2. July 2008 by admin.

I just read a story where is was stated that one in three technology professionals admitted to snooping on their fellow colleagues. Here is the story.

I know I am opening myself up for criticism from the geek community, but I find that absolutely reprehensible. The epitaph “Holier then thou” comes to mind, but I really mean it… using your administrative privileges to snoop on others is not only immoral but usually illegal.

All that is required is a little self-discipline with a smidgen of empathy thrown in, and those urges can be shoved aside.  Believe me… I’ve been tempted, but realizing the potential for abuse I have set my mind on operating at a higher plane.   Integrity costs you nothing…dishonesty can cost you everything.

This is not to say that users should not be monitored.  If the company has a valid Acceptable Use Policy in effect, then it may become your job to monitor their actions.

It simply has to be done fairly and across the board…everyone or no one, and with no personal interest.

I have found Spectorsoft (Spector CNE) to be a great monitoring system.  It meets the criteria for automated monitoring of all employees’ actions. Here at my Wilmington Delaware network support company, Admin Associates, we have been using and recommending it for several years.  You can see exactly what a specific user is doing in near-realtime and you have a history of past actions as well. The monitoring is done on a user by user basis and is not machine specific.

You don’t need to read an employee’s mail to see they are receiving more non-business mail then legitimate correspondence. Usually the subject line can give it way.  If you MUST read the mail to ascertain it relevance, a brief scan will almost always clue you in to what the message is all about.

If company policy says IM’s are too much of a security risk, then you don’t need to read the individual IM’s to know the user is violating the rules.

You can see who is browsing to eBay more then to the company Intranet…it’s not necessary to see what they were bidding on, or if they won!

When it becomes your unpleasant duty to drop a dime on the offending user, you can usually pass along the decision to carry out further “snooping” activities to a higher pay grade.  They often have err…less stringent standards then we admins do.

Good Luck and Good Networking

From way down in the trenches … I’m Tom

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Posted in honesty, integrity, Acceptable Use, Monitoring, Networking, Administration, Computers | No Comments »

22. May 2008 by admin.

I’m just sitting here… in a sort of creative daze, staring  at a blank sheet of virtual paper and wondering just what would interest another Network Administrator or maybe more importantly, another person who needs to learn about network administration.

Hi… My name is Tom. I am a certified Network Administrator… first Novell, then Microsoft… maybe Linux someday. I own and operate a Delaware computer support company based in Newark, Delaware, USA.

I always wanted my own business, but with no safety net to protect my family should I fail, I could never work up the nerve to strike out on my own   Well, that all changed one day when my employer decided he didn’t need me any longer.

I had taken a job with a small but ambitious home remodeling company. They had asked me to come on-board and leave my previous employer where I had worked for six years as a field engineer. I accepted since I was never really happy at my old job… my immediate supervisor was…less than an honest person… and the owner was…much less than pleasant…and I had to drive my own vehicle into the ground at 23 measly cents a mile.

When I started this new job, they had 7 workstations, an outdated NT4.0 server, a 10 Mb hub, and email was coming in through dial up from AOL.

As I said, however, they were ambitious. The company size increased quickly until there just wasn’t anywhere to put another person.  Now at 40 workstations and with a new Windows 2000 Small Business Server they were keeping the pipe full on their T1 line.

They eventually made the wise decision that they couldn’t spread out or build up any further, so they moved on… to a huge office/warehouse building a few miles away.

Eighteen months later, now at 70 workstations, a 2003 Small Business Server, a separate accounting server, and a 10 seat call center, they decided things were so calm and stable that they no longer needed a full-time administrator.

In truth, I had been splitting my time between network administration and cost accounting… no one else felt confident to create the long formulas we needed to prepare the necessary reports from Excel, so that job fell to me. The fact that they were too cheap to buy Crystal Reports may have also been a factor.

Anyway, I came in early, stayed late, and didn’t complain. I see now that I probably didn’t use the best personal judgmentby doing so.

As often happens to others, right before Christmas they dropped the bomb on me that they were letting me go… or rather the task fell to the company controller, with whom I had a good relationship.  I think it was the hardest thing she had ever done and I must say, I was never so shocked in my life.

I knew I had been doing a good job.. a great job in fact, and that was probably the beginning of my down-fall.  If you keep things running really smoothly you aren’t always as visible as you need to be.  Hind-sight being 20-20, I probably should have introduced an occasional controlled emergency.  ( Current admins… take note)

Even more strange… I was told (at the exit interview) there was absolutely no problem with the quality or quantity of my work. In fact, they were extremely happy with my performance and, if I wanted, they would hire me as an independent  contractor to continue servicing their account.

I had no job… No immediate prospects… Bills due… Insurance due…a slew of credit cards and  a family to feed… so I decided then and there… why Not !?  Most new businesses don’t have the luxury of starting out with a built-in major client, and let me tell you, being between a rock and a hard place isn’t a very pleasant place to be.

So, I threw together a fee schedule, applied for a business license, and my company, Admin Associates was born. Why the dumb name ? That’s for another day.

Good Luck and Good Networking.

From way down in the trenches, I’m Tom

Posted in Administration, Networking, Computers | 1 Comment »