Csdrhrt

I left my job and turned in my laptop.

On that work laptop, I used my "usual" personal password, as the password.

When I left and turned in the laptop, no-one asked for the password. A couple of weeks later my former manager starts texting me and calling me asking for the password. For security reasons (even stating this feels insecure) I can't give out that password. It's my "personal" password I use in other situations.

I want to get the laptop, login (with my "personal" password) and change the password to 12345678 for them, and give it back.

I offered to receive the laptop, either by having a former co-worker visit me, or have it sent via a courier service or something like that.

My manager and I setup a time for that, which he didn't honor. I offered to meet somewhere near the office when I was in the vicinity but that wasn't honored either.

Now they're bugging me again with texts and calls and I don't have the time to handle this.

What are the expectations here? Can i just simply say "I cant do this" and let it rest? What about "I'll get back to you when i got the time"?

I don't mind doing it, but only if it costs me minutes of my time.

If there is something on the computer they want to retrieve it's usually required that you give them access to the data.

But this doesn't mean you need to give them access to your account. Giving them your password opens up serious security and identity issues.

Apparently they don't have company IT department who could grant access, so they need your help. After they have failed twice to do what was agreed, you could start ignoring them. But if you don't want to burn bridges and/or start fighting, you may want to set up a meeting to correct the issue.

Once you get the computer:

1. Create a new account


2. Give it admin rights


3. Transfer all required files from your personal account to a folder where this new account can access them (folder in root or something)


4. Log in with the new admin account


5. Delete your personal account


6. Give them password for the new admin account

Any IT department worth it's salt can hack a laptop to get in. Worst case scenario, they wipe the drive and start over with a new Image, which is what they should do anyway.

You returned the hardware, the rest is on them. Give them nothing more.

There's an old adage: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me". Well, it looks like you've been fooled twice, as you've tried to set up two in-good-faith meetings to rectify the situation, and they have in bad faith not met either of those meetings. At this point, in my opinion, it's on them to set up a meeting time that works for you, not the other way around. My response to their next communique would be something like this:

Sorry, but I've tried to set up a meeting with you guys twice in good faith to try to fix this situation. I simply cannot shanghai my schedule around you guys any more to schedule any more meetings which you have shown to not respect. You have my address [presumably they actually have this, usually you give it to them when you start employment]. I am working a new job now and my work hours are 9am-5pm [or whatever your hours are]. I need some commuting time, so please schedule a time to come to the local Moondollar coffee shop near my place after 6pm on a weekday evening to have this situation resolved. If you can't do that, then I'm sorry but I can't help you.

If they are unable or unwilling to schedule a meeting according to the time you've set out for them, then that's too bad for them; unless you have critical business information that you are legally liable for on that laptop, there's nothing they can do to make you work on their schedule. If they meet your schedule, then I defer to Sopuli's answer as to how to proceed. If, however, they schedule a meeting with you on your schedule and then miss it a third time, well, there's another adage for that: "Three strikes, you're out!" At that point I would just stop taking their calls and stop responding to their emails, and in the very extreme case that they don't get the hint, consider going to local law enforcement for harassment.

You received a company laptop that you were given for work and returned it after you left the company.

1. You should have given them the password when you returned the laptop.


2. You should NOT have used the same password as you use privately.


3. Give them the damn password and change your personal password...chances are you've been using it for too long anyways...

...oh and try not to use the same password everywhere, especially if it is a privacy sensitve account...

EDIT:
What people don't seem to understand and why this answer has almost as many downvotes as upvotes is:

• I'm talking EXPLICITLY about OP's special case and circumstances!




• the WORK relation ENDED and the employee was required (usually by contract) to return all company property.
  This naturally means in working order for machinery and tools.
  It of course includes the data stored on said tools and access to it.




• the password guarding this access protects company property and business secrets.




• the FORMER employee has no right anymore to posess, use or access company property




• arguably - and this could be an interesting legal question - any data (including the password itself) stored on company property becomes also company property

Why is this not getting in some heads, that in order to properly hand over the WORK laptop and information on it the employee is required to relinquish access (THE PASSWORD) to the employer ?!

The fact that the employee used his personal password is irrelevant and solely the fault of this employee.
Not to mention that this whole discussion about privacy issues loses any merit as soon as the employee does what we all should do regularly:
CHANGE YOUR DAMN PASSWORD !!

As a side note:

I worked at companies where they had keyloggers and internet monitoring enabled on every workstation.

I worked at companies where there was NO internet acces on workstations.

Internet acces for work reasons was enabled on dedicated access points and private communication was allowed only on personal equipment and on a separate WIFI network.

There are even companies that hand you the workstation login password and you don't even have priviliges to change it.

Hell, I even worked at companies that didn't allow recoding equipment (including mobile phones) on the floor in the vicinity of displays or whiteboards.


Keep in mind: your workstation and anything you do on it may be monitored - legally !

All the work you do belongs to the employer and unauthorized use of the (often) expensive professional equipment and software licenses for personal projects for instance constitues a serious misuse of property.

...see what you made me do...exploding an answer from a few sentences into a tl;dr explanation of things that I assumed were obvious...