IT Horror Stories with Jack Smith

Jack's Rants - Batch Job Blues

Jack's Rants dives into the world of banking mainframes and the batch jobs that quietly keep everything moving — until one of them doesn't. What starts as a routine overnight run turns into a multiple transactions on thousands of accounts that didnt happen in the real world, but the mainframe says something else. 00:00 Rant Kickoff 01:23 Transaction Glitch 03:14 Batch Job Drama 05:23 Mainframe Pros 07:33 Wrap Up  

Welcome to IT Horror Stories with Jack Smith

Surviving the Anonymous DDOS

This episode we unpack what a DDoS attack actually is, using the specter of Anonymous as a cultural touchstone rather than a how-to villain. We talk about why high-profile groups target services, what it feels like in real time when traffic spikes and systems start gasping, and how panic can make things worse. Instead of glorifying attackers, we center on mindset: staying calm, recognizing early warning signs, and understanding the difference between noise and a true outage. The takeaway isn't technical bravado; it's preparedness. By the end of the episode, "surviving" a DDoS means knowing how to keep your service, your team, and your reputation intact when the internet decides to stress-test you all at once. 00:00 Hello & Introduction 00:51 The Anonymous Attack 06:19 Unprepared Response 13:52 DDoS Solutions 16:08 Smart Attacks 25:06 Evolution of Protection 33:11 Risk & Insurance 34:52 Podcast Wrap-Up  

Shadow IT Reports

We dive into the familiar chaos of Shadow IT created by the sales department — well-intentioned, fast-moving, and completely invisible until something breaks. A "quick tool" turns into a critical system overnight, contracts appear after go-live, and IT is asked to secure, integrate, and support something it never approved or even knew existed. It's a story about speed versus control, good intentions with bad outcomes, and why Shadow IT doesn't start with malice — it starts with urgency.   00:00 Podcast Kickoff 01:11 What is Shadow IT 02:44 Sales Server Disaster 12:57 Data Migration Drama 23:45 Luck and Lessons 25:15 Common Shadow IT 26:58 Management Irony 28:02 Final Thoughts

The DevOps Royale With Cheese

In this episode, we return to Finland, where an international burger chain suddenly found itself cut off from the one thing every fast-food operation needs to function: real-time operational data. A third-party data supplier pulled the plug without warning, leaving kitchens blind, dashboards empty, and the entire workflow stuck on "please wait." What followed was a truly Nordic-speed DevOps rescue mission — rapid troubleshooting, frantic config changes, un-authorized workarounds, and a race to restore data before the lunch rush turned into a customer revolt. From vendor surprises to emergency pipelines, this episode serves up a full stack of DevOps chaos... with cheese.