What are some first contact friendly #helpdesk #supportticket solutions that have worked for your #smallbusiness. Preferably #selfhosted and #free / #opensource bonis if mobile friendly as well.
A friend is starting a tech support company of sorts and I *think* it's the right direction for onboarding and first contact. Not sure though .
Onlangs voegden we 25.000 domeinen toe aan basisbeveiliging. Veel hiervan zijn doorstuur- en parkeerdomeinen. Lees hier https://internetcleanup.foundation/2025/03/de-helpdesk-9-hoe-om-te-gaan-met-doorstuur-en-parkeerdomeinen/ waarom er dan alsnog beveiligingsmaatregelen nodig zijn en welke. #parkeerdomein #email #internetnl #basisbeveiliging #helpdesk
Achieving a 97% SLA Success Rate with Streamlined Support 
Vossen, Europe's leading terry ware manufacturer, transformed its customer service by implementing Zammad. This change led to a remarkable 97% SLA success rate and an average response time of just 1 hour. In 2024 alone, their 27 agents efficiently handled 59,476 tickets, serving over 4,500 customers.
Full story: https://zammad.com/en/customers/vossen
#Helpdesk, #AppSupport, and #IncidentResponse folks: if you could build a dashboard to show the state of things to management and stakeholders at a glance, what would you include?
I want to improve our dashboards and reporting, but I’m coming back to this area after more than a decade away, so looking for new ideas as to what works
Do you have a notification telling you some app like #Zoom is “Accessing Your Screen” on #Apple’s #macOS #Sequoia? Well, it seems to be a known bug, and #AppleInsider seems to have a fix. I can’t verify this because I keep crapps like Zoom off my machines. #tech #helpdesk https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/02/26/how-to-fix-an-incessant-x-is-accessing-your-screen-bug-in-macos-sequoia
Q) What's the most dangerous folder in a Windows computer?
A) The default downloads folder.
Okay, if you asked me that question out of the blue, I’d probably say C:\Windows\System32, but just go with me for a minute here.
In the world of small business/home office/residential IT support, moving someone’s data to their new computer is a common task. And, often, the user is the Administrator on their own computer, so they can download and install anything. Anything at all.
Some things I always transfer: Documents, Music, Pictures, Favorites, and so on. But the Downloads folder is a crazy beast. Some people use it as a storage location. They download stuff and just leave it there. Manuals, legal documents, bank statements, all kinds of things. So I have to check, I can’t just ignore it.
But the default downloads folder is also full of executable files, mostly installers for apps and printer driver packages. If the client downloaded a program – maybe a game – that contains a trojan, this is where it will be. The Downloads folder is frequently the home of malware origin files.
(Sidenote: three malware file types you should know about are origin files, loader files, and active files. They exist in various combinations. For example, the origin file may be the active file, but sometimes it’s not, and the origin file may pass a virus scan).
Okay, back to the main point.
When I’m transferring the data to the client’s new computer, I put the contents of the Downloads folder on the screen and ask them, “Do you need any of these files?” Usually, they look confused, and then I know it’s safe to not transfer the Downloads folder’s contents. I don’t care about the app installers and printer drivers, because I’m going to download and install the latest version anyway. The installers in the Downloads folder may be older versions.
THE LESSON
Be wary of the client’s default downloads folder. Transfer any items after evaluating them individually. Don’t just copy the folder contents.
A small business client called me this morning in a panic. Their Dell computer prompted them to do “an update,” the client clicked okay, things happened, and then the screen went black. The client then tried to restart the computer and got a black screen again. Next they unplugged the computer, and that’s when they called me.
I asked, “During this whole time, did you ever see the word ‘firmware’ on the screen? Or B-I-O-S?”
“Yes.”
I cringed a little. “Okay, let’s plug it back in and see what we can do.”
Reports of various blinking lights, sounds, then nothing.
“Let’s leave it alone for several minutes, don’t do anything with it, and I’ll call you back.”
I waited about ten minutes and then called the client.
Now we were able to power off, power back on, it booted normally, and the client logged in. Crisis averted!
Sometimes updates – firmware or otherwise – take longer to complete than we might like. This calls for patience. Go get a cup of coffee, or read “Gone With the Wind,” or something. Give it time. If you turn the computer off or try to reboot it at the wrong time during a firmware update, you run the risk of “bricking” the computer.
Precisas de ajuda com o teu computador? O GLUA está aqui para ajudar! 
O nosso serviço de Helpdesk está disponível para toda a comunidade académica da Universidade de Aveiro! Seja para problemas com Linux, Windows ou hardware, podes contar connosco.
Como aceder à Helpdesk online?
Através do nosso servidor de Discord, onde encontras canais de texto, voz e um fórum de ajuda com soluções para problemas já resolvidos.
Como marcar uma Helpdesk presencial?
Linux – marcação online através do nosso formulário
Windows ou hardware – marcação via Discord ou presencialmente na nossa sala
Para mais informações, visita https://glua.ua.pt/helpdesk
Salut les mastonautes ! 
#Jechercheunjob , pas pour moi, mais pour un ami. en #cdi de préférence, pour du #helpdesk ou du #support niveau 1, à Sète et ses environs, en présentiel ou si besoin, à distance (télétravail). N’hésitez pas à me contacter en privé pour plus d’infos ou pour mise en contact avec l'intéressé !
Un grand merci pour vos #boost si vous n'êtes pas intéressé-e-s
#boostapprécié
helprealm.io will move to helprealm.net. All requests to the old domain will be redirected to the .net domain.
Here is a link to the blog post about that issue:
https://www.danielbrendel.com/blog/18-helprealmio-will-move-to-helprealmnet
Here is a link to the new fresh instance:
“My daughter’s personal computer, she uses for school work, came up with needing a BitLocker recovery password.”
Over the weekend I was contacted by a dad on the other side of the country trying to locate the BitLocker key. This is a very common problem. Microsoft’s position is, “Don’t worry, we store you BitLocker keys for you in your Microsoft account!” Microsoft’s attitude seems like: “I know you’re in water over your head, and you can’t swim, and you’re drowning and choking, but don’t worry, we have life preservers right here on the boat. Come get one!”
The reality is that many people have no idea what to do when faced with this challenge.
You must protect yourself. Get your BitLocker recovery key for every BitLocker device, and store it safely yourself. You can find information on how to get your recovery key by searching for “find my BitLocker recovery key,” or a similar phrase, using any search engine.
If you don’t want to do that, contact me, and I’ll help you get your BitLocker key(s) for a very reasonable fee.
Confessions of a Windows Helpdesk Jockey
Twenty five years ago this is me trying to make a corporate cubicle into a computer workshop. Good times.
[This'll give the @altbot a workout. To follow]
Since I've been mostly inactive on Mastodon for a bit, I think it's time for a re-#introduction. I'm Ratt, a #dad of 2 and husband of 15 years working in #IT as a #helpdesk technician. I'm a #ForeverDM posting mostly about #DnD, other #TTRPG systems, and adjacent hobbies (like #MiniaturePainting), but also #art, #books, #hiking, #music, #StarTrek, #tech, #work, and whatever else is on my mind. A recovering angry pessimist, I try my best to be an example of #positivity in action and attitude.
@linuxsolutions I believe you forgot a really important one here: @zammad_hq - initiated + developed by one of the original OTRS founders who also took care of maintaining the OTRS fork Znuny after OTRS went closed source.
**GLPI vs iTop vs Znuny: Qual Escolher para o Seu Helpdesk?** 
Escolher a solução certa para o suporte ao cliente é crucial. Veja como GLPI, iTop e Znuny se comparam e descubra a que melhor atende às suas necessidades.
Software Folklore
"Sometimes bugs have symptoms beyond belief. This is a collection of such stories from around the web."
TO THE HELP DESK PERSONNEL:
If people try to cut the queue in the IT call center, it's not because they're impatient. There are two factors that, together, cause people to try and circumvent the ticketing process.
1) Management above you has inadequately staffed the help desk in order to cut costs.
2) The people who call you are dedicated employees who genuinely want to get back to work and be productive.
As a help desk worker, you can't fix this. But you should at least understand what's really going on.
TO THE PEOPLE WHO CONTACT THE HELP DESK:
If the person you called seems to be an idiot, you’re wrong. They’re not. There are two factors that, together, cause them to give you inadequate support.
1) Management hasn’t trained them adequately. They want to succeed in their job, but they were thrown to the wolves, so to speak, by managers with understaffed departments and insufficient training budgets.
2) They’re rendered powerless by policies they didn’t create. Even if they know what you really need, they’re bound by rules that specify what they can and cannot do.
As an employee needing an IT issue resolved, you can’t fix this. But you should at least understand what’s really going on.
As someone who has managed help desks, and who has managed help desk managers, I’ve seen the issues up close. These problems can be solved if upper management is willing to change how things are done.
Hey Fediverse!
I am looking for a good, reliable docking station.
One where i can both connect a PC to, and my work laptop.
Best solution would be to have the laptop fully out of view, but as we work with Yubikeys not every hub will work (I think it is a safety thing that only the primary USB ports allow for the Yubikeys to work?).
#helpdesk #helpwanted #dockingstation #workandplay #computers
This year, I’m placing a renewed emphasis on growing the residential tech support part of my business. The evolution of my attitude toward residential tech support is an interesting story. Read on…
I licensed my company in 2003. In those early days I was desperate to generate income and find clients. I advertised on craigslist, mostly intending to get small business clients, but a lot of the calls I got were from residential users. I needed the money, and I was happy to make the appointments. Keep in mind that in 2003, these were house calls. I didn’t yet have a subscription to professional remote access software.
Cluttered homes. Dusty computers. Loud and aggressive dogs. I learned that residential clients often had unreasonable expectations about cost. I used to say, “Residential clients want hundred dollar service for ten dollars.” On the upside, though, residential clients expected to pay at the time of service. I’d walk out of their house with a check in hand, and in the startup days, cash flow was critical! So I kept doing it.
Later, as my business grew, I stopped doing residential work entirely. I had enough business clients that I didn’t need the residential business anymore.
Somewhere about that time, I had enough business clients with remote locations that I started paying for professional remote access software. A gray area developed: I was doing remote tech support for business workers in home offices. I asked myself, “Could I make money with remote tech support for non-business users at home?”
No toys to trip over. No nippy dogs. Hmmm… So I started advertising residential tech support again - remotely.
And I gotta tell ya, it’s fun. I totally enjoy it. It brings the customer such satisfaction and relief, and it’s like fixing a problem for a friend.
I’ve always charged my residential clients the same hourly rate as my business clients. No difference at all, and if you want to do this, it’s important to keep your rates up. Residential prospects often start by asking what it costs. My hourly rate is a filter that eliminates a lot of problems.
Anyway, I’m going to do a lot more marketing on the residential side and home office side. I added a new page to my website just for this purpose.
Did you or a loved one get a new computer for Christmas? Having problems with it in any way? I do residential and small business remote tech support. Sole proprietor, business licensed in Washington, insured. I'm your own personal help desk. More personal. Less frustrating.
8am to 5pm, US Pacific Time Zone.
#HelpDesk #TechSupport #RemoteSupport #Residential #HomeOffice
/
) 
Leia mais: 
