Reply to post: Re: Lenovo crapware

Security gone in 600 seconds: Make-me-admin hole found in Lenovo Windows laptop crapware. Delete it now

Alan Brown Silver badge

Re: Lenovo crapware

"Took them a while to get to grips with it"

I found a simple solution: "OK, I'd like you to sign HERE on this document to say that you've had the necessity for onsite operational spares explained to you, that you've declined to allow for this in planning and that you take on full fiscal/legal responsibility for the consequences of this decision."

Get it witnessed.

And if they refuse to sign off on it, make a note of that too and have it witnessed (and recorded) - because when spinny thing and fecal matter intersect this is the kind of slippery fucker who will go out of their way to make it someone else's (your) fault, or fire you for "not respecting their authoritah" - and then blame you for the shitfest because you're no longer there. (which can have devastating employment consequences - slander is a serious issue, so keep this stuff recorded)

As an ISP, I fired a couple of customers and _never_ felt guilty about it.

One I specifically warned not to put NT4 systems directly on the Internet without a bastion due to its documented hackability tried to smear me amongst local businesses by painting my warning as a threat to hack their networks - they lasted about 6 weeks on their new ISP before being utterly reamed and having all their business records stolen (they were a successful pharmaceutical manufacturer) - the company never recovered and was taken over by a multinational drug company shortly afterwards. The "Consultant expert" they'd used was cut loose and went on to wreak havoc in a number of other companies - apparently because people don't talk to each other or because a condition of leaving is a glowing reference (which is why I treat such things as suspect).

It's funny when a client who leaves because you refuse to be "flexible" about poor security practices comes back and begs to be reconnected, having worked his way around the available competition. It gave quite a bit of leverage in insisting that they cleaned house. (back in those days as an ISP you paid a hefty penalty for hacked clients as a few of them would invariably trash your bandwidth - so policing it was in your own interests)

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon