Working From Home Megathread

Antares35

Quin_Dub wrote: »

He may not have been wrong technically, but it's more weak security protocols than WFH per se.

Hearing suggestions that the hack access point was from some older systems that were brought (back) online over the last year to facilitate WFH but that were not appropriately updated with the required security protocols etc.

Not sure if that's true , but it's plausible - Lots of companies/organisations were grabbing laptops out of cupboards and store rooms etc. and giving them out this time last year as they tried to get to grips with WFH.

Good points alright.

average_runner

Antares35 wrote: »

Good points alright.

Alot of these ransom attacks come from malware emails. More than likely someone opened an email and clicked on a link.




I know most companies will run courses twice a year on this. Some companies would send their own malware emails to catch staff out, after first warning you are gone!!!

JDD

average_runner wrote: »

Alot of these ransom attacks come from malware emails. More than likely someone opened an email and clicked on a link.




I know most companies will run courses twice a year on this. Some companies would send their own malware emails to catch staff out, after first warning you are gone!!!

I'm in a public service body that gets constant attempts at ransomware attacks. So much so that we have our own unit in IT specifically dealing with information security. That team will regularly travel to each division to do a reminder talk on info security - I'd say we get the same talk every three months. They also send out pretend malware emails - not necessarily to catch you out but to make you really aware of what to look for.

We do hot desking in our office. It hadn't been rolled out to my particular department before Covid, and I was really vehemently against it. I liked going to the same spot every day - had my reference books set up, knew where everything was on my desk, had pictures of my kids ets. Now that it looks like I'll only be in the office two days a week I have absolutely no issue with it. It looks like we'll be able to book a desk for two week blocks, and our team will remain in the same general area of the floor. You get a locker, a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse and laptop (all laptops fit the docking stations). I'll just have to lock the keyboard and mouse away in the evening - I was taking the laptop home most days pre-covid anyway. No issue at all with it now.

Frank Bullitt

This is a funny.

Especially when contrasted with this
http://https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/a-2-year-stanford-study-shows-astonishing-productivity-boost-of-working-from-home.html

A 2-Year Stanford Study Shows the Astonishing Productivity Boost of Working From HomeThe jury was out on the productivity effect of working from home. It has returned with a surprising verdict.

a_squirrelman

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

This is a funny.

Especially when contrasted with this
http://https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/a-2-year-stanford-study-shows-astonishing-productivity-boost-of-working-from-home.html

After googling what WeWork do I see "WeWork is simply an office-leasing company. It makes money by renting office space." so no surprises there.

Frank Bullitt

a_squirrelman wrote: »

After googling what WeWork do I see "WeWork is simply an office-leasing company. It makes money by renting office space." so no surprises there.

They have been rupturing money for a while, even before covid.

Mrs OBumble

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

If a person is WFH then can equally use their own personal laptop as an interim solution. That would be more useful than using someone elses.

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

That isn't how a lot of companies work even before covid. Most people I know had their own laptop or computer and you couldn't just use someone elses. I could actually see that being a very bad thing especially when it comes to that user's files and saved log ins.

zebastein wrote: »

If my laptop breaks down and I am in the office, there is no point giving me the laptop of someone that is in leave. An empty laptop is useless to me.

I need 10 tools installed and configured to work.

Deleted User wrote: »

As for sharing desktops, I haven't seen a desktop in the office in the last 5-6 years, but sure, go over and sit on Mary's PC, just be sure to sterilize it first

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

AlmightyCushion

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

In our company you aren't allowed to use your own laptops, you have to use company equipment. Our laptops are also pretty locked down as well. When you get a new laptop you get a standard enough software configuration dependant on your job and the software you need to do it. There is some minimal scope for customisation though. However, that still doesn't mean you can just use someone else's laptop for a few days in a pinch. It just doesn't work that way. If someone was using my work laptop for a week while I was in holiday or off sick I wouldn't be fair about it. What if they screw it up and I lose some of the project I was working on and get stuck working on an old loaner laptop for a few weeks while I wait for a new one.

If your laptop breaks in our place, you get a loaner laptop until your one can be repaired or replaced. You don't just pick up one lying on someone's desk because they're off for the day. I don't know any company that operates like that.

Frank Bullitt

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

You continue to make me laugh, to the point of pain.

Using your own hardware but with secure software, problem solved. How is intellectual property at all effected if you have secure software?

Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

You can solve this by WFH. Case closed.

krissovo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

I am sorry to say but you are really stuck in the Ice age when it come to technology, your statements above I would have agreed with in the early 2000's but please understand life has moved on in the 20 years since roaming and local profiles were a thing.

Happydays2020

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

You continue to make me laugh, to the point of pain.

Using your own hardware but with secure software, problem solved. How is intellectual property at all effected if you have secure software?

You can solve this by WFH. Case closed.

Indeed. About ten years ago I was able to use Citrix through my own device as a quasi working from home solution and work travel.

Happydays2020

Happydays2020 wrote: »

Indeed. About ten years ago I was able to use Citrix through my own device as a quasi working from home solution and work travel.

Indeed, and Citrix on personal devices is secure enough that is the method used by at least one of the large UK banks for its flexible working and travel solution

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

Goldman Sachs, is that you?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Goldman Sachs, is that you?

No, it’s the 1990’s

limnam

Deleted User wrote: »

Goldman Sachs, is that you?

Is it, an incompetent manager who needs their team local to make up for their lack of competence.


A hand waver that's struggling as it's more difficult to hand wave WFH.


The office joker who misses "da craic"



An "I'm in the office" warrior



Someone sharing a bedsit struggling for office space so wants everyone back.


Has their hand been shown yet. I haven't read the whole thread.

ELM327

limnam wrote: »

Is it, an incompetent manager who needs their team local to make up for their lack of competence.


A hand waver that's struggling as it's more difficult to hand wave WFH.


The office joker who misses "da craic"



An "I'm in the office" warrior



Someone sharing a bedsit struggling for office space so wants everyone back.


Has their hand been shown yet. I haven't read the whole thread.

It's the first line, she's shown it on various threads here already.

limnam

limnam wrote: »

Is it, an incompetent manager who needs their team local to make up for their lack of competence.


A hand waver that's struggling as it's more difficult to hand wave WFH.


The office joker who misses "da craic"



An "I'm in the office" warrior



Someone sharing a bedsit struggling for office space so wants everyone back.


Has their hand been shown yet. I haven't read the whole thread.

I know of one co-worker who has accommodation that is unsuitable for WFH, he really needs to find a remote working hub nearby to work from as at home he is at the kitchen table with all the noises from cooking etc.


He is also nearly two hours drive away from the office.

Mrs OBumble

ELM327 wrote: »

It's the first line, she's shown it on various threads here already.

I've said a number of times, I'm not a manager, and haven't been one for over 10 years.

I have done contract work for/at 7 different companies since 2017, and can definitely say that posters here are quite wrong in statements about how hardware is used: just because YOUR company doesn't share equipment, use roaming profiles, etc doesn't mean no one does. My observation is that many do.

AlmightyCushion

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I've said a number of times, I'm not a manager, and haven't been one for over 10 years.

I have done contract work for/at 7 different companies since 2017, and can definitely say that posters here are quite wrong in statements about how hardware is used: just because YOUR company doesn't share equipment, use roaming profiles, etc doesn't mean no one does. My observation is that many do.

Any relatively big company will not rely on you using someone else's laptop if yours breaks. They will have some old loaner laptops for this purpose.

limnam

Deleted User wrote: »

I know of one co-worker who has accommodation that is unsuitable for WFH, he really needs to find a remote working hub nearby to work from as at home he is at the kitchen table with all the noises from cooking etc.


He is also nearly two hours drive away from the office.

Sure,




But I assume he's not on here banging a huge drum why WFH is work of the devil.

ELM327

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I've said a number of times, I'm not a manager, and haven't been one for over 10 years.

I have done contract work for/at 7 different companies since 2017, and can definitely say that posters here are quite wrong in statements about how hardware is used: just because YOUR company doesn't share equipment, use roaming profiles, etc doesn't mean no one does. My observation is that many do.

We use roaming profiles of course but the reality is that salaried employees that are not contractors or temps will have their own laptop (company supplied) even before covid. If that breaks, it's into IT and you get a loaner until your laptop is fixed or replaced. You don't ask your neighbor for a loan of his laptop during his lunch break.


Your observation is worth little more than mine, in that both are anecdotal. The same exact worth, in fact, as the observations of those that you class as "wrong".


Looking at the number of posters telling you that they disagree with you would at least lead one to form an opinion on the merit of your opinion however, especially when viewed in a ratio to the volume of posters agreeing with you.

limnam wrote: »

Sure,




But I assume he's not on here banging a huge drum why WFH is work of the devil.

Only one or two posters are though. The vast majority of us are working away, I know I am, and am more productive at home.

limnam

ELM327 wrote: »

Only one or two posters are though. The vast majority of us are working away, I know I am, and am more productive at home.

100% The pro's for people who _can_ WFH are endless.


The cons. Not so much.


Empty barrels n all that.


GPDR! GPDR! GPDR!

Antares35

limnam wrote: »

100% The pro's for people who _can_ WFH are endless.


The cons. Not so much.


Empty barrels n all that.


GPDR! GPDR! GPDR!

Chatting to OH this evening about it. Whereas his place have committed to a hybrid model indefinitely, mine have yet to nail their colours to the mast. A trivial concern of mine would be the effect a full time return will have on my dog, who has essentially not been alone for 14 months at this stage. I can imagine the adjustment for her. I jokingly said I'd only agree to go back if I can take her with me (pre covid there was one dog friendly day per week). Of course it would be a ridiculous argument but as OH pointed out, it's no more ridiculous than saying we should go back because Joe Coffee needs to be in business again and Dorris misses the chats I mean collaboration at the water cooler. So, if they start spouting that shíte at me, I'm pulling the dog card

Dyr

Antares35 wrote: »

Dorris misses the chats I mean collaboration at the water cooler.

The one thing I'll find extremely hard is the whole fake corporate culture of interacting with people, which is essentially, be middle class or pretend to be middle class.

Grinds my ****ing gears.

shadyslimshady

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What these posts tell me is that posters on this thread are not like most employees who I've met in a number of companies over the last 7 years or so.

Except is the very small mom-and-pop operations, the goal is standardised hardware. A company laptop is a company laptop. You may be allowed to install extra stuff on if yourself - but if it goes belly-up (or you f-up it up), you get a newly imaged company machine, not individually configured. Profiles are set up to roam. Local machines often cannot do much, except access the server / citrix / remote-desktop / whatever you're calling it. Company resources belong to the company and are allocated according to need, not yesterday's allocation.

The idea of using your own hardware is an absolute joke: a total nightmare from a GDPR and also company intellectual property point of view.

Concern about sterilised surfaces was valid 12 months ago, when machines were typically quarantined for 3 days between users. Given what the CDC are now saying about formite transmission of Covid-19, it's increasingly irrelevant. Being in the same air-space as anyone else is far more of a risk than touching stuff they touched.

Where to start.......

Any decent company will have spare laptops ready to go for a user if one breaks down on the domain and fully up to date. Can have next day delivery in Ireland.

What companies actually use roaming profiles anymore?

What companies use desktops in their offices anymore?

You could use Citrix/Azure for a VM if a user is badly stuck on their own device.

These arguments that you make about been against working from home don't make any sense to me. The same principal applies if the user is in the office. If a company can't afford to have 5 spare laptops ready to go on domain as spares then I shudder to think what there overall IT strategy. is.

Marcusm

Antares35 wrote: »

Chatting to OH this evening about it. Whereas his place have committed to a hybrid model indefinitely, mine have yet to nail their colours to the mast. A trivial concern of mine would be the effect a full time return will have on my dog, who has essentially not been alone for 14 months at this stage. I can imagine the adjustment for her. I jokingly said I'd only agree to go back if I can take her with me (pre covid there was one dog friendly day per week). Of course it would be a ridiculous argument but as OH pointed out, it's no more ridiculous than saying we should go back because Joe Coffee needs to be in business again and Dorris misses the chats I mean collaboration at the water cooler. So, if they start spouting that shíte at me, I'm pulling the dog card

Dogs sniff out covid better than tests. Plead that in support of your argument.

Marcusm

Marcusm wrote: »

Dogs sniff out covid better than tests. Plead that in support of your argument.

If it's a bad tempered dog, it will ensure social distancing is maintained.

Naos

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

It is.

With WFO, there will always be someone out sick or on leave, and a personp with a broken machine can use theirs as an interim work around until the issue is fixed.

With everyone taking My Own Laptop home, you lose that capacity.

With any fleet of computers, there will always be some with hardware issues.

Have you genuinely seen desktops knocking around in the 7 different offices you've worked in since 2017?

And if not and it was laptops with docking stations, how exactly would you get your hands on someone's laptop while they are of sick when it should be securely locked in their locker?

limnam

The only thing that comes to mind is


It's a wind up merchant loving this.


Or a complete and utter gob****e


I think in both cases, we can safely ignore.

Mrs OBumble

Naos wrote: »

Have you genuinely seen desktops knocking around in the 7 different offices you've worked in since 2017?

And if not and it was laptops with docking stations, how exactly would you get your hands on someone's laptop while they are of sick when it should be securely locked in their locker?

I've seen a whole mix of approaches.

The only one I've heard of, but never actually seen (possibly 'cos I'm in Galway, not Dublin) is hot-desking with lockers.

Most (all? I'm not sure) had SOME desktops. Receptionists, accounts people, and various others don't usually get laptops. And in places I've been, laptops were either left on desks (I hated that) or cable-tied to the desks (you know that's why business-model laptops have little lock slots in them - manufacturers wouldn't bother if laptop users/owners didn't want them).

I've used desktops to cover hardware issues. When covid hit last year and laptops became like rocking-horse-sh*t, I even sent some laptops + wifi dongles to people homes.


I don't give a damn whether anyone of you think I'm serious or not. 'Tis no skin off my nose at all, and I'm not here for the likes.


But it's really striking that WFH fans believe that their opinion is valid, and no one else's concerns are. I wonder what that says about their teamwork skills and behaviours.

Honest readers know full well that I'm not the only person who has posted here about issues and challenges. Ones with any management experience know that some staff are great workers who get stuff done with no supervision, and do the right thing when there's any ambiguity - and some aren't / don't.