Service desk tech slapped after saving Capita’s VPN • The Register

On Name Welcome, expensive reader, to yet one more instalment of On-Name, The Register‘s weekly column that includes readers’ tales of being requested to point out up and save the day.

This week, one thing somewhat totally different.

Readers often ask us to not determine the scene of their adventures – however the On-Name inbox lately obtained a story set at controversial consultancy Capita. As is common the contributor requested to not be named, however was pleased for us to say his employer.

With that little bit of background, meet a chap we’ll Regomize as “Terry” who accepted a task on the Capita assist desk a decade in the past.

The gig featured customary assist desk fare: account unlocks, password resets and deciphering software program errors.

However a few years into his tenure, Terry started working and “swiftly our telephone switchboard began lighting up like a Christmas tree on steroids!” The Reg is just not positive you can provide steroids to a Christmas tree, however wouldn’t suggest making an attempt it at dwelling.

Anyway, the reason for the steroidal kerfuffle was an improve to a VPN that refused connections from sure gross sales groups and administration bods, who weren’t shy about expressing their anger.

Terry did some triage, and located those that couldn’t join have been operating Home windows XP – Capita’s Home windows 7 customers have been wonderful.

“As one can think about, issues escalated shortly to the ‘main incident group’ whereas service supply managers have been bravely BSing offended clients to avoid wasting their necks.”

Terry, in the meantime, began a rollback of the VPN as colleagues tried to determine what went unsuitable on Home windows XP.

Then an order got here to down instruments: greater than half of customers have been in a position to join, so a rollback was dominated out.

“At this level, our service desk was unceremoniously ousted from the troubleshooting effort, which was left within the arms of senior server engineers and the like,” Terry instructed On-Name.

The service desk group subsequently up to date its interactive voice menus with a message that stated, primarily: “In case you are calling about VPN points: Go away, we’re not allowed to assist.”

With incoming calls again to common ranges, Terry began to ponder why solely XP was by the VPN change.

He took the job dwelling and finally realized that the primary time Cisco’s VPN efficiently connects to a machine, it saves a config file into the Home windows C:Customers<username>AppData listing. Armed with VMs of Capita’s customary XP and Win 7 photos, Terry discovered the file on the Home windows 7 picture and copied it to the XP picture.

He booted the XP picture, hooked as much as the VPN … and solved the issue.

Terry determined his subsequent job was to avoid wasting the day – and ensure everybody knew how intelligent he had been.

So he bought a website, with a reputation that instructed it was the savior of Capita’s VPN mess, and hosted a website. On stated website he posted a self-extracting .rar file that injected the config file into the right folder on Home windows XP.

The subsequent morning, Terry discovered Capita in a state of nervous stress as makes an attempt to discover a repair continued.

“I calmly sidled as much as one of many juniors and whispered into his ear: ‘I mounted it mate’.”

Stated junior regarded up Terry’s web page, downloaded the .rar file, “and practically fell off his overly priced swivel chair, when his XP VPN linked inside seconds!”

“Hours later, my repair was formally accredited by company and we service desk bods started working doling out the 50KB patch file to the XP customers.”

For his hassle Terry was formally thanked by administration and given a few hundred kilos value of present vouchers. Friends gave him the nickname “Capita Savior” – a nod to the web site he created.

However a few weeks later, Terry was “dragged right into a disciplinary assembly” and given two black marks.

One was issued as a result of his repair had circumvented firm safety coverage. The opposite was as a result of the area he purchased had “supposedly introduced the corporate identify into disrepute.” Terry was instructed to take it down ASAP.

Which may be why, lo these a few years later, he wrote to On-Name!

Have you ever been smacked down for saving the day? In that case, click here to send On-Call an email and we could share your story right here on a future Friday. ®