* Posts by ecofeco

8156 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jul 2010

Americans cutting back on online activity over security and privacy fears

ecofeco Silver badge

Re: Yes, to all the above, and "we accept / make no commitments by e-mail ..."

Most contracted IT is won by who is known and how undetectable you can make the kickback much discount and how cheap you can get the actual employees who will do the actual work.

Merit and competency hardly come into play.

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Re: Be safe online AND on the phone

This should be taught to children. I have to tell my aging parents this all the time. No caller ID? No answer.

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Re: And I thought I was an anomalous holdout --

Perhaps, one day the banking system in USA might move into to 20th Century let alone the 21st.

Why would they when they can fail and still be rewarded? You simply will not ever beat that kind of corruption.

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Re: It's not surprising.

Steve Knox. Dear god! That's insane!! WTFF?

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Re: Legislation

But that would be government interference in the free market! /s

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Websites with viable contact information and problem reporting? Oh how... plebeian. Who do you think you are? A valued customer or something? /s

No joke. In the U.S. it is the law that when your money is in the bank (or similar) it is now the property of the bank. If your account isn't sporting large sums, they WILL find ways to fuck you over. (manufactured overdraft fees being now the largest revenue source for banks) In fact, it's the banks I trust the least.

Yeah, don't get me started.

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Re: won't someone think of the children

Privatize the profit, socialize the costs.

What are you, some kinda damn commie-nist! /s

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How... predictable

In the early days of on-line transactions, the sticking point was security and rightfully so. It WAS a problem. Then it was solved. Now it's a problem again. Only now it's everywhere, not just on-line.

Who can blame the customers? They are not tech people and should not have to be especially considering the level of knowledge required these days to stay safe. It is utterly ridiculous and NOT the users fault in the first place.

So the natural response is "fuck this shit." Pretty much the same as even the more experienced and tech savvy poster here. Who can blame them?

Microsoft phone support contractors told to hang up after 15 minutes

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Re: Can you beat my 6+ hour support call?!

Gah! Maths! 24 hours at 8 hours each day.

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Re: This is not unusual

Too true AB, but I don't hate them. Their work conditions and job training usually sucks. If I got good user info from them I was happy.

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Re: Can you beat my 6+ hour support call?!

Easy. Three days.

VP. Middle of nowhere. Satellite connection only. Virus. Slow remote connection. Slow PC. Everything that could be wrong with the OS was wrong.

2 days to clean, another day to update.

Almost an hour to write the final tech notes. AFTER the regular daily notes.

To be honest, I only worked strict 9 hour days with an hour off for lunch. Overtime was not allowed. So, 18 hours then?

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Re: Not just the IT world

I see this EVERYWHERE these days. It's not just the Peter Principle, but also people who know the right people and are given jobs and authority WAY beyond their abilities.

Needless to say, I am one jaded SOB when I hear companies want "talented" people. "Bullshit" is always my first thought. Then I see the processes that are company policy and "bullshit" is my second thought.

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Re: 15 minutes?

Most common response: "My what? Were can I find that?"

Me: "On your paystub or other HR related forms."

Them: "I don't have those near me."

Me: "How long have you worked for the company?"

Them: "Several years."

Me, to myself: oh fuck me. (because this means I now have to TRY and find their ID which usually involves opening 3 SEPARATE databases and manually cross referencing them, one of which was NOT properly indexed for even a simple search.)

My other favorite was company A buys out company B and changes everyone's ID. Above steps every single call.

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Re: rubbish

Believe it. Here's how it works:

Tech reads from script. If answer match, give that solution then end call.

If the answers do not match, escalate the issue and take the next call.

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Re: Want to increase your personal call stats?

Don't blame him. I think that's a brilliant solution to unreasonable demands by the company.

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This is not unusual

“It can take up to 15 minutes just to pry out the details of the fault from the user let alone identify and fix the issue,”

If that quick! I've worked a couple of big corps who had this rule even for tier 2 and 3 support, but not for long. There is no way in hell you can solve anyone's problem at tier 2 or 3 in 15 minutes. 30 minutes is doing good. An hour is common. Any problem too complicated for tier 1 means the client/user/customer really has a major problem.

The reason tier 1 has time limits is because those tech usually know just enough to be dangerous and very often do not follow the rules, so they will attempt to fix problems they should never touch or say really stupid things to the user. But the time limit needs to be longer than 15 minutes.

Bullshit processes like that mean I leave very quickly. You are set up for failure from the start.

FBI director claims that videoing police is causing crime uptick

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Re: Simple solution

Colorado has the answers regrading the legalization of marijuana. They are public and available with a quick google search.

The resulting drop in crime was significant as was the costs saved and increased tax revenue from the sale thereof.

ecofeco Silver badge

That's Thoughtcrime there, buster! Be careful!

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Re: Tune in for next week's episode, where Comey decries the jury system

Er, you know BOTH of those things have already been publicly stated and tried?

Google it. Then join those of us desperately trying to get off this fucked up planet.

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Re: Simple solution

Look, do you want what has happened in Colorado to happen nationwide? Less crime means more law enforcement are out of work! That's just crazy commie talk!

You some kinda pansy ass librul or somethin?

/s

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Re: People are funny that way

I know! Crazy, right? Don't they know the beatings will continue until moral improves?

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Of course it is

By cops being CAUGHT more often.

Cities are investigating, workers are on strike, but it's not all good news for Verizon

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Re: I can tell you exactly how things can get worse

Prisoners seem to be one of a growing number of subhuman underclasses - along with people on benefits and immigrants - who are being written out of mainstream society and excluded from the same rights as everyone else.

Got bad news for you. It's always been this way. The human race is rather insane that way.

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Re: given this

Until they start overthrowing countries and or killing their customers, no. But they sure are trying.

And yes, many U.S. companies have done this. Google it. Especially ITT. (the old phone company)

US work visas for international tech talent? 'If Donald Trump is elected all bets are off'

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Re: What is a "native" to do??

Entitled graduates aside (and what else is new there?) the problem is not the ridiculous expectations of the less experienced, but the deliberate ostracizing of those with experience because they have earned their wage level and the blatant and documented widespread abuse of the H1B system..

ecofeco Silver badge

Have an upvote to offset the clueless moron (or maybe the sock puppet) who gave you a downvote.

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Re: abuse not limited to tech!

With few exceptions, and none of them I can think of right off the top of my head, the H1b system is one corrupt crap fest.

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Re: All bets are off

Th U.S. of today reminds me of an old missive about Spain when it was an empire. Spain had pretty much stopped making things by that time and was importing almost everything and trade/market speculation was the biggest industry of the day. The main point being that it was said Spain used to BRAG that they no longer made things and didn't have to.

We know how that worked out.

Sloppy security in IoT putting 'life and limb' at risk, guru warns

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Re: VISA and your car

People think ALL technology is simple. It's bad enough when the customer presumes it is, it's disaster when the board of directors think it is.

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And I get downvoted for saying the same

Nice to see someone else understands the problem.

Sloppy security will be the rule, not the exception.

UK.gov is about to fling your data at anyone who wants it. How? Why? Shut up, pleb

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Re: "an overhaul of data sharing within government,"

And "privatization".

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For who?

"Sharing citizens' data is essential to build "a more prosperous society," according to Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock"

We know who will prosper and it isn't the average punter.

Burger-slinger Wendy’s admits: Cash-till data breach hit 1 in 20 outlets

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Re: From Small Buildings Come Big Leaks

whoa

ecofeco Silver badge

Re: They (and others) have a bit of a cheek

Of ALL the fast food operations in the U.S., Wendy's has by FAR the highest quality.

Better than home cooked? Well no, of course not. Better than the competition? My stomach is at the age where it tells me very violently and quickly when I've just eaten shit masquerading as food. Wendy's consistently keeps my stomach happy. (except for the chili. you can guess why)

Non-police orgs merrily accessed PNC without authority, says HMIC

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Re: Yes, but it's established practice

Why not both?

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Just more adoption of U.S. Capitalism!

In the U.S., that information is for sale for very tidy sums.

In fact, the local govs with ALL of your official data are the biggest offenders.

I laugh and laugh and laugh every time I hear someone say the U.S. is a free country. Compared to some 3rd world? Yep. Compared to the rest of the world? Highest prison population of ANY country in the world and in-your-face fascism sorta put lie to that.

A cracked window on the International Space Station? That's not good

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Coat

Thank god the screen doors are still working.

Blocking ads? Smaller digital publishers are smacked the hardest

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The PTB...

...STILL do not "get" the Internet.

IBM's Internet of Things brainbox foresees 'clean clothes as a service'

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Re: Use Cases

And you don't think it's deliberate?

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Rube Goldberg lives

IoT is nothing but Rube Goldberg bollocks.

The only way to bring about better goods and services, THE ONLY WAY, is to pay and train people better.

PLA sysadmin gets six months house arrest for yanking US Army docs

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Re: Duh.

I don't understand this either, yet you got 4 down votes. The world has gone mad.

Have an upvote.

Can ad biz’s LEAN avert ADPOCALYPSE?

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Re: Internet marketeers

...with emphasis on morons.

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Sure they will

I'll believe it when I see it. But short of law or push-back from the host websites, they will do what they always do which is whatever they want.

Researcher arrested after reporting pwnage hole in elections site

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Re: Breaking into computers you don't own..

Thanks for the report Dan. So it's clearly a case of revenge for looking bad. Better known as "official repression" which means after the dust settles, they've just set themselves up for a major civil rights lawsuit.

Watch it again: SpaceX's boomerang rocket lands on robo-sea-barge

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And THAT'S how you do it

Seems they've got the hang of it now. Beautiful.

Gobble away! Charter-Time Warner Cable merger OK'd by FCC

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Are they corrupt, or just incompetent?

Both. Was this a trick question? (I did upvote you)

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Re: A cornucopia of benefits for consumers!

"You some kinda commie, boy?!"

- some famous movie quote

Apple needs silver bullet to slay App Store's escaped undead – study

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Once again, "complicated" seems to be the order of the day

Send a warning to the user that the application is no longer trusted with link back to the App Store for verification. Let them decide if they want to delete it.

See? That was easy wasn't it? I know, it doesn't make for a lucrative consultation bill or speaking engagement or book and even an article, but there you go.

Microsoft half-bricks Asus Windows 7 PCs with UEFI boot glitch

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Re: A deal with the devil

Alright, I give up. Where'd you get that icon?

Hey, YouTube: Pay your 'workers' properly and get with the times

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Most corrupt industry ever

The music industry makes the black market drug and arms trade look honest in comparison.

No joke. It's the biggest reason it fought all modernization and adoption of the Internet: it would bring too much transparency.