-
Reddit SystemAdmin. Thanks @reddit2telegram and @r_channels.
It's the simple pleasures
This year as been overwhelming, to say the least. We had an unplanned change of telephone providers, accomplished in 2 months to avoid getting stuck in another year's contract. We had to find a new vendor to renew our VMWare license, because NONE of the existing partners we have are doing business with them anymore (no big shock) and ended up going past our deadline and having to pay not just 20x the previous cost but also the "renewal" fee (yes, we're already planning to replace with HyperV or Proxmox before next year's expiration). We've had a dozen projects all begging for time that was already allocated, and our VP of IT chose this time to retire (good for him) and now our 3-person IT team is under the Controller because they want to see if they can get by without a dedicated CIO (hint: we can't). We've had so many little problems, on top of all the users "accidentally" closing their laptops on a pen, or dropping them, or forgetting to reboot so updates take forever to get applied. We've got one lease replacement in process, but it turns out we ordered about half the desktops we need because the people at the branches who were supposed to report their total PC needs just reported what they thought needed replacing.
But tonight - tonight, for the first time in a long time, it felt like I had my magic touch back. We ordered RAM from Dell to double the memory in each of our 3 VMWare hosts, and installing it all went so smoothly, I was afraid to think about it to hard before I got home. We finally have enough memory in them that we can VMotion all of our VMs off of one host at a time to upgrade it without downtime. Like, during the day even. We added more storage, and now have enough that we can get rid of Carbonite and use TimeMachine to keep the Marketing Department's Macs backed up. I have space to set up our always-on VPN server instead of using DirectAccess. So many projects were all on hold because we didn't have the memory or storage for them.
Now if only VMWare Standard included DRS.
https://redd.it/1m4fdis
@r_systemadmin
How do I get better without a passion for tech?
Surely I can't be the only sysadmin, cysec, or backend developer who is good at what they do but doesn't love it enough to make it their hobby.
https://redd.it/1m48wde
@r_systemadmin
How do you manage admin access without slowing things down?
Too many people in my compay have full access “just in case.”
We want to lock things down, but worried it’ll slow operations.
How do you control access without annoying everyone?
https://redd.it/1m46y7w
@r_systemadmin
Automating multi-tenant cert renewals at large scale
Hey guys. If I'm in the wrong place, I can delete/cross post/scourge myself.
I'm a NOC Engineer for a very large MSP. Please refrain from guessing or doxxing,
I love my job and I'm seeking professional growth.
We have an issue. We had a couple guys who's sole job was to focus on SSL/certificate renewals for all of our clients. Some of this was "automated" in a sense. We have a very effective tool that sniffs these out and provides the alerts.
It's a total hodgepodge of certificates. SSL/ exchange/ domain/ iis/ you name it.
We have a reseller of certs not using let's encrypt (I don't know financials regarding this matter and don't want to discuss it).
However, as a lowly NOC engineer, have found my team overwhelmed with certificate expiration notices. One or two of the guys who were responsible for these, I guess became overwhelmed themselves and decided it was time to start a goat farm. (No idea for their actual departures, but depart they did).
We are doing the best we can, but I really truly want to win here. By win, I mean, I want to propose a solution that will automate away at least half or more of this mess. I've looked into win-acme, but it is free/ open source and thus lacks Enterprise support.
I've looked into Sectigo and CertifyTheWeb....
I'm wanting to propose an enterprise solution (with enterprise support) to do away with manual cert renewals as much as is feasibly possible. We have an SSL retailer btw (added potential relevant info).
But would these other options allow a company with MULTI-TENANT needs for certificate renewal and storage make sense?
I hope I'm coming off as too naive or green (because I am). This all sort of came to us unexpectedly, and I default to automate the problem.
Do any of you have similar experiences as what I am describing above? Any recommendations on the products? I've suggested or other products that would fill that need? Security will not allow for non-enterprise applications/support, so it would need to be an application that worked with Acme, etc. My thought with Sectigo was to bypass the cert reseller all together. But this may or may not make sense considering my ignorance on the matter.
Many tenants. Many certificates. Many certificate types. Too much for manual process/validation (outside of scenarios involving client consent per renewal or other ghosts I'm not imagining).
Regardless, thank you for your time to listen and feel free to refer me to another subreddit.
https://redd.it/1m42tgx
@r_systemadmin
implements strategic vision for network / systems.
Participates in setting strategic direction and technical design for network, security systems, servers and storage infrastructure for the company.
Maintains up-to-date technical knowledge and understanding of network, security systems, servers and storage infrastructure.
Mentor Network Infrastructure engineers in maintaining multi cloud ecosystem.
Strong knowledge of network security-based tools available within in multi-cloud infrastructure.
Follow industry best practices for maintaining multi-cloud workloads.
Evaluate and leverage the right tools to script configuration changes that rescale, resize and reform the workload ecosystems through automation.
Serve as a technical leader for installation, configuration, and deployment of software.
Leverage middleware technologies to provide robust, cutting-edge integration solutions to achieve new goals and meet new challenges rapidly and cost-effectively fully and successfully.
Requirements
EDUCATION
Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or related field required.
Certification or progress toward certification of, industry-recognized professional designation preferred and encouraged.
Combinations of relevant education and work experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Continuous learning, as defined by Company’s learning philosophy, is required.
EXPERIENCE
7 years’ experience within an IT environment which provides the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities.
One-year relevant experience supporting personal computers in a multi-site, multi-platform environment as well as telephone support of remote staff preferred.
Experience within the insurance industry highly preferred.
QUALIFICATIONS
Consistent and proficient demonstration of required job SKA which exceed standard job expectations.
Consistent and proficient demonstration of troubleshooting that demonstrates a comprehensive and holistic understanding of systems integration.
Exceptional customer support with proven track record of positive outcomes.
Advanced knowledge of IT systems, including networking, server, storage and applications.
Demonstrated ability to resolve and collaborate on complex, multifaceted issues.
Demonstrated leadership ability with proven results as a team facilitator/leader within multi-functional teams.
Considerable knowledge of, and the ability to practically apply, necessary testing, practices and procedures.
Excellent technical knowledge of former and current Microsoft Windows enterprise desktop and server operating systems, including installation procedures, security tuning, troubleshooting and configuration management.
Knowledge of IT system installation, configuration, and maintenance.
Strong software Development Life Cycle principles, processes, tools, and techniques.
Knowledge of performance measuring and monitoring of IT systems.
Networking Qualifications
Ability to understand business needs and conceptualize and implement information systems that support those business strategies.
Extensive knowledge and understanding of computer systems architecture and design, computer industry trends and project management.
Excellent technical knowledge of former and current Microsoft Windows enterprise desktop and server operating systems, including installation procedures, security tuning, troubleshooting and configuration management.
Excellent technical knowledge of network, security and storage infrastructure including local area networks, wide area networks, wireless networking, VPN, firewalls, routers, switches, storage arrays, load balancers, WAN optimizers, endpoint security and encryption, proxy servers, digital certificates, hypervisors, data center management and cabling standards.
Knowledge of applications and platforms including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Active Directory and Group Policy, Microsoft Office and Office 365, DNS servers, DHCP servers and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
Excellent troubleshooting abilities using techniques and methods which
What are your IT pet peeves?
I'll go first:
* When end users give as little details as possible when describing a problem they are having ("Can you come help XYZ with his computer?" Like, give me *something*.)
* Useless-ass Zoom meetings that could've been like 2 emails
* When previous IT people don't perform arguably the most important step of the troubleshooting process: DOCUMENT FINDINGS
* When people assume I'm able to fix problems in software that are obviously bugs buried deep in proprietary code that I have zero access to
* Mice that seem to be designed for toddler hands
* When people outside of work assume that when I go home I *eat*, *breathe*, and *sleep* computers and technical junk. Like, I come home and play Paper Mario on my Wii and watch It's Always Sunny
* Microsoft
https://redd.it/1kz96qi
@r_systemadmin
Many Thanks to All of You
I just wanted to reach out and thank this community. 6 months or so ago I created a post asking about migrating our on-premise email server to a different solution. The helpful comments and recommendations were much appreciated! Decided on Microsoft Business Standard. We did the cutover last weekend. Everything went fairly smooth and seems to be working great.
Only have about 50 users and had to migrate manually due to what I am guessing was our old Mdaemon setup. No longer routing through Hornet, currently using the built-in Defender. Might have to investigate this a bit more. No worries.
Many thanks, bless you all
https://redd.it/1kz37da
@r_systemadmin
Living and dying with Azure
I was looking to go into Cloud and living and dying with Microsoft. For the cats that did it, what has your journey looked like and what's next for you?
https://redd.it/1kz1ejd
@r_systemadmin
When did you know you were getting let go or fired?
Let's hear it.
https://redd.it/1kyvdom
@r_systemadmin
Insane amount of work responsibilities or am I overreacting?
I work as an IAM Engineer" in healthcare, started at a company around 3 months ago. They're a medium size outfit of 3000 users or so. During the interview they mentioned that both Engineers left to " greener pastures together" which seemed like a red flag. So basically, the IAM department was taken over by other admins as a side duty. Anywho who, i've been in this role for awhile and there's virtually zero to no automation, I have my work cut out for me. (where to start) I really think its a two person job and I'll explain why in a little bit. My manager hasn't expressed any desire to hire another Engineer or Analyst and the people that "trained me" are stepping back and just letting me have ownership of this mess. Typically in my previous IAM roles, engineers just worked on application integrations or matters pertaining to IAM related tools like SailPoint, it was a very specific scope of responsibilities. At my current place basically ANYTHING that has a login... I'm responsible for it.
So far those responsibilities are:
Uploading daily feed files to SailPoint (okay no big deal, they should be automated via connector, need to work on this)
Okta Administration( this is within scope)
Manually on-boarding users in our EHR system ( this sucks the most as there is no bulk importation feature) Literally one tab for a User Account at a time which takes hours to do.
New-Hire onboarding ( this is the worst aspect of it. Within a week we get notice of like 10-15 new-hires being onboarded, and I have to drop everything and pivot to that)
Administration of Google Workspace ( I felt like this one was "thrown over the fence" to me. Basically, I do everything from account creation to now document retrieval, like okay?
Working the ticket que for general service requests, etc. (within scope)
Application integrations with vendors, SAML, Oauth, etc. (within scope)
To me, it just seems like ALOT of bouncing back and forth. I'm finding it difficult to get any automation done on projects like a typical IAM engineer would on a project board. My last position had 3 IAM engineers doing this in a very siloed manner. I get the impression that effectively nobody wants to do this position, otherwise one of the other Tech Support guys wouldn't be scaling back his support ( he has more knowledge of the intricacies than I do) but now has resorted to passive-aggressive behavior and has effectively washed his hands of the major duties of the position.
Has anyone had advice or dealt with this before? My manager just says " he's concerned" during our 1 on 1's.
https://redd.it/1kyl0ku
@r_systemadmin
Do you all block ads org-wide?
I currently have multiple layers of web-filtering, and on each layer I check the box to block ads.
Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Meraki Firewalls, Sophos endpoint protection, all blocking ads.
I want to keep it enabled, but there have been occasions where people complain (especially the folks who want to click sponsored Google results - I often get the "why is this website blocked?" type tickets when they simply are clicking the sponsored links.)
Also our Marketing team complains that they need to verify our paid for ads are working as expected.
But I see ads as a risk to our org, like some of the things in this article:
The Argument for Enterprise-Wide Ad Blocking
So, do you guys do it? How do you handle the people who complain?
https://redd.it/1kylyff
@r_systemadmin
Am I being too harsh on the new guy?
Hello,
I wanted outsider perspective. We hired a Tier I net/sys admin 3 months ago. This associate is much older than I am. He has certifications such as CISSP, CCNP which I would consider higher tier certs than just your run of the mill beginner certs. He also ran his own business, and should have tons of experience by virtue of how long he has been in IT. Our environment is not complicated and is all windows based, VMware. I feel like he is struggling to understand our infrastructure, constant reminders on how to access management services/interfaces, and just feel like he focuses on the wrong things to learn outside of his job scope.
He is always welcome to ask questions and dig into any documentation we have. Heck he even has admin access to most of the management platforms. I don't believe he is restricted in any way from exploring and learning what he needs to explore. He admitted that he got comfortable at his old government jobs where he essentially was contracted to just do password resets, so he has been stagnant for a while.
My question is am I being too harsh on him and expecting more than I should at the 3-month mark? Is there something more I should be doing to help him progress? I am worried that if I try to help more, I am just holding his hand and enabling the behavior.
https://redd.it/1kyghnu
@r_systemadmin
WHfB deployed, now users keep forgetting their passwords
After switching users over to WHfB (PIN, fingerprint, etc.), users just straight up forget their real password. Like, completely wiped from memory.
Then they hit a VPN prompt, new device login, RDP session, whatever, and boom: no clue what their password is. Some go through the reset loop EVERY SINGLE TIME. Others just pick something they know isn’t secure, because “at least I’ll remember it this time.”
Throw in a user base that isn’t super technical and a not-so-friendly self-service reset flow… it’s becomes a bit of a circus.
Is this just part of the WHfB learning curve?
https://redd.it/1kyeub0
@r_systemadmin
Leadership wants all departments implementing "Agentic AI", even my Infrastructure team.
Our CEO has told all department heads that she wants to see 10 agentic AI deployments every month across the company, so each department needs to be working on something to show growth for the overall department.
My team will use different AI tools to generate powershell, presentations, or code at times, but we're not really sure where to start on agent building when it comes to server/network management.
Anyone else dealing with this type of push-down request and has anyone found decent agents worth doing? Or are we about to put on another show to check the boxes.
https://redd.it/1kyctdd
@r_systemadmin
What’s your time off benefit?
Time off, PTO, Vacation, sick days, etc are part of the compensation IMO. Whatcha you guys got? I have 35 PTO days, hit the max. We have all the stock market closure days which totals out to 12 days. 2 Fridays off in July or August of your choice. And office is closed Xmas to NYD which is 6 days. Brings my total available days off to 55 days.
https://redd.it/1kyabyp
@r_systemadmin
Durable mouse and keyboard that doesn't show wear after a thorough cleaning?
I help run IT for business and we go through a ton of e-waste just from mice and keyboards that look absolutely disgusting even after a year of use, so usually when employees leave and we have new ones start, we always throw these away.
We are looking to save on costs and also generate a lot less e-waste, so I was wondering if there exists a keyboard and mouse that doesn't show huge signs of wear after just a 1 or 2 or two of usage. I don't mind cleaning them with alcohol wipes etc to get the gunk out but I'm mostly talking about the worn plastic look. I get plastic gets worn out so even something that cosmetically doesnt show it as much would be great.
Any mice or keyboard made out of a more durable plastic or just is more resistant to this kind of wear we can ideally use for something more like 4-5 years instead of every 1 or 2 years throwing them out if the employee leaves (since it's kind of not nice to give new employees worn mouse and keyboards, its kind of like a used toothbrush).
For the mice, the only requirements would be standard mouse (no crazy trackball or special ergo mice) with a mouse wheel and back and forward buttons. Keyboard just a standard keyboard with a keypad.
Does something like this not exist or is there something like this?
https://redd.it/1m4bb9q
@r_systemadmin
Alternatives to Visio
What software or web apps do you use to create professional network diagrams other than Microsoft Visio? Looking for an option that is free and preferably locally installed or locally hosted. Bonus points if it includes icons or stencils to support cybersecurity investigation diagrams.
Update: Thank you everyone for the recommendations! draw.io looks like what I am looking for. GNS3 seems to focus more on network simulation (which is another great idea) and I can see how it might be used to create basic (or dynamic) network diagrams.
https://redd.it/1m45hu3
@r_systemadmin
Feeling stuck in a non-technical role at a top networking company — what next?
Hi everyone,
I’m currently working at a well-known networking company in a role that isn’t very technical. My day-to-day mostly involves preparing bug reports for customers based on their install base and escalations. While the company is great, I feel like I’m not building strong technical skills, and it’s making me anxious about my career path.
I have a background in networking fundamentals and I’m certified, but my current role doesn’t involve hands-on configuration, scripting, or troubleshooting. I do want to move into a more technical or hands-on role (maybe something like automation, cloud networking, or technical support engineering), but I’m unsure how to make the transition or what roles to target.
Would love to hear from others who’ve been in a similar situation.
• What paths did you take?
• What skills or certs helped you the most?
• Any advice on pivoting into a more technical role within networking or adjacent areas?
Appreciate any help or insights!
https://redd.it/1m438kb
@r_systemadmin
will isolate and identify faulty components or configurations within a system so that services can be quickly restored to normal levels of operation.
Middleware Qualifications
Ability and proficiency in the use of computers and company standard software specific to position.
Ability to troubleshoot client/server problems.
Knowledge of communication layer between network and middleware servers.
Demonstrated competency in middleware administration.
Ability to use Oracle database utilities and management tools.
Knowledge of SQL and PL/SQL, UNIX commands, and shell programming.
Platform Qualifications
Strong leadership, negotiation, conflict management and facilitation skills.
Ability to set priorities and manage workload to meet those priorities.
Ability to work effectively with all levels of management and different business partner organizations.
Strong technical writing and documentation skills.
Advanced knowledge of performance measuring and monitoring of IT systems.
Telecommunications Qualifications
Solid understanding of telephone system management, ACD, CDR, and cabling specifications is preferred, coupled with knowledge of telephony technical terms.
Relies on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
Expert knowledge of voice and data telecommunication systems and networks including TDM & VoIP Telephone systems, MPLS, Sonet, DS3, DS1, and Internet Services.
Expert knowledge of mobile networks including Wi-Fi, Cellular (CDMA, GSM).
Expert knowledge of Smart phones, cell phones, and tablets including setup and support for voice and data usage.
Knowledge of telecommunications tariffs and rate plans.
Ability to exchange information and technical knowledge of telephone switches, cabling systems, voice messaging systems, wireless communications, and Call Center tools.
Knowledge of Federal Telecommunications Act
https://redd.it/1m40lsh
@r_systemadmin
Never seen a job description with such a long list of job qualifications
Responsibilities
Participate, partner, and collaborate with SME’s, database administrators, internal and external vendors to understand their requirements and provide viable solution using industry standards.
Troubleshoot and provide proactive support for production and non-production application servers, ensuring full compliance of the Service Level Agreements (SLA).
Work with little to no supervision, assign work to, mentor and engage work of less senior staff.
Responsible for providing project details, standard operating procedures, setting standards and policies around middleware administration.
Work requires the customary and regular exercise of discretion and independent judgment.
Analyze complex local and wide area network systems, including planning, designing, evaluating, selecting operating systems and protocol suites, and configuring communication media with concentrators, bridges and other devices.
Resolves difficult interoperability problems to obtain operation across all platforms including e-mail, files transfer, multimedia, teleconferencing and the like.
Configures systems to user environments. Supports acquisition of hardware and software as well as subcontractor services.
May act as a technical project leader or provide work leadership for lower-level employees.
Participates in and may lead groups/committees related to processes, standards, and best practices.
Investigates and analyzes resource utilization and prepares reports.
Optimizes the network infrastructure to maintain the highest possible level of performance and security.
Plans for the replacement of obsolete resources that make up the enterprise network infrastructure.
Recommends new software and hardware that provide new features/functions and prepares documentation to support recommendation of new software/hardware.
Conducts appropriate, routine tests to ensure the proper working condition and security of developed and purchased software/hardware.
Coordinates and schedules initial installation of new equipment or reinstallation of relocated equipment.
Maintains an up-to-date technical and practical knowledge and understanding of system testing and analysis.
Build, support and maintain the VDI environment, including standardized templates, application delivery methods, enterprise antivirus, persona management infrastructure, host servers and zero clients.
Conducts appropriate, routine tests to ensure the proper working condition and security of developed and purchased software/hardware.
Coordinates and schedules initial installation of new equipment or reinstallation of relocated equipment.
Recommends improvements and changes to methods and procedures.
Maintains an up-to-date technical and practical knowledge and understanding of system testing and analysis.
Troubleshoots and resolves complex issues that involve the core operating system or desktop components, performing root cause analysis for service interruption and implementing preventative measures.
Establish technical direction of solution development across a wide variety of platforms.
Design and architect the enterprise network, security systems, servers and storage infrastructure, both virtual and physical, applying best practices and established standards.
Design and architect standard operating procedures and policies related to the network, security systems, server and storage infrastructure.
Design and architect the Microsoft and Linux infrastructure for the enterprise.
Design and architect methods to the protect company data and systems through the use of security solutions, backups, redundancy and disaster recovery solutions.
Investigates and analyzes resource utilization and prepares reports and metrics, making appropriate changes to optimize the infrastructure and provide the highest possible level of performance and security.
Coordinate direction of infrastructure architecture with technical experts in other disciplines within the IT department.
Develops and
Am I Getting Fucked Friday, May 30th 2025
Brought to you by r/sysadmin 'Trusted VARs': u/SquizzOC and u/bad0seed with Trusted Telecom Broker u/Each1Teach1x27 for Telecom and u/Necessary_Time in Canada.
PMs are welcome to answer your questions any time, not just on Fridays.
This weekly thread is here for you to discuss vendor and carrier expectations, software questions, pricing, and quotes for network services, licensing, support, deployment, and hardware.
Required Info for accurate answers:
* Part Number
* Manufacturer/vendor
* Service Type and Service Location
* Quantity (as applicable)
All questions are welcome regarding:
* Cloud Services - Security, configurations, deployment, management, consulting services, and migrations
* Server configs and quote answers
* Storage Vendor options, alternatives, details and selection
* Software Licensing - This includes Microsoft CSPs
* Network infrastructure - overlay software, segmentation, routers, switches, load balancing, APs…
* Security - Access Management, firewalls, MFA, cloud DNS, layer 7 services, antivirus, email, DLP….
* User gear - Usually, you should buy the quote you have unless the quantity is +50 units
* Connectivity – Dedicated internet access, Broadband, 5G LTE, Satellite, dark fiber, ethernet services
* Voice - SIP, UCaaS, POTS Replacement etc.
https://redd.it/1kz7z8q
@r_systemadmin
Vacation without a laptop
Question for you solo admins out there. Would it he wise or smart to not take my laptop with me on vacation as a just in case? I have very good work life balance, and im in a very good spot all the way around, but im the only admin for the organization. I've been here the longest and am often pulled in on things just because I was around for something in the past. Point is, I want to have fun and be with my family and not work but I feel nervous not having my laptop with me on the off chance something major does come up. We have a few cyber, sharepoint, helpdesk guys but that's it. Trust me I do not plan to use it, but I'd also feel like shit if something major happened and I couldn't help. How do you all deal with this?
More context, I am salary. I'm the only admin who has access to certain network things and such while I did mention we have cyber and others, I was trying to convey im not wearing all the hats here but I do wear alot of them.
https://redd.it/1kz2esm
@r_systemadmin
Weekly 'I made a useful thing' Thread - May 30, 2025
There is a great deal of user-generated content out there, from scripts and software to tutorials and videos, but we've generally tried to keep that off of the front page due to the volume and as a result of community feedback. There's also a great deal of content out there that violates our advertising/promotion rule, from scripts and software to tutorials and videos.
We have received a number of requests for exemptions to the rule, and rather than allowing the front page to get consumed, we thought we'd try a weekly thread that allows for that kind of content. We don't have a catchy name for it yet, so please let us know if you have any ideas!
In this thread, feel free to show us your pet project, YouTube videos, blog posts, or whatever else you may have and share it with the community. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, or links that appear to be monetization-grabs will still be removed.
https://redd.it/1kz0dpv
@r_systemadmin
It’s time to move on from VMware…
We have a 5 year old Dell vxrails cluster of 13 hosts, 1144 cores, 8TB of ram, and a 1PB vsan. We extended the warranty one more year, and unwillingly paid the $89,000 got the vmware license. At this point the license cost more than the hardware’s value. It’s time for us to figure out its replacement. We’ve a government entity, and require 3 bids for anything over $10k.
Given that 7 of out 13 hosts have been running at -1.2ghz available CPU, 92% full storage, and about 75% ram usage, and the absolutely moronic cost of vmware licensing, Clearly we need to go big on the hardware, odds are it’s still going to be Dell, though the main Dell lover retired.. What are my best hardware and vm environment options?
https://redd.it/1kyw8uq
@r_systemadmin
It's not you....register.com is having DNS resolution issues
Have a customer who started having connectivity issues to their VPN. DNS resolution timing out against 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, 9.9.9.9, etc. Even doing an nslookup -q=ns domain.com was failing. Try to log in at register.com and takes me a few times. Finally get in, talk to support.....they have engineers working on their DNS issues. So yay!
I tend to look here first...maybe save someone a call/trip/etc.
https://redd.it/1kykmbv
@r_systemadmin
Outlook Signatures Just Get Nerfed?
I had to restart my Outlook client around lunch. I just went to write an email and my default signature didn't append itself. I then went to insert the signature manually, but none existed. I went into the View Settings > Account area and under Signatures I see a very basic blank RTF box allowing me to create a single signature and just two check mark boxes:
Automatically include my signature on new messages I compse
Automatically include my signature on messages I forward or reply to
There seems to be no option for an alternative reply signature anymore... This just me? Did Microsoft just brick Outlook Client and delete all my signatures?
https://redd.it/1kyjyfy
@r_systemadmin
The IT Jokes Thread
Hey guys, I googled "Reddit it jokes" and only r/sysadmin popped up. Since the other threads are old and locked I figured I would go first. Just thought about it while implementing zero-trust in Microsoft In tune:
My partner said I have trust issues. I told her I have Zero Trust issues. Now she wants to revoke my access credentials.
https://redd.it/1kyehmp
@r_systemadmin
New Dell Pro 14 Plus - "Lock on Leave" feature is a nightmare to disable properly
We just received a batch of new Dell Pro 14 Plus laptops, and they come with a feature no one asked for: the laptop locks itself if the user walks away for more than 30 seconds.
I found the setting in Windows under Lock on leave (see: Lock on leave - Windows | Microsoft Learn), but I can’t seem to find any reliable way to disable it via the registry or any other non-GUI method — without disabling the sensor service entirely.
I know my users, and they’re going to lose it if this is enabled by default.
So far I’ve tried disabling the following registry keys (with no luck):
HKLM:\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\CapabilityAccessManager\\ConsentStore\\humanPresence
HKLM:\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\CapabilityAccessManager\\ConsentStore\\proximity
HKLM:\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\CapabilityAccessManager\\ConsentStore\\presenceSensor
Best-case scenario would be deploying a fix during the my SCCM Task Sequence.
Has anyone found a reliable, scriptable way to kill this feature without disabling all presence sensors globally?
Update: I managed to disable it via Windows Settings under System > Power & battery > Screen and sleep > Turn off my screen when I leave.
Strangely, the option doesn’t show up in Dell Optimizer (it should be under Proximity Sensor settings).
Thing is, if this feature can be toggled in the Windows 11 Settings UI, there must be a corresponding registry key somewhere. Maybe I’m missing it, but I haven’t been able to find the correct one yet.
Sorry for not being more clear in my original post.
https://redd.it/1kydruf
@r_systemadmin
How did you break out of the helpdesk?
Hey all — curious to hear your stories. I started in IT at 30, landed a helpdesk role, and stacked up a bunch of certs trying to move into networking (had my CCNA), but that door never opened. During COVID, I went back for a Master’s in Cybersecurity since I didn’t have a CS degree. I learned to code, made some great connections, and really enjoyed it.
But despite all that, I’m still stuck in helpdesk roles. I tried hard to land a SOC internship, but nothing panned out. I’m grateful to stay employed, but I’m bored out of my mind.
If you were in a similar spot and found a way out, how’d you do it? Did I take a wrong turn somewhere?
https://redd.it/1ky7q71
@r_systemadmin
HUMOR - Starlink Ethernet Wire installation
HUMOR --- Not going to say much; just let you enjoy the ....... installation....of a starlink ethernet cable...
https://youtube.com/shorts/OSbuxUQD6bU?si=X1MSf10K9lfmtcNQ
https://redd.it/1ky66v0
@r_systemadmin