a SunTrust ATM errored out last night
Last night I went to a SunTrust bank branch in the neighborhood to drop off a deposit envelope. Even though I didn’t look at the direction of the ATM screen, I realized what in display was NOT its usual screen. Looking up, I was surprised to see a familiar Internet Explorer window under a pop-up window. The IE pop-up window stated that there was some error processing the script(s), and prompted to continue or not. I wished I had a digital camera with me!
I drove off the parking lot, seeing the pop-up window glistering in the darkness. I couldn’t help wondering whether the Internet Explorer error on the ATM screen was some scheduled maintenance or security upgrade went awry, or it was some malicious attack in progress. This reminded of the fact that some national bank’s ATMs stopped functioning a few years ago, with a virus spreading among unpatched Windows computers like a wild fire.
A well-disguised GUI can hide many details. The simple interface of any ATM impressed me as tightened and restricted to afford the security the owner bank needs. It certainly had fooled me. Sorta like many well-encapsulated software packages, you get a glimpse of the inner workings only when they crap out occasionally. Sometimes such a glimpse satisfies one’s curiosity. Other times you wish you don’t have to learn of the inner workings. A running car vs. a broken car.
As a customer, I felt somewhat obligated to inform SunTrust Bank of the error on their ATM. However, I didn’t do anything last night or today. Excuse: there’s no number handy to call. If you were in my shoes, would you have gone out of your way to find a number to call?
