MSP War Stories with Mike Smith (EP 1044)
I bring Mike Smith into the live studio to swap stories from the trenches about Adobe chaos, ISP contracts gone sideways, and a small office crippled by needless VLANs. Along the way, we share the tools, tactics, and talking points we use to keep clients secure without letting vendors quietly run the network for us.
Mike Smith joined me live in South Florida after a day on-site with a client, and we turned his trip into a full-on therapy session for MSPs dealing with Adobe, ISPs, and over-engineered networks. We dig into Acrobat crashes, painful uninstalls, and why I lean on tools like Ninite Pro and Action1 to deploy and patch software without all the bundled nonsense. From there, we pivot into law firms that demand every browser under the sun, iCloud users getting winmail.dat instead of PDFs, and how a simple Microsoft 365 setting can make or break delivery.
We also share some hard-earned lessons from ISP “solutions” like Comcast Security Edge that silently hijack DNS and cause more trouble than they solve, plus stories about move projects blocked by county approvals and wrong suite numbers. I wrap up with a NetAlly EtherScope tip where I walked into a seven-user shop running multiple VLANs for no good reason, and how simplifying that network instantly fixed their printing issues and future support costs.
=== Chapters
- 00:56 Mike Smith in the House
- 04:02 TechCon Unplugged Details
- 06:38 On-Site Client Stories
- 08:03 Acrobat Troubleshooting
- 10:55 Ninite Pro and Action1
- 23:59 Sponsor Shoutout
- 24:54 Comcast Move Nightmare
- 35:06 Verizon Move Disaster
- 46:16 Faster Speeds, New Gear
- 55:07 NetAlly VLAN Fix
- 1:02:18 Client Acquisitions and Support
=== Guest: Mike Smith, Mike Tech Show
- Website: https://miketechshow.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithmh/
=== Companies / Vendors / Products / Events / Organizations
- Mike Tech Show: https://miketechshow.com
- TechCon Unplugged: https://techconunplugged.com
- Pax8: https://www.pax8.com
- Revo Uninstaller: https://www.revouninstaller.com
- IObit Uninstaller: https://www.iobit.com/en/advanceduninstaller.php
- Ninite Pro: https://ninite.com/pro
- Action1: https://www.action1.com
- Syncro: https://syncrosecure.com/
- NetAlly EtherScope: https://www.netally.com/products/etherscopenxg/
- TP-Link 2.5 GB NIC card: https://amzn.to/4vilg5G
- TRENDnet 10G PCIe Network Adapter: https://amzn.to/4vTwe2L
=== SPONSORS:
- Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker
- Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
- Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
- Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
- Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready
=== SHOW MUSIC:
- Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
- Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
- Author Username: AlexanderRufire
- Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML
=== Connect with Uncle Marv
🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
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Owner
My podcast is about all things technology and computer related. I discuss cool sites, software, tips and tricks that will make you more productive at home and work. I review problems and solutions that I encounter at home and with my consulting. I answer listener’s tech questions and also discuss solutions from other listeners
