Michael Hertz, from SoHo Systems, in Norwell, MA gives a talk about PC security, backup, trouble shooting and maintenance at Tech Day Camp Oct 22, 2011
3. PC Maintenance
Hard drive disk space and performance
Disk Cleanup
ACC – System Tools
Disk Defragmenting
ACC – System Tools
Disk Error Checking
Drive properties – Tools
5. PC Maintenance
Installing Updates
Windows/Microsoft automatic updates
Java
Adobe
Reader
Flash
Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware
Virus/malware definitions
Program updates
Other; Vendor s/w, drivers, utilities.
If it ain’t broke…
6. PC Maintenance
Clean and dust
Heat is the enemy
Blow out w/ canned air or vacuum vents and fans
Provide good circulation
Check that fans are spinning
8. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
Firewalls
Hardware
Basic consumer grade routers
Advanced routers/security appliances
Software
Windows Firewall
Security Suite firewalls
Standalone free firewalls
ZoneAlarm
9. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
AntiVirus/AntiSpyware software
Basic free programs
MS Security Essentials
AVG
BitDefender
Clam
Avast
Malwarebytes
10. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
Basic licensed programs
Norton/Symantec AV
Kaspersky
McAfee
Trend Micro
11. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
Security/Internet Suites
What’s Included
AV/AM
Firewalls
Browser protection, web site scanning
Spam filter
12. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
Security/Internet Suites
Not recommended for older PC’s due to performance
degradation
Use basic AV programs
Install anti-malware free-ware
Malwarebytes, Spybot, SuperAntiMalware
Run manual updates and manual scans routinely
Browser security add-ons
Web of Trust (WOT), AVG LinkScanner
13. PC Security – protect your
systems, data and identity
Other means of protection
Smell test
If it doesn’t seem right…
Email attachments and links
Drive by downloads
Rogue AntiMalware programs/popups
Know the look and feel of your Security s/w
Test your AV w/ “angryip scanner”
14. Backups:
o Would you suffer financial hardships if you experienced a loss of data?
o Is your data secure?
o What data lies on your computers that would be difficult, if not
impossible, to recreate in the case of loss or damage?
o Are you currently backing up your critical data?
16. Backups vs. Copies
Backup applications
Copy (drag and drop or copy and paste)
Windows Backup and Restore (Win Vista and 7)
Windows Backup (NT Backup – XP)
3rd party backup applications
Acronis True Image
Norton Ghost
NovaStor
Various other backup applications
Included with external USB hard drives and tape
drives
20. Backing Up Programs and Data
Manual vs. scheduled
Full, incremental and differential
• Full backs up everything selected
• Incremental backs up what’s changed since last
backup
• Differential backs up what’s changed since last
full backup
Granular data restores
21. Backing Up Programs and Data
Disaster Recovery
Full image backups (Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost)
Restore you hard drive to a point in time
Bare metal restore
Hard drive failure
Catastrophic loss or corruption
Hard drive upgrade
Cloning
Restore to dissimilar hardware
Granular data restores
22. CD/DVD:
Typically a manual process
Low cost
Tape:
Usually automated
Wide range of
price/performance/capacity
23. Disk to Disk:
Manual or automated
Fast
Cheap
External USB/firewire Drives
Large capacities
Inexpensive
Network Attached Storage
Large capacities
JBOD or Redundant drives (RAID)
Accessible from all computers on the network
26. The Cloud:
Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons ev'rywhere
-Joni Mitchell
The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the
cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network,
and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an
abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents.
Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and
storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the
physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the
services.
27. Offsite Storage and Online Backups
• Free limited space
• Larger capacity for varying fees
• Varying licensing fees
• Proprietary backup/synchronization software
included
• Data encrypted
• HIPAA, SOX, MA CMR 17.00 compliant
• During transmission
• In Storage
28. Offsite Storage and Online Backups
Cloud storage providers
SOHO Remote Backup
Priced per GB, unlimited # of computers
Ex. 10GB $4.50/month
Multiple versions
Optional local/offsite backup
Mozy
Pro and consumer licenses
Priced per GB and per Computer
$0.50 /GB + per PC fee
29. Offsite Storage and Online Backups
Cloud storage providers
Carbonite
Pro licenses
Priced per GB
$0.50 /GB
Consumer
Flat fee per PC, unlimited storage
SugarSync
Licensed per PC + per GB
Continuous syncing
Share access with others
30. Troubleshooting
Common PC problems
PC won’t boot
Do any lights/LEDs light up or blink?
Can you hear the fans?
Can you hear the hard drive?
31. Troubleshooting
During the initial power up
Does anything appear on the screen?
Manufacturer logo
Error messages
Windows logo
If nothing, check power source and
connections
Check monitor, monitor power
Laptops & lcd displays – look very
closely, is there a faint image?
Possibly bad backlight
Check to see if fans are turning
32. Troubleshooting
If manufacturer BIOS screen displays error
Probably a hardware problem or corrupted OS
If Windows logo appears and hangs
Reboot in “safe mode”
Hit F8 after BIOS screens and before Windows
logo
33. Troubleshooting
BSOD
Did you install or update any programs, hardware,
drivers, utilities
If BSOD continues
Remove new hardware
Uninstall programs
Roll back updates
Run manufacturers diagnostics
Hangs or crashes
See BSOD
Slow
See PC maintenance
Clean, defrag, check disk, scan
34. Troubleshooting
Use Windows System Restore
System Restore rolls back Windows (registry) to a
restore point in time
Useful when new programs, drivers or
updates/patches create problems
After cleaning malware infections with Anti-
malware s/w
Boot PC from a bootable CD/DVD (Windows OS cd is
bootable)
Run system repair from Windows 7 CD/DVD