Company property 3

[Toshilap]

Kjonnnn wrote:

We dont have a policy of what users can load onto their computers, but if they load stuff that conflicts with company software and I gotta keep coming to fix it, I've told users... "I'm not coming up here again to fix your machine with that software on it."

...It turn out to be their HOTMAIL was slow, everything else was fine. I told "Dont call me about your
hotmail account, that's not my problem."

DOES THIS ACTUALLY happening?

Isn't the law the same for everyone to treat company PC as COMPANY and not YOURS?

Can I actually instal all I want?

 

[CajunCenturion]

It is not a matter of law. It is a matter of company policy. It is up to your employer to decide what you can or cannot install on a company machine.



--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[CasperTFG]

It is our company policy that no external software can be downloaded, installed or otherwise used on any company PC.

This even goes for software that we have in shop. e.g. we own Visio, but I could not just install it on my PC they need to buy me a license otherwise they could get sued.

I would bring this up with your Mngmt. Let them know the issue and supply them with a listing of reasons why non company software should not be loaded onto PCs.

Some Examples;
* Conflicts with other software
* Licensing (illegal licenses)
* Viruses downloaded and infecting the network.


Casper

There is room for all of gods creatures, "Right Beside the Mashed Potatoes".

 

[Dollie]

Even if your company does not have an explicit policy on what can or cannot be installed on workstations, check and see if there is a policy about altering, damaging, or destroying company property. You can finagle that to read "you cannot alter your workstation". You should also consider lowering your user's permissions on the workstations so they do not have the capability to install anything other than OS updates.

If your company employs more than 3 people, it should have policies in place to protect the employer and ensure that nothing untoward gets into, or out of, your network.

 

[langleymass]

One problem at my past employer was this awful program called Webshots. It basically gave you photos for your screen savers. Even MY SUPERVISOR was using it. It caused everything else to lock up.

 

[ProbablyDown]

As soon as you correlate your time fixing Hotmail issues with the cost to the company for fixing said problems and not REAL problems, guaranteed a policy will be in place. If you can actually track it for one week or one pay period on paper I bet management would LOVE to see those numbers...

 

[Toshilap]

I haven't got what I was looking for even all replies are usefull and all but...
I am a very considered employee and it is common curtesy for me to NOT to install any software on my work PC and NOT to download anything off Internet on company PC even there is no policy posted anywhere. I am just naturally well behaved I guess. LOL

The only thing I do is occasionaly post in Professional forums and checking my home emails wondering if I can surf a little more...trying to figure out how much time my colleagues are spending on line.

 

[sleipnir214]

Toshilap:
It could be worse.

I work in the IT department of a school system, which makes my problematic users teenagers. If they're not trying to download and install 300 MB game files, they're trying to run one piece of P2P software after another.

But you've posted:

I haven't got what I was looking for

What are you looking for?




Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[ProbablyDown]

Explaining to the unknowing user why Hotmail is not your problem may also get you better results. Part of our job is "customer service". The user being our customer. We have to be a little more tolerant with the end user, and just take up your grievances with your manager.

 

[lionelhill]

It's a good idea to make sure users understand why there are limitations. A lot of people don't understand the consequences of their actions. For example, you can listen to a sports commentary on-line, but because it looks so easy, people don't understand that it takes a lot of bandwidth, and it might be better to turn the radio on.

Also you shouldn't muddle the issue of unauthorised software installation (which can cause crashes, take up loads of your time in fixing things, etc., and create huge issues about licenses), and unauthorised web-surfing, which, assuming you have good fire-walls and virus protection, is probably mostly "just" a waste of work time.

 

[JOAMON]

When troubleshooting a problem PC my first step is to uninstall any and all unauthorized software, reboot, and try again. 9 time out of 10 it will fix the problem. If user complains remind them that is not their property. Layton Technologies makes a program called Audit Wizard that can scan PC's and alert you of unauthorized software installations.

http://www.laytontechnology.com/pages/auditwizard.asp

 

[Thadeus]

JOAMON, I have to say that is not the best diagnosis method... I just had a java error that would not allow one of my applications to run. The no-help-desk guy that was dispatched started with the uninstall method, removing SpyBot and my IM tool. This was before (remember, this was his "first step") attempting to discover any causual reason for a java error.

The problem, which I eventually figured out on my own with some internet research, involved my PATH statement and Oracle's method of reading and using the first path that it stumbles upon... Needless to say, my opinion of the guy who comes over and removes spybot before doing any research into the nature of the error, is not a very high one.

~Thadeus

 

[grande]

I can understanding him removing an IM program, but SpyBot's a little silly.

I do like the term "no-help desk," though.

-------------------------
Just call me Captain Awesome.

 

[Dollie]

Too bad the OP won't let us know what s/he's really looking for. After re-reading the first post, it seems that they are asking whether they can install whatever they want on their computer even if their admin won't support it.

DOES THIS ACTUALLY happening?

Isn't the law the same for everyone to treat company PC as COMPANY and not YOURS?

Can I actually instal all I want?

(I believe the first few lines of the post are a quote from another thread)

I would say it completely depends on what is being installed and whether or not the admin actually has control over their network. Giving users admin or power user control enables them to install software. Most admins don't allow that and they control software updates and installs from the server, reserving the hands-on-the-workstation support for user errors, hardware errors, and out-of-the-blue-what-the-heck errors.

Policies should be in place no matter what size the company is, unless the boss just doesn't care (which I've seen as well). Controlling and protecting your company computers is equal to controlling and protecting your company's most valuable asset.... information.

 

[johnpoole]

call our help deak, if you've managed to add software (IM), it's not a problem. they image your box and then the company sends you the bill.. problem solved

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc

 

[Thadeus]

Just curious which side your opinion comes down on, johnpoole? Not itchin for a debate, just curious...

In my opinion, the re-image option is not a very good one and would not work very well in my company's atmosphere.
Additionally, it would lessen my opinion of the IT staff... any doctor whose answer is to amputate the arm because you have a difficult to diagnose rash is to be questioned.

~Thadeus

 

[MasterRacker]

Thadeus,

End-users do NOT have the right to install ANYTHING without prior approval of the IT department. A corporate computer is corporate property to be used for corporate work in a manner approved by the corporation (IT dept. being the entity creating the standard.)

Re-imaging is the most efficient way to restore a corporate computer to a corporate standard resulting in the least amount of money and time lost repairing the damage caused by an end-users' non-compliance with corporate policy.

Users need to understand that if they have local data and lose it due to a problem, it's their fault not ITs'. If they so much as change their wallpaper, they will lose it if there is a problem. Users need to use the programs given to them in the manner described to them. Period.

I don't mean to sound like I'm unloading on you personally. I get frustrated when these threads come up. After 19 years in this industry, I am continually amazed by companies that just let theier users go nuts. Management complains about the instability of their systems and the high cost of IT, having no clue how much of that cost might be due to time wasted by IT having to clean up messes left by users.

A corporate network is very different from a home network. A corporate network consists of many machines and software packages that have to be carefully configured to work together. Letting users run rampant in such an environment is insane.

Regarding your comment about lowering your opinion of the IT staff: Remember the the IT staff is not being paid to support you. They are being paid to support your function within the company.

Any company that thinks they can pay their IT to support the personal whims of the users must have a bucket of money to burn. (They could put that money to better use sending it to me...)

</rant> (I feel better now. I think I'll go have a beer ) ;-)_

<sub>Jeff
[purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day

"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me</sub>

 

[Thadeus]

End-users do NOT have the right to install ANYTHING without prior approval of the IT department. A corporate computer is corporate property to be used for corporate work in a manner approved by the corporation (IT dept. being the entity creating the standard.)

And you started working here when? You know nothing about me or my company, but are willing to assume a great deal.

Re-imaging is the most efficient way to restore a corporate computer to a corporate standard resulting in the least amount of money and time lost repairing the damage caused by an end-users' non-compliance with corporate policy.

I still disagree. When a re-image is capable of restoring all docs and settings without putting the user at a week's worth of system reintegration then you may be right on. But when it means a CEO sitting with an IT guy who keeps asking, "do you need this file? how about this one? oh and your backed-up email files, will you need those?", there is nothing right about not spending a little time diagnosing the situation. I am not saying that a re-image is sometimes necessary, just that it should not always be the first tool in the arsenal.

Users need to understand that if they have local data and lose it due to a problem, it's their fault not ITs'. If they so much as change their wallpaper, they will lose it if there is a problem. Users need to use the programs given to them in the manner described to them. Period.

Data saved locally as opposed to where? So you're saying that my CFO losing all of her excel files is her problem if she gets a persistent Java error that causes the desktop guy to re-image her machine?

After 19 years in this industry, I am continually amazed by companies that just let theier users go nuts.

emphasis mine
So is it the users or their companies that are at fault? You're picked a wide brush and are painting two different culprits.

Letting users run rampant in such an environment is insane.

Again, users or IT management at fault?

re: my opinion of the IT staff, I never said they were here to support me... My opinion of them stands on its own. It really doesn't matter who they are supporting for me to have an opinion based on my own previous 20 years of experience.

the personal whims

Yes, I was just musing this morning about accessing my database via the Jinitiator that doesn't work... I can see why this whim of mine is out of line with the support the IT staff ought to be providing.

I can also see where contacting my remote applications consultants with the IM app is also an unsupportable personal whim...

~Thadeus

 

[MasterRacker]

I'm talking about general best practices for all companies. All data is stored on servers. Period. Even someone coming back from a trip has to copy thier local notebook files to a server before they do anything else.If the CEO has local files and loses them it's his fault not ITs'. RE-imaging is not supposed to restore documents because documents are not supposed top be local. If someone is travelling and their plane goes down, taking their notebook with it, the only data the company loses is files generated or changed on that trip. If your CFO has local files that can be killed by a re-image then they can also be lost if the disk dies. If they're important, why aren't they on a server?

It IM is not officially supported by your IT dept. and on their published list of supported application it's your whim. If it is on thier list, then it's ITs' job to configure it correctly.

No IT dept. should be expected to be responsible for backup or recovery of local files. If I walk into the CEO's office unexpectedly, grab him by the eyelids, pull him out of his chair and put an axe through his computer, if he loses more than the currently open files, it's his fault, not mine. I've used that exact analogy in the past (except for the eyelid part) and always been lucky enough to work where management backed that up.

I have no idea if your IT staff is doing their jobs and if they're not I sympathize with your frustrations. All I'm talking about (a little aggressivley) is widely accepted best practices. Company property used as the company dictates and controls.

<sub>Jeff
[purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day

"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me</sub>

 

[Dollie]

If I walk into the CEO's office unexpectedly, grab him by the eyelids, pull him out of his chair and put an axe through his computer, if he loses more than the currently open files, it's his fault, not mine. I've used that exact analogy in the past (except for the eyelid part) and always been lucky enough to work where management backed that up.

It sounds like you've thought this one through. Thanks for the gigggles and the new analogy to use.