Impress Computers: July News Letter from Impress Computers

Why it is essential to Backup

Every week we have at least one customer who has lost their data because they did not have a recent backup of their data. There are so many reasons why data is lost but these have been the most common ones:-

1. Hard Drive Failure - sometimes this is a mechanical failure or an electrical failure caused by a surge. Either way your data is not recoverable except through expensive data recovery, which can cost thousands and even then there is no guarantee.

2. Water Damage

3. Theft

4. Viruses

Methods of Backing Up

1. USB Jump Drive (economical up to 16gb)

2. External Hard Drive (500gb to 3TB)

3. Off Site Backup

4. DropBox (File sharing and synching)

To determine how much space you need you can Double Click on COMPUTER, Double Click on C DRIVE, then Right Click on "USERS "(Windows 7 / Vista) or "Documents and Properties" (Windows XP) and go to properties. This will let you know how many GB's of data you have stored in your documents, photos, music, favorites. If you save your documents to a different location you will want to check that folder size as well.

To save your files you can right click on the USER folder and press "copy", then go to the external device and Right Click and press "paste".

You should keep at least 3 backups. Small files on a jump drive, a full backup on an external and off site backups in case of catastrophic disaster.(One lightning hit took out both the PC and the external hard drive leaving the customer stranded, whilst another customer had both laptop and external drive stolen!)

We will also be running backup classes shortly for in depth information contact Mandy or Steve on 281-647-9977

Why is a Battery Backup (UPS) needed?

Having a surge protector is better than nothing, but there are several advantages to having a battery backup or UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply). During the day we are seeing numerous brownouts, where the lights flicker. This plays havoc with electronics, but having your computer plugged into the UPS means that you are not affected.

If the power goes off and you are plugged into a UPS means that you don't miss a beat and can carry on working for a short period. You also you don't lose what you were working on and windows does not get corrupted. When the power comes back on there is often a surge or spike in the electrical current. You will be protected by being plugged into the UPS.

So in a nutshell

1. Your equipment lasts longer as it is not subjected to power fluctuations

2. You have a lower chance of losing documents that you are working on

3. You have a lower chance of complete hard drive failure.

Impress Computers has Battery Backup UPS' from $44

How can I keep my computer more secure for Virus Attacks

Whilst nothing is fool proof there are some basic things that your can do to minimize your risk of infection.

1. Keep Windows up to date

2. Keep your anti virus up to date and run regular scans

3. Keep JAVA and Adobe up to date.

If you are not sure you can also go to our www.impresscomputers.com and click on SCAN FOR VULNERABILITIES under Computer Tips.

In addition to this, good Internet sense is also required.

Treat every link or attachment with suspicion, even when it comes from someone you know. When opening emails watch out for .zip and .exe attachments.

When searching the Internet be careful of suspicious sites with lots of activity.

Avoid downloading free music and videos

Avoid cheat sheet sites and torrent websites

Always have at least two backups

When you have a pop-up on your screen, DO NOT HIT THE "X" or CANCEL! This can activate a fake antivirus which will take over your computer. It is better to hit ALT-F4 to close it down or CONTROL-ALT-DELETE and close that application.