Employer Contacts Man 6 Months After Firing Him, Asks For Laptop Password

These days, several employees have been sharing accounts of their professional lives on social media, including the challenges they face at their workplaces. Recently, a Reddit user shared how his former employer contacted him asking for his laptop password, six months after firing him. 

The user shared a screenshot of the employer's email on Reddit. In the message, his employer requested him to share the laptop password to perform a factory reset to prepare the device for a new user to use in future. He also assured the Reddit user that the information provided by him would be treated with utmost confidentiality and would only be used to reset the laptop. 

''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,'' the user wrote on Reddit.

Here's the post:

Former employer wants my password to the computer I used 6 months after terminating me.
byu/spicyad inantiwork

Many users shared similar instances while others said that they would never be able to remember an old password after six months.

One user wrote, ''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.''

A few users thought something was amiss as any company's IT department can easily handle the situation by performing a reset. 

Another wrote, ''I'm in IT and the one thing that gets drilled into us and users is to never share passwords. They don't need your password to reset it, all they need to do is wipe the disk and re-image it with their company's (or manufacturer's) OS. Either this is a fishing attempt or you are dealing with idiots.''

A third added, ''This is strange. Best case scenario, they are lying and need a file on your computer, in worst case they have been compromised and if you give this person your password they will try to use it to get into your accounts. Ignore this message and never give anyone your password for any reason.''

A fourth said, ''If their IT guy can't factory reset a laptop then they should be dismissed for incompetence immediately.'' A fifth added, ''It's a lie. It is quite easy and (a factory reset, or a simple wipe) IS the recommended way to reformat a computer when you can't crack into it because you don't have the password. They want instead to rifle through your files.''