Ask a Help Desk Technician anything

16 Questions

Last Answer on January 08, 2015

By now, do most people understand that you shouldn't open attachments from unknown senders, or do you still get a ton of work from people who don't understand that they shouldn't open secret-report.exe?

Asked by Sunir about 10 years ago

You know I ask myself this same question but the problem is you do indeed still get these people. We have luckily trained ours to call and say "Hey I got an email on money that I need to collect by wire transfer..." and we tell them "No". However my favorites are the ones that call and say "Hey...I just did something and think it was bad...can you help me..." these are nice to. Long story short TONS, as long as there are people who use computers they will open D35troy3r_OF_W0r1DZ.exe any day.

868 Votes

What do you think of the current trend of company's outsourcing their help desk personnel overseas? I know it saves money, but it's crazy to me that when I call my own employer's computer help desk, I'm getting someone in India!

Asked by god almost 10 years ago

I know that it is a trend but recently major corporation are pulling their IT back in house. This is due to the very reason you just mentioned. Not having staff in house causes a loss in efficiency and timezone difference make it more difficult to align IT and business goals. In short though I find it annoying when companies outsource IT 100% you should, in my opinion, have boots on the ground.

832 Votes

Do you ever interview junior techs and what kind of interview questions do you ask?

Asked by Ted about 10 years ago

I have sat in on a few interviews but I often like to ask open ended questions. For instance describe for me an issue that you worked through and the solutions? How would you handle a client that has X issue and seems upset? I would ask questions about basic terminology and concepts to insure that they have a strong baseline. However if the tech does not post specific software knowledge on their resume then I find it unfair to question their interactions with it. You can always teach someone who understands the basics about your specific software.
Long story short if they say I have basic experience with Cisco switches then ask them basic questions but don’t ask CCIE level questions expecting expert responses.

831 Votes

I always wondered this: my office has a SHARED drive (S:) that bets backed up like every 4 hours, but can they also see / access / snoop on what's on your LOCAL desktop?

Asked by Agent0 about 10 years ago

Depends on how permissions are set up. If your C: drive is shared with everyone then I can \\your computer name in explorer and maybe see your drives content. However your best bet is to treat your machine like its not yours and don't save anything you dont want seen on it. I think it's crazy when my end users save photos on a machine and they get lost. My main concern is data that is business critical and that does not include your 42GB of family photos...save them elsewhere.

825 Votes

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Have you ever found something embarrassing on someone's work computer? Are you required to report anything suspicious or potentially illegal?

Asked by QQ about 10 years ago

So this is a question that runs through my head day end and day out...what if I find a stash of porn on your machine. Here are my rules of engagement. If it is a laptop or computer that you own and work from I ignore it IF the contents are not illegal such as child porn or obviously demented content. I am not the one to judge and point the finger in a case of legitimate adult entertainment. However if it is a production machine or you are looking at the materials in the office then I must report it to my supervisor and it is in his hands after that. I do not spread rumors and I do not believe in ousting people for their personal choices to watch or view...provocative materials.

814 Votes

Do companies typically require any particular certification to get hired for their internal tech support team? If I wanted to get one certification, which would carry the most weight across the board?

Asked by Ted almost 10 years ago

This one was tough and it honestly depends on what you will be doing. At the time I interviewed for a position and had a CCNA, MCITP, SEC + and NET + but could not land an entry level position that required an A+ (A basic hardware and Troubleshooting Certificate). I also at the time had just gotten my Associates in Networking. So it was probably a very basic position but HR would not budge on having an A+. So really if your just starting and want a good fundamental certification I would get an A+ for internal technical day to day type stuff. You can build off of that knowledge from there.

755 Votes

Are the Best Buy Geek Squad and Apple Genius Bar staff actually competent, or is anyone who's any good at tech help working in-house at a company?

Asked by Deryen almost 10 years ago

To be honest I have met some really well rounded and competent people working for Apple's Genius Bar. Best Buy Geek Squad I have heard various details on their abilities but I cant confirm or deny anything. That said though, sometimes all you can get after a layoff is a job with a retail chain installing AV and fixing the computer that "Isn't" used for questionable acts, but just so happens to be ridden with malware. Sometimes very educated, competent people land those jobs and other times you get complete idiots with god complexes because they built a 12,000 dollar supercomputer in their moms basement....

739 Votes

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Help Desk Technician

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

By now, do most people understand that you shouldn't open attachments from unknown senders, or do you still get a ton of work from people who don't understand that they shouldn't open secret-report.exe?

What do you think of the current trend of company's outsourcing their help desk personnel overseas? I know it saves money, but it's crazy to me that when I call my own employer's computer help desk, I'm getting someone in India!

Do you ever interview junior techs and what kind of interview questions do you ask?

I always wondered this: my office has a SHARED drive (S:) that bets backed up like every 4 hours, but can they also see / access / snoop on what's on your LOCAL desktop?

Also on Jobstr...

Have you ever found something embarrassing on someone's work computer? Are you required to report anything suspicious or potentially illegal?

Do companies typically require any particular certification to get hired for their internal tech support team? If I wanted to get one certification, which would carry the most weight across the board?

Are the Best Buy Geek Squad and Apple Genius Bar staff actually competent, or is anyone who's any good at tech help working in-house at a company?

Help Desk Technician

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

By now, do most people understand that you shouldn't open attachments from unknown senders, or do you still get a ton of work from people who don't understand that they shouldn't open secret-report.exe?

What do you think of the current trend of company's outsourcing their help desk personnel overseas? I know it saves money, but it's crazy to me that when I call my own employer's computer help desk, I'm getting someone in India!

Do you ever interview junior techs and what kind of interview questions do you ask?

I always wondered this: my office has a SHARED drive (S:) that bets backed up like every 4 hours, but can they also see / access / snoop on what's on your LOCAL desktop?

Also on Jobstr...

Have you ever found something embarrassing on someone's work computer? Are you required to report anything suspicious or potentially illegal?

Do companies typically require any particular certification to get hired for their internal tech support team? If I wanted to get one certification, which would carry the most weight across the board?

Are the Best Buy Geek Squad and Apple Genius Bar staff actually competent, or is anyone who's any good at tech help working in-house at a company?

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