Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Computer security against data loss and identity theft
This week I was going to write about upgrading system RAM but while watching the news I saw the story about Hotels.com and their data theft. Last weeks big story was the data lose at the Veterans Administration. NOW .. to be clear, these were not computer security breeches but people actually carrying the data out on disk. But the point is data is valuable and this leads to computer securityThis past week alone we had 5 machines that were so loaded with spyware the machines literally stalled and were unusable. Now, knowing how low the response is when we run spyware ads I know many of you are not listening. Then, when you head to the repair shop it is already too late. Add to this the cost of the repair /clean out which usually costs many times is more then the actual machine is worth.
If ever there was a case for the fabled “ounce of prevention” this is it. Anyway identity theft is the fastest growing, most damaging and expensive crime we have today. It can take up to a year to detect and by then the damage can be extensive, but with a few simple steps you can avoid it. The problem is getting you to take those steps so I’ll go over them again.
Before you go near the Internet your computer needs three types of software, first, a good anti-virus program. We recommend products like Norton Anti-virus, Trend Micro and if you are looking for a good freebie, get AVG. Now if one is good two should be better right ... wrong. This not true with virus software. Very often they will conflict and cause system performance issues.
Next you need a firewall, if nothing else use the built in Windows firewall that comes with XP Sp2, if you have an earlier version then you seriously need to run Windows updates. This is not just for the firewall but you are missing a large collection of security updates. Finally, you need a spyware scanner and you need two of these, one pro-active (scanning threats as they come in) and one that is reactive (scans for threats that are let in by hiding in something else). This is especially true if you use Yahoo, MSN, or Google search bars.
Also AOL is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to collecting and selling info on their subscribers. But they hide it well by keeping you focused on the competitors spyware they are removing. You also need two spyware scanners because neither will get all the threats and one will get what the other missed. We recommend Pest Patrol and Ad Aware. Avoid Spybot at all costs. This is just a spyware suite disguised as a scanner. Well there you have it, again. The Internet is a safe place if you take the proper precautions. Contact the pros at ComputerGuysLive for all your online computer repair. Also check out our step by step wireless connection guide.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Back up your important data
Businesses require both security and data backup to run efficently and productively. Many business owners want to save money and scrimp on data backup protection then get stuck with lost data and valuable time. Here's a case in point that happened within the last two weeks before the holidays last year.I’ll simply call them client A. Client A runs a business that survives on shipping their product out through UPS. When we first met back in the early spring it was to fix the shipping computer. He had installed an anti-virus program and it wiped out his e-mail in box.
This is a known bug with MaCAFEE anti-virus and it was a matter of a simple file recovery. In the process of fixing that problem we found other problems and the system was acting very un-stable and nothing was backed up. At that point and several others through the year I tried to encourage him to back up his important records.
Well guess what, he never did and a week before the holiday it crashed. Suddenly he couldn’t access UPS, couldn’t access his mailing lists and postage. Essentially he was out of business with a warehouse full of employees sitting around. Now he is losing thousands of dollars a day because he was trying to save a few hundred and put off getting a back-up device, the business owner went into shear panic and called us.
Now just as suddenly he tried to put the responsibility of saving his business on us, if we couldn’t recover his data he was out of business. I wouldn’t accept that
responsibility. We will do our very best, we will do everything possible to fix the
situation but if the data was lost it was his fault for not backing it up. People, things happen, so if it is the least bit important … BACK IT UP.
Fortunately, we were able to save about 90% of his data and get him running but it took 3 days and cost him thousands. Did he get a back-up device, not yet.
This is the one single problem we run into and it comes in many forms. "My inbox
became corrupted and all my e-mails are gone, can you recover them"? Were they
backed up, no. Address books, family photos, your accounting records, what ever it
may be, if it is the least bit important, BACK IT UP. If you are a business and your
data is mission critical, BACK IT UP.
If it is a bad crash and we have to send it out for professional data recovery, I've seen bills as high as $12 thousand dollars. Data recovery can become expensive, not to mention the down time involved. So make sure to purchase a backup device that automatically backs up your important data every day. If you need data recovery, call us at Computer Guys Live for affordable
recovery services.
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