Cindy is curious if there are easy methods of backing up her data and asks: “What technique do you recommend I use to backup my data?” Cindy, no matter the system you use, the goal is to duplicate your data to a separate location so you can easily reproduce it in case of a catastrophic system failure. One of the worst feelings is realizing years worth of pictures and data has been lost to a hard drive failure.
First things first, your backup archives are only as good as the media it’s copied onto. In other words, if the external hard drive you choose is ancient and makes more noise than my old truck then you’re in bad shape. I suggest purchasing a new dedicated drive to make your backups onto. Small drives are alright because you should only be backing up user files (pictures and documents). It should be noted that the drive should ONLY be plugged in long enough to do the backup or recovery and then immediately unplugged.
Personally, I believe in a manual system which allows incremental backups. With that being said, the technique I use is to backup once weekly; where ‘week 5’ replaces ‘week 1’ in sequence. This way you can be sure you have everything you need and if for some reason you find ‘week 2’ is missing data you can recover it from ‘week 1’s’ archive. At the end of a four week cycle I end up with four archives each containing data from the prior week plus changes I’ve made. If you’re as confused reading this as I am writing it than I suggest stopping in the store and I’ll explain it.
There are some software and hardware solutions which can make your job a lot easier. Macrium Reflect Free and Acronis Home are two software solutions which allow backup of your whole system directly to the external drive. As the name suggests, Macrium is free which may make your decision easier. A slick hardware solution that is literally “plug and play” is from Clickfree. Basically it connects between the computer and hard drive and backs up your data for you. Depending on how lazy you want to be can change how you perform your backup.
Richard doesn’t understand why virus software is asking for money: “Recently I have new software installed called Antivirus 2010 and it’s asking for $49.99. Should I buy it?” No, no and no. Richard, what you have is one of the newest virus threats and I do not suggest giving them any money.
One of the biggest mistakes people make with this type of software is to purchase it. Not only do you run the risk of your credit card being used fraudulently, but you also invite more of these types of scams. All these companies care about is making money from you. If the software isn’t something you recognize then don’t purchase it. Try removing it first – but it could prove frustrating.
Rather than spending more money to remove fake virus software, you can try downloading and installing a free piece of software called Malwarebytes. If you can get the software to run then you’re in business. Sometimes starting your machine in ‘safe mode’ will make the removal process easier. If you can get online then you can also download and run another piece of software called Hitman Pro.
Most of the time this class of virus requires sorting through the registry prior to any work being done. If you must leave your machine to professionals, you should qualify them prior to work being done to make sure they understand how to clean a registry. We have found that system reloads are only necessary some of the time and is a disservice to customers.
Tech-Tip of the week: Coupons.com is a great site which we use at home all the time. We can generally find coupons for many of the items we purchase regularly. Best of all, it’s free.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at Jeromy@LocalComputerWiz.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)