company laptops and customer networks

[tonerhead]

I am hoping this will bring lots of comments and discussion, I am curious what others are doing. We got a directive from mgmt that under no circumstance we are to plug our work laptops into customer networks. Just this week I had to do so as customer said our copier would no longer connect to network and I proved to them that my laptop would not connect either into their network. Proved my point that copier was not at fault, no connect lights on laptop either. Very simple case only a minute to prove that their network port was dead.

I realize we open ourselves to liability by plugging in, but there are some things you just have to with. I know I could have brought in a router, setup a small network between my computer, router, and copier. Or roll the huge copier to another location with an active ethernet port. But this was all of 1 minute and done.

I guess I am interested in how others treat this. Personally I am going to let common sense guide my future choices, while trying to avoid plugging in unless necessary.

Let the discussion begin.

[bsm2]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Most of the times 99.99% I always try to use the customers PC as the problem is print driver web into copier at enterprise accounts sometimes YOU can't get an IPADDRESS as there network is locked down.

Same with flash drives. Had a defence company and had to use there flash drives to download any thing.

At Xerox PC we would have to update antivirus atleast every two weeks or PC would have popup messages on PC.

Some where your company got into a problem with taking the blame for a virus or malware.


Most companies that supply techs with laptop already have a good paid for antivirus.

[n25an]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

look at it from your employer's perspective...
its a liability... say you have a virus or some malware or ransomware... you could infect the entire companies network and then your employer would be liable for it...
you could use your laptop and a switch to verify operations... but you would have to explain that you are setting up a test network to your boss for it to go over well...
best of both worlds is to fix the issue on the customer's pc like suggested above and if that does not work then have a talk with your mgr or supervisor... via email... this way if something goes wrong... you have your superiors nuts in a vise for anything legal that might ensue... from a bad day in black rock...

[qbert69]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Laptop <---Crossover Cable--->MFP!!! DERP![emoji2957]

[slimslob]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

I am hoping this will bring lots of comments and discussion, I am curious what others are doing. We got a directive from mgmt that under no circumstance we are to plug our work laptops into customer networks. Just this week I had to do so as customer said our copier would no longer connect to network and I proved to them that my laptop would not connect either into their network. Proved my point that copier was not at fault, no connect lights on laptop either. Very simple case only a minute to prove that their network port was dead.

I realize we open ourselves to liability by plugging in, but there are some things you just have to with. I know I could have brought in a router, setup a small network between my computer, router, and copier. Or roll the huge copier to another location with an active ethernet port. But this was all of 1 minute and done.

I guess I am interested in how others treat this. Personally I am going to let common sense guide my future choices, while trying to avoid plugging in unless necessary.

Let the discussion begin.

No need for the expense of a router. Just an inexpensive 5 port switch will do the job. Unplug the network cable from the printer and plug in into the switch. Link light - cable and port are good. No link light - could be a bad cable, try a known good cable. Still no link light - their network port bad.

Your company could also go the expense of a network analyzer.

look at it from your employer's perspective...
its a liability... say you have a virus or some malware or ransomware... you could infect the entire companies network and then your employer would be liable for it...
you could use your laptop and a switch to verify operations... but you would have to explain that you are setting up a test network to your boss for it to go over well...
best of both worlds is to fix the issue on the customer's pc like suggested above and if that does not work then have a talk with your mgr or supervisor... via email... this way if something goes wrong... you have your superiors nuts in a vise for anything legal that might ensue... from a bad day in black rock...

I have seen it happen, not my laptop. Years ago there was a worm that exploited a Microsoft vulnerability to identify and infect every computer it could connect to that had not yet be patched. The IT at a hospital thought that their main firewall would protect them put off patching all their computers until they were not as busy. Worked fine until a doctor connected his laptop to the network.

There is also the possibility that a device on the customer network could infect your laptop.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Laptop <---Crossover Cable--->MFP!!! DERP![emoji2957]

The first sign to look for is the link activity link on the NIC card on the copier. If it is not blinking, this indicates a connectivity problem. You might want to put your copier temporarily into Dynamic mode to see what it might find, then check the link activity lights.

I am not sure you need a crossover cable anymore. I use a regular network cable if I want to view/ configure the copier's web browser.

If I can see the copier's web browser from my laptop plugged directly into the copier, thereby eliminating the customer's network, it is not the NIC card on the copier at fault.

A copier programmed with the correct IP address but the wrong Subnet or Gateway is a common technician fault.

There could be some new antivirus/ malware/ransomware software installed on the network that blocks any IP port it does not recognize.



I certainly understand your employer not wanting you to touch the customers network with your device. You may have the best intentions in the world but unknown to you there could be something nasty on your laptop just waiting to find a new home to wreck.

Should such a demon be unleashed, the $ damages to correct could be a King's ransom.

Some manufacturers use Android as the kernel upon which copier code is written, some vendors use ?. Toshiba uses Linux with very few known hacks of any kind. Most hacks are aimed at Windows operating systems.

I know on Toshiba copiers, if you want to install a new app on a copier, a digital certificate signed by Toshiba Tec Corp, must be present in the code. This is another security measure to prevent hackers from accessing the network through the copier.

[tonerhead]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

The sad thing about this is I did use a patch cable and a crossover cable and printed to the copier with connect lights and everything. They still wouldn't believe it was their network. Then I finally plugged the laptop into their network port and no connect lights. Then they started accepting my word about copier being ok.

Final solution was to drop speed to 10mhz half duplex and we got our connect light and printing. Stupid huh? My guess previous copier also had same issue and same was done to that. Told them they needed to have network fixed.

Many non techies do not understand that a patch cable or crossover cable is essentially same as plugging into a wall jack. I have several old routers just laying around. They seem to accept that outcome better as now you created a "true (in their eyes) network" Used to carry one to prove things, think I will go back to carrying one.

BTW as I understand, ghz you can use patch cable. Mhz depends, you may need crossover. Nics may not autoconfigure on patch cable in 100mhz.

[slimslob]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

The sad thing about this is I did use a patch cable and a crossover cable and printed to the copier with connect lights and everything. They still wouldn't believe it was their network. Then I finally plugged the laptop into their network port and no connect lights. Then they started accepting my word about copier being ok.

Final solution was to drop speed to 10mhz half duplex and we got our connect light and printing. Stupid huh? My guess previous copier also had same issue and same was done to that. Told them they needed to have network fixed.

Many non techies do not understand that a patch cable or crossover cable is essentially same as plugging into a wall jack. I have several old routers just laying around. They seem to accept that outcome better as now you created a "true (in their eyes) network" Used to carry one to prove things, think I will go back to carrying one.

BTW as I understand, ghz you can use patch cable. Mhz depends, you may need crossover. Nics may not autoconfigure on patch cable in 100mhz.

I had a problem one time where the customer immediately after turning their MP C2551 on in the morning they could print with no problem. If they then did not send any additional job for 10 or 15 minutes they got a 'device off line' message when they tried to print. C2551 showed online on the panel and had link and activity LED on the controller. Cycle power on the C2551 and everything that had been queued printed. After we tried every setting and replaced everything that could be the cause the customer agreed to move their other C2551 to the location. When the problem stayed with the location not the machine they replaced a five year old 32 port switch. No more problem. Interesting thing about it was that there were at least 3 other users who had been complaining about problems connecting to the internet for a couple of weeks no longer had a problem. Final diagnosis, the switch had gone bad.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

I had a problem one time where the customer immediately after turning their MP C2551 on in the morning they could print with no problem. If they then did not send any additional job for 10 or 15 minutes they got a 'device off line' message when they tried to print. C2551 showed online on the panel and had link and activity LED on the controller. Cycle power on the C2551 and everything that had been queued printed. After we tried every setting and replaced everything that could be the cause the customer agreed to move their other C2551 to the location. When the problem stayed with the location not the machine they replaced a five year old 32 port switch. No more problem. Interesting thing about it was that there were at least 3 other users who had been complaining about problems connecting to the internet for a couple of weeks no longer had a problem. Final diagnosis, the switch had gone bad.

Interesting. Was there no way to identify that the switch was the problem before the other measures that you took? Just curious.

[slimslob]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Interesting. Was there no way to identify that the switch was the problem before the other measures that you took? Just curious.

Not that would satisfy the the customer's IT person.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Not that would satisfy the the customer's IT person.

This IT stuff is a catch-22. Here you have an IT person that sounds like he limited your company's options and caused you to waste time and money.

[slimslob]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

This IT stuff is a catch-22. Here you have an IT person that sounds like he limited your company's options and caused you to waste time and money.

Sound to you like someone we know of here on CTN?

[mojorolla]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Any IT person worth a shit would not allow outside devices to plug into their network; period. As suggested above I simply create an "ad hoc" network and connect directly to the machine. And no, you no longer need a crossover cable.....

[Arcadian]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

I had a costomer once who printer/copier wounted come on no matter what, they locked the network option out so nobody could hook up a lan to it. i fought for a bit, then decided to cold hard reset the whole machine, losing any saved data in the address book if it had one or fax address book, told the end user, they were fine with it, after doing the reset the network started to work. this is after fighting for a bit i thought it was a bad port or burned out lan, but i changed it. so after the reset the unit started to work network wise, i spent 15 buck on a use network card, but oh well, sometime you have to do reset. luckily its was the issue the unit had, some disgruntle employee who knew the system, shut it down, and changed the password.

get those sometimes, bad employees.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: company laptops and customer networks

Any IT person worth a shit would not allow outside devices to plug into their network; period. As suggested above I simply create an "ad hoc" network and connect directly to the machine. And no, you no longer need a crossover cable.....

It is very common for many SMB customers to have a 3rd party IT company do their work for them. This 3rd party sells either blocks of time or invoices by the hour. Almost all 3rd party IT companies will open a Support ticket before they will do any work. The support ticket creates billable labour.

It is not uncommon for these same SMB customers to try and get a copier tech to do whatever ever work you need to do without the assistance of a 3rd party IT company because they want to save the cost of those billable hours.

Some copier dealers define where free install ends and billable labour begins. Many copier dealers place no limits. Personally, I state in my quotes that all Professional Services are included for the first 90 days, thereafter billable at $95.00 per hour. I want to be generous but I want to create a limit for free support.

I believe that Xerox includes four hours of Pro Services to complete all install related tasks there after billable at $165.00 per hour or more.

Many customers and dealers still operates in a 1990's mindset where an all-inclusive cost per copy service support contract extends beyond toner, parts and break/fix labour.