New Technology Reviews!.: Disaster

The Perfect IT Setup for Home Business - Part 2 of 3 - Computer Security & Disaster Recovery

No matter whether you’re a copywriter like me, or you’re in an entirely different field of work, if you rely on a computer, then you need to ensure that it’s secure and that you can bounce back should you be struck by ‘disaster’.Computer Security Norton Internet Security – If you gotta have security (and let’s face it, you gotta!), Norton Internet Security is as good as any, and better than most. I’ve tried a few others, but Norton’s definitely my favourite. It provides the two most important elements: Virus Protection and Intrusion Protection (firewall). It scans incoming and outgoing emails for viruses, allows you to scan files for viruses before opening them, stops popups on the Internet, and stops people from hacking into your computer. All wrapped up in one fairly easy to use tool. Go to <a href="http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=is&pvid=nis2006" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=is&pvid=nis2006</a> to buy or get further info.Spyware / Adware / Trojan protection – Even with Norton Internet Security installed, I still like to run a variety of other protection programs. My favourites are AdAware (<a href="http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2007-Free/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2007-Free/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5</a>), Spybot (<a href="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html</a>) and SpywareBlaster (<a href="http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html</a>). Depending on how you plan to use them (i.e. home v business), you can get free version of all of them. Just run them once a week - for peace of mind if nothing else. TIP: Always do an update for latest version each time you run them.CCleaner – Even after a couple of days of moderate to heavy Internet surfing and general computer use, your computer can accumulate a HEAP of temp files and various other fluff. I use CCleaner (<a href="http://www.ccleaner.com/download/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.ccleaner.com/download/</a>) at least once a week, and it always removes more than 100MB of rubbish! Just don’t use the registry cleaner. (For that matter, don’t use any registry cleaner. Unless you know what you’re doing, a registry cleaner is the surest way to ruin your computer. As a technically challenged copywriter, I learned this the hard way...)Disaster RecoveryIf you’re not already backing up your computer, you’re taking a HUGE risk! Backup is essential (no matter whether you’re in copywriting like me, or in a completely different field). And I don’t mean simply relying on Windows’ inbuilt, automatic restore facility; what happens if your computer completely dies or is stolen or your house burns down?If you have all your business data on just one computer, there are sooooooooo many things that can go wrong and cause you to lose everything.Your livelihood relies on your computer, so you need to be able to bounce back after a ‘disaster’. And the only way to do this is to protect yourself properly. The following is a setup that should cover you for just about everything.1) Buy at least one external USB hard driveBecause a USB hard drive is separate from your computer, it won’t die if your computer does. And it can also be stored separately, either in a safe or offsite. This means you can use it to safely store backups of your business data and system files.USB hard drives are very easy to install and use (even for a copywriter!). In fact, assuming you buy one that’s already formatted and comes with a case and cables, Windows will recognise it as soon as you plug it into a USB port. But make sure you buy one that’s big enough to handle your needs. Don’t waste your money on anything smaller than 150GB. Oh, and get one that has its own power. Backups take quite a while to complete, and they require a consistent power flow throughout. If you use a USB hard drive that’s not powered, it will rely on your computer’s power supply and you’ll be lucky if you ever get through a complete backup.If you’re in Australia, you can get a 320GB USB drive + case for around AUD $150 at [http://www.theaxiom.com.au]. Actually, these little beauties are coming down in price so quickly that by the time you read this, they’ll be a lot cheaper!2) Buy dedicated backup/restore softwareI recommend Acronis True Image Workstation – around AUD $150 at <a href="http://www.acronis.com.au/enterprise/products/ATICW/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.acronis.com.au/enterprise/products/ATICW/</a>. It does a great job and is very easy to use. It can perform incremental backups, it can run while you’re working and it’s very reliable. (If you don’t believe a lowly copywriter, take it from a network manager. A friend of mine manages 300+ servers for a major Australian television network. He uses Acronis software to back up and restore all of these servers.) If you also buy the Universal Restore module (included in the AUD $150 price tag mentioned above), you’ll also be able to restore your existing operating system and all applications – set up exactly how you like them – to a completely new computer, even if that computer has a different sized hard drive. Not all backup / restore software can do this.TIP: In my opinion, Acronis is heaps better than Norton Ghost. I used Norton Ghost for about a year and didn’t like it at all. The backup process used to hang all the time, causing all sorts of problems. And the recovery process was fraught with issues too. (Way too taxing for a copywriter’s little brain!)3) Back up your System partition and business data to a USB hard driveBack up your business data every day! A good backup model is to do a complete backup one day a week, and incremental backups every other business day (i.e. only back up the files changed that day).Also back up your System partition (operating system + applications – usually the C drive). If you’ve ever bought and set up a new computer, you’ll know it takes weeks to get it working just the way you like. By backing it up once it’s at that point, you’ll be able to roll back (restore) to that point in about half an hour, at any time in the future.But don’t back up your system partition every day. You want to have a backup of your computer when it was running perfectly. So get your computer running just the way you want before backing up the System partition. Then, if/when Windows dies, you can simply roll back your computer to that point in time when it was running perfectly.This sort of backup is also known as a disk image. It’s not the same thing as copying all the files on your C drive. I won’t get into the differences (in all honesty, I don’t know them all – I’m just a copywriter, not a technical boffin!), but they’re significant.TIP: If you install new software on your computer, and you want your backup to include it, just take a new backup. If you’ve been running your computer for a while since your last restore, ensure that it’s healthy before taking the backup, otherwise you’ll just have a backup of an unhealthy system. A good way to ensure this is to restore to your last backup (you know it’s healthy), re-install the new software, then back up.4) Perform a few test restores of the backups you’ve takenThere’s simply no point backing your computer up if you can’t restore the data when you need it! Fortunately, restoring with Acronis is easy (if a copywriter can do it, anyone can!). You just open it in Windows, select Restore, and choose the backup you want to roll back to (even if it’s an incremental backup, it’s still that simple; Acronis will automatically combine it with the relevant full backup to give you your complete data set).In my experience, there’s very little risk performing a restore (whether you’re restoring a single file or a complete system). I’ve performed numerous restores with both Norton Ghost and Acronis, and I’ve never had a problem. (In fact, I restore my entire computer once a month, just to keep it running quickly and smoothly. I’ve found that no matter how clean, secure, optimised and defragmented my computer is, it still slows down over time and gets a little ‘flaky’. By restoring periodically, I’m basically getting a new computer each time.)5) Store your USB hard drive somewhere safe and secureThe best place to store your USB hard drive is in a safe. If your budget permits, buy a PROPER fire-proof safe (aka a ‘data safe’). I don’t mean something from Office Works or your local hardware. If you look closely, those things aren’t really fire-proof at all (at least, not when I last checked). They get as hot as an oven inside, literally! The temperature far exceeds what a hard drive can withstand. What’s more, they’re not water-proof, so if the heat doesn’t destroy your data, the fire-fighters probably will! No, what you need is a tested and approved fire safe that keeps the temperature at levels that are safe for data. In Australia, the best value I’ve seen are the ‘Data Safes’ offered by API Security – see [http://www.apisecurity.com.au/safes.htm#]. You’ll pay upwards of AUD $600, but you’d lose far more than that if you lose your computer system and business data in a fire.6) Back up at least your business data using an online backup serviceOf course, if your computer AND your fire proof safe are stolen, or your office burns down and your safe isn’t as fire-proof as it’s supposed to be, it’s good to have a fallback option. Something that’s offsite and secure, yet still convenient.There are a lot of online backup services around, but most are too expensive for a small or home business. But there are a few that are good and affordable. The best value I’ve seen are:Carbonite – <a href="http://www.carbonite.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.carbonite.com</a> – Carbonite allows you to back up as much data as you like for one annual fee of USD $50. After you tell it the folders / files you want to back up, it continuously monitor your computer. If you change one of those files, it backs it up automatically. And it’s an incremental backup, so it only backs up the changes. It encrypts your data before uploading, so it’s as secure as most online banking, and it compresses it to minimise your upload time. Also, it doesn’t hog your bandwidth or slow down your computer. With a decent broadband connection and computer, you won’t even notice it. Carbonite requires you to install a client application, which integrates with Windows Explorer. (You can right click on a file or folder and choose to back up or not back up a folder, file or type of file.) Note that Carbonite doesn’t back up system files. So you can’t use it to take a backup of your entire computer system (operating system + applications).SOS Online Backup – <a href="http://www.safeoffsite.com.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.safeoffsite.com.au/</a> – SOS Online Backup has tiered pricing; the more space you need, the more you pay. But it’s still affordable. 2GB of storage space will cost you only USD $39 per year. Like Carbonite, it does incremental backups, and it encrypts and compresses your data prior to uploading. However, unlike Carbonite, it doesn’t run continuously. You set a schedule or run backups manually. Apparently, it will soon offer a ‘bare metal restore’, which means you’ll soon be able to use it to back up and restore your entire computer system (operating system + applications). This is great in theory, but you’d have to buy quite a bit of storage space, as it’s not unusual for your system backup to be around 20GB or more. That would cost USD $360 per year with SOS, and the first backup could take a month or more to complete!TIP: Before committing to an online backup solution, check that your ISP doesn’t charge excess usage charges for uploads.7) Perform a few test restores of this backup tooAs per your core backup, it’s only useful if you know you can restore when you need to. So make sure you test it.8) Back up your system partition offsiteIf you really want to ensure you can bounce back in the event of a disaster, you need to store a backup of your computer’s system partition somewhere offsite. Then, if your computer AND your fire proof safe are stolen, or your office burns down and your safe isn’t as fire-proof as it’s supposed to be, you’ll still be able to restore your computer to its original state in about half an hour.Unfortunately, your system partition is probably quite large (at least 10-20GB). In most cases, this makes it impractical and cost-prohibitive to back it up through an online backup service. And most don’t take disk image backups anyway (apparently SOS Online Backup soon will – see above discussion).Perhaps the best bet is to back up to another USB hard drive and store the hard drive at someone else’s house – preferably in a safe. Or maybe you can get a safety deposit box at your local bank or with your solicitor? It’s not so important that it’s safe from fire (the chances of your home office AND the offsite storage location BOTH burning down are pretty slim...). However, it is important that it’s safe from theft.Of course, the biggest problem with this method is that it’s difficult to update the backup, because you have to get your hands on the disk before you can do it. Fortunately, it’s your system backup, so you won’t be updating it that often, anyway.ConclusionSo now you should be safe from external malicious threats and able to recover from virtually any disaster.For information on what computer hardware you need for the perfect home business IT setup, please see part 1 of this series. For information on a few of the vast array of miscellaneous software applications and service providers that will help you in your day-to-day operations, please see part 3 of this series.

The Perfect IT Setup for Home Business - Part 2 of 3 - Computer Security & Disaster Recovery

No matter whether you’re a copywriter like me, or you’re in an entirely different field of work, if you rely on a computer, then you need...

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Disaster recovery planning and preventive measures ensure business continuity. The main question is "What if an attacker succeeds and renders an organization's functions impossible?" Whether the break in business continuity is a short or long one, this is where an organization's disaster recovery plans comes into play. The disaster recovery plans define the resources, actions, and data required to reinstate critical business processes that have been damaged or disabled because of a disaster. By focusing on disaster recovery plans and preventions, network managers can minimize the impact that catastrophic events may have in their environment. The recovery plan is the best way to insure that a business survives an IT emergency.The various potential disasters that security administrators need to be concerned about can be classified as human induced incidents, natural, internal, armed conflict, and external. Human induced incidents can include loss of power, transportation accidents, and chemical contaminations. Natural incidents can include flood, earthquake, and tornado. Internal incidents include sabotage, theft, and employee violence. Armed conflict can include acts of terrorism, like the 911 attacks, civil unrest, and war. External incidents include hacking, unauthorized use, and industrial espionage.Organizations identify potential threats and analyze what needs to be achieved in order to continue operating as though nothing had happened. After identifying these potential threats, security administrators can be in a better position to protect the mission-critical information systems.Data backup is an essential part of any disaster recovery plan. Data backup allows personnel to restore files and application software that is vital to continue business. An effective data backup strategy should address how often backups are run, type of backup medium, when the backups are run, are backups automated or manual, backup verification, storage, who is responsible for the backups, and the fallback person responsible for backups. Addressing the need for off-site storage may also be an important guideline for organizations with extensive business-critical data (Boswell..., 2003 p. 433).Organizations must include thorough planning and testing and include provisions for business continuity. Anticipating disasters is the first in the process. There is a lot to be learned and corrected from the testing phase and it needs to be taken very seriously. The testing exercise helps minimize losses during an actual attack. An effective disaster recovery plan should include the following documents: a list of covered disasters, a list of the disaster recovery team members, a business impact assessment, a business resumption and continuity plan, backup documentation, and restoration documentation.It has been said that the most important step in managing potential disasters is to have in place a well-trained and ready to respond team including a member from senior management, members of the IT department, representatives from facilities management, and representatives from the user community affected by the crisis. In a real crisis, the disaster recovery team meets to evaluate and determine the sources of the disaster and identify the critical components that are affected. The team than assesses the business impact of the disaster, estimating how long the disaster may disrupt business continuity. In this process the cost of the disaster is also ascertained. Exhaustively documenting changes that are implemented during the rush to solve the problem is also crucial.It is also important that organizations show their commitment to these plans that come from the IS department by adopting well-defined security policies and human resource policies that reflects their support to information security. A useful and well-written security policy should include sections on acceptable use, privacy, due care, separation of duties, "need-to-know" issues, password management, service-level agreements, and the destruction or disposal of information and storage media (Boswell..., 2003 p. 437). Human resources policy deals with personnel management. There should be thorough hiring practices including background, reference, and educational checks. To minimize a security risk, employees should have periodic reviews and rotate job functions and duties, which is beneficial in an emergency due to the more even distribution of information. Employee termination practices are also important in the protection and prevention of threats. Exit interviews should be conducted, individuals should be escorted off the property, and the terminated employee's computer accounts and passwords should be deactivated and changed. A code of ethics should also be included in an organization's human resources policy. This would help define and clarify the company's stance on information security and provide a foundation built on ethics (Boswell..., 2003 p. 441).An incident response policy can also play a critical role. This policy covers how to deal with a security incident after it has occurred. Following a sound incident response methodology lessens the likelihood that incompetent and inefficient actions will occur and contributes to the practice of due care. An incident response policy should follow the steps of preparation (being ready before an incident occurs), detection (recognizing the presents of malicious code or whether files have been altered), containment (preventing further loss or disruption of services), eradication (removing viruses or malicious code along with cleaning and reformatting hard drives that were affected), recovery (restoring the system), and follow up (develop set of lessons learned) (Boswell..., 2003 p. 442).In conclusion, in is important to combine a disaster recovery plan with a well-defined and documented security policy, human resources policy, and incident response policy, which can minimize the effects of a catastrophic event and help assure business continuity. It is said, "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail."Works Cited Boswell, S., Calvert, B., Campbell, P. (2003). Security + Guide to Network Security Fundamentals. Boston, Massachusetts: Thomson Course Technology.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Joshua Maluchnik, M.I.T., MCP/MCTS Account Manager | Sales Engineer Tranztec Solutions, Inc. <a href="http://www.tranztec.com" target="_new">http://www.tranztec.com</a>

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Disaster recovery planning and preventive measures ensure business continuity. The main question is "What if an attacker succeeds an...

Business Database Continuity Disaster Recovery

Business should always have a continuity disaster recovery plan to survive any setbacks that can happen. Most of the modern businesses today have switched and relied on digital technology to run their database and processes. This means that most companies today value their database equally with their assets because it is a tool reference for their business systems. Without the database, the business operations can concur big losses because they have to rebuild their processes all over again which will need further costs or capital.Planning, production, purchase, and even billing have been served using computer processing that lessens the paperwork and save the most precious component of business which is time. When time is saved, production can double and this means more profit in a shorter length of time for any business. Now, if you do not have a good defense against error or loss of database, then it will definitely take time to rebuild the whole business systems. Meanwhile, if you made sure you have your continuity disaster recovery invested, then recovery period would only take a few hours or days and you get your business up and running again in no time.To make the illustration more easy to relate, just imagine if your accountant has lost all their files of your business billing, purchasing, payroll and other expenses and earnings in their computer. This can happen usually with honest mistakes never unintentional most of the times. Virus infection, hacking, or other technical reasons can be the main causes of the database breakdown.How do you think you have the other means of recovering the data stored for a few years or months in just days? That can never happen and to most it will take forever to recover the lost data for the company to be operational again. This is because your list of clients, outstanding payable, collections, and other flow of cash history has to be manually encoded into data from the receipts or other reliable documents. This is a scenario you do not want to happen in your company.That is why most corporations hire separate IT professionals in handling, protecting, and trouble shooting their digital databases. These professionals can cost extra service or payroll charges but you are always reassured of a fast continuity disaster recovery. But do remember that they are the experts in combating threats and building protection for your company database. The data that your business accumulate should always have a back up and is aptly protected by firewalls and anti-hacking security measures to prevent theft, crash, or deletion of your company database.Nowadays, your business might be paying for information. What you should also be remembering is that you have information and data that others might find valuable. So information is also an aspect of business that is integral and to be treated as part of a company assets. It is always better to be prepared to lessen losses and keep any possible setback from totally ruining your business. Be wise and consider data recovery and protection as part of the components of your business.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Tiffany R. Welch enjoys writing for Thorscbradio.com which sells <a href="http://www.thorscbradio.com/cb-radio.html" target="_new">cb radios</a> and <a href="http://www.thorscbradio.com/cb-radio.html" target="_new">cb radio</a> as well as a host of additional products.

Business Database Continuity Disaster Recovery

Business should always have a continuity disaster recovery plan to survive any setbacks that can happen. Most of the modern businesses to...

Don't Bring it Home - Protecting your Love Life from Disaster

Self Management at work has not evolved much past the 1920's. Techniques of stress management and business management are antiquated and irrelevant. Times change, technology changes, demands are up, so we must evolve our way of dealing with it. Most self management is taught by corporate drop outs, people who couldn't hack the pace, but we need better than that, instead of trying to reduce the inspiration at work, we need to bring our self management tools up to speed with reality. There is no excuse for stress, burn-out and bringing exhaustion home. This article explains how and why it all must change.Busy day? Feeling completely shagged? Burned out from answering questions, solving problems, developing new strategies? Angry at that client what just won't get off your back, or the employee who stuffed up once again? Are you having a few cash flow problems that you just can't share, and therefore your emotions are all bottled up making you tired, grumpy?Don't bring it home is an idea I got after staying with friends overseas and watching the father of the house come home wounded, day after day from work. It seems he felt justified - aka - proud of the fact that tiredness proved that the money he earned came the hard way, and therefore he was showing the family how hard it was to support them.I came to the conclusion that much of our behaviour at work comes from that idea, that money earned easily is not right, and that money earned by hard work is better. But this contradicts natures law in a huge way.Natures law is that abundance comes through evolution. Struggle reveals a lack of abundance. If we keep setting our budgets too high we keep ourselves in poverty. If we set them too low we keep ourselves in poverty also. Business grows at the border of chaos and order. The idea of the budget is to grow along that line, with healthy chunks of aspirational challenge and healthy chunks of abundant comfort.Too much visioning, greed and overreach comes from a minimalist mind because it has no appreciation for what its got. It can only think about what it can have. That's like the dog with a bone, who sees its magnified reflection in the water, drops the bone its got to reach for the bigger one in the water. Of course, it ends up with nothing.If nature evolves at the border of chaos and order, then it is wise to think about your day in the same way. 50% of it should be healthy, abundant, happy, relaxed and comfortable. 50% should be challenged, stretched, visioning and tense. Now if you have 6 months of the latter, i.e. pressure, then nature will give you the other half, like it or not, by introducing a stroke, a heart problem, a loss of power or something to cause you balance.Don't bring it home begins with the recognition that all your life you will have a balance of chaos and order, at home and at work. You get to choose the chaos if you push yourself into areas you fear, feel uncertain in, feel out of your depth in. And you get to choose your order if you can balance your aspiration for more, more, more with the concept of daily periods of comfort and appreciation.Now, the reason I say, don't bring it home, is because you are part of a herd. Your family is your herd, and they are a part of other herds at school and at play. So, when you come in the door, either all pumped up because you achieved something, or all pumped down because you didn't, then the balance factor becomes a virus. It spreads. One member of your herd reacts one way to you, another reacts differently and suddenly your incompetence at self management at work, becomes a trigger to your own family, and eventually all they touch too.Sometimes we are so messed up in the way we manage our work that we have to "let our hair down" in big spurts of release. The pub, the gym, the overseas trip to name just 3. But there is a whole industry built around incompetent self management at work. This includes but is not limited to; hospitals, alternative medicine, chiropractors, prostitutes, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and more. I think, if anti smoking campaigns were serious about reducing the affect of smoking, rather than the number of cigarettes smoked, they'd send this message about healthy self management to all people who work. Balance.The final crunch comes when we try, through greed, goodwill, ambition, or plain inspiration to live on only one side of the chaos - order border. The masculine side is "of course" the chaos, drive and ambition, the feminine side is the order, nurturing and smelling the roses. We're all a bit bent out of shape in balancing these two sides of ourselves. But nature doesn't care. She's got the bitch in her and if you think you can defy 3 billion years of her function here on earth, well think again.Healthy self management in business means equal doses of chaos (aspiration, uncertainty, challenge, conflict, confusion, ambition) mixed, on a daily even hourly basis with order (appreciation, comfort, peace, agreement, acceptance, certainty, resignation) - this is the only sustainable business model there is, in tune with nature.Chaos and order are natures hand. You can't even escape them on a mountain top in Nepal. Chaos and order are the cells of your body, fighting disease, curing disease. It's your relationship, confused and then bliss. You can choose to manage yourself in tune with nature by injecting equal quantities of both into your day, or be at the mercy of natures choices for you. Either way, there really is no choice.My final word is to consider this. Once, to go to work - be in chaos all week and then order all weekend, was a good balance. The cost was eventual biological breakdown in old age. But now, in our more evolved world with technology advancing at the speed of light, this clumsy concept of work/play is absolutely unacceptable. Even the idea of meditation in the morning and chaos all day is unacceptable and too extreme.Today, self management needs a more "in the moment" way of balancing chaos and order. Even technologies such as mini ipods allow us to transport ourselves into order during chaotic circumstance. But the real future of chaos/order balance lies in the mind. The ability to choose the balance in the hour, to blend chaos and order is one of the greatest spiritual powers given to us all. To aspire yet, appreciate, to be confused yet take time to see the order, to feel the emotion yet, sit back and feel what is beneath it. This is evolution. The future of self management. You can choose it or be shoved into it, the choice is yours, natures model is fixed.With SpiritChris Walker	 	 		 			 				 					 						<a href="http://www.chriswalker.com.au" target="_new">http://www.chriswalker.com.au</a> Chris Walker is a world leading change agent, an environmentalist and author of more than 20 books. Born and bred in Australia, he consults to people and organisations throughout the world on improved relationships, health and lifestyle through the application of the Universal laws of Nature. The result he offers is that we stay balanced, share loving relationships, work with passion, enjoy success, and live our personal truth. To learn more about Chris?s work and journeys to Nepal, visit <a href="http://www.chriswalker.com.au" target="_new">http://www.chriswalker.com.au</a>

Don't Bring it Home - Protecting your Love Life from Disaster

Self Management at work has not evolved much past the 1920's. Techniques of stress management and business management are antiquated ...

Disaster Data Recovery Management - Practical With Regular Data Backup

Data loss is possible if someone hacks your computer, if it is infected by a virus or your hard disk crashes unexpectedly. Businesses suffer a lot of losses due to missing data because it happens quite unexpectedly. It could lead to many problems like losing clients, inability to pursue debtors, missing employee information and costs involved in re-building the data network. Every time you think of delaying the backup think of the consequences that you will have to suffer if you lose the data.If your business is heavily dependent on computing then you must have good data backup solutions at hand to ensure safety of your business information. What this will benefit you with is that you can restore the lost data in the event of a crash in a very short period of time. Apart from this by using the disaster data recovery management systems your chances of data loss are negligible because you have a comprehensive data backup program in place.The basic data recovery management procedures involve saving data on disks or external hard drives because the cost has become very negligible. The point is to have an effective data recovery management procedure in place because you do not want to have heavy costs and then not be able to use the data when it is restored. This means that you have to select what kind of data management services you would require which can be complete backup or intermediate and differential data backups.Requirements for a Good Data Recovery Program A sound disaster data recovery management program involves a well thought out recovery plan that matches your requirement. Identifying the most valuable data which is part of the business and working out a solution to save that critical data periodically.Look at the cost and time involved in saving the data and then the recovery of this data. Create an SOP for data retention policies and select key and valuable information to be transferred onto the disaster recovery storage device.This would ensure that you will not waste space, time and money to store unnecessary and useless data. You also need to take into consideration the kind of technology that you will utilize for backing up continuously and automatically to ensure real-time data flow and protection. The backup must also be tested regularly to ensure that it is functional and effective.Continuously Evolving Data Recovery ProgramsAny system that you implement must be tested regularly to see that the recovery time actually supplements your work procedures and you do not suffer massive business loss. Every loss of data and computer crash, virus attack must be recorded so that you have a timeline of how your systems were compromised. By this method you can actually take measures to improve on the data recovery solutions that you selected previously.While many people focus on backup, the essential purpose is often forgotten. This is mainly the ability of the data backup solution to recover the data that is backed up in a timely and usable form. If that is not achieved then the entire purpose of backing up your system regularly is defeated. The main focus should be on recovering the data in a timely manner and in a usable form so that you can continue business as usual.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Shehryaar Shaukat is currently pursuing his doctorate in computer sciences. He is also the co-CEO of <a href="http://www.outsourceddata.eu" target="_new">http://www.outsourceddata.eu</a> The organization provides data backup and disaster-data recovery management services at affordable rates along with complete web/graphics designing and web hosting services.

Disaster Data Recovery Management - Practical With Regular Data Backup

Data loss is possible if someone hacks your computer, if it is infected by a virus or your hard disk crashes unexpectedly. Businesses suf...

Disaster Recovery and Planning - Business Documents and Records

Disaster wears many faces. People know the importance of insuring their homes, vehicles, businesses, and lives from both natural and man-made disaster. When tragedy strikes, the most important concern is obviously human welfare - surviving the event with minimal or no permanent damage. The next concern, however, is the kind of permanent damage that can feel like a life has ended: losing imperative data. While facilities and equipment can be replaced, nothing can replace damaged or destroyed documents. Every company keeps data that is so important; losing it would be catastrophic to the business. However, many businesses have unreliable disaster plans, or none at all. These companies are facing very large and unnecessary risks.There are hundreds of news articles featuring businesses that have lost invaluable information to natural disaster. Consider the possible flukes that can set a building ablaze: gas leak, poor wiring, equipment failure, and negligence. Weather concerns are relevant across the world. The source of destruction depends on geographic location, but severe weather happens everywhere. The point is that every business is vulnerable to disaster, and no business can afford to lose their most valued data and documents. This article will discuss the aspect of document recovery in disaster planning. To efficiently and successfully prepare for the worst, several points must be considered: Nature of disaster capable of occurring Type of information that would need to be recovered Format of documentation or information How these factors affect the decision-making process What could happen?As stated earlier, the two kinds of disaster that can ruin a business are natural and man-made. Each is a separate and real risks.Natural disasters: The most common natural disasters, depending on geographic location, come by way of hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, earth quakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, extreme cold or heat, landslides, snow or ice storms, hail, and fire.Man-made disasters: This category may include explosions, arson, hazardous materials, terrorism, sabotage, theft, structural collapse, nuclear catastrophe, computer viruses, power disruption, and power spikes.Either form of destruction can have an enormous impact on records and files. Without backup copies or alternate forms of recordkeeping, this data may be gone forever. No matter how unlikely it is for such an event to take place, it is always a possibility.What information needs to be saved?There are numerous categories of information that may need to be recovered in the event of a disaster. Some include: Drawings Specs Vital HR records Video or audio records Procedures Financial records and information Customer information Quality and product tracking records Inventory Certificates Licenses Security information Assess which records and data would be most vital to recover if all was lost forever. How would the organization function without them? What is the safest way to ensure a copy is available if the building and equipment are destroyed? How do you go about recovering this document in the event of a disaster?How the information is keptBusinesses that most urgently need disaster planning are obviously those whose records are only kept on paper. Drawings, manuals, and books are often kept in filing cabinets, drawers, shelves, and boxes on-site. Even paper files that are kept in an off-site storage facility are susceptible to destruction. It is wisest to keep records in more than one format. Following is a brief description of non-paper methods of keeping and storing information.Electronic Format: Files stored and retrieved by computers. Some common formats for vital records include TIFF images, PDF/searchable PDF, databases, video files, and audio files. Electronic files can be stored on hard drives, CD's or DVDs, flash drives, floppy discs, and tapes. This would include paper documents that are scanned and indexed for fast retrieval.Microfiche: A flat film that contains a matrix of micro images that can be stored in boxes, file cabinets, drawers and envelopes.Microfilm: A reel or roll of film that can be perforated in 35mm or 16 mm format and contains micro images. Microfilm is typically stored in open-reel type systems or in cassettes.Aperture Cards: A punched or non-punched card with a microfilm image mounted. They can be stored in boxes, file cabinets, drawers and envelopes.Putting it all togetherKnowing what could happen, what would be destroyed, and what is most important to recover, you want to decide on the disaster-recovery plan that is best for you. Here are a few key elements to consider when choosing a method of document safekeeping:Prioritize: Not every record or document is critical, and the likelihood of a hurricane hitting South Dakota is zero. It is ridiculous to address every possible situation, so address the most catastrophic situation that is most likely to occur.Storage: Very few storage systems are 100% disaster proof. Humidity, extreme temperatures, fire, water, and chemicals will destroy or degrade paper, microfilm, microfiche, and aperture cards. Even electronic formats are susceptible to the elements. Duplicates of your vital records should be stored in an off-site location. To minimize damage at the off-site storage, consider the type of destruction possible. For instance, if hurricanes occur in your area, it may be wise to choose a site that would likely be out of harms way should a hurricane destroy your site.Document Integrity: Time alone can compromise paper, microfilm, microfiche and aperture cards. Be prepared to replace that which degrades over time.Access: Documents that are difficult or impossible to retrieve are no more useful than destroyed documents. Your retrieval system must ensure that any given document or record can be found quickly. In the case of electronic storage, images need a logical indexing format for easy search and retrieval.Conversion: Microfilm, microfiche, paper, and aperture cards can all be converted to electronic format with <a href="http://www.microfacs.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">digital scanning</a> technology. The most common electronic formats are TIFF (image) and PDF (including searchable PDF). While scanning, a document can be indexed for efficient retrieval. Indexing allows the documents to be searched or cross-referenced by a number of fields, such as: name, SSN, model or serial number, date, etc.Electronically-formatted documents are easiest to store and retrieve. One can rent electronic storage in a dozen locations around the world at a minimum cost. Retrieval is instantaneous. Electronic data can be automatically backed up to off-site locations daily or even hourly if needed. Cost is typically based on the amount of memory needed, but is relatively inexpensive compared to physical storage facilitiesDocuments may also be converted from electronic format to eye-readable formats (such as microfilm or microfiche.) From a security standpoint, retrieving electronic information may be impossible if power or internet access is interrupted. For some, computer/network hacking is a greater threat to security than a physical break-in at a secured storage area.Above all, be realistic and take disaster recovery-planning seriously. Choose only what is most likely to happen and thoroughly prepare for it. Devise a plan that will work, not just a checklist that no one can put into action. Hopefully your company will never suffer the kind of disaster that can destroy a business. If the worst were to happen, though, there's no turning back. Preparing for disaster today may save your business tomorrow.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Rick Romens founded Microfacs in 1988 after having 10 years in the micrographic industry. Microfacs Inc is a digital conversion company that specializes in microfilm scanning, <a href="http://www.microfacs.com/digital/microfiche.htm" target="_new">microfiche scanning</a>, scanning aperture cards and <a href="http://www.microfacs.com/digital/paper.htm" target="_new">paper scanning services</a>.

Disaster Recovery and Planning - Business Documents and Records

Disaster wears many faces. People know the importance of insuring their homes, vehicles, businesses, and lives from both natural and man-...

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1recovery.avg_rescue-200-200.jpg"> Here's the scenario: one minute you're working and surfing quite happily, the next the Blue Screen Of Death rears its ugly head and your machine won't boot. Whatever's happened to Windows is serious and the problem is confounded by the absence of backups. You've been promising to make some but never quite got around to it. Don't panic! Just follow these steps. 1. The easy win Before you bring out the big guns – which we'll discuss later – it pays to explore the easy options. Try using Windows' own repair and recovery tools, accessible from your installation disc. Depending on the version of Windows that you're running, the choices will differ. For Windows 7, the key is Startup Repair. This will hopefully "automatically fix problems that are preventing Windows from starting". 2. Leave your hard drive alone If you're dealing with sensitive data on a crashed PC, it pays to be careful. It's safest to leave the operating system alone and try to access data, files and folders indirectly. This is particularly true if you suspect you're battling a virus attack. By running the host OS, you give the contagion the opportunity to call home, update and send out more of your data. With all this in mind, we say don't boot a damaged OS – use a Live CD rescue kit instead. 3. AVG Rescue CD If your PC has been brought to its knees by a virus, getting back into Windows with enough control over the system to remove the contagion can be tricky. Thankfully, there's an easy answer – the AVG Rescue CD. Download the ISO image <a href="http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd">from here</A> and burn the image to a CD or create a bootable USB key. Whatever you choose, the Linux-based rescue CD makes it easy to scan and remove viruses. The <a href="http://www.inside-security.de/insert_en.html">Inside Security Rescue Toolkit</A> isn't strictly a rescue system – it's more a tool for forensic security analysis. <img alt="Inside security" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1recovery.inside_security-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> It can, for example, examine a huge variety of different filesystems, from common NTFS to more obscure systems. The toolkit will scan for viruses and let you get online from a defunct PC. It can also sniff out rootkits. 4. The Ultimate Boot CD If nothing we've discussed so far has worked, go for the big guns. It's time for <a href="http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/">The Ultimate Boot CD</A>, a collection of 100 applications that should help even the most knackered PC get back on its feet. The interface breaks apps down into categories, such as BIOS, CPU, Memory and so on. Follow the menu structure. Given the number of apps on offer, you should be able to find one that will salve your PC's ills. 5. GParted GParted is a classic among opensource applications. It's essentially a program that lets you move, resize, check, copy, create and delete hard disk partitions. It's not uncommon for these to be damaged during a serious crash, so having GParted to hand as a Live CD is essential. Despite the program's obvious power, it's extremely simple to use. You can download it <a href="http://gparted.sourceforge.net/">from here</A>. 6. Free ISO burner To turn an ISO disc image into a functional Live CD, you need an ISO burner. Newer versions of Windows feature such tools as standard, but if you're after something more feature-rich, try Free ISO Burner from <a href="http://www.freeisoburner.com/">www.freeisoburner.com</A>. It can burn to a wide range of media. 7. Undelete a file Pandora Recovery can resurrect deleted files. Use the portable version – installing it natively risks overwriting the data you're trying to rescue. Get it from <a href="http://www.pandorarecovery.com/">www.pandorarecovery.com</A> and build a bootable USB version of the program on another PC. 8. Ghost for Linux Norton Ghost is a classic application – we've used it and loved it since version one. It's a partition-cloning tool and can be vital in a disaster. To experiment with the concept of partition cloning, try Ghost for Linux. It's an open-source project and you can <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/g4l/">download it from here.</A> 9. A beeping PC If your PC does little more than beep after its crash, it's sending you an encoded diagnosis of its ailments. All you need to do – albeit from a different machine – is visit <a href="http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm">www.computerhope.com/beep.htm</A>, where you'll find a complete guide to beep codes. 10. What went wrong? When you're back up and running, you need to work out what caused your PC to fall over. Here, the Windows Crash Dump is your friend. <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263">Microsoft does offer some help</A>, but for the ultimate insight, visit <a href="http://www.dumpanalysis.org/blog/">Crash Dump Analysis</A>.

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips

Here's the scenario: one minute you're working and surfing quite happily, the next the Blue Screen Of Death rears its ugly head and ...

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips

Here's the scenario: one minute you're working and surfing quite happily, the next the Blue Screen Of Death rears its ugly head and ...

The Perfect IT Setup for Home Business - Part 2 of 3 - Computer Security & Disaster Recovery

The Perfect IT Setup for Home Business - Part 2 of 3 - Computer Security & Disaster Recovery

No matter whether you’re a copywriter like me, or you’re in an entirely different field of work, if you rely on a computer, then you need...

Viruses and Worms, Protection from Disaster

Virus damage estimated at $55 billion in 2003. "SINGAPORE - Trend Micro Inc, the world's third-largest anti-virus software maker, said Friday that computer virus attacks cost global businesses an estimated $55 billion in damages in 2003, a sum that would rise this year. Companies lost roughly $20 billion to $30 billion in 2002 from the virus attacks, up from about $13 billion in 2001, according to various industry estimates." This was the story across thousands of news agencies desk January 2004. Out of $55 billion, how much did it cost your company? How much did it cost someone you know?I. The WhyThere is an average of 10-20 viruses released every day. Very few of these viruses actually make ?Wild? stage. Viruses are designed to take advantage of security flaws in software or operating systems. These flaws can be as blatant as Microsoft Windows NetBIOS shares to exploits using buffer overflows. Buffer overflows happen when an attacker sends responses to a program longer then what is expected. If the victim software is not designed well, then the attacker can overwrite the memory allocated to the software and execute malicious code.People make viruses for various reasons. These reasons range from political to financial to notoriety to hacking tools to plain malicious intent.Political: 	Mydoom is a good example of a virus that was spread with a political agenda. The two targets of this virus were Microsoft and The SCO Group. The SCO Group claims that they own a large portion of the Linux source code threatened to sue everyone using Linux operating systems (with "stolen" programming source). The virus was very effective knocking down SCO's website. However, Microsoft had enough time to prepare for the second attack and efficiently sidestepped disaster.Financial:	Some virus writers are hired by other parties to either leach financial data from a competitor or make the competitor look bad in the public eye. Industrial espionage is a high risk/high payout field that can land a person in prison for life.Notoriety:	There are some that write viruses for the sole purpose of getting their name out. This is great when the virus writers are script kiddies because this helps the authorities track them down. There are several famous viruses that have the author's email in the source code or open scriptHacking	Hackers sometimes write controlled viruses to assist in the access of a remote computer. They will add a payload to the virus such as a Trojan horse to allow easy access into the victims system.Malious:	These are the people that are the most dangerous. These are the blackhat hackers that code viruses for the sole intention of destroying networks and systems without prejudice. They get high on seeing the utter destruction of their creation, and are very rarely script kiddies.Many of the viruses that are written and released are viruses altered by script kiddies. These viruses are known as generations of the original virus and are very rarely altered enough to be noticeable from the original. This stems back to the fact that script kiddies do not understand what the original code does and only alters what they recognize (file extension or victim's website). This lack of knowledge makes script kiddies very dangerous.II. The HowMalicious code has been plaguing computer systems since before computers became a common household appliance. Viruses and worms are examples of malicious code designed to spread and cause a system to perform a function that it was not originally designed to do.Viruses are programs that need to be activated or run before they are dangerous or spread. The computer system only becomes infected once the program is run and the payload has bee deployed. This is why Hackers and Crackers try to crash or restart a computer system once they copy a virus onto it.There are four ways a virus can spread: 1.) Email 2.) Network 3.) Downloading or installing software 4.) Inserting infected mediaSpreading through EmailMany emails spread when a user receives an infected email. When the user opens this email or previews it, the virus is now active and starts to immediately spread.Spreading through NetworkMany viruses are network aware. This means that they look for unsecured systems on the network and copy themselves to that system. This behavior destroys network performance and causes viruses to spread across your system like wildfire. Hackers and Crackers also use Internet and network connections to infect systems. They not only scan for unprotected systems, but they also target systems that have known software vulnerabilities. This is why keeping systems up to date is so important.Spreading through manual installationInstalling software from downloads or disks increase the risk of infection. Only install trusted and scanned software that is known to be safe. Stay away from freeware and shareware products. These programs are known to contain Spyware, Adware, and viruses. It is also good policy to deny all Internet software that attempts to install itself unless explicitly needed.Spreading through boot sectorsSome viruses corrupt the boot sector of disks. This means that if another disks scans the infected disk, the infection spreads. Boot sector viruses are automatically run immediately after the disk is inserted or hard drive connected.III. Minimizing the effect of viruses and wormsWe have all heard stories about the virus that destroyed mission critical company data, which cost companies months to recover and thousands of dollars and man-hours restoring the information. In the end, there are still many hours, costs, and would be profits that remain unaccounted. Some companies never recover fully from a devastating attack. Taking simple precautions can save your businessAnti-virus SoftwareAnother step is to run an antivirus program on the local computer. Many antivirus programs offer live update software and automatically download the newest virus definitions minutes after they are released (Very important that you verify these updates weekly if not daily). Be careful of which antivirus program you chose. Installing a PC antivirus on a network can be more destructive on performance than a virus at work. Norton makes an effective corporate edition specifically designed for Windows NT Server and network environments. When using antivirus software on a network, configure it to ignore network drives and partitions. Only scan the local system and turn off the auto protection feature. The auto-protect constantly scans your network traffic and causes detrimental network issues. Corporate editions usually have this disabled by default. PC editions do not.Email Clients Do not open emails from unknown sources. If you have a website for e-commerce transactions or to act as a virtual business card, make sure that the emails come up with a preset subject. If the emails are being sent through server side design instead of the users email client, specify whom it is coming from so you know what emails to trust. Use common sense when looking at your email. If you see a strange email with an attachment, do not open it until you verify whom it came from. This is how most MM worms spread.Disable preview panes in email clients. Email clients such as Outlook and Outlook Express have a feature that will allow you to preview the message when the email is highlighted. This is a Major security flaw and will instantly unleash a virus if the email is infected.It is also a good idea to turn off the feature that enables the client to view HTML formatted emails. Most of these viruses and worms pass by using the html function "" and run the attached file within the email header.We will take a quick look at an email with the subject header of "You're now infected" that will open a file called readme.exe."Subject: You're now infected					 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related;type="multipart/alternative";boundary="====_ABC1234567890DEF_====" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Unsent: 1 To: undisclosed-recipients:;--====_ABC1234567890DEF_==== Content-Type: multipart/alternative;boundary="====_ABC0987654321DEF_====" *** (This calls the iframe)--====_ABC0987654321DEF_==== Content-Type: text/html;charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable*** (This calls readme.exe)--====_ABC0987654321DEF_====----====_ABC1234567890DEF_==== Content-Type: audio/x-wav;name="readme.exe"	*** (This is the virus/worm) Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-ID: *** (Notice the )PCFET0NUWVBFIEhUTUwgUFVCTElDICItLy9XM0MvL0RURCBIVE1MIDQuMCBUcmFuc2l0aW9u YWwvL0VOIj4NIDxodG1sPg08aGVhZD4NPHRpdGxlPldobydzIHRoZSBiZXN0LS0tLS0tPyAt IHd3dy5lemJvYXJkLmNvbTwvdGl0bGU+DQ0NDTxzY3JpcHQgbGFuZ3VhZ2U9amF2YXNjcmlw dCBzcmM9aHR0cDovL3d3dzEuZXpib2FyZC5jb20vc3BjaC5qcz9jdXN0b21lcmlkPTExNDc0 NTgwODI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+DTxzY3JpcHQgbGFuZ3VhZ2U9ImphdmFzY3JpcHQiPg08IS0tDWZ1 bmN0aW9uIE1NX29wZW5CcldpbmRvdyh0aGVVUkwsd2luTmFtZSxmZWF0dXJlcykgeyAvL3Yy*** Broken to protect the innocent. (Worm is encoded in Base64)aHJlZj1odHRwOi8vY2l0YWRlbDMuZXpib2FyZC5jb20vZmNhbGhpc3BvcnRzZnJtMT5Gb290 YmFsbDwvYT4NIA08Zm9udCBjb2xvcj0jRkYwMDAwPiAtIDwvZm9udD4NDTxicj48YnI+PGJy Pjxicj5Qb3dlcmVkIEJ5IDxhIGhyZWY9aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lemJvYXJkLmNvbS8+ZXpib2Fy ZK48L2E+IFZlci4gNi43LjE8YnI+Q29weXJpZ2h0IKkxOTk5LTIwMDEgZXpib2FyZCwgSW5j Lg08L2NlbnRlcj4NPC9ib2R5Pg08L2h0bWw+DQ0NDQoNCj==--====_ABC1234567890DEF_====--"Email Servers The first step to minimizing the effect of viruses is to use an email server that filters incoming emails using antivirus software. If the server is kept up to date, it will catch the majority of Mass Mailer (MM) worms. Ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if they offer antivirus protection and spam filtering on their email servers. This service is invaluable and should always be included as the first line of defense.Many companies house an internal email server that downloads all of the email from several external email accounts and then runs an internal virus filter. Combining an internal email server with the ISP protection is a perfect for a company with an IT staff. This option adds an extra layer of control, but also adds more administration time. Sample specs for an internal email server are:Setup #1* Linux: OS* Sendmail: mail server* Fetchmail: Grabs email from external email addresses* F-prot: Antivirus* SpamAssassin:	Spam FilterSetup #2* Win 2003 Server: OS* Exchange: Email server* Symantec antivirus: Antivirus* Exchange Intelligent Message Filter: Spam FilterSoftware Updates Keep you software up to date. Some worms and viruses replicate through vulnerabilities in services and software on the target system. Code red is a classic example. In august 2001, the worm used a known buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft's IIS 4.0 and 5.0 contained in the Idq.dll file. This would allow an attacker to run any program they wanted to on the affected system. Another famous worm called Slammer targeted Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Desktop Engine (MSDE) 2000.When updating your software, make sure to disable features and services that are not needed. Some versions of WinNT had a web server called IIS installed by default. If you do not need the service, make sure it is turned off (Code red is a perfect example). By only enabling services you need, you decrease the risk of attack.Telecommunications Security Install a firewall on the network. A firewall is a device or software that blocks unwanted traffic from going to or from the internal network. This gives you control of the traffic coming in and going out of your network. At minimum, block ports 135,137,139,445. This stops most network aware viruses and worms from spreading from the Internet. However, it is good practice to block all traffic unless specifically needed.Security Policies Implementing security policies that cover items such as acceptable use, email retention, and remote access can go a long way to protecting your information infrastructure. With the addition of annual training, employees will be informed enough to help keep the data reliable instead of hinder it. Every individual that has access to your network or data needs to follow these rules. It only takes one incident to compromise the system. Only install proven and scanned software on the system. The most damaging viruses come from installing or even inserting a contaminated disk. Boot sector viruses can be some of the hardest malware to defeat. Simply inserting a floppy disk with a boot sector virus can immediately transfer the virus to the hard drive.When surfing the Internet, do not download untrusted files. Many websites will install Spyware, Adware, Parasites, or Trojans in the name of "Marketing" on unsuspecting victims computers. Many prey on users that do not read popup windows or download freeware or shareware software. Some sites even use code to take advantage of vulnerability in Internet explorer to automatically download and run unauthorized software without giving you a choice.Do not install or use P2P programs like Kazaa, Morpheus, or Limewire. These programs install server software on your system; essentially back dooring your system. There are also thousands of infected files floating on those networks that will activate when downloaded.Backups & Disaster Recovery Planning Keep daily backups offsite. These can be in the form of tape, CD-R, DVD-R, removable hard drives, or even secure file transfers. If data becomes damaged, you would be able to restore from the last known good backup. The most important step while following a backup procedure is to verify that the backup was a success. Too many people just assume that the backup is working only to find out that the drive or media was bad six months earlier when they were infected by a virus or lost a hard drive. If the data that you are trying to archive is less then five gig, DVD-R drives are a great solution. Both the drives and disks have come down in price and are now a viable option. This is also one of the fastest backup methods to process and verify. For larger backups, tape drives and removable hard drives are the best option. If you choose this method, you will need to rotate the backup with five or seven different media (tapes, CD/DVD, removable drives) to get the most out of the process. It is also suggested to take a "master" backup out of the rotation on a scheduled basis and archive offsite in a fireproof safe. This protects the data from fire, flood, and theft.In the Internet age, understanding that you have to maintain these processes will help you become successful when preventing damage and minimizes the time, costs, and liabilities involved during the disaster recovery phase if you are affected.ResourcesVirus Resources F-PROT: <a href="http://www.f-prot.com/virusinfo/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.f-prot.com/virusinfo/</a> McAfee : <a href="http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.asp</a> Symantec Norton: <a href="http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/</a> Trend Micro: <a href="http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/</a> NIST GOV: <a href="http://csrc.nist.gov/virus/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://csrc.nist.gov/virus/</a>Free software AVG Anti-Virus - <a href="http://free.grisoft.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://free.grisoft.com</a> Free F-Prot - <a href="http://www.f-prot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.f-prot.com</a> Free for home usersFree online Virus scan BitDefender - <a href="http://www.bitdefender.com/scan" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.bitdefender.com/scan</a> HouseCall - <a href="http://housecall.trendmicro.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://housecall.trendmicro.com</a> McAffe - <a href="http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs</a> Panda ActiveScan - <a href="http://www.pandasoftware.es/activescan/activescan-com.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.pandasoftware.es/activescan/activescan-com.asp</a> RAV Antivirus - [http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan]Free online Trojan scan TrojanScan - <a href="http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/</a>Free online Security scan Symanted Security Check - <a href="http://security.symantec.com/sscv6" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://security.symantec.com/sscv6</a> Test my Firewall - <a href="http://www.testmyfirewall.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.testmyfirewall.com/</a>More Security Resources Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams: <a href="http://www.first.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.first.org/</a> Microsoft: <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx</a> SANS Institute: <a href="http://www.sans.org/resources/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.sans.org/resources/</a> Webopedia: <a href="http://www.pcwebopedia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://www.pcwebopedia.com/</a> DefinitionsAdware: *A form of spyware that collects information about the user in order to display advertisements in the Web browser based on the information it collects from the user's browsing patterns.Software that is given to the user with advertisements already embedded in the applicationMalware: *Short for malicious software, software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system, such as a virus or a Trojan horse.Script Kiddie: *A person, normally someone who is not technologically sophisticated, who randomly seeks out a specific weakness over the Internet in order to gain root access to a system without really understanding what it is s/he is exploiting because the weakness was discovered by someone else. A script kiddie is not looking to target specific information or a specific company but rather uses knowledge of a vulnerability to scan the entire Internet for a victim that possesses that vulnerability.Spyware: *Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today.Aside from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.Because spyware exists as independent executable programs, they have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party. Licensing agreements that accompany software downloads sometimes warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested software, but the licensing agreements may not always be read completely because the notice of a spyware installation is often couched in obtuse, hard-to-read legal disclaimers.Trojan: *A destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer.The term comes from a story in Homer's Iliad, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.Virus: *A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are man made. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems.Since 1987, when a virus infected ARPANET, a large network used by the Defense Department and many universities, many antivirus programs have become available. These programs periodically check your computer system for the best-known types of viruses.Some people distinguish between general viruses and worms. A worm is a special type of virus that can replicate itself and use memory, but cannot attach itself to other programs.Worm: *A program or algorithm that replicates itself over a computer network and usually performs malicious actions, such as using up the computer's resources and possibly shutting the system down.* Definitions provided by WebopediaA special thanks goes out to the CISSP community, various Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)s, and to those in the Risk assessment specialty of Information Systems Security for their help in proof reading and suggestions.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Jeremy Martin CISSP,CHS-III,CEH<a href="http://www.infosecwriter.com" target="_new">http://www.infosecwriter.com</a>

Viruses and Worms, Protection from Disaster

Virus damage estimated at $55 billion in 2003. "SINGAPORE - Trend Micro Inc, the world's third-largest anti-virus software maker...