Bart 
Member 
 
Registered: 19th Aug 02
 Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon 
User status: Offline 
 
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My Supervisor (not the big boss), has decided that it would be in the companies interest to keep an up to date log of EVERYONES username/password for the computers (joining the sbs server). 
The reasons for it is that if an important email is sent to someone, or someone has an important file on their PC then we can still get to it in an emergency.. which we could still do anyway. 
 
Is there any data protection or privacy that stops this from happening? My supervisor aruges that its all business use and not personal so there should be no privacy. 
Im strongly against this, there is no way i want a list of everyone’s passwords and there is no way im going to give anyone my password. 
 
OF course this list would be kept only accessible by one or two managers. 
 
Any have any suggestions or recommendations? 
 
Adam 
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Cosmo 
Member 
 
Registered: 29th Mar 01
 Location: Im the real one! 
User status: Offline 
 
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if you can get to them anyway then there is no need for everyones passwords. 
 
Tell him if he can think of some genuine reason for having them, where you couldnt do the job without them, then its a good idea, but until then to fuck off.  
 
I wouldnt want to give people my password TBH!
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Tim 
Site Administrator
 
Registered: 21st Apr 00
 
User status: Offline 
 
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Email you can grant people read access to your mail box. Or grant Administrator full rights to all. 
 
Files an administrator should be able to read off the c$/d$ administrative shares. 
 
No need to actually know the users pass. That's the whole point of having domain admins. Worst case you can still take ownership of a file and change permissions even if the user has locked it down.
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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what tim said
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Ian 
Site Administrator
 
Registered: 28th Aug 99
 Location: Liverpool 
User status: Offline 
 
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Two ways you can approach this.  Either refuse and put a technical solution in place to allow access to emails and files as Tim suggests.  That is the point of administrative users, which you are. 
 
Alternatively, supply the list of passwords then give it a month before having one of your users download some porn.  Mail the big boss, tell them that the users account has been used to download porn but get a statement off the user saying they were out of the office that day.  Make sure you remind the big boss that the supervisor has the passwords and was at his desk on the afternoon in question. 
 
He's obviously been reading too much legal crap to be quoting the difference between personal use and business use and the privacy issues therein.  Its a simple IT issue - you don't have accountability if you share accounts. 
 
Emergency access is very much more easily sorted using other means. 
 
Also who ensures that the list is accurate?  You going to ask staff to supply?  I would change the hour after I had done for a start.
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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if you desperatly needed to get into a users account for whatever reason then just reset there password  
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RyanSxi 
Member 
 
Registered: 26th Jul 06
 
User status: Offline 
 
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in the council where i work, some users share the same passwords eg winter1 then winter2 etc etc so if some1 is off and IT need the pc or they save stuff etc 
 
but as pointed out above. theres other ways to give people access without dishing your password out.  
 
tbh why bother with passwords may aswell just turn novell (or whatever you use) off 
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RyanSxi 
Member 
 
Registered: 26th Jul 06
 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by Steve 
if you desperatly needed to get into a users account for whatever reason then just reset there password   
   
 
thats what we used to do when i was in IT.  
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Bart 
Member 
 
Registered: 19th Aug 02
 Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by Tim 
Email you can grant people read access to your mail box. Or grant Administrator full rights to all. 
   
 
How would an administrator read someone elses emails? access their mailbox? I wasnt aware this was possible?
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RyanSxi 
Member 
 
Registered: 26th Jul 06
 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by Bart 
quote: Originally posted by Tim 
Email you can grant people read access to your mail box. Or grant Administrator full rights to all. 
   
 
How would an administrator read someone elses emails? access their mailbox? I wasnt aware this was possible? 
   
 
if your on a server, which i assume you are, if you go into properties on outlook you can add other people's usernames and give them rights to your email. so they can either read or send from your account. useful if your out of the office or on sick/leave
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Bart 
Member 
 
Registered: 19th Aug 02
 Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by RyanSxi 
quote: Originally posted by Bart 
quote: Originally posted by Tim 
Email you can grant people read access to your mail box. Or grant Administrator full rights to all. 
   
 
How would an administrator read someone elses emails? access their mailbox? I wasnt aware this was possible? 
   
 
if your on a server, which i assume you are, if you go into properties on outlook you can add other people's usernames and give them rights to your email. so they can either read or send from your account. useful if your out of the office or on sick/leave 
   
 
im not running outlook on the server, just exchange. 
Ive been told its a very bad idea to run both together?
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Steve 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 30th Mar 02
 Location: Worcestershire             Drives: Defender 
User status: Offline 
 
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just get the client to right click on there inbox in outlook and adjust the permissions. 
 
Then on another client goto file, open, other users folder
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RyanSxi 
Member 
 
Registered: 26th Jul 06
 
User status: Offline 
 
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think council runs outlook on exchange 
 
as you have to go on the exchange to get onto the councils contacts etc
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Bart 
Member 
 
Registered: 19th Aug 02
 Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon 
User status: Offline 
 
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quote: Originally posted by Steve 
just get the client to right click on there inbox in outlook and adjust the permissions. 
 
Then on another client goto file, open, other users folder 
   
 
Oooh, i can see that now, very good. 
Does that then share their whole inbox with that recipient? Or do they have to manually open it when they need to check the email? 
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Brett 
Premium Member
 
Registered: 16th Dec 02
 Location: Manchester 
User status: Offline 
 
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I thought you were the IT guy, bart?
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Bart 
Member 
 
Registered: 19th Aug 02
 Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon 
User status: Offline 
 
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nope, im the guy who it has fallen on. 
 
Im an Electrical Design Engineer  
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