Testing the depth of user stupidity

[OverdueSpy]

I think that whether or not you blame the individual is dependent upon the critera defining the situation. Normally I would agree that the admin is at fault. However, think back to the I Love You! virus. No virus definitions were quickly available to detect the virus and we were forced to depend on e-mail warnings and employee training. I was of the opinion that if you received 30 copies of an e-mail all with the same subject line, then anyone with the lick of since equal to a doorknob should have suspected that this might be a virus. Unfortunately our employees seem to conviently forget this. I even had one employee to open that particular virus 3 times, before the updated detection files were released. What do you do?

[s33ka]

I been reading this as it develops, and I would just like to say that it is not the user who is at fault, neither is it the Admin's or the rest of the IT Dept. In fact it is a combination, of everyone, from my point of view as tech support, I found it in valuable just to spend time as oftern as possible with my users just to help EDUCATE them, the biggest threat to Security is the uneducated, yes I know that there are users out there who no matter what will not and quite possibly can not be educated, it falls on us all to do the best we can.

Like the age old argument which is the better OS, neither! its what ever does the job best, the more we can educated and get it to sink in, the more time we can spend of other issues that everyone one can benefit from.

Is this not true!!

[foxyloxley]

Not just the poor ? users, I've just started a new job, desk top support, repair and reimage, with some tech assist to the field engineers. One engineer ? called to say that the base unit was 'clunking'when it was shaken ??? When asked to open and check ? he said that they had a 'no open box policy' on that customers premises ??? when the offending unit was returned, I found the CPU fan / heatsink had fallen off !!!!! I've only been working for a MONTH, and I want that guys job. No responsibility, and if it doesn't work, straight back to depot. Also had other 'engineers' asking how to FIND BIOS !!!!!!!!!!!!! Still; made me laffff !!!!

[Tiger Shark]

Just remember...... For the masses......

If you can drop to a command prompt you are GOD.....

Some of the "masses" are employers in the "computer" business.....

[MURACU]

OverdueSpy
I was thinking of the I love you virus when i made my previous post. We were getting e-mail floods for days after we got things under control because users were opening the mails that they had save in their archives. I will admit that our users are getting better security wise but it took a couple of serious virus attacks and a lot of sweat on our side to educate them before they got the message.
In my experiance the users that cause the most problems are normally in the IT departement itself. They know that all the security rules apply only to the basic users who know nothing about computers.......

[valhallen]

Sorry for the late update - what can i say it was a friday night

well as expected within 30mins of sending the email i started to recieve pop-ups not a great amount but some - averging about 1 or 2 every 10mins

but then they just stopped.....but after going to speak to some of the people who had sent me pop-ups i discovered why they stopped....turns out word travels faster than email - those who got them had said to other people so of course they didn't run it - so wasn't quite a fair test

v_Ln

[foxyloxley]

.....but after going to speak to some of the people who had sent me pop-ups i discovered why they stopped....turns out word travels faster than email

The above from v_Ln, I would suspect that the real reason is not that your users are getting more security savvy ?
But that the fastest travelling words would be the law according to your goodself!
It appears they are definitely getting v_Ln savvy

[nihil]

/off topic

Transparencies/slides in laser printers

I have had this problem as well, the point is that the standard OHP material will not work in a laser............you have to pay the extra money for the correct media?

A slightly cheaper solution is to print the slides then take them to the photocopier and use photocopy film.

Or there is always "powerpoint" (or similar) and a data projector?

Just a few thoughts............good office printers are rather expensive? and it would be cheaper to leave the correct stationery in the cupboard?

Cheers

[wyverspur]

Maybe you should have done it more like what a virus writer would do,
where nothing pops-up on their screen when clicked,
I have known users I have services where they clicked it multiple times
trying to get it to do something.
Then maybe it would give a more realistic result.

Just a thought....

[wildred]

At my job, we have it set so that it will strip all attachments that are exe pif scr bat etc. The only attachments it will allow are images. So far, so good.