I just lost my job as a Computer Support Administrator/"Jr SysAdmin and...

Posted by NOSjoker21@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 60 comments

I really, really didn't need this. Apparently a while ago I looked up drug laws in Kenya (marijuana is legal in D.C. where I work and my girlfriend is very fond of it) and as a result, an investigation happened without my knowing until yesterday when my equally confused Lead was informed I had to surrender my CAC and tokens, to be taken off base. The job was monotonous and not particularly engaging, but I learned a lot while there, and I ***do not*** want to resume going back to the Hells of a service desk position. I work overseas and am in no hurry to get back to the states. The job I was just terminated from is in AFRICOM near the middle east, does anyone subbed here have recommendations on where to apply? I've applied to positions with Jacobs, Amentum, and Vectrus so far. Ideally I'd like to move into another OCONUS position, and I'm trying to keep my head up. Side note: I need a beer. Additional note: I miss Popeye's and Wendy's. \*sigh\*

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60 Comments

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Weird_Presentation_5@reddit

Why not use your cellphone?

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Budget_Putt8393@reddit

Some desks are in areas with access to sensitive networks. Personal electronics are not allowed. So a search on personal system would require break time.

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Weird_Presentation_5@reddit

Understood.

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Kill3rT0fu@reddit

You had a federal job and MJ is still illegal federally. You should have known because while I was in the Air Force and working DoD jobs it was made clear almost monthly that we were forbidden from partaking. Even non DoD job just working contracts for Lockheed Martin in Colorado it was made explicitly clear we were not to partake. It super sucks you lost your job, but you should’ve known better.

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Late_Operation5418@reddit

Just out of curiosity does that apply to alcohol aswell?

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Kill3rT0fu@reddit

If it’s federally legal or illegal? Or if alcohol is forbidden in the country you’re operating in? If you’re wondering if alcohol is forbidden in the area you’re operating in, the answer is usually yes it applies. Same with porn. When you arrive at your location for work, usually you get briefed on all of this during your inprocessing

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Late_Operation5418@reddit

Sorry yes if it’s federally legal

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sgx71@reddit

Good lessons though ... Whilst legal, something CAN be prohibited in a position of work. Second : Using work-devices / infrastructure for personal information isn't smart either. Especially when in your position, you could have known about the logging and monitoring. ( especially in a military capacity, in the current times of leaks and situations you CAN get involved in ) Best step to take first, is to find legal council, to see if this affects anything in your future. Having a termination on *supposed* drug-use isn't the best thing to have on your resume.

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

I understand. And yes I was a dumbass.

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

You did know military IT was under a microscope because of that moron Air National Guard E4, right?

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

\> moron Air National Guard E4 Who?

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

Star Lord, man. j/k. Jack Teixeira. Dude leaked a shitload of docs, including intel summaries on Ukraine. Which Russia then photoshopped to be appear much more inflammatory. So yes, you picked a very bad time to google illegal stuff on a military network while they're in witch hunt mode. If you had a clearance, don't be surprised if it's suspended and look for gigs outside of defense contracting. You're probably burned. Sorry dude, very bad timing.

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TinyUndProud@reddit

Russia didn't photoshop anything, friend. That was damage control, to explain away the truth.

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

You didn't see the photoshops then. They're pretty bad. They literally would edit out a zero, but not shift the number over. think 100,000 100,00\_ \_70,000 \_10,000 Also flipped numbers. It was really amateur stuff. But I'm guessing all of that is just NATO propaganda to you anyways. Glorious state TV has declared they've destroyed multiple times as many HIMARS, drones, etc as Ukraine have. They even have time traveling munitions that destroy donated hardware before it arrives in country. Russia has been racking up Abrams kills like no tomorrow. Despite none existing in country yet.

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TinyUndProud@reddit

I mean, after all, you are trying to convince me, and many others, that the literal kings of propaganda and those talented enough to change the course of the 2016 election would be so bad, that they would poorly photoshop documents in the manner you specified. I am sorry, but I don't believe what you are trying to sell, but I am certain you will have no issue finding a fool on Reddit to buy the deed to your bridge. Excellent attempt by one of our agencies at damage control.

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NulledSyntax@reddit

My friend from Nigeria, who is also a prince my I mention, would love a word with you!

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TinyUndProud@reddit

You responded to the wrong person, friend ;)

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TinyUndProud@reddit

How do you know what you saw specifically came from Russia?

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

Oh! Him! Sorry, brain fart.

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razgriz5000@reddit

This one. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/air-national-guardsman-arrested-accused-of-leaking-classified-documents-online

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Fun-Difficulty-798@reddit

he leaked pentagon classified briefings that were some how left around by someone in his chain of command. It was big news state side a month or two ago.

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gangaskan@reddit

hate to say it, but even if its \*legal\* where you are, even if its legal at the state level local government's and federal atleast will follow federal guidelines, so if you were tested and failed there would be consequences. and i dont feel this is the first time that has happened. i think our facility gives you a window to re test, but its been forever since ive been drug tested.

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sgx71@reddit

As addendum ... employers also can make guidelines. I'm from the Netherlands, and a lot is allowed, and even legal. But no employer allows drug use on site. Even non-alcoholic '0%' drinks are not allowed at most places.

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gangaskan@reddit

well, NA even though its 0% its not truly 0, its like .5 or something like that isnt it?

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EspurrStare@reddit

No. 0.0% beers are different than Alcohol free, that have something in the range of 0.25-0.5% range. It's more aggressive and therefore alters the flavour more Like, the only reason the former exists it's because religious observance and people specially sensitive to alcohol. (like people treated with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfiram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfiram)) , or pregnant women.

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gangaskan@reddit

ahh, gotcha.  still kind of a social stigma drinking that in a work place.

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EspurrStare@reddit

Indeed, you can always poor them into another container I guess.

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03ifa014@reddit

Did they piss-test you? Or was your search all they needed to terminate you? I, myself, have a relatively high-security postured job and your post has validated my practice of never doing non-work related things on my company laptop. I just won't do it. I won't even look up memes or the weather on that thing. If you're planning to go state-side, I'd say to hook up with head-hunters... but that doesn't appear to be an option for you.

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

No urinalysis, I was just looking up drug laws in a vacation destination two months ago. I don't even smoke weed.

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03ifa014@reddit

So it must have been a violation of your internet policy? That's a real bummer, man. What a stupid reason to fire someone. Sorry to hear it. Good luck in your job search. You have skills that are worth money and IT is still booming. You'll get there. For what it's worth, try to enjoy the free time while you have it!

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PupSparky420@reddit

I don’t believe the story you were told, and I don’t believe any actual company would monitor their employees that closely. Maybe if you are in the private sector things are different? The only sites I’ve seen be reported are ones that are very clearly pornographic, and the employee who accessed fappyfap 52 times still works at my job a year later. This feels like a cover story for being fired for an illegal reason. I’ve had worse in my environment and it was a light slap of the wrist at the most.

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Sixxsp@reddit

I 100% believe a contractor looking up drugs on a DoD owned computer was let go from his job, though I wouldn’t be surprised if OP used their position to get around filters.

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

No I just went to Wikipedia, no filters on there. Purely academic lol

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briangraper@reddit

It's more likely because you came to work smelling like weed, and somebody ratted you out.

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

I don't smoke weed... uh thanks?

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briangraper@reddit

You said your GF is "very fond" of it. So...do you spend time with her? Does her home have a weed smell when you're there sometimes. Do you ever leave the house smelling like her? This isn't complicated.

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sandona@reddit

Any Palo would flag that. Any agency that does not monitor traffic is not very smart. That is a fact. Also, work computers are not for personal use. Just my thoughts.

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Ifuqaround@reddit

Just because you've had worse and got a slap on the wrist doesn't mean it's the same everywhere. There are toxic managers out there and people who hold any bit of power over others. I 110% believe there was someone watching these employees closely. We monitor our WFH employee's screens and basically EVERYTHING they do, even their mouse coordinates and movements.

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PupSparky420@reddit

What software do you use?

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Ifuqaround@reddit

I don't personally monitor WFH employees. When I say "We" I meant our company. I do not know what they install TBH. I do know we are monitored at that level as I'm in tech but in a diff dept for this particular org.

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redwing88@reddit

It’s called Activtrak

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GhostNode@reddit

Scrolled this far down to say this.

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LibtardsAreFunny@reddit

one of many....

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PupSparky420@reddit

Community Rule #2: Professionalism

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sgx71@reddit

My former employer tried to implement this on our systems used for WFH. Eventually it was banned ( for them ) because the main bunch was on a output-based contract, they had to perform certain targets within a period of time. My manager only wanted that software to see what everyone was doing, and if there was a possibility to 'tighten' the time to target. I logged in on one day and got some popups asking to allow for software installation and 'monitoring' on my system. It was MY OWN PC, I use at home for troubleshooting and remote assistance to our staff ( both at work and at home ) I denied the installations, and googled the installer program. It was a flashy page with 100's of positive buzzwords like productivity and boosting everything, So my bullshit-alarms blared on full tilt ;) Within 15 minutes my manager called me to ask what up. I told him to read my email, I only need the Azure 2FA, and that's it. "No, to access the work-software we HAD to install the extra plugins" 'Then issue me a laptop to WFH' "No, you have your own setup, no budget for a laptop" 'Well ... OK, no more WFH for me then, and also no more work-calls in my personal time.' At the time I was a key-user and operator on the system, I had the knowledge of both sides ( systems used and the users ) So I created manuals and coached my colleagues. A few days later I learned more about the software, it could do anything on the monitored system, from mouse movements to interfacing with the webcam and desktop. The potential privacy issues were huge ( For our Dutch laws and EU regulations ) I wrote a simple mail to our HR and CISO departments complaining about the invasive actions on personal properties, and 'conveniently' CC'd this to my manager. It took merely 2 hours to receive a company wide email with instructions how to remove the software on a 'private' device and the additional costs to restore would be billable to the company. ( like reinstall and lost time )  *Guess who didn't get a managers bonus that year ....* ( and who got a bad year-review, and left with some extra change )

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ExcitingTabletop@reddit

If I was told we monitor people's screens, I'd find another job. It's fine if other people want to deal with that sort of culture, it's not my thing. Technology cannot and does not replace managers. If someone is screwing around on the internet, their manager should know and deal with it. That said, OP was working on a military network. Bit different story there. If you work in government, military, finance, medical, yeah, they have to monitor more. Also why I avoid those industries these days, but I worked in them years ago.

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Uds1_ah9RP3WnN5QD8@reddit

Hilarious, they really must be scraping the bottom of the barrel when people continue working for them even after learning this.

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OldManandMime@reddit

So fun fact. Literal first day at my first sysadmin work. I get asked to write a worksheet. I Google image some company for a logo . Immediately the AV solution lits up with hundreds of alerts, like Gondor lighting the wanking torch. Fun day.

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mc_tralala@reddit

Thats a lot of information you've posted man - I would delete this post... you would think confidentiality is common sense.

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Leucippus1@reddit

It is unfortunate you had to learn your lesson this way, we have all been there, I know I have. Unless it is specified you are allowed to in policy, always use your work computer for only work.

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

I'm aware. It's just odd that I've even seen customers with PORNOGRAPHY on their screen and yet... *sigh*

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cheekyston@reddit

Wtf lol…. I don’t think you would wanna work for someone who even cares enough to fire someone over googling laws omg lol

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Acehehjufd@reddit

You can't ever use work devices for personal searches. You deserved to be fired, frankly. Be smarter next time.

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jazzy095@reddit

Always another better job out there. Trust

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NOSjoker21@reddit (OP)

I've applied all day

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MeanFold5714@reddit

Maybe don't do drugs if you want to work on federal contracts you idiot.

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ballzsweat@reddit

Save yourself! Find a different profession.

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darthgeek@reddit

The premise sounds like bs. But you work in DC so there's a million subcontractors out there. Best of luck.

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Snogafrog@reddit

I used to not maintain my own computer until we got more serious about security tools and I knew I could be logged. Now when I accidentally my a personal search at all on the work laptop it makes me cringe, I just want to be soon doing nothing but working from home all day.

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hellobrooklyn@reddit

That sucks, man. You definitely should’ve known better, but our policies really need to be more adaptable to account for minor bullshit like this. Best of luck!