Rosa Holloway's Blog

Windows 7 has been accused of mixing things up and making them hard to find.  You will like Windows 7 a lot better if you learn to use the dynamic search features.  Here’s a screen shot of my menu where I searched for “printer”.

Once you enter text into the search box at the bottom, the menu changes to show you the items that relate to that text.  In this example, “printer” shows me the related items in the Control Panel, Documents, Files, and even my emails.

If you see the specific item you are looking for right on the menu – just click it.  If you don’t see what you are looking for, but know that you are looking for a Document, you can click on the header “Documents” and it will open a window showing all the documents found (2559 in this case).  Same goes for any of the other category headers. 

Save yourself some frustration and use the search box on the Windows 7 Start Menu.

External Hard Drives come in several sizes and types.  Amazon.com lists 1,571 different external hard drives to choose from.  This is not including flash drives (or thumb drives) that use a different type of storage memory… there are another 28,722 of those listed.  Flash drives are generally limited to less than 64GB in capacity, where external hard drives hold up to 2 TB (Terabytes).

The major external hard drive sizes are either 3.5” (as inside most desktop computers) or 2.5” (as inside most laptop computers).  Most USB 2.5” hard drives do not require any external power source, so they are great for portability and easily fit into a pocket.  The primary types of external hard drives are USB, SATA, or Ethernet.  Ethernet drives are generally of the 3.5” size and require an AC adapter, however, they can be easily shared on a network so that multiple computers have access without having to unplug and physically connect to each computer.

Whichever type of external hard drive you use, you should remember that they are also susceptible to failure.  Remember to backup your external drive if you are using it for expansion.  And if you use one to backup your computer, remember to check it occasionally to make sure the data is retrievable – or even keep a backup of your backup.

Sometimes we forget that our computers need maintenance to prevent bad performance and premature failures.  Just like we take our car in to have the oil changed and the tires rotated, we need to regularly maintain our computers to keep them in top shape.

Computers have several different areas of upkeep.  First, and most often, we want to ensure the security of our computers and our data.  This means checking antivirus updates and verifying our backups are running properly.  In some cases, we also want to look into any unauthorized access by checking physical security, firewalls, and software patches.

Secondly, we want to make sure our hardware is in good running condition.  This might include taking the cover off and cleaning out accumulated dust, or checking the CPU temperature and cooling fan operation.  More frequently, we want to clean our mouse and keyboard, as well as our monitor screens.

Performance can be affected by both ‘virtual clutter’ and disorganization.  Virtual clutter is what I call those things that accumulate over time such as temporary internet files, leftover files from software installations or removals, and obsolete or invalid entries in the system registry.  Computers also get disorganized in the way they store and retrieve information.  The most common and best known of this type is file fragmentation.  How many times has your technical consultant asked, “When was the last time you defragmented your hard drive?”

Okay, so now we’ve mentioned several things we need to maintain – the next question is, how often do we need to do these things?  The answer to that will vary from one situation to the next.  Just as you get the oil in your car changed every 3 months or 3000 miles, you also have to consider both time and usage when deciding how often you need to maintain your computer.  Additionally, some items demand more frequent attention than others.  For example, you may only clean the dust out of your computer once a year – but you may want to make sure your backups are running every night or every week.

Getting professional help for preventive maintenance is sometimes a good solution for when we don’t really have the time or know-how to keep our computers running smoothly in a proactive manner.  A good computer consultant will offer various different maintenance plans or customize a plan for your specific needs.

This week, Microsoft has released a security update for all Windows systems that addresses a vulnerability that has been used in several malware programs, including several types of Trojans that attempt to steal your credit card or banking data.

If you have your computer automatically install Microsoft updates, you don’t need to take any action.  But this might be a good time to verify that those updates are installed.  This specific update is:  Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-046 – Critical Vulnerability in Windows Shell Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2286198).  It should have been installed automatically on August 3rd.

This is really only one little crack that these malware programs use and this is a good opportunity to alert you about some of the methods used to steal your credit card and banking information.

Most of us are familiar with (and avoid) the old fashioned phishing email where someone uses a bank logo and tries to convince you to click the link in the email to “update” your credit card or bank information.  Banks and credit card companies have been very helpful to educate us all that they do NOT use email to obtain any of this type of information.

Criminals have developed other ways to get the very same information.  Some of us have learned about “key loggers” which are programs that record keystrokes (Wikipedia has a fair overall description).  These little pests are best dealt with by having good antivirus and antimalware programs installed and up to date.

What is happening more recently is that certain malware programs are triggering pop-up windows when you key in a targeted bank or credit card web site.  Network World has an excellent article describing these infections in detail and a good screen capture of what the fake pop-up looks like.  I highly suggest reading the article here:  Zeus Trojan attempts to exploit MasterCard, Visa security programs.  On a similar track, AVG has tagged a new group of these sites and malware programs they have labeled as “mumba botnet”,  Roger Thompson’s blog has details.

This article focuses solely on home computers and methods of backing up data for personal use.  Businesses require more attention to continuity and disaster recovery features, where home users mostly need convenience and simplicity.

Online Backup Services

One of the most convenient methods of backup, online services also accommodate offsite storage issues… no need to grab the hard drives when evacuating for a hurricane.  There are many, many choices of providers for online backup services.  Some services offer free plans for under 2GB of data and unlimited plans for as little as $5 per month.  Most services provide encryption and other data security features.  Several offer an extensive list of options such as accessing your files from your iPhone or flexible scheduling.  While data capacity, pricing differences and number of computers will weigh on choices, speed and ease of use should also be considered.  A few providers offer what is called “offline backup” using a portable hard drive that is mailed to them for the initial upload of large amounts of data and then differential backups are done over the Internet.  What you need to know before choosing a provider for online backup is how much data you need to store, from how many computers you want to upload, and just what features are most important to you.

Flash Media

For those with a small amount of data to backup, flash media can be a good choice.  Either thumb drives or SD cards can be purchased as large as 64 GB.  You can find the smaller sizes (up to 8 GB) for less than $20.  The ability to encrypt files and use password protection keeps your data secure.  Backups to flash media generally require a manual backup process.  Using an automated software and leaving the device attached to the computer doesn’t really keep your data safe in the event that something happens to your computer (like a fire or theft).  If you want to use flash media and an automated software, try buying two or more thumb drives and swapping them out occasionally so that one is always in a different location than the computer.

Secondary or External Hard Drives

There are several different ways that a second hard drive can be used as backup.  One is to install a pair of identical drives in a RAID 1 configuration where your computer duplicates all data on a second drive (sometimes called disk mirroring).  The down side to disk mirroring (other than all disk writing takes twice as long)  is that the drive is physically installed in your machine and if your whole computer gets fried, chances are both drives are fried at the same time.  An alternative to a second internal drive is to buy an external (USB or SATA) hard drive.  This scenario is very similar to the flash media scenario with much more size capability.  In fact, you can actually duplicate your hard drive in this manner and store a copy somewhere safe.

Network Attached Storage

Network attached storage devices (NAS) are an option if you have multiple computers connected to your home network and want a centralized storage location for your data and/or backups.  NAS devices are a bit more expensive than external hard drives.  They can be wireless, but are usually faster when plugged into your router.  There are several types/brands with features such as USB ports for expansion and configurable security settings (in case you want to limit your kids access to only their files).

DVD / CD

At a whopping 22 cents per disk (holding up to 8 GB), DVD media has to be the cheapest method of backing up your data.    Using DVDs for backup data copies is usually a good choice if you want to backup up a specific data set for long term storage – like saving copies of photos from last year’s vacation, or storing all the files from your remodeling project that was completed last month.  Although spanning data across multiple DVDs can work, most people don’t want to deal with swapping out disks and making sure they are all labeled and numbered properly.  And for some, data security on a DVD – which cannot be password protected at the file system level – is not enough.