Six months post-termination, ex-employee asked for laptop password by former employer
LAPTOP PASSWORD – A Reddit user named u/spicyad recently shared a peculiar experience involving their ex-employer, who asked for the laptop password six months after termination.
On March 18, 2024, u/spicyad disclosed that their former employer had reached out to them six months after termination, not with a job offer, but with a request for the password to the laptop they had used while employed. In the post, u/spicyad included a screenshot of the email from the former employer, who reassured them of confidentiality and stated the password would solely be used for resetting the laptop for another employee’s use.
The Reddit thread sparked a flurry of reactions from fellow users, many of whom shared similar encounters. Some admitted to forgetting their laptop passwords after several months, while others questioned the necessity of the employer’s request. They suggested that the company’s IT department could reset the laptop without needing the employee’s password. One Reddit user, claiming expertise in IT, stressed the golden rule of never sharing passwords and advised u/spicyad and others to ignore such requests from employers. The user explained that resetting the laptop simply required wiping the disk and reinstalling the company’s or manufacturer’s operating system.
The doubt expressed by Reddit users extended to suspicions about the employer’s intentions. Some speculated that the request might be a way to access u/spicyad’s personal files. Among the comments, there was also a humorous remark suggesting that if the company rehired u/spicyad, they might still remember the password.
Meanwhile, passwords should never be shared for several important reasons. Firstly, sharing passwords poses significant security risks as it increases the chance of unauthorized access to sensitive information. When passwords are shared, individuals lose control over who can access their accounts, making them vulnerable to being used for harmful purposes like identity theft or data breaches. Additionally, sharing passwords can harm the integrity of accounts, leading to the potential loss of personal data, and financial assets, or harm to one’s reputation.