>>8726192
What percentage of the people at your place of work understand what you do? What percentage actually respect you?

What area of what country do you work in?

How long have you worked there?

>>8726217
They understand I work on computers and manage servers? Beyond that, no one outside of IT. There are a few really technical service guys...

I think quite a few respect me. It's actually a really nice place to work.

>>8726270
I forgot to say that I won't say where I work (even general area) or how long, sorry.
I work in Texas, but I'm not originally from here.

How many of your users are clueless douchebags?

What the hell is wrong with my computer

Pic very much related

>>8726680
Broken computer guy with pic:
Interesting! I would love to get something like that where I work.
Hmm. Do you have any other users on this system? Can you log into another user account? Basically, is this a user profile or system-wide issue? Does your login screen look ok?

What does an IT person do exactly? What are the qualifications? How much does it pay?

And other questions in that manner.

>>8726629
"How many users are clueless douchebags"

I wouldn't call many of them douchebags, but I know a few that don't give a shit that they don't know anything and think that describing a problem as "it's broken" is ok. I have shitloads of work to do and if they can't describe they can't take a few brain cpu cycles to describe it to me it's at the bottom of my list.

I don't tell my car mechanic "it's broken". They probably do. So I guess they are douchebags.

I want to replace the power supply on an old computer. If I just buy ANY cheap power supply from newegg what are the odds that it will work? are they sort of universally adaptable? if I get a higher voltage than the older one will I be fine?

>>8726831
wow im not an IT but wow why do you wanna replace the power supply?

>>8726867
sometimes it wont turn on. When it does it works fine, but sometimes I have to push on the button 5 or 6 times.

>>8726738
"What does an IT person do exactly? What are the qualifications? How much does it pay?"

IT is a very, very general term in the computer field. IT means that you design, deploy, manage, or computer systems. As opposed to like, computer science, which is just math.

I'm a computer technician level II/server administator. However, like most IT people my job functions don't fit well into a label.
I do phone support, I design the "mother" images that we "clone" to all the computers in company (it's an art, really). I write scripts that automate tasks. I deploy computers and go into the floor and fix them. I used to fix laptops that came in from our offices across the US. I suggest new technologies to the Helpdesk manager and IT director. Most of the time I just do it and then show them the results. I fix viruses, and I'm very, very good at it. Though, really, you should just reimage a computer since it's safer I enjoy the challenge.

I also do server administration. I setup shares and server programs. I monitor the event logs for security breaches and other problems. Make sure they're up and they stay up. I'm going to be moving more into server administration in the next few years.

Do you think an CIS degree is worth it?

How do you manage security? What security measures do you take?

>>8726735

This is the only account, and I'm sure it's a system wide issue. My start up screen also has no text anywhere. My start menu also won't pull up if that helps clue you in on anything. It seems to be affecting only Windows related programs really. Firefox, iTunes and other things still work well enough to use.

>>8726831
"I want to replace the power supply on an old computer."
There are many opinions on power supplies. The best resource for real, scientific tests (as opposed to that "it turned on" bullshit on other sites) see http://www.hardocp.com/.

For ultra-cheap builds I use the Antec Basiq line of power supplies. For everything else I use Corsair.

>>8726878
hmm pretty much any cheap power supply should work with it it sounds old so just go with like 400 watt power supply.

How's it feel knowing that your field is slowly, but surely, being outsourced to India?

>>8726888
I do not have a degree. I don't know anything about them. I only have a GED. I got in the day I turned 18 through a contact who assured the manager that I knew my stuff.

I don't have anything against people who have degrees at all. But....there are lots of examples of people in IT with degrees that couldn't troubleshoot a problem for shit. I'm still impressed, though *shrug*

i get boot disk failure sometimes, shit sorts it self out sometimes. but i would like to get that fix. umm how do you delete windows without a reformat.

>>8727025
just back everything up in an external hard drive.

OP, any tips for moving up in the industry? I have a job with a government contractor, but it is basically shit-tier/intern work even though I have a degree.

"Go change this toner, re-image this computer, call in warranty replacement..."

How the fuck am I supposed to prove I know anything when I'm not even given the opportunity?

>>8727025
Sorry didn't finish back up everything important then format. Do you still have the OS cd that your computer came with?

>>8727069
i have 4 HDD, with vista 32 on one (want to delete it)
vista 64 and win7 on another the last is just space.

only got win7 to see what changed... but i guess i'll just move stuff around and format it (32bit one)

thanks op

>>8726896
People straight out of college or in high positions think they buy security. They are full of shit.

You can't buy security. You have to get it.

Your users are idiots. This can not be fixed. It's not totally their fault. Computers are hopelessly complex. And people act stupid around computers.

Security comes from configuration and monitoring.
You configure the computers so they are resistant to attack, and you monitor the network and those computers when that fails. It will fail. And it will fail all the time unless you are in a VERY VERY locked down environment. We don't have that. I'm working on it.

Our network is extremely complex and I can't boil down all the security measures quickly. And frankly, I don't know some of them since I'm not in charge of it.

For security software we use Symantec Endpoint. However, it's worthless. So is McAfee. We are moving to Webroot Corporate Antivirus. I wanted Microsoft Forefront (corporate version of Microsoft Security Essentials).

I can go into how we configure computers if you would like.

>>8726996
"How's it feel knowing that your field is slowly, but surely, being outsourced to India?"

I'm not a developer, who are being outsourced to India. Devs in India are generally idiots, but some of them are really good.

I'm in computer support/server administration. Although you CAN outsource these to India our computer networks and loadouts are far, far too complex to have someone who doesn't work there for everyday support. It might be fine if all our users used was Microsoft Word and we all used the same PCs. Outsourcing will never replace my job, in the near future.

>>8726192
how do i keygen arma with highest security settings (lvl10) ?

>>8727120
No need; I presume you're a typical company, so I have an idea of the set-up. Have you dealt with any major infections recently? Conficker, mayhaps?

>>8727053
"OP, any tips for moving up in the industry?"

Dude, I respect you, more than you know. I got my chance because of luck. I got in there, I knew my shit, and I knew how to learn more shit.

I was given a chance to make changes and stand behind them. The changes I made made things better. Everything wasn't locked down. There weren't hardcore policies on everything. If I saw something broken (like our images) I fixed it.

When I first got there I was like you. Then I took a risk and built a new computer image that was faster and cleaner and had less problems. But I'm in a private industry and had pretty awesome bosses that gave me leeway.

My advice? Not sure if it applies in government.
Step up. Fix something you know is broken. Or suggest how to fix it. It can be a computer image, the way an application is deployed, a procedure. Or suggest that you be given the chance to fix it.

I write my manager all the time with 3 step emails:
1.) What I think is broken or could be improved
2.) How I would fix it/How I did fix it
3.) What benefits there are

My company's IT was kind of screwed up when I got there, so there was a lot of chances to fix stupid, obvious stuff that everyone else was too lazy to.

For example, do you use Windows Deployment Services to deploy computers? It just got a big win by suggesting that, and I got to implement all of it.

>>8727286
"Have you dealt with any major infections recently"
Conficker and another (won't name it, you'll see why)
I'm actually one of the people who found one of the original <REDACTED> infections and submitted it to Symantec. It's because of me that they have a detection for it.

<REDACTED> was nasty, and no one believed me that there was an undetected virus going around. They laughed when I said that the domain administrator account had been compromised. They said the log ins to computers were normal network traffic. I had to setup a bait machine with ProcMon running, WireShark, and full Windows security logging enabled.

Guess what? I found out that the domain administrator account was being used to push out the <REDACTED> virus to machines across the US. (I didn't even know what it was called). I wrote a 5 page email on it with network captures, screencaps of procmon, and security event logs. I sent it to the Helpdesk Manager, IT director, Network Security Manager, and Systems Administrator. I was right.

Guess what the kicker was? I alerted management to an security hole we left open that <REDACTED> used a few weeks earlier. If they would have followed my advice it wouldn't have happened.

>>8727448
ADDITION:

After I submitted the sample to Symantec and Symantec generated a definition for it, it turned out that one of our main corporate offices, with 200+ people in it, was almost completely infected. Including 2 of our domain controllers!

Why was I the only one to notice this? I stepped up. I made it my business to know what was going on on our network, even though it wasn't my job.

>>8727448
OP how did you learn all of this i am interested in becoming an IT where do i start?

>>8727448
Hmmm, really? I'm impressed. I'm going to guess a particular piece of malware related to a certain Russian group that likes banking details?
I'm impressed that you managed to take care of Conficker; that shit is beautiful. I still have samples of it, it's the finest program I've ever seen.

>>8727344

Sadly I don't see myself having those kinds of opportunities as there is already a rigid hierarchy and lots of SOP bullshit. In fact we have a Desktop Management group solely for the purpose of managing/testing/configuring the image. I suspect there's a lot more red tape in the government than in the private sector. I'll probably look for a new job after get enough experience. I guess I'm lucky to even have a job at all given I had virtually no experience to start with.

>>8726192
is it like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8_Kfjo3VjU

can you teach me how to subnet a class B address for 5000 hosts..?

How many angry, condescending nerds do you work with

>>8727120

I'm a support tech in a small public sector group. We use Cisco Security Agent for our HIPS software, with Symantec AV. CSA is sort of like Spybot Teatimer with centrally managed rules. The only time I've ever seen an infected machine is when the user turned CSA off because it was bugging them about installing software or Outlook running VBscripts or something; it took a long while to get the rules list right. Though occasionally it just silently blocks things, which is a big pain.

Also, that level of security doesn't really work for our servers, which just have a log-and-allow version of it installed.

The computers at my place of work have been "gold disc'ed". I can't change the screen saver settings. I want to disable the screen saver. Know any way around that?

>>8727538
"OP how did you learn all of this i am interested in becoming an IT where do i start?"

I know of 4 kinds of people in IT (there's another; I forgot)

1.) Those who just freaking love computers and still do. It started as a hobby and became a career (ME)

2.) Those who got in because it was their hobby and they now hate that their job is their hobby

3.) Got in because at the time it made good money, and still kind of does. Sometimes these people are really good, sometimes they just don't care

4.) Management people. Sometimes the best and the worst managers are IT people. Best because they know the realities of the job and the pressures on you, and the worst because a lot of people in IT suck at people skills.


I'm option 1. I love computers. Have been doing this my entire life. There has never been a doubt about what I wanted to be. As long as I knew there were jobs I knew i wanted my job to be computers.
I learn fast, come up with good ideas fast, know the Windows operating system very well, and there are few others in the department like me. I love my coworkers, this isn't a stab at them. Good people.

I don't know how to do it other than option 1 since I've never investigated anything else. When I was 18 I was planning to kill myself so I wasn't really looking at the future.

Good luck, though. If you find a good company it's a great, interesting job. Others swear it's the worst job on the planet. =\

>>8726680
shits fucked, man

Are you one of those guys who idles in freenode IRC channels all day/night and kick/ban people who ask any questions or say anything besides "RTFM or GTFO"

>>8727740

Why do you want to? It might be a security policy to keep people from using your computer when you aren't there. If you have a good reason, ask.

You could always do this: http://xkcd.com/196/

Dear IT Man,

My printer doesn't work, can you fix it for me?

Thank you!
Sally Jones

--
Save trees, please consider the environment before printing this e-mail!

How do I get out of support, and become a sysadmin?

When I start my computer up the fan makes a loud buzzing noise and I have to (inb4 rage) smack the back of the computer a couple of times before it silences down.

What's the problem?

>>8727809

Know Cisco IOS and how to optimize a database (knowing SQL also helps). You can also be a faggot and know how to tweak a Microsoft Exchange server (and read everyone's emails for fun).

>>8727825

Bearings in your case fans going bad. Get new case fans.

>>8727551
On the virus detection "Hmmm, really? I'm impressed. I'm going to guess a particular piece of malware related to a certain Russian group that likes banking details?"

I'm afraid I can't claim Zbot. The virus I found never got much public press. However, when I called in to Symantec Gold Support after reporting that virus the guy knew my name and talked about how they were a million of detections. That was one of the proudest days I've ever had.

Conficker is an amazing worm/virus. We still have it on a few computers for some reason. I come across it every once in awhile.

I'm starting to sound braggy. Sorry. In person I am very, very self-depreciating and humble. But I do some awesome stuff and never get to tell anyone =D

>>8727837
Can I fix it without buying new case fans or am I just fucked?

>>8727828

I've had my CCNA for long enough that its expiring this May, never had a need to use it yet. Solving this through academic education alone has not been successful thus far. How am I failing?

>>8727761

This was a great way to answer that question, and it gave me some perspective.

I think I'm option 2. I love computers. I started learning MS-DOS when I was 3 and just took it from there. I've always been self taught and I've learned a pretty broad range of things.

I've done helpdesk work, server admin, imaging, and other basic IT stuff. The problem for me is I've never had much latitude at my jobs, kind of like >>8727053

I'm also not a 'traditional' IT person. I don't have any certification. I'm a history graduate, and there's a reason I took humanities instead of math and science. I'm a right-brained thinker, so I'm a lot better with the big picture than the small details, which is where the entry level jobs tend to focus.

I'm not really sure if I can be successful in IT because my self-taught background has made me used to doing things my way, and learning by trial and error. In an 800 person company you can't make mistakes like that! Job descriptions like "attention to detail" and "following instructions" send me to the hills.

So long story short, I'm not sure what I can do to make a job in IT feel like a hobby and a passion rather than a burden. I wonder what the other Option 2 people think about that as well.

>>8727870
try getting a can of air and blasting the shit out of the fan with it. It might be some dust.

>>8727740
"The computers at my place of work have been "gold disc'ed". I can't change the screen saver settings. I want to disable the screen saver. Know any way around that?"

I'm a very outgoing person. Sometimes I let people off when I really shouldn't.

But if you bypass an IT person's Group Policy setting (what that's called) you're in for a world of hurt.

Yes, it can be done, in theory I guess. You could use DaRT or if it's XP I think ERD. You'd have to change the registry permissions after you change the key. Not sure if Group Policy will automatically override incorrect permissions, don't remember....

>>8727797
Have you tried turning it off and on again?

>>8727870
Crappy case fans are like 4 bucks.

>>8727966
>>8727947
Didn't know that, I'll look into it if dusting it out doesn't work.

Thanks

Is it better to get certifications or degrees to get ahead in the IT field. I suspect the answer is certifications but I don't know for sure yet.

>>8727568
"Sadly I don't see myself having those kinds of opportunities as there is already a rigid hierarchy and lots of SOP bullshit"

I feel you. Some days I'm just so thankful for the chances I've been given and feel bad for those who didn't get this chance. My company didn't have procedures when I got there. Still mostly doesn't. It ensures that only people that know their shit can do it and can do it quick, but it also means those who don't screw stuff up.

What I've noticed is that many people in my company don't seem to just...talk to their manager. Ask the question - how should I move up? What can I be doing to improve and when do you think a higher opening will appear? You have to balance between implying "I don't want to work here anymore promote me" and "You can keep me in this position forever and I won't do anything"

Others have said that there are few ways to move up in IT - you have to switch jobs to do it.

I guess it really depends on your company.

>>8728025
Degrees are a lot more important. 4 year bachelors from a decent college (if your college is on the stock exchange, it doesn't count, i.e. APOL, CECO, DV, ESI do not count).

>>8726996

You really don't know much about the true direction of the industry then.

Demand right now for GOOD IT people is still very, very high, and you can't import enough people that actually know what the fuck they are doing to outsource everything. I was out of work for 2 years by choice, and within 2 months of putting my resume out there, landed a 100k a year job like it was nothing.

Businesses that outsource are doing so for cost reduction. If they get along with outsourced resources they are doomed to fail, because outsourcers don't scale, don't do anything you ask them to unless it's explicitly defined in the contract, and you're paying for it. So yeah, for a dying company it makes sense to outsource so you can hang on one more quarter where you have enough money to pay the bills. What will happen to those outsourced companies when the POS company they support finally folds?

For any company *not* on deaths doorway, they can't deal with outsourced companies. If it isn't in the contract they won't do it. Need 100 new servers supported, or a new application? Go suck a dick, unless you re-negotiate for every fucking little thing to the point where your savings all go away. Outsourced companies aren't fucking stupid if it's a job that requires skill. They don't provide labor for pennies on the dollar, and once you depend on them in any serious way, they gouge you because *they can*. On the other hand it's very, very easy to simply hire someone and say "do this or your ass is fired", and amazingly the shit will get done!

IT is a generalized set of skills you can apply to a large variety of jobs, so if you don't have anything more promising on the horizon, hey, it *more* than pays the bills and there are far worse areas to have expertise in.

Let me just say one thing that pisses me off ENDLESSLY about people in IT.

Many of the higher end IT developers and IT people don't know fucking shit about computers. They can implement an active-active SQL cluster but ask them to troubleshoot a simple problem and they have no clue. Just because someone says they make 200k a year in IT doesn't mean they can fix shit. It's not their job I guess. Still pisses me off when someone making 200k a year calls me because they can't figure out how to use VNC.

What is an easy to code algorithm for the traveling salesman problem that is NOT the nearest neighbor solution.

Pseudocode would be appreciated.

>>8728153
>>8728153
This man speaks truth about outsourcing. Well said - better than I could. My company did a big push for outsourcing a few years ago...now they're moving back to the US for a lot of stuff.

To anyone actually in IT it was obvious how we were getting fucked over. I don't know how it took so long for them to figure it out.

>>8728238

IT is *nothing*. IT is fucking heaven compared to one other major area.

LOOOOOOOOOLBANKERS!

How much money do you make?

>>8728260
I'd love to hear about outsourcing in other areas! It might make me feel better at least =D

>>8728055

I've already gotten "the talk" from one of our IT directors about how great I'm doing and how well I'm adapting and that they want me to be a full time help desk analyst but "it might not be in the budget" and blahdeblahblah. I doubt they want to sacrifice the cheap labor they're getting out of me right now.

>>8728207
Nearest Neighbor algos aren't IT, they're CS.

Depending on the problem at hand, A* is fairly effective and low computational demand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*_search_algorithm#Pseudo_code

>>8728207
Also, I bet you're a sophomore in college that thinks he's fucking clever as shit. It's not funny, stop it.

>>8728311

Word of advice. Start looking for another job while you're employed, right now. This isn't because you'll be laid off. Most companies are completely honest when it comes to this kind of shit (unless the entire company is failing, in which case their lie should be extremely transparent as it'll be obvious everyone is being laid off).

If you get a real offer for more money, you should strongly consider taking it. However, let your current employer know before you take it, and use that as a bargaining chip. You don't have to take the job at another company if your current employer is willing to work with you and straight up give you a counter offer.

Don't let yourself be ground into the dust and abused because some fucktarded manager thinks he can get away with it to make his own budget seem better. You have worth. You have something *they* want, and if they aren't willing to pay you more, odds are someone out there with more need *is* willing to pay you more now that the perception is the economy is stabilizing.

Capitalizm is supposed to work both ways dude. If it doesn't work both ways, that's called "slavery".

To the people trying to move up in IT:
If you are very good at people skills try talking to some of the IT people higher up (not in management). Show you know stuff about their field, ask questions. If you find a problem very humbly email them directly and let them know. I use a chat program and randomly introduce myself to people that I don't ever communicate with.

Find problems with a network or a web app and suggest the solution in a very humble email to them. After one of those emails I got chatting with someone who wants to mentor me to take his job in 3 years..

>>8728481
I wish sophomore year was such an easy year. I'll be a graduating in the fall so I can finish up my minor. Im not one of those faggots who talks all through class and tries to outsmart the professor. I just code what they want.

Way to be wrong though.

>>8728522

People skills will help you in any job, and will pretty much be a requirement for any high level position, whether you're an architect, a researcher, a manager/director/vp, whatever. The higher you go, the more people you will have to lead and work with to get the job done, there's no escaping it.

You don't even have to be social to be good at dealing with people in a business fashion. I'm a very introverted person who's much more comfortable with a book or the internet at home than at a huge party. However I'm extremely easy to work with, and for every project I lead I get the shit done. I know when to use the soft touch and when and how to lean on someone to get what I need done. I know how to gain peoples trust in a short time and demonstrate my competence, and I also know exactly where the line is so that I can crack up my co-workers with a joke and not end up in trouble with my manager or HR. The people who are even higher level than me technically also have superior people skills to go along with that. So don't forgo the development of these skills, they are *extremely* important.

As I said before I'm an incredibly asocial person normally, but at work I just become a different person that I have fashioned to help me advance and gain the recognition I deserve. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

>>8727650
"can you teach me how to subnet a class B address for 5000 hosts..?"

http://www.solarwinds.com/products/freetools/free_subnet_calculator.aspx

I'm not into networks much, but I use that as a guide...

>>8728516

I'm not exactly enthusiastic about going to job interviews again but yeah I agree the job market is probably doing better than it was a year ago when I first started applying. You have to admit though that even entry level IT positions are looking for 1, preferably 2 years of continuous related experience, which is kind of a catch 22 for college grads.

>>8728700

That's why you should've gotten one of those shit-pay student jobs when you were in college, if possible.

>>8728713
If you have the ability to hold down a job while going to school, you aren't taking a heavy enough school course load.

>>8727650

Any major project undertaking has 3 important parts.

Requirements, requirements, and requirements.

If you are given a task like that you should (and need) to know exactly what the constraints are. Then the design should be self evident.

So for example, what types of switches are you using? How many hosts can each switch support? How many switches will each router support? How many interfaces does each host have that will need to be routeable? What medium are you using (gigabit ethernet? 10baseT? FIDI? are they heterogenous or homogenous)? How will the hosts be grouped into different subnets to preserve security, accessibility, and manageability?

There's a ton of questions that you would need to ask in any real life situation to properly subnet a network like that, so unless this is some class test where the correct answer is simply "C" or some bullshit like that, it's just not that simple.

>>8728700

That's the same for almost every job in every industry. Get an internship somewhere, or do volunteer work, do anything even if it's for free so you have someone who you can reference who says "yeah he/she's a great worker, hire them".

>>8728738

Not everyone has that financial luxury, especially people going back to school with a wife and 2 kids, and education costs rising greatly due to foreigners enjoying their cheaper dollars and the ability to send their kids to a non-shithole third world institute.

>>8728810
>education costs rising greatly due to foreigners enjoying their cheaper dollars
bullshit, education costs are rising for a lot of reasons but this isn't one of them. Out of state and especially international students literally pay several times what locals do.

How many women have you met working in your field?

>>8728952
"How many women have you met working in your field?"

~9 in my company since I joined. Very few. And they weren't really doable.

>>8728991
What sort of work did they do, and were they good workers?

>>8729000
How the fuck did this thread turn into people working out their hangups with women?

>>8729035
I'm just curious about women in IT, in general. I haven't met any before.

>>8729000
Question on women: "What sort of work did they do, and were they good workers?"

They were very good. Fewer and fewer women in IT every day. The remaining ones seem to be pretty good. Don't ask about why this is or anything. I don't know. There's plenty of articles about it via google.

Any other questions?

There are more male-to-female transsexuals in IT and CS than there are women-born-women.

>>8729056

Our Dell tech (comes out and does all warranty work we don't want to) is a woman, as was a previous coworker, before she retired.

At my previous job, there were two women in our group of one dozen; an army wife, and crazy-ass single mom with tattoos all the fuck over and a variety of piercings (e.g. septum) who was pretty cool.

I also have one MtF friend in IT.

How much experience do you have with dlinks router?
Mine is fucking up and only broadcasts a signal after I restart it.

>>8728738

Maybe if you're not in IT. Experience is more important than in some fields, and there's less of culture of 4-year graduates getting the entry-level positions straight out of college.

>>8729744
Did you do a factory reset?
Fucked up routers are more trouble than they're worth. Toss it. Buy new one. Don't spend 2 weeks of your life with stupid networking problems. Pass Go.

>>8730055
Yeah not worth the trouble, routers are dirt cheap anyway.

How do all those 1s and 0s make things appear on my screen?

How often do you let strange guys pick you up, I mean in a club or similar place.

aww shit

Any other questions? Going to bed in an hour. Will fav this page for tomorrow if it doesn't 404

>>8730641
what websites would you recomend people for the mangement of servers just IT stuff and also what linux based distro would best serve its purpose here?

>>8726192
>>8726882
>>8726882
what is a mother image?
and what is reimaging?

>>8731059
"what websites would you recomend people for the mangement of servers just IT stuff and also what linux based distro would best serve its purpose here?"

Although we are too big to use it really, and have systems that supplant it I highly recommend http://www.spiceworks.com/. It's too good to be true - but it is true!

I also like Splunk, though I haven't found a good use for it, yet.

I'm a purely Windows guy, sorry. Nothing at all against Linux. Just not my specialty.

OP, how do I completely get rid of a file from my computer? I've heard that deleting it doesn't actually delete it.

r nimp shock sites really with viruses? or they just play with your script? i think its a harmless prank on the internet but i need to know if it rly gives viruses

also when you search child pron on google images, how come pictures suddenly start swirling around? (saw screenshots from /b/)

>>8731089
"what is a mother image?
and what is reimaging?"

Mother image is a non-technical term, trying to explain it better.

IT departments do not install Windows each time they have to "redo" a computer, or set it up for the first time from the factory.

We make a master image - a "mother" image - that we setup just the way we want it, then you use this thing called Sysprep to remove the "VIN" numbers and user information from it. You then use software to "clone" this disk to as many other system as you want. After you clone it you go through a special version of Windows setup called "mini-setup" that just takes the stuff like admin password, computer name, etc - though this can be automated as well. Then you boot to desktop and you're ready to set it up for the user.

This is extremely simplified. IT fags don't rage at me. Trying to explain.

can i get a virus from viewing pictures from a website?

>>8731138
"OP, how do I completely get rid of a file from my computer? I've heard that deleting it doesn't actually delete it."

Actually wrote a 3 page article on this awhile ago for a small site, hehe.

You are correct. Deleting a file only deletes the file's entry in the disk's "table of contents".

If you remove chapter 11 from the table of contents from a book it's still there - but you can't find it without going through the disk looking for it. Same thing with deleted files.

To fully delete a file you have to delete its entry from the table of contents, then wipe over the file with 0's or random information. Don't listen to the bullshit about having to write over it multiple times - that's not needed with modern drives.

Now, for XP and such you can do a pretty good job of removing a file completely from a system with http://eraser.heidi.ie/ or an ok job with the Wipe Free Space option in http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner.

Now, that's good enough if you're using XP. However, due to the indexing in Vista and 7, and other mechanisms it's not a trivial task to completely remove all references to a file in your system. I'm not sure how to do it exactly or if the tools exist - or if they're even possible. Stuff like volume shadow copies mess it up even more...

But if you want to just get rid of the contents of a file - Eraser is your buddy. Make sure you turn off volume shadow copies, too if you're using Vista or 7. Before you run Eraser.

Again, IT fags familiar with NTFS don't rage at me.

>>8731216
>>8731179
Question: Can I get a virus from shock sites or viewing pictures on the internet?

These days you can get a virus from any website. CNN and I think NYTimes websites have distributed them. How? Infected ads. They use special scripts and other things to infect your computer via your browser. How this happens has to do with your browser and also shitty plugins like Java and Flash. UPDATE YOUR JAVA, FLASH, AND ADOBE READER RIGHT NOW. Just going to a page with a hidden Java exploit released last week or various PDF expoits will infect you.

Run a good anti virus like NOD32. Anything that isn't Symantec or McAfee, or some crazy Chinese POS.

Antivirus also isn't enough. You need a GOOD antimalware. The best IMO are Prevx (paid with on-access) and MalwareBytes (paid version with on-access). Spybot used to be the best. But it isn't anymore. Things change fast in the Antimalware scene.

>>8731435
will adblock prevent some scripts?

>>8731596
Question: Will adblock help?

I believe so. So will Firefox or Chrome. And if you have Firefox NoScript blocks pretty much any viruses you could get if you use it right. But it's kind of annoying.

Oh yeah - PLEASE SEE HERE
Download Microsoft Security Essentials. It's better than Symantec and McAfee - no kidding! I work on PC's with Symantec that has no idea about viruses and when I do a scan on them with a computer with Security Essentials it immediately picks them up.

And PrevX scanning is FREE. It's really the best out there and it's free to see if you are infected. Removal is not free. There's no reason not to try it out.

>>8731763
is there really a difference between malwarebytes antimalware and prevx cause i have malwarebytes

What percentage of your job is telling people to turn their computers on and off again?

How do I repair a faulty actuator arm on an old Quantum Fireball IDE hard drive?

shits hard as hell.

>>8731302

God, I love Volume Shadow Copy so fucking hard. Setting it up on our fileserver and (optionally) teaching the more savvy users how to use it has made life so much easier. 90% of the times I need to go to a backup, VSS is it.

For those not familiar with Volume Shadow Copy, it basically saves a "previous version" of files and folders, and is fairly straightforward to restore from.

>>8731836
If you have MalwareBytes don't bother. Both are awesome.

>>8731856
Question: "What percentage of your job is telling people to turn their computers on and off again?"

10%+ of the questions. Since I can spend 3 hours on a call with a down remote VP, less than 1% of time.

>>8731865

Quantum Fireball? Shit, that's old.

I've only ever heard of the (very-expensive) professionals successfully dealing with hard drive repair (by replacing the arm with another from a different drive), or even getting the data off at the point. If the freezer trick doesn't work (and I'm assuming you're past that point), give up, is my recommendation. The drive isn't worth fixing, and if your client needs the data badly, they'll have to go to the pros and pay out the ass for it.

>>8731874
>>8731874
how do i get your type of knowledge in computers i really want to be the guy that people have to go to when they have problems other than the obvious Trojan viruses?

>>8731865
Question: "How do I repair a faulty actuator arm on an old Quantum Fireball IDE hard drive?"

I've tried to repair a few drives. I've given up. I'm sure it can be done, but I don't have the time to waste when I know they are designed to be repaired with special tools and skills.

Also - my favorite file recovery utility is R-Studio. Best $80 I've ever spent (personal use).

>>8731435

I would recommend getting sandboxie.

>>8731874

Yeah, how do you evaluate different security software? Or track down a virus that your AV doesn't catch? Task-manager? Digging through packet logs of Wireshark?

>>8731969
Question: "how do i get your type of knowledge in computers i really want to be the guy that people have to go to when they have problems other than the obvious Trojan viruses?"

See my previous posts. After the first few I almost always use a screenshot from a music video and the name "Compufag". My answers are in there.

Computers were my only friend when I was growing up. I've been a pretty fucked up person. Computers have always been there for me. I love them. Not in a sexual way or emotional - but in a respect and knowing kind of way.

I make sure I get all the virus calls in my job so I get lots of experience. I run a Windows Domain and have a Hyper-V virutialization server I use to run about 8 virtual machines. One of these virtual machines I purposely infect with viruses I obtain from various sources. I then see if I can disinfect it. I've only come across a few I can't do manually. I almost never use automatic malware/virus removal. Manual is so much faster - if a lot harder.

So, yeah. I just love it. I'm not sure how I learned really. You just slowly build up knowledge and know your tools and how to use them. Like any profession.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help. I'll think more about your question. I'll sleep on it.

>>8732083

I've never had much luck removing viruses by hand. Though usually at that point it's trying to track down registry key and unless someone else knows which one, I'm fucked. Best I've managed is to disable it for long enough (via safemode or a LiveCD) for Symantec or ClamWin or whatever to remove it. Also, organization policy is wipe any infected machine, so not much reason for trying.

>>8732057
AV and antimalware software is through reputation and randomly trying them.

As for tools that I use - I use my knowledge + small set of tools to fix 90% of computer problems/viruses.

Sysinternals Autoruns
Sysinternals Process Monitor
Sysinternals Process Explorer
TrendMicro HijackThis
GMER
Nirsoft RegScanner
Swandog 46's The Avenger

There's one or two I'm missing. But if you can master those tools you're set. But mastering them involves knowing how Windows works. What belongs and what doesn't. How the tools work. What they can see and what they can't. In what situations to use each.

If you want to see REAL pros in action check out http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/. They are even better than I am. They make me look like a noob, when they're not recommending automatic tools.

How difficult would it be to become an IT when you only know computer basics?

>>8732178
"Also, organization policy is wipe any infected machine, so not much reason for trying."

Yeah, that's what I really should do. We try to do that as much as possible with people in the building. However, there's not the will to bring any computer in the field in for servicing. Thus I have to disinfect remotely.

We're moving into a more secure direction. Moving the company towards more secure practices and configurations is a slow process, but Windows 7 is going to be done right. Company kind of gave up on making XP secure before I got there.

With the more secure setup we're designing with Windows 7 I'm really going to miss fixing viruses. It's the absolute best part of my job.

Some people hunt deer for fun. I hunt viruses. It's lame but true.

I'm out for the night but I will be answering all your questions tomorrow if this doesn't 404. Have a good night.

>>8732254

I can understand wanting to give up on XP security. Thankfully, Cisco Security Agent pretty much got rid of all our infection problems (so long as people didn't turn it off). We're kind of frustrated by it right now, though, because as much as its working great right now, there's no x64 version, so we can't implement Server 2008 or Win7x64. I'm still looking forward to the Win7 rollout we're doing soon (as we never deployed Vista).

It's 2:17 AM here, and this is an excellent topic.

>Thanks for your request.
>It has been added to our database and the thread will be archived as soon as enough request for that thread have been made.
>This thread has been requested 1 times now.

>>8732332
Thank you! I'll submit a request too.
Have a good night everyone.

is it possible to unlock those pcs that have pretty much EVERYTHING on them impossible to click..(no left click, time/sound disabled/nothing allowed etc..

>>8732287

Hey, don't feel bad - I know exactly what you mean. It's fun! :)

I work tech support for students at my university, as well as doing development here and there. So in my situation, the user really doesn't want their machine wiped (although sometimes naturally there's no other option).

So, getting rid of viruses is a big part of that job. It's amusing seeing their faces gloss over when you're trying to find and fix it... XD

Requested archive
bumping a good thread

>>8727650

Ciscofag inc;

255.255.224.0 gives 8 nets of 8190. Class B adress, (110).

>>8735052

Misread the post, if you really want a quick tutorial on it, post back here and wil lthrow up a TS IP or something.

i blocked a dude on AIM and he managed to message me even though he was blocked

What the fuck

...Is your life like "The IT Crowd"?

Because that would be awesome.

>>8735094
>AIM

There's your problem

>>8733750
"is it possible to unlock those pcs that have pretty much EVERYTHING on them impossible to click..(no left click, time/sound disabled/nothing allowed etc.."

Wow, even the sound and time are disabled? Wow, that's pretty nazi.

If you're using a company computer I'm not going to help you get yourself fired. If they are that nazi about the sound your ass is grass if they catch you.

In theory some of it is possible, but you'd have to be a fellow IT person to be able to really pull it off I think. Nothing a layman can do unless there's some magic program out there that can do it automatically. But I doubt you have the permissions on the machine to fuck with it.

PC, Mac or Linux?

Is the bendi keyboard any good?

If I take the A++ thingamajiggie will it look good on a portfolio?

>>8736316
Question: "If I take the A++ thingamajiggie will it look good on a portfolio?"

Maybe. A++ is full of retarded, completely useless bullshit that no one will ever use. But managers seem to have a massive hard-on for it. I guess it's good if you're starting off in computers and want to know the basics and the history.

Have fun learning about the bus speeds of ISA. What's ISA? Nothing anyone gives a shit about, that's what. But you'll be learning it anyway.

I have a college degree, but not in CS/CIS, working on my CompTIA A+ right, what's the best way to get a job?

Names of IT staffing agencies in California?

Compufag here - I didn't make it clear enough that yeah, you'll need to get it pretty much. It's still full of shit. But many jobs require it. If you don't have it they'll throw your resume into the trash without reading it. Or put it in the deleted items box in Outlook.

Protip: HR doesn't give a shit about all the cool stuff you've done. They are clueless shits who look for 3 and 4 letter combinations in resumes. If they're not in there you get tossed.

im currently going to school, majoring in computer science, but i dont really have a specific career in mind yet. any recommendations?

>>8736464
I can attest to this. I've taken some computer maintenance classes and a lot of the stuff was out of date.

The problem with getting into the IT field is that the education system forces you to learn all of the stuff from the past while teaching you nothing about the present. Basically if you want to get anywhere in IT you need to learn a lot your stuff on your own. Reading books will only get you so far.

Okay, so while I get it, names of IT staffing agencies in California that place like QA and stuff?

I just need a job, right away...

Have you ever heard a customer or colleague call it Internet Technique? I hope I'm not the only one who thinks it's good to make references like that.

Will it work if I just switch it on and off again?

An IT worker's job mainly involves looking around in device manager (if the computer is not working properly) or the application help documents (if it is a problem with an application), doing a web search if necessary, and fixing things by reinstalling drivers, chaning application settings, or occasionally scanning for and removing viruses.
True or false?

where did op go