Backups

Conflicting advice on backups

Just as patients have to trust their doctors, non-techies have to trust the advice they get from techies. My last posting was about an article in a newspaper that offered, what I felt, was questionable advice on setting up a WiFi wireless network. The July issue of PC Magazine recently arrived in my mailbox and it offers some advice on backing up your computer that is also, to me, questionable.

The article is called "Keep Your Data Safe" and doesn't seem to have been posted yet on pcmag.com.

One section of the article discusses external hard … Read more

Why don't you back up your computer?

Most computer users know they should back up the files on their computer, yet many don't. Why not?

Leo Notenboom raised this question recently, see "Why don't people back up?"

No computer techie can answer this question, which is why both Leo and I have to ask. We're computer nerds and, as such, backup is part of our DNA. Techies can't put themselves in the shoes of the millions of computer users who don't back up their computers. We're different.

So, those of you who don't back up your computer, but … Read more

Judging techies

It takes one to know one. So, how can non-techies form an opinion on the abilities of a computer nerd? There is a language gap, a knowledge gap and, likely, a personality gap to overcome. Here's a tip.

Ask the techie about the system (meaning hardware, software and manual procedures) used to backup the computers they are responsible for.

I see three possible answers.

The techie will brag about what a great system they devised or inherited. The techie will gripe about how management has held them back from implementing a much better system than the one currently employed. … Read more

The pillars of Defensive Computing

Previous postings on this blog, like any blog, have been narrowly focused. Sometimes it helps to look at the forest rather than the individual trees. To that end, I take a step back here for an overall cheat sheet to Defensive Computing.

Skepticism

Perhaps the most important aspect of Defensive Computing is something money can't buy, skepticism.

Obviously this applies to email messages, many of which are scams. A relatively new approach appeals to your patriotism - emails from people claiming to be soldiers stationed in Iraq who need help bringing money home. Yeah, sure. Skepticism is not only … Read more

A few points to consider about off-site backups

A few days ago, David Strom wrote an article in The New York Times about making off-site file backups over the Internet. There is no one right answer when it comes to making backups, but I'd like to expand on a few points he raised.

At the beginning of the article, Strom says that "for a few hundred dollars a year you can buy inexpensive protection." Hopefully, readers weren't scared off by the price. Many off-site storage companies will hold backup copies of your files for much less money. Personally, I started out paying $10 a … Read more

When should you turn off an external hard disk?

Here's an interesting question: should I turn off my external hard drive when not in use? Leo Notenboom, who I mentioned back in July, addressed this issue a few days ago on his Ask-Leo.com Web site.

In short, there is no one clear answer, a number of issues have to be considered. What surprised me, though, about Leo's answer, was that he didn't mention my reason for turning off my external hard disk.

Being a pessimist is necessary for defensive computing. The main reason I turn off my external hard disk is to protect it from … Read more

A new approach to securing USB flash drives

USB Flash drives are great. Securing them, however, is not so great. They are easily lost and the more you use one, the more likely it will contain files you consider sensitive. Corsair recently came out with a product that takes an entirely new approach to securing flash drives.

Seeing as this is a Defensive Computing blog, it goes without saying that my personal flash drives are secure. I use a free, open-source program called TrueCrypt. There are however, three problems with this approach:

The hassle of installing TrueCrypt and learning how to use it. There is a portable version … Read more

Wall Street Journal Readers - check this out

On Thursday August 30th Walter Mossberg repeated his prior recommendation of the Mozy online backup service. While Mozy can fit the needs of some people, there are two sides to every coin and there is a downside to Mozy too. For the rest of the story, see my recent postings:

Everybody likes Mozy--except me, Part 1 Everybody likes Mozy--except me. Part 2

Backing up e-mail

E-mail, for many of us, is very important and accumulates forever, making it a large mess when it comes to backing it up.

The importance of my e-mail snuck up on me. Once upon a time, I opened my old reliable e-mail program and was confronted with an error message. The net effect of the problem was that the last four days of incoming mail had disappeared from my in-box. This was, for me, a very big deal. In large part, my in-box is my "to do" list. As a consultant, my incoming e-mail is too important to … Read more