At No-IP, we have one of the greatest SysAdmin’s in the business. We are lucky that he can juggle all the tasks given to him without causing any downtime and making very few errors. It is not an easy job and is harder when preventable mistakes are made. That is why great Sysadmins set themselves apart from the rest by never making these common mistakes. What are they? Find out below.
Not Testing Changes
So you have made a few changes and are ready to push them live. Did you test them? This seems obvious, but often times testing doesn’t happen until after disaster strikes. Simply testing all your changes and patches before they are released can save a lot of money, frustration and downtime in the long run.
Not Being Picky About Passwords
Passwords are one of the strongest defenses against the bad forces that be. If you choose a password at random, without thinking about how strong it is, you run the risk of getting hacked. Hackers know all of the most common passwords and will run through every word in the dictionary until they figure out which one you chose. This also means you should be changing your passwords frequently. It is important to constantly make your password stronger. Don’t get comfortable and think yours is uncrackable, because it probably isn’t.
Not Closing Your WiFi Network
When you don’t close your WiFi network you are making it more susceptible to outside attacks. It is also important to note that simply hiding your service set identifier or SSID doesn’t make your network as secure as it should be. It is important that you have a WiFi protected access protocol and that you separate your wireless and wired networks.
Not Fixing Your DNS Issues
It may be easier to implement a HOST file to get around a DNS issue than actually fixing it, but that would be a huge mistake. It may not seem like one at the time, but after a year you will probably forget which server has a HOST file and be forced to look into each and every one to figure out where it is. This could be prevented if you simply fix the DNS issue from the beginning, instead of making the easier fix.
These common mistakes can cause a lot of problems, that can be easily prevented. Great SysAdmins know this and take the necessary steps to avoid them. Have other mistakes that great SysAdmins never make? Leave them in the comments below.