External hard drives

Are external hard disk drives a good way to back up my data ?

Well yes and no!

Of course having any kind of backup is better than no backup at all. Unfortunately many, many people only realise this 1 minute after their data has been lost when their hard disk dies, or a virus wipes their data. We have a busy technical support helpdesk and about the worst news we ever have to give a client is that they have irretrievably lost their data, usually its off a laptop which is away from their corporate server and its automatic backup ability.

External hard drives are easy – you simply plug them in and regularly copy your data from your PC to the drive. Ideally you use some software to do this for you, making copies of your files automatically. Many drives such as the Western Digital MyBook range come with bundled software to do this or you can buy a utility, such as ‘Second Copy’ to ‘mirror’ your PC data to your drive.

This is all good but there is a serious flaw. Say you have a big file, it could be a Excel spreadsheet or an Access database perhaps. Something where you could delete some data out of the file, or have a data corruption and not notice it for a while. I’m talking about losing some content from inside the file – not losing the file itself. External hard drives tend to just make a copy of the data on your PC, and if you haven’t noticed that the file is corrupted or missing data then your last backup would have overwritten the previous, good copy of the file on your external drive with your corrupted file. Essentially it would have backed up rubbish. So now you have a corrupted file on both your PC and your backup and possibly no way of getting the data back.

You can solve this problem by keeping a history of the data on your PC. Here is how this can work, I’m going to assume we are backing up to tapes for this example. You take a backup each day Monday to Thursday onto separate tapes so by Friday you have a separate backup for each day of the week up to Friday. On Friday you do another separate backup onto a new tape and label it Week 1. Next Monday to Thursday you reuse and overwrite the previous Monday to Thursday backups, on the Friday you use a new tape and label in Week 2. And so on until the end of the month when the Friday backup is labelled Month 1.

So why do this? Say on the first day of the next month you find you have lost/corrupted a file ‘sometime’ recently. You have to now go back to the most recent backups for last week – you have the Friday backup (‘Month 1’) and then the usual Monday to Friday backups. If you don’t find a good copy of your file you can go back further – looking at the Week tapes Week 1,2,3,4,etc. until you find your file on the last backup prior to its loss or corruption.

Now I should say at this point that this is a theoretical example – don’t go implementing this unless you know what you are doing or have expert help!

So, when you have been running this for a while and built up a library of your 4 daily tapes, 5 weekly tape and however many monthly tapes you have decided to keep, you now literally have a data time machine and go back days, weeks, months or perhaps years to get previous versions of your data files. The technical term for this is a Grandfather – Father – Son regime by the way.

Now making sure your data is secure is a serious matter – many businesses would get a shock if they sat down and worked out the cost of replacing their company data if it was irretrievably lost. I did this in a previous life working for a blue chip PLC – and the answer was in tens of millions of pounds. Usually after the catastrophic data loss the very continued existence of a business can be in doubt. This is one area where it is important to get expert help if you are not totally sure of what you are doing and take the above theoretical example and turn it into something that will work for you or your organisation.

Spyware messages

My PC has a popup message saying I have spyware and need to install a cleaner – what should I do ?

I wrote a previous blog on Spyware which goes into much more detail but basically the answer is – don’t do it ! A lot of spyware and adware programs pretend to be your friend by telling you that your PC has been infected – but your PC has been infected by the very program displaying the message. When you say yes you will probably be adding a further and potentially more serious infection.

The answer is to get help and advice from a professional support company, and/or install a quality Anti-Virus package that also deals with threats of this nature.

Remember that programs like this are trying to trick you – be suspicious and if in doubt don’t do it.

If the message was a genuine message issued by your existing Anti Virus software – then it is probably just informing you that it has spotted – and dealt with the threat. Follow the instructions on screen. You should be able to tell if it is a genuine message as the message will refer to the AV software installed on your PC. Symantec for example. Remember to be suspicious, if you have Symantec installed and the error message is titled AVG (another anti virus software product) then suspect it’s a fake message.

Serious infections usually mean that your PC must be wiped and rebuilt – is all your data backed up ????

Microsoft Access Tips

Access seems quite easy to use, do you have any tips on the best approach when developing new software?


We do a lot of work with writing and supporting Microsoft Access based applications, either ones we write from scratch or mainly taking on applications written by others.

In the latter case the typical situation is that the application is ‘put together’ by an enthusiastic person who can get out of their depth when the application grows in complexity.

There are some golden rules for writing Access applications which we have learnt well over the many years we have been using it.

1. Understand exactly what you want the application to do. Don’t get seduced by the speed at which you can put together an Access application and assume you will be able to adjust it in the future when you work out what you really need. If there is uncertainty consider writing a mock up or prototype to demo and discuss in order to get the clarity you need.

2. Get the database design right. By this I mean the tables and the relationships. This is the very heart of the project – do a good job here and you are set for success. Get this wrong and you are building a rod for your back, it will never work well ! You can learn the fundamentals of database design in an hour – ideally from as a qualified DBA (Database Administrator) or just Google ‘Normalization’ – which is the simple process us database designers use. This is an area where it can take years of experience to get really good – but learning just a little about database design will mean that you do a much better job. (Tip – there are some very technical descriptions of Normalisation – skip them and find a simple one with pictures – this is a simple process, and stop after step 3 as that is far as you need to go.)

3. Sketch out the whole application. Decide what menus and forms it will need, what reports are essential? What will happen on each form, how will you navigate between the forms? Together with your database design this forms the design of your application.

4. Use other people's experience. If your don’t have an Access guru who can mentor you then use the online Access forums, ask questions. This can save you hours and hours.

5. Allocate time. If you are writing an Access application for your company and this isn’t your main job consider if you have time to do this. Even the professionals underestimate just how long it takes to write an Access application – and a pro will typically work 5-10 time faster than a novice (mainly because of point 4). People can make the mistake of visualising the first few forms, reports and how easily they can put them together with no clear vision of how much bigger the application will be, often assuming they can just ‘add those bits later when I’ve worked them out’. This is one of the main reasons for step 3 – get clear on the scale of what you are attempting.

Microsoft Access is an excellent tool for rapidly developing small database applications – follow the advice and don’t be afraid to get professional help to get you on the right track.

PCs or Macs or Linux

How do I decide if I should buy PCs or Macs or Linux for my business ?

Well, there is a question that will divide our readers. You will find people who are fans of each type of computer and will argue at length the reasons why their chosen camp is the one you must join.

Our opinion is for business then the PC is best. Ignoring the technical arguments the fact is if you are relying on complex technology to run your business then you are going to need skilled people to look after your technology. The availability of PC support skills, not to mention software, range of hardware suppliers is much better that for Macs or Linux.

Macs have traditionally, and for good reason in my opinion, been the choice of the artist, graphic designer and other creative people as their graphical ability and style operation is very suitable in these areas. PC and Linux users will argue, correctly, that their computers have done a lot to catch up or perhaps overtake in some areas but I suspect the Mac will still be used within its creative marketplace for many years to come. Help with Macs can be harder to get than with PCs simply because fewer people use them. Companies that use Macs often also use PCs for their more business users, running their accounts, stock control, project control and databases.

The attraction of Linux is that it is kind of a community project. Software is often free, developed by logical teams or volunteer developers spread around the globe. Many people seem to like Linux simply because it’s not Microsoft. Many big software companies have adapted Linux, of note is Netware whose original server operating system was largely wiped out by Microsoft Server products. Plus of course there are the original Unix (the commercial forerunner of Linux) such as Sun. Some companies including big organisations use Linux. We have a couple of Linux servers running our FTP Service (basically a secure filing cabinet for electronic files so our clients can access and download our software, updates etc) and our wonderful Wiki which we use for storing all sorts of unstructured information, like our internal phone list, support details of our network and servers. See Wikipedia for an example of a very big wiki. Like most Linux software the Wiki cost us nothing.

The downside with Linux, like the Mac but perhaps more so, is the availability of professional business support. Yes it is there, but it’s not as prevalent or varied as for the PC.

I think that the bottom line is that if you are a fan of the non PC technologies then you probably know enough about them to make a reasoned decision as to if and where you use non PC computers. If you don’t have this knowledge then you a probably best sticking with Microsoft and the PC. As always there are people out there in the marketplace to help you make the decision – just beware of evangelists and make sure you choose what is best for you or your organisation.

Microsoft updates

Should I use Microsoft Update on my PCs and servers or is it a case of 'if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ ?

Microsoft Updates fix bugs and close ‘vulnerabilities’ exploitable by hackers, viruses and malware.

This is generally a good thing. It is not unknown for an update to cause a problem and if you are in a business network environment the downloading of updates onto multiple PCs can seriously clog up your internet connection!

We always turn on ‘automatic’ Microsoft Update as we believe the benefits greatly outweigh the potential problems. Another good reason is that if you ever get a problem with your systems or software the second thing the helpful support team will often ask you to do it run Microsoft Updates. If you haven’t kept your PCs up to date this can take hours to catch up with the latest fixes. By the way the first thing the support team usually ask (because I know you were wondering….) is have you tried turning it off and on again.

Of course if you do keep Microsoft Update switched on you may never see any benefit – because it is fixing future issues you would have had before you have them.

If you are on a network with a number of PCs you can have a problem as mentioned above. Say Microsoft release a chunky (i.e. Big) service pack, each of your PCs will pick this up in turn and start downloading it. This can clog up your network somewhat. We had a client whose network ground to a halt every Monday morning as all their 50 PCs downloaded hotfixes, service packs. This can be fixed by setting up Microsoft Update on your server – the principle is simple – your server downloads the updates then your PCs load them direct from your server. This does require some skill to set up so you are probably best leaving this for your support provider.

Spyware and adware?

What is spyware and adware?

Spyware consists of malicious programs that are designed to capture information from your pc and send this information back to the spyware creator.

This information can range from the relatively benign – like a history of what websites you use – to capturing everything you type on your keyboard in an effort to steal passwords, credit card details, email addresses, etc. They are often linked with AdWare which are irritating programs that either pop-up adverts (for Viagra, Porn Sites, MLM Marketing Schemes, Scams) or hijack your internet browser to redirect it to their website.

Collectively, SpyWare and AdWare are often referred to as MalWare.

Many of these invaders will pretend to be your friend and pop up a message or take you to a web page informing you that your pc is infected. They will suggest you download their ‘cleaning’ tool which is usually also malicious software of some sort. Don’t do it ! If infected then the impact ranges from the mildly irritation to a serious threat.

Luckily most modern Anti Virus solutions now also include anti-spyware and anti-adware, the message here is buy it from a reputable source, install it and importantly - make sure it's kept up to date.

Viruses or hype?

Are viruses really a threat to my business or is it just hype from Anti Virus vendors ?

I'm sure that Anti Virus companies are going to emphasise the threat because they want to sell you their software, but it definitely is a real threat. This week alone several of our clients have encountered a totally new virus.

We are exposed to viruses every time we connect to the internet, open an email, plug in a USB memory stick, CD or DVD. There are some very clever people who prove their skill and intelligence by infecting as many PCs as possible. There are also criminals and those with grudges who want to steal your passwords, credit card details or use your PC as an unwilling soldier in their attack against a specific web site.

Anti-virus [AV] software is a very necessary tool that should be on every PC. You need to install it and keep it up to date with regular updates as new viruses are being released every day. The good news is that most AV software packages make this easy – you buy a year's subscription, install it and forget it. The downside of AV software is that they do impact on the performance of your PC as they are checking files, internet traffic and emails as you work, and occasionally they are like the overzealous doorman and block something that is actually OK, like your scruffy brother in law who turns up on your doorstep at 1am!

If you have a network with a number of PCs you probably want to get some professional help and install a centrally managed AV solution. We use Symantec in the office on our PCs and servers and have done so for many years. We also have anti-virus capability in our Sonicwall firewall which stops nasties coming through our internet connection. Personally I also use F-Secure at home as I have a couple of PCs and a laptop and they offer a 3 PC licence deal.