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IT rules sound simple until someone discovers the “unauthorized” software is quietly holding half the operation together.

One system administrator is ordered to remove Python everywhere, so when the instruction is crystal clear, would you argue or start uninstalling?

That demand leaves several useful phone features hanging by a thread while management remains blissfully confident in its decision.

Let’s see how this update played out.

Unauthorized Software? Happy to remove it!

I work as a contractor for a department that aims high, flies, fights, and wins occasionally I’m told.

A security scan popped my work laptop for having Python installed, which I was told wasn’t authorized for local use at my site.

This all happened within an official ticketing system, so I didn’t even have to ask for it in writing or for it to be confirmed. I simply acknowledged and said I would immediately remove Python from any and all systems I operate per instructions.

Complying had a big impact.

The site lost a lot of its fancier VoIP system capabilities such as call trees, teleconference numbers, emergency dial downs, operator functionality, recording capabilities, and announcements in the span of about 30 minutes as I removed Python from the servers I ran.

The servers leveraged pyst (Python package) against Asterisk (VoIP service used only for those unique cases) to do fancy and cool things with call routing and telephony automation.

And then it didn’t.

Time to reinstall.

I reported why the outage was occurring, and was immediately told to reinstall Python everywhere and that they would make an exception.

A short lived outage, but still amusing.

Moral of the story: Don’t tell a System Admin to uninstall something without asking what it’s used for first.

Yes, the moral to the story makes sense.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

A fellow VoIP guy weighs in.

This person comments on the poor security.

Another person compares security scanners to toddlers.

This person thinks he should’ve talked to a manager first.

Here’s a story about a software audit.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who ends up quitting over a dispute over bereavement leave.

The administrator followed the ticket exactly and removed Python from every system he managed.

Within about 30 minutes, call trees, teleconferencing, emergency dial-downs, recording, and other phone features completely just stopped working.

Management quickly reversed course and told him to reinstall everything, proving the forbidden software had been doing some very authorized-looking work.

They wanted Python gone. They got it gone.