notacomputergeek

I’ve personally seen all the following while working in IT. Sometimes because someone else worked on the problem and now the end user has a bigger problem. So much time is spent troubleshooting someone else’s mistake. Do it right the first time and if you don’t know what you’re doing – don’t.

1. Cable installers who don’t label anything. This can lengthen network troubleshooting time exponentially, since you have no idea where the other end is.

2. Devices plugged straight into a wall outlet. At least use a power strip, but an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) is preferred. I’ve seen electrical surges fry many pieces of equipment.

3. Plug a USB cord into an ethernet port – yes, it will fit, but it won’t work.

4. Plug both ends of an ethernet cord to the same switch (creating a loop). “Why are these two ports flashing faster than lightening?”, he said. This will bring a network to its knees.

5. Plug in a router to use as a switch and the router still has DHCP turned on. You will likely end up with multiple instances of the same IP address on two devices.

6. Setting up network printers with a dynamic IP address. It’s possible the printer will get a different IP address when rebooted. This results in the printer showing offline, since it may not be where the computer expects it to be.

7. Multiple wireless extenders used to get Wi-Fi to the other side of the building. The extender only relays the same signal, so if your extender is getting a poor signal, it can only boost a poor signal. It’s also a daisy chain, so if one goes down or loses connection, nothing works beyond that one.

8. Admins who don’t change anything about a user’s account after they leave the company. DOH! Can you say “vulnerability”? In a company with about 80 users, I identified 60 active accounts of previous employees. This inaction had probably gone on for years.

9. Companies buy whatever computer hardware they want (usually, the cheapest). Standardization is a key support component, and this creates a support nightmare.

10. Passwords on sticky notes attached to the monitor. I still see this, but it’s usually under something, like a keyboard. I once saw the janitor’s kid playing games late at night on a work computer he was able to sign onto. How secure is your environment?