Tech Support #4

[Blade_Raver]

For this call I serve as tech support for a Dial-up ISP.

Me: Blade_Raver
SC: Stupid Customer

Me: (Typical company introduction) This is Blade_Raver, how can I help you?
SC: There's something wrong with your internet servers, I can't get in.
Me: Okay, sir, I'll be more than happy to help troubleshoot the problem, but first, can I get your name?
SC: My name is (SC)
Me: Okay blah, so you try to dial out and what happens?
SC: Can't find dialtone.
Me: Okay, so that means when you send the command to your modem to dial out, the modem doesn't detect the phone line's dialtone signal. It could be a few things. Have you plugged a phone directly into the phone jack to see if you do get a dialtone?
SC: (Gets a snippy attitude) Yeah, I did that already, stop giving me the runaround and fix your service.
Me: (Kindly ignoring flack) Okay, so we know the phone jack works. Did you use the same phone cable that you used for your modem too?
SC: Uhh.. (few seconds pause) Yeah. I did.
Me: Okay, so then the phone cable is good, I take it?
SC: (Cocky attitude) Yeah, it is.
Me: Then it's the modem.
SC: It can't be my modem.
Me: Why?
SC: Because my computer doesn't say it's broke.
Me: Apparently the software/drivers for the modem work and interfaces well with Windows.. How about the physical hardware?
SC: Uhh...
Me: Yes.. It's a silicon board with metal microcircuitry. How long have you had this computer?
SC: 5 years at least.
Me: Yep, that's about the average age of a modem. Sounds like the modem's broke if you are certain that the jack is good and the phone cable is good.
SC: Uh... Can you tap into my computer just to make sure?
Me: You mean come over there and look at it?
SC: No, I mean use your special doohicky software to tap into my computer just to make sure it's okay.
Me: (Okay, we don't have anything like that. But I humored him.) Well sir, there is remote administration software we've got.. However it requires internet connectivity to use. If you can't get a dialtone much less an internet connection, it renders our technology useless.
SC: Uh.. okay.. whatever.. bye.

[iradney]

SC: Uh... Can you tap into my computer just to make sure?
Me: You mean come over there and look at it?
SC: No, I mean use your special doohicky software to tap into my computer just to make sure it's okay.

I love how people think you can do that. Not only with computers, but also Cellphones!

[repsac]

Knowing me, (and I'd likely get fired for it) I'd fake typing things in and then say something like "Geeze, I've never seen this much porn in one place..."

yes, I can be mean like that.

[xlr82xs]

I love how people think you can do that. Not only with computers, but also Cellphones!

technically you can, things like (blue)fang etc will let you remotely control a cellphone via it's bluetooth interface (no setting the phone to hidden mode doesn't actually help that) of course, that's only good for things like replacing corrupted configuration settings with known good defaults (and nasty things like making them send sms etc) and they have to be within range of a bluetooth device that you can use to send the commands through, so it would require them to have a bluetooth dongle on their computer, a working internet connection, the correct libraries, and for them to give you an account

so hrm, yeah even though it's technically possible, it isn't exactly probable :-/


oh, and it's also good for use during tradeshow demonstrations while demoing your fancy new (well, not so fancy) system for compiling information about wireless vulnerabilities


as a tech though, even if they did have some form of remote administration software available on their system (ssh, window's remote help thingie, vnc, whatever) and i was able to connect to them, i think i would be reluctant to actually do so. who knows what dodgy crap they have on their machines that could get blamed on you later.

"nononono, i didn't download those 50000 hours of illegal music and goat porn, that damn tech must have put it there" style

[Jacen]

I love how people think you can do that. Not only with computers, but also Cellphones!

Too much star trek, not enough common sense

[gunsage]

"Frankly, ma'am, I don't know whether to tinker with my thingamajig, doohickey, or my new thingamabob to tap into your Windows Dell Operatin' Computer!"

[UncleImpy]

A friend of mine that did tech support for Qualcomm had a customer who, when my friend remoted to her machine to check something...actually thought my friend was in her machine. As in..physically inside it.

Just when you think you've seen the heights of cluelessness...

[Shabo]

"Noooooo! Don't turn on that TV thingy!!! The government can see us when you do that!!!" *Runs away screaming wildly about living in 1984*