NT administration

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Kevin Mackie
Posts: 671
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 1998 6:01 am

NT administration

Post by Kevin Mackie »

techies.. what's the issue with allowing (or not) desktop users of an NT workstation administrator priviledges? I ask because our company is going 100% NT this year and it sounds like the IT dept. Wants to control it for job security. Need a printer installed? Call IT. Need your date and time corrected? Call IT.

I say let the users have the control but have the usual rules about don't install non company SW, don't download stuff etc..

Any REAL harm in letting users have priviledges?

Kevin
Shelly King

NT administration

Post by Shelly King »

Hi Kevin

I'm not a techie but our company started switching over to NT this year. Nothing but problems. Our tech support isn't even located in the same state...anytime we have problems we have to call Baltimore for support and installation of everything. Took 2 weeks to get an address for a new printer. It really bites when we go down late afternoon and they've all already gone home.

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Shelly
Allen M.

NT administration

Post by Allen M. »

Hello Kevin,


Whenever I go into a company, sometimes 2 or three a year, I face the same issues as you, ALL THE TIME. Seems like it’s US against IS, but that, of course, is an incorrect perception.

The IT (or IS,) bunch are a wonderful group of people, but usually there are too few of them in any given company, and they are most always asked to do too much in too short a time. IT likes to be in control and often sets up security too tight for software developers. I have my own methods of getting a PC properly set up, and always get results fast!

There is NO REAL harm with software developers having administration priviliges, fact I won’t touch a keyboard unless I have the full access to everything.

There’s usually no problem with using non-company software, provided it’s legal and demonstratable that it is a productivity tool. Just make sure you have virus protection turned ON unless the particular outfit you work for has restrictions, such as surfing the net or sending email to all your buds on company time.

Just don’t start mucking with the registry if you don’t know what you are doing else you could hose your system bad enough to require IT to rebuild it. I don’t think they would like that. If you don’t know how to type regedt32, then don’t do it because for some reason that seems to steam-up IT whenever you have to call them afterward.



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Allen, now at his new website www.ury2k.com
Dakkon
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Fl.
Contact:

NT administration

Post by Dakkon »

Kevin,
In NT the administrator account has more power then most people(IT admins included) need. You can also screw alot of stuff up seriously. Most people can work with a user account and would never know they are not logged on as an "Admin"
There is things the IT Dept. can allow and not allow with system policies and profiles Image
Takes a good plan to make the conversioin happen painlessly.
No there is no real harm in letting users have certin privlideges just the IT Dept. needs to make sure they know what they are doing when they let you have them.
Hope this answered the question. If not let me know and I'll try to explain it better.

Shelly,
Sounds like they didn't plan to well on the conversion to me. No on site support is a pain agreed.
Allen M.

NT administration

Post by Allen M. »

The other neat thing you want to do is to surf your local net. It is simply AMAZING what other people have on their machines, some of it could get people canned or arrested, and some of it is pretty funny.

I often stumble upon these things by accident while looking for required items, usually uring the first day at a new assignment.

Privacy? Don't let yourself be lulled into a false sense of security with NT. Copy-off private stuff onto a floppy.

Now that you have NT, make sure only the areas you want to be shared are, in fact, shared.

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Allen, now at his new website www.ury2k.com
Dakkon
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Fl.
Contact:

NT administration

Post by Dakkon »

Kevin,
Allen made some very good points!
Tony can vouch for the extermes that the IT dept's can put you through. My last employer had the systems so locked down that you couldn't change the desktop, screen resolution/color depth NO RIGHT click etc. etc. Very minor things but they thought those where a major item!
I agree with Allen give the people the power they need to work and that's it. Every situation is different and every company is different.
Remember those guys in IT are really good people they just have to enforce corporate policy which makes them seem like the bad guys, some are but some aren't so give them some slack Image
Remember e-mail at work is YOUR EMPOLYERS property and they do have legal rights to read it! There has been some nasty court cases and they have always sided on the companies side.
Non-Company provided software is a touchy thing. Best policy is to ask for it and have them provided it avoids a very very redface call to the IT or Presidents office to explain it and answer why they where just fined $100,000 for it.
Netsurfin' is simple. DON'T DO IT AT WORK avoids hassles and troubles. I say this because I have first hand knowledge of 3 people losing their jobs and 2 suspensions and 4 verbal warnings all over a simple click on a web site at lunch or during break.
Proxies log all access and if some one doesn't know what they are readding it gets hairy. 1 web site may draw stuff from 10 different web sites so they also get logged.
So it looks like you are really spending alot of time surfin when you aren't.
Take Care and enjoy the Holidays.
Cheers,
Chuck
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