a work laptop. This is someone's personal laptop because it is running a non-approved operating system. Ryan fixes the problem then starts a conversation with Chris.)
Ryan: OK Chris. This laptop is all fixed up.
Chris: Oh thank you very much.
Ryan: (Notices that there are some games installed on the laptop) Wow, I have that game and I love it.
Chris: Oh yeah I play it all the time. It is excellent. I can't wait for the next one to come out.
Ryan: So is this your laptop or your mom's?
Chris: Yup, this is my laptop. I really appreciate you helping me out here man because I couldn't get my homework done and Excel kept crashing on me. (In the background, Ryan hears Debbie say "No! No! What are you doing! I told you not to say that I can get in trouble!" )
Chris: Oh, yeah.. um... well thanks a lot man.
Ryan: No problem. Can I talk to Debbie? Thanks!
Chris: Um.. Sure... (Chris hands the phone to Debbie)
Debbie: Hello? Thanks for helping me out Ryan.
Ryan: Debbie, do you have your work laptop available?
Debbie: Yes.Ryan: Why are you not using it?
Debbie: Oh, but I am. It is right here.
Ryan: Hmm... well that is interesting.
Debbie: What do you mean?
Ryan: Well I am looking at your desk from your work laptop's webcam right now. Your laptop is on your desk. Whose laptop was I connected to?
Debbie: Um... Well this was important to me you helped me out a lot here. I really appreciate the help, Ryan.
Ryan: Ok well everything is all set on the laptop. I am headed off to bed now. I'll have my manager call you tomorrow. Have a great night! (Then he quickly hung up the line and sent an email to his supervisor.)
Don't think that IT support cannot get you in trouble for abusing their 'services'.
They have access to your computer, your files, and your user account.
Don't get on IT support's bad side because I guarantee that if you do, you will not be a happy camper.
- Joey D