Silicon Shecky

Infosec Practitioner

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Why new PCs? These are good enough!

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The people that work in the IT field know about upgrading and updating computer equipment. The SMB owners.. not so much.

I’ve had a couple interesting experiences recently with clients. I was busy trying to tell them that Windows XP was no longer going to be supported and that they should get new PCs. One client wanted pricing also for upgrading their current Core2 Duo PCs. We got them quotes for both, showing a difference of $800 total between upgrading multiple PCs and just getting new ones. Now we wait to see if they make the right choice.

The other client flat out told me that his server and PCs should last them 10-15 years. Nothing I said changed that idea in his mind. I fear for this client as they already have been hacked (see my previous post about that), and of course are setting themselves up for more pain like that.

I let my clients know that every 3-5 years they should be getting new computer equipment. Not only will they get faster machines with newer OSes that should be more secure, but their efficiency will be as good if not better, and they will have machines that are back under warranty. Now I understand that in a world where big ticket purchase do tend to last a long time (Cars, TVs, Appliances, etc…), they feel that should be the same way with computers. Add on that leasing the equipment doesn’t make a lot of sense financially either. So what is one to do, outside of explain to them the reality of the situation.

First off, set a hard date for when you will stop supporting the older OSes, and let your clients know that date. This not only gives them a solid time frame for which to make the changes, but puts the pressure on them.

Second, explain how going to newer equipment makes sense. Touch on speed of the new machines, security, warranties, and that the competition won’t wait for them to catch up.

Finally, let them know that the cost to upkeep the old equipment is not worth it. In the long run they save more by staying current with their equipment, especially as parts become rare.

There is no way to force a company to purchase newer equipment. The bottom line on all of this is to get the higher ups to understand that old equipment hurts the company in the long run. Hopefully, they are willing to listen to you, after all they have brought you on as the expert.

Spooler service stops

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The case of the mysterious stopping spooler has been solved. At least this time.

Good old Microsoft. You send in errors, look up errors and can not find anything from Microsoft itself. Half the time the people in the Technet Forums treat people with almost a snark to them, and don’t listen. Canned answers, no answers, and worst of all no information.

I recently had one of those spooler.exe keeps stopping problems. Went through all the logs, did my Internet searches and came up with an answer. c:\windows\system32\spooler\print needed to be cleaned out. Simple answer, which I found archived from a forum question about 4 years ago. Not an official Microsoft forums mind you, just a general IT forum.I find more things away from Microsoft than on their site.

It is frustrating. I am sure all of you have run into something similar. You look in the event logs and there is the “Click here for more information” link in the error message. Of course 99% of the time when you click on that link, the more information is sorry, we have no information on that error. The rest of the time it is just a general description that already has been stated inside the log entry.

Why does Microsoft tease us so? They have the perfect mechanism to help us, the ones who support their products, and yet they shun us. Yes there is a lot of other information out on the net, but sometimes you run into errors that you can’t find anyone else who has solved the error. Sometimes you want that information from Microsoft, without having to call them up and use an incident or pay for an incident. Last time I called up Microsoft, I had the problem figured out while on hold because the Microsoft Technician was asking for help. He couldn’t find information on the error codes.

Microsoft wants to be a big name in search. They have the perfect mechanism to help take Google down a peg with the links in the error log entries. Why they don’t get that working properly, I have no clue.

The Catch 22: Certifications vs. Experience

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I read a fantastic article on Tech Republic about the CCIE certification and was it losing its value. There were points in the article brought up about getting the certification and getting experience.I wanted to touch on this a bit overall as it relates to many jobs and certifications in the IT world.

Its the age old catch 22. The IT professional studies for a certification, hoping he can move up in the field to a better paying job, or a section of the field she is more interested in, and has little experience in. Then they apply for the positions and get turned down due to lack of experience in that area. Next person comes in with experience in the area, but no certification, and they get turned down for the position also. Eventually the position goes to someone who has just a little bit of experience and a college degree, and that person proceeds to prove they have no clue what they are doing.

The world of IT jobs is a tough world to live in. You need the experience and the certifications, and the college degree to become close to being wanted. Most companies force us to go through HR departments which have no clue about the actual position, and go by pieces of paper. If you can get around that, then you have to deal with the real tech interview by someone in the department you are applying.

It sucks, and it makes life difficult. Those of us in lower paying jobs can’t afford to get equipment to practice on, and practicing on a client is frowned upon. So we study for the exams, we use the virtual labs, we do whatever we can to get the knowledge. Its too bad that the experience factor is so much more difficult. If you want a job you need the experience, but how do you get the experience without a job? I know I am still searching for an answer.