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HELP!!!! Administrator Password Required!!!!!

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37 replies

by bizzo

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I was going to post this in response to one of Old Mycroft's answers to a password request. He (she?) does answer them so eloquently.

Why has there been so many posts requesting password cracks, unlock codes, license keys etc? All from people who join and post on the same day. And (not being racist or anything here), they all seem to be from India.

Most of the support work in my company is now offshored, with a view to offshoring more. We give the India support people the access they need to do there job, but ultimately we still hold the admin accounts and passwords. I sincerely hope that these posts are not from our colleagues overseas.

Any person posting responses to these people helping them to crack accounts and services deserve to have their work accounts trashed, their home machines wrecked and their bank account emptied.

I've been on this forum for a long time, always try to help people if I can and (more often than not) find the answers I need to help me do my job.

Anyone have any idea what?s going on?

37 replies

by jaqui

in the criminal school of hacking systems I bet.

I doubt that anyone actually working in IT would ever concider asking such a question.

personally, I think directing them to dban is a better answer to their questions ]:)

by tig2

Bizzo, Join the club, we are all wondering the same thing.

The standard TR response to a password crack assist is "Not only No, but h*ll No!" delivered in a variety of ways. I don't know of a technology professional that would deign to answer a password crack question with any real information- although w2kTechman has a tendency to answer in a manner that will, if followed to the letter, guarantee that the individual will destroy the computer, keyboard, and possibly themselves.

Have no clue what is fueling this trend. It may well be companies like yours who throw a complexity level in the mix and Indians who don't care to work with that.

What to me is at least marginally worse is that I know a great many hard working Indians who end up being viewed with a level of distrust because of the activities of the unscrupulous. And that is completely undeserved.

In the end, I think that the best we can do is maintain a tight-lipped policy and just deal with the problem. Somehow, I don't see it improving.

Edit- Need coffee!

by tig2

In a cup, just as the Almighty intended it!

Nothing like 6 or 8 cups of hot, black coffee to get you ready for the day!

Thanks, Nick! :)

by jdclyde

There are many clueless assclowns around here that can't understand why we wouldn't hand out the keys to heaven to anyone that asks.

These same assclowns will be the ones crying when they find it is THEIR laptop that was stolen, and their own blatant stupidity is what allowed the scumbags to get into it.

Quite a few have posted against anyone that refuses to answer this, based on ethical standards, showing that the complainers are quite lacking in the ethics department.

Heck, some will even accuse you of being racist or something stupid like that, can you believe it? :0

:x

by tig2

That one managed to p*ss me completely off. I have been accused os a lot of things in my lifetime, but up till now, racist never made the list.

Next time, I will cheerfully pull out Mae's famous (infamous???) line and let the chips fall as they will. I currently have that line pasted to a text file so I can quickly pull it out.

So much for my "nice" demeanor, eh?

Have a happy hump day!
:x

by older mycroft

To realise I am 100% (well I used to be!) rugged Scottish manhood.

As to the increasingly alarming predeliction of password queries, I reckon it's a combination of Global Warming + Turbans.

They've all microwaved their brains and joined the ranks of the 'undead'.

by bizzo

Sir,

I will take you at your word.
I'm afraid I refuse to look up such garments, to see what "used to be" your rugged Scottish manhood.

(Was that a misquote there?) :-)

by jaqui

a few Dommes who could sissify you the rest of the way, since you used to be rugged ]:)

~grumble~ danged typos

by nicknielsen

The recent tendency to respond to such requests with completely spurious (but believable) "fixes" probably increases the number of hits in the search bots.

Then when people search for a place to get instructions for bypassing the admin password, TR shows up at the top of the list.

Or it could just be that these people aren't smart enough to tell the difference between a legitimate IT support site and a cracker warez site.

by nicknielsen

So many bad memories of military midshift coffee that I can't drink it black any more!

A touch of half-n-half is always good.

by tig2

But coffee in its natural state does not contain any calories. The minute you put something in it, that goes straight out the window.

I start using half and half in my coffee, I will no longer be able to tie my walking shoes, much less walk. This would not be good, I'm leading a team this year.

by dadspad

Land of Lakes makes a low-cal half & half, my family cannot tell the difference from regular.

Remember that young kids have 10,000 taste buds, compared to adults that have only 5,000. So, you still being a kid, may taste things different from me. :)

by jdclyde

Doing some sample google searches for password hacks and TR doesn't even show up on the list.

Maybe they need to add a message when creating a discussion/question that password hacks will not be allowed? Maybe even a string that looks for and flags a discussion/question that is asking for a hack/crack and then REMOVE the threat as soon as it is identified to keep it from showing up on searches?

It is enough of an issue that TR should start to address it because of the image it creates for them.

by jaqui

you need to put in a numeric code over the phone, then a voice code

numeric: 911
voice: I want to illegally hack a secure computer system

by tig2

You aren't that old... and I am not that young. And aging before your eyes, too. Turning another year older in the next few days.

But the compliments are always appreciated!
:x

by tig2

Coffee IS diet by nature. The only way you would get diet coffee is if you put stuff in it and THEN reduce the calories.

But they did the same silly thing to tea too.

Tea, in its natural state doesn't contain calories either. Sweet tea is another thing entirely.

Diet coffee. Sheesh!!!

by dadspad

A little bitter, but ... why not, bypass the water. :D

I agree about the diet coffee.

But leave sweet tea alone, I am from the south (USA) and that is the correct way to serve it. :)

by naughtymonkey

the hell are you getting sweet tea in Florida. I have not been able to acquire sweet tea anywhere in Florida while on vacation. I guess next time I will have to eat dinner at your house.

[i]Did I just invite myself to a strangers house? My mom would be so proud.[/i] :)

by nicknielsen

Their web site: http://www.slimcafe.net/

According to the ingredients list, they have added anything and everything to the coffee that is reputed to assist in weight loss: hoodia, garcinia, ginseng, etc. At $20/pound, I'm sure I can do better just by eating right, cutting back on snacks, substituting water for other drinks, and exercising regularly.

And some independent commentary: http://tinyurl.com/yodpvj. I'm inclined to agree with this guy. Since they say right on the website that you don't have to change your eating habits, my take is that it's the greedy targeting the gullible.

by nicknielsen

Where are you in Florida that you can't get sweet tea? I've never had any trouble finding it, but then I've never been south of Tampa.

by naughtymonkey

but I have never been to a restaurant that served it sweet, just with sweetener to add.

I have only been to Panama City, Orlando, New Smyrna (I thin that is how it is spelled), and Daytona. Restaurants vary from Disney, TGIF type, and other misc places.

I was however pleased anytime I left upstate SC so I could be served alcohol on Sunday. Luckily 2 years ago they finally caught up with the rest of the world though and Greenville dropped that crappy law. Never really paid attention to how much that covered SC.

Edit to add: I think I remember going to a TGIF on the way through Florida to Orlando just over the state line on I95 that did have sweet tea.

by nicknielsen

I'm in Lexington county, Sunday alcohol sales only in restaurants. No bulk sales, no package store. Thank God for planning (and Fort Jackson :D )!

Edit: emoticon typo

by toepfer_c

The funny thing is that a lot of these companies own the licenses, but the people oversees - or even here sometimes have no way of requesting them. So they end up downloading and cracking stuff. I've tracked license codes (over the coarse of months) many times to an old email sent to a corprate accounts box. The guys in India probably don't have the option of tracking down software binaries and licenses for months at a time.

by jebowen

Hi there
I undertsand your concern re win password requests and people joining and posting the same day etc. However, while there may be some dodgy people out there, others like me join and post on the same day because we've been trying to fix this problem and as a result have found this forum we hadn't need to use before. Unlike some of the people you seem to be suspicious of, I have a genuine need to get past a password one of our former volunteers put on our church laptop. He has left and will not respond to our requests and we need to get this laptop working again. As the person who has been handed the problem, I'm trying to fix it as easily as possible. The guy who left should not have put a password on it in the first place and has left us in the lurch. it's frustrating and sure it may seem suspicious to others, but it's a genuine dilemma for me!
I'm happy for people to contact me personally and not post publicly to maintain security, but I do genuinely need help with this.
thanks!
Juliet

by the scummy one

re-install the OS -- best option, it pulls all of the potential crap off (if the drive is securely wiped first).

Take it to a shop, they will likely charge $60-$80

Convince the person to give you the PW

by others don't play well with me

is to contact the company that made the laptop.
they can help you bypass the bios password, once you prove to them you are their legit client.
[ they have the records ]

if it's the os itself,
wipe the drive and re-install.

by tony hopkinson

there again you have no history on TR, you've just joined, you have a very big job title, you whacked church in your post.

It's a fair go a t convincing but we've had ones that were just as good, even people who've signed on with a different alias and argued that 'you' should be helped.

So how do we separate you from crakswontedplz and his mates?

Even if I was sure you legit and there's no way I can be, this is a public site. If I help you, I've helped crakswontedplz.

There is a peer mail facility, which of course you have disabled, that could be used to keep the answer quiet. Don't rush off to enable it, I still don't know you from Eve.

Any professional IT person you know can help you with this question, no professional IT person will tell you if they don't 'know' you.

by jebowen

Hi
Thanks for your reply. I didn't even know there was a peer mail facility - thanks for that info - as I had only just signed up hadn't looked that far. i'll take more of a look around now I've found this site tho :-)
Thankfully the problem is solved - the guy who set the password finally got back to me and it's all fixed.
I understand your reticence to give info - thanks anyway. Didn't even think about the fact that it might be breaking the rules or anything. was just looking for a quick simple fix for what was a minor dilemma. Wanted to use a new program we bought and couldn't instal the darn thing without admin privileges!
thanks again
Juliet

by tony hopkinson

TR (well their owners) themselves as far as I can tell only care if they get lots of hits.

Those of us who frequent the site and spend a lot of time implementing, using and enforcing security restrictions, take a dim view of wasting that effort.

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