Company begs employee to tell them his work laptop's password 6 months after he was fired: 'Even I can do a hard factory reset'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Mar 21, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

Not every company in the world is the best at Information Technology. Some of them don't even have an IT department, and it really shows. When there are computer problems, and nobody is there to fix them, it becomes exceedingly clear how much of the white-collar workforce is lowkey technologically illiterate. I am definitely guilty of this as someone who spent more time on an iPod touch growing up than an actual computer. Boomers are not so innocent, with only a tiny percentage of them being able to do something more advanced than opening up a web browser. 

If an HR department is also responsible for IT in a company, they need to have at least a basic grasp of the concept. One company was so inept in this regard that they resorted to emailing an employee they had fired six months prior, asking him for his work laptop's password. 

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  • 01
    r/antiwork u/spicyad⚫ 1d Former employer wants my password to the computer I used 6 months after terminating me.
    via u/spicyad
  • 02
    Assistance Needed for Laptop Password Reset Inbox Hi 26 PM V to me v I trust this message finds you well. I am reaching out to discuss a logistical matter related to the company laptop that was returned upon your departure. We are currently unable to perform a factory reset to prepare the laptop for the next user because there is still a password on the welcome screen. We kindly request your assistance in providing the necessary information to reset the laptop to its factory settings, and this w
    via u/spicyad
  • 03
    This just makes me giggle. For context: This company sought me out to interview at their company for a management position. I ended up getting the job. Lasted 30 days until they terminated the position due to a "cart before the horse" situation. Basically what happened is I called out all the illegal marketing practices happening and offered solutions to fix them. They got rid of the problem, which was "me." Now they want my password. Lol ver
    via u/spicyad
  • 04
    dinosore. 1d 6 months? There is no way I'm remembering a password I haven't been using frequently after 6 months, especially for a job I'd only held for 30 days. I wouldn't be able to help them even if I wanted to. Reply 5.6k
    via u/dinosore
  • 05
    astrangeone88. 1d Lol. Same, and I tend to delete and throw out stuff I haven't used. I had a similar issue from a job before. Quit because of toxic management and coworkers, got a call from one of the non toxic managers asking me for a password and I just GOT mad because | was nice and left them an itemized list of things. (Also, Imao, I guessed the admin password for the office router so that was fun. Whoever set that up needed a kick in the ass because it was literally one of 5 guesses.) And
    via u/astrangeone88
  • 06
    Vargoroth 1d • Also, you have no guarantees that they won't snoop around on the laptop. As someone else has already suggested the company might be fishing for something to blame OP with. Were I OP I'd just ignore them. If they continue bothering I'd indeed say that I no longer remember the password. ... ← 391
    via u/Vargoroth
  • 07
    astrangeone88 • 1d True. Best practice was to tell them, no sorry, I deleted the password to that laptop for security reasons as I no longer work there as of [termination date]. IT if they were competent could just reformat the thing with a new copy of Windows and go away then. 401
    via u/astrangeone88
  • 08
    Vargoroth 1d Exactly. That's what is bothering me. Even I can do a hard factory reset. There are hundreds of websites which explain this matter step-by-step. Therefore I just wouldn't be inclined to give my password. ... 236
    via u/Vargoroth
  • 09
    False Release4 • 1d . I think their idea of a "factory reset" is renaming your account and just giving it to the next guy Reply ✰ 8.7k
    via u/FalseRelease4
  • 10
    Void_Speaker • 1d I suspect they want access to his data to make sure there are no "problems", considering he was fired for bringing up illegal practices. ... 505
    via u/Void_Speaker
  • 11
    . bow3n • 1d SocDem I can't even count the amount of times I've been brought in to fix situations like this and that's how they handle it. Even actual IT departments, because it's "oh my son is good with computers" and eventually he gets his own department and budget. I'm a programmer, and the things I see IT people do is maddening. But hey, they've got their cisco and oracle certifications. ... 2.2k
    via u/b0w3n
  • 12
    machogrande2 • 1d I have a few clients that I have to try my best to save them from themselves. One allows people to use personal devices to WFH because they are too cheap to buy them company devices and then gets angry when I tell them that program cannot be in scope for PCI, SOC2, etc. No reputable 3rd party assessor is going to clear offsite devices that we have ZERO control over. Even if they allowed me to deploy anything, it wouldn't change anything other than getting blown up with alerts s
    via u/machogrande2
  • 13
    bow3n • 1d SocDem Similar boat with security audits. I keep telling them we need to invest into our infrastructure but I keep getting kicked back with "we don't have the money for that." One of the owners even asked me for what I thought the budget for a small business like ours for IT should be and I said "at least 5% revenue, probably closer to 9% because we're medical" and he gasped audibly. Yeah bud, it's a lot... your entire business runs on this you should probably spend more than you do.
    via u/b0w3n
  • 14
    Not_In_my_crease ⚫ 1d Any company worth their salt would be able to get into that computer immediately. That tells me either it wasn't on AD and they want some files on it AND it's a local account and they don't know how to break into it-- which is trivially easy if unencrypted. Or they set it up originally as a local BitLocker account. This is stupid and if they don't know the password and they don't have all the licenses/IDs they're Please correct me somebody.
    via u/Not_In_my_crease
  • 15
    Edit: Oh it's a mac. I'm unfamiliar with Apple in a business environment. Apple security is VERY good and if the business owner knows what they're doing the employee's computer is entirely transparent to them. If they've set it up correctly. I think they set this employee up as an admin on that computer with his/her account. In that case they're . They can't even reimage the sucker -- unless they go to an Apple store and provide proof-of-ownership. Edit2: If you can easily open a [newer you idio
    via u/Not_In_my_crease
  • 16
    spicyad OP 1d I wish I could. They didn't use ANY security measures when they issued me the laptop. ✩ 1.5k
    via u/spicyad
  • 17
    Big Daddy Cool17 • 1d IT Help Desk here, The fact they didn't set up a local admin account before doing anything else is astonishing. They deserve all the repercussions Imao 380
    via u/BigDaddyCool17
  • 18
    spicyad OP 1d • While I was there, I don't ever remember there being a dedicated IT team. I dealt with HR directly for almost everything. Really incompetent company that thrives on the word "scrappy" and they promote that mentality. ... 154
    via u/spicyad

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getting fired laptops antiwork employee fired job fired story passwords work password reddit story employees reddit thread Reddit company laptop
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