Why Backup?

I want to talk to you about backups and their importance in today’s digital world. There are plenty of choices of software and hardware that will do the job as well as cloud services. Let’s dive in.

I still get asked the question “why backup”? Why would you not backup is what I ask. There are no guarantees that your computer will last forever and now with all the malicious bugs roaming the Internet the chances have only increased that you will have a problem. The question is no longer “if” you get infected; it is now a question of “when”.

External hard drives are good for backups. However, the potential for failure is greater than, say, cloud backups because this is a piece of hardware, after all and therefore capable of the same mishaps of mis-managed computer equipment. You must run diagnostics and maintenance on the backup drive to ensure that the hardware is in top shape and preserving your data. Also, if you choose this method, I recommend that you connect the device, run your backup and then disconnect it from the computer. If you have an unknown virus on the computer, you do not want it to affix itself to your backup drive infecting it.

Cloud backups are quickly becoming the popular trend in data backup and for obvious reasons. When you do online backups through a service, you set some parameters like time and what you want backed up and forget about it. Your data is backed up onto servers that are maintained, kept safe from viruses and ready when you are for recovery if necessary. You are putting your data into someone else’s trust and many of these companies do a very good job at cloud backup. This has become my method of backup with a twist. I manually control my backups to the cloud then delete everything from my computer. If my computer is compromised, hackers will be disappointed in their findings.

The best defense against Ransomware is a good backup. It pains me the amount of people I know who still do not have a backup plan. Your most important documents and precious memories are extremely important to you. Make a conscious effort to choose a method of backup and stick with it. You’ll be better off if disaster strikes!

"We don't need no stinking recovery discs"...Wait, I do?

When I first began my career in the technology field, computer manufacturers would always send you set of recovery discs in the event that something drastic happened to your system and you needed to set things back to factory condition or far worse, change your hard drive. As years went by, they began placing this "system restore" on a separate partition of the hard drive and with a few commands, you could reset your computer back to factory condition. This was pretty convenient and they would still include the recovery discs so you had them. A little while later, the discs were no longer included but, if disaster struck, you could buy a set for $25 or $35.

There is your quick history lesson.

Recently, I had several clients who had hard drives that failed. This left them in that critical stage of "what do I do now". The good news is that all of the clients issues were worked out in a speedy and satisfactory manner but I want to discuss the importance of the recovery discs. Almost every computer will ship with an annoying blurb that returns now and again reminding you to create your recovery media. This is something that everyone should do. It is very convenient to have that recovery partition on your hard drive, but what will you do if your hard drive fails? You need the recovery discs. After the hard drive fails is not a good time to find this out. I recently learned that some manufacturers only maintain recovery libraries for their computers for a limited amount of time. That means after a few years, you may not be able to obtain the recovery media from your manufacturer.

It is a simple process and worth the time spent doing this when you first setup a new computer. It is even more valuable now if you have had a computer for some time. Create the discs. Get yourself a couple of DVD writable discs and locate the "Backup and Recovery" section on your computer and start the process. The process will walk you through every step telling you what to do and when to do it. Once you are done, you will now be equipped with the recovery tools needed in the event of an UN-recoverable hard drive disaster. While you're at it, make sure that you are regularly backing up your important data (documents, pictures, etc.).

Now, let's get started on that recovery, shall we?

NOTE - There are other good options for making an exact image of your drive that I will discuss in a future article.

Computer Support on a Stick? Hold That Thought!

You’ve seen the ads on television; Everything from a USB flash drive to solve all of your computing woes to inexpensive remote service techs. These sound like great tools when you are watching a thirty second or sixty second ad because they squeeze a lot of fantastic words into the delivery and the end result is that this flash drive or service will solve your problems instantly and forever! Remember that anything that sounds too good to be true probably is not.

So let’s break this down by the two different classes. The first class is the all-in-one USB stick. You purchase this product and insert it into a USB port and it is suppose to solve all the issues on your computer. There will be interaction by you, the consumer. This is a suite of tools that will need to be run individually to do certain functions of cleaning and disinfecting. But when you’re finished how do you truly know that the infections are gone? How do you know that your computer is actually clean? What if your infection was a root kit? Wait..what is a root kit? That is a lot of unanswered questions, right. Guess what, all you really paid for there was a glorified cookies and browser cache cleaner. It did nothing to eradicate the viruses, Trojans, spyware or anything else.

The second class is the over-the-telephone experts. Call them now and get your computer running faster in 30 minutes only $19.99! Well, the $19.99 is apparently a fee you give them to allow an unknown person remote access to your computer. Once in they tell you that you have $300-$1000 worth of necessary work to be done to your computer. Believe it or not many people will fall for this and the headaches that ensue afterwards are anything from even slower computers to more viruses to have pictures and documents stolen from your computer. What is that worth to you? Scary isn’t it? The end result is that you have to hire a professional anyway to undo the damage that was done when you could have hired a qualified technician in the first place to take care of your needs. Several know cases to me on this are that after not allowing the additional work to be performed, strange things happen after the “tech” logs off the computer.

So as you can plainly see there are problems with both of these classes of computer hope. The facts are that only a qualified technician can actually diagnose your computer and tell if you have a serious problem and how serious. No two viruses are the same; some keep regenerating after software or a tool gets rid of them. A USB stick will not tell you if you have legitimate problems lurking in your system. It takes the care and expertise of a professional who knows what to look for and the end result is that you are treated kindly and taking care of in a manner that is much more guaranteed than a flash drive you purchased off the television. Look into the guarantees that come with these other products and services. Trust your computer to an expert and develop a relationship with that individual or business. You will be much happier in the end.

No Maintenance? Bad Idea..

One of the absolute worse things that you could do for your computer is to not maintain it. Sure, we are all busy browsing, downloading, watching, listening, tweeting and more. If we do not keep these computers in top shape, they are liable to "unlike" you.

Maintenance on a computer means that the system is kept both physically cleaned and virtually cleaned. The system should be checked for maintenance issues with the operating system (Windows) and make sure the hard drive is healthy and the system is free from viruses, Trojans, malware and all of the things that we are afraid of catching. Also the system needs to be loved inside by way of a good cleaning.

Periodically is the answer. The computer can be maintained monthly, 3 months, 6 months or a year. The longer that you wait, the more at risk you become. If you are working on a laptop, then you can imagine how much faster such a small place becomes engulfed in heat and dust. I recommend that you do it or have it done. Of course, I can guide you on the cycle and even set you up with a maintenance plan. You can leave it to us to maintain it while you go and tweet about it to your heart's content.

If you wait too long...well...you shouldn't wait. Your computer has needs too; service them.

Call me for a special maintenance service for just $59! (302) 261-5397

Computer Maintenance: Part Three

Welcome to the final installment of the Computer Maintenance series. Part three will discuss a small battery of defenses that can be installed to help round out the protection to your computer. These are merely suggestions. Many IT professionals have patterns and techniques that work. This article lays out a plan that has proven successful in 99.4% of computers serviced by the author’s consultation firm, Delaware Valley Tech Rescue.

The computer has been physically cleaned and firewall and anti-virus are installed and running. Now it’s time to place the finishing touches on the computer utilizing the following FREE utilities.

SpywareBlaster – SpywareBlaster is an invaluable tool and is available through Java Cool Software (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/). After installing the program, be sure and run the updater so that the definitions can be updated. Then be sure to enable protection for all items. SpywareBlaster does not need to be opened to run and it will work completely unnoticed by the user. It protects the computer from a database of malicious websites that contain content that could be harmful to the computer.

Spybot Search & Destroy – Created by Safer-Networking (http://www.safer-networking.org/), Spybot S&D also maintains a database of big bad websites. Besides updating the database regularly, you also must run the immunization module to place the new databases into effect. This program also comes with a scanner so if you feel that you might be infected then you can scan the computer. The added bonus is that this program builds a HOSTS file automatically to be sure that the websites in the database cannot push their wares through to your environment.

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware – MalwareBytes is a great addition to your protection scheme and like Spybot S&D, it needs to be updated regularly and then scanned if you feel there is a problem. It can be downloaded by the vendor (http://www.malwarebytes.org/). MalwareBytes has actually been known for finding issues that other scanners do not pick up and therefore has become an industry favorite. Keep in mind that MalwareBytes and Spybot S&D should be updated and scanned about once per week just to be sure that there are no issues brewing. There are many malicious packages out there that will not load immediately and can lay dormant.

There are no guarantees that any program will win over all the malicious objects floating around the Internet and sometimes, it takes different combinations of resources to rid the computer of the infestation. If used properly, these three programs can aid the anti-virus and firewall in keeping the operating environment safe and efficient. If a more severe problem is discovered then consult with a professional computer technician as most cases, severe as they can be, are able to be cleaned without drastic measures.

Computer Maintenance: Part Two

Computer Maintenance Part One explained how to get the case of the computer cleaned and free of dust and debris. Now that the very essential of the project is complete, it is time to ensure that the system will be safe from the outside intruders. Part Two will focus on Anti-Virus programs and Firewalls.

Looking first at firewalls, what exactly is a firewall? A firewall is a software utility or hardware device that limits outside network access to a computer or network by blocking ports. Though firewalls are very simple to use and plug and play ready, they can also be customized and tuned to block additional port requests or control every port if the user wishes to do so. Windows comes with a built in firewall that for most users, will do the job necessary without issues. When a program that you install, an instant messenger program for example, requests outbound or inbound traffic the firewall will notify you and also allow you to determine if you want to be notified each time the instance occurs. The only time it may be necessary to install a more comprehensive firewall is if you have very serious attacks on your system frequently. In that case, good recommendations would be Comodo, Sygate or Zone Alarm. These are the top rated firewalls and are also the simplest to use and the least demanding of your computer’s resources.

The single most important piece of software that every user should have in the computer is anti-virus software. There is no excuse for not including this as a basic strategy to combating the horrors of the internet. When choosing a solution, be sure that the program has the most complete protection for your overall security but do not allow it to go overboard. Simply put, there are some products on the market that will run amok with the computer’s resources and that will slow the performance down. For the purpose of this article, look at AVG Anti-Virus Free available from Grisoft. AVG comes with a complete protection package including email scanning, link checking, real time scanning of downloads and basic spyware protection built in plus much more. The price of $0 makes it all the more attractive. AVG is extremely customizable and allows the user to select how often and when the computer is scanned. One very nice feature of the free version is that the program must update virus definitions everyday and cannot be customized; an easy feature to live with.

Firewalls and anti-virus; two critical items in the computer maintenance department and should not be overlooked. Look for Part Three of this series which will square up on the balancing factor of protecting the computer, spyware and malware protection.

Computer Maintenance: Part One

Welcome to Part One of this three part series on maintaining your computer to keep it running smoothly and keep it protected from the worries of the Internet. The common factor in this series will be that the methods will cost you very little money or, in most cases, be completely free.

Part One will deal with basic maintenance of the actual hardware of the computer. There are some differences in desktop cases as well as differences in laptop computers. The differences are far too numerous to break down here so I would suggest that almost every computer manufacturer maintains a great support site on the web that should supply you with a manual to show you how different components to the system come apart. Be sure to follow a few precautionary tips if you decide to do the maintenance yourself. Properly ground yourself using a ground strap, be sure that any static electricity is discharged from your body and use the proper tools.

There are three main elements that are harmful to your computer; dust, smoke and food/liquids. The best advice here is to keep the computer in a well ventilated area free from tobacco smoke and avoid eating or drinking around the computer to avoid accidental spills.

To clean the case, remove the side covers of the desktop and if the computer is a laptop, remove only covers recommended by the manufacturer. Using a can of compressed air (available at most electronic or computer superstores) in a sweeping motion, blow the dust and dirt out of the machine. Pay special attention to the heat sink and all fans in the case because this is where dust really gathers up. You can also spray the air through the slots of the power supply unit to move the dust out of the back side thus keeping the electrical components inside dust free. Use the same technique by opening the CD drives and spray in them as well as any floppy drives that you may have.

Next, using electrical wipes, clean only the metallic surfaces in the case (for example the bottom). Use the wipes to clean the entire outside of the case as well. Finish up by using a vacuum with a brush attachment to gently vacuum the crevices, grills and other fine areas to get any hidden dust out. When completed, put the case back together or return the covers of the laptop.

This is a good first step to maintaining the computer. As with any electrical device, keeping them free of the dangers of elements will help them last longer and operate more efficiently. The recommendation is to clean your computer case a minimum of once per 6 months. If you have pets or feel that your home or office generates more dust than usual, feel free to do this more often. Watch out for Part Two of the series which deals with Anti-Virus software and Firewalls.