A number of folks asked me at my recent workshop on the Biggest Business Pitfalls of Technology: “How should we back up our data?” This is a tough question a pretty long answer. Let me give you some DOs and DON’Ts to help you decide:

DO backup your data everyday and test that backup!

DO encrypt your data on every backup!

DON’T backup to a CD / DVD / or tape device. CDs / DVDs do not have a very long shelf life, and we have seen way too many companies / people lose their backup data on these. Tapes also have a short life (you should plan on replacing them at least once a year), but here’s the real kicker – often you can’t find the proprietary tape drive you need to restore the data during a full on disaster. Sometimes you find the drive, but you can’t restore to it, because your drive has a misaligned head making it so your original drive was the only one that can read it! (You know the drive that burnt up on the fire or was stolen or whatever caused you to need to get your data from backup!)

DO take a look at the following hard drive solutions – they will allow you to get your data off site and keep it safe. They also can be plugged into any computer to start the restore process:

• Western Digital 1TB Elements External HD – costs about $110 per drive, and you should have at least 3 of them to backup your company’s critical data off site.
• Dell PowerVault RD1000 – a little more expensive, but the drives are much smaller and easier to carry than the Western Digital Solution. This is important if you want to fit the drive in your purse.

DON’T backup all of your critical data to an offline storage facility like Mozy – it will take days for you to get it back in the case of a real emergency! If you are interested in storing your data on the internet, contact us and we will point you to a solution that gets you immediate access t to all of your data in the case of an emergency.

DO consider using a fireproof / waterproof / coffee spill proof solution like ioSafe Solo data vault here’s a link to read more. This thing can withstand a just about anything, bolt one to the floor under your desk tomorrow!

DON’T just backup your server’s data – we find that 90% of the people that tell us they never store information on their desktops, in fact have critical information, report templates, account information, and software they cannot recover on their desktops. Get complete images of all of your computers!

DO consider Fixed IT, our service that takes care of all of these critical backup issues for you as eliminates all of your computer problems in one step!

DO attend the webinar – The Nine Biggest Pitfalls of Technology and Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Business on December 2 at 4:00 PM – Contact Debra to register at 1.888.530.9596

Oh no, did you delete something in Outlook that you shouldn’t have? If you’re like me, you are probably kicking yourself for tossing that oh-so-important email or attachment down the drain. Unless, of course, your organization has an Exchange server with Deleted Items Retention enabled.

You probably have access to this valuable feature without even knowing it. Deleted Items Retention is enabled by default on most Exchange servers since Exchange 2000, and system administrators are able to choose how many days of deleted items to keep (default is 14).

Your bacon may or may not already be saved. To use this feature, highlight the folder where your missing items used to reside.

Then, in the Tools menu, choose Recover Deleted Items…

Then choose the item you would like to restore.

Simple as that! The item will go back to its folder of origin and you can breathe a sigh of relief.

If you’re not sure whether your organization is using Deleted Items Retention, give us a call at Dynamic Edge and we’ll check things out for you.

Good morning everyone! I found a nifty tool I wanted to share with you. WordPress 2 for the iPhone allows you to post to your WordPress blog from your phone. It also allows you to update your site content if you have a WordPress site like us. No more texting and driving for me…time for a blog-by!
If you are interested in how it can help you, or how to get a site that allows you to update the content yourself, contact Skyler on our website team. He will help you out.
If you want WordPress 2 – just go to the app store on your phone. Cheers!

You can still be a target for identify thieves and hackers even if you have anti-virus, spyware protection and a firewall! Read on to find out how YOU are giving these folks access to your personal information…

You have a good firewall, your antivirus is up to date, your spyware protection is set up and you keep up with all of the security patches, you are safe, right?

WRONG!

According to a recent study, 37% of online identify theft had one thing in common: it was caused by an action taken by the user. You got it folks, over 1/3 of all identity thefts are not thefts at all, they are out right identity-give-a-ways!

How can you avoid this happening to you and your company?

Although no one is completely safe, following these 3 simple tips will stop you from accidently giving up your confidential information or handing over access to your computer network.

1. Never visit or download free music files, videos or programs from file-sharing sites such as Kazaa. These sites are surefire ways to introduce malware (worms, spyware, or viruses) to your computer. If you are a business owner, set up a web filtering software to prevent your employees from downloading any unauthorized programs or files.
2. Do not respond to email from a bank, credit card company, PayPal or online store where items are purchased (like eBay) no matter how credible or legitimate it looks. Instead contact the company using their published phone number (not from the email!) and discuss the email with them.
3. Never allow anyone asking for physical access to electronic equipment / network, without asking for identification. Make sure they should have access before you give it to them. Also make sure you explain this policy to your staff as well. With access to your electronic equipment (phone room, server room, network, etc.) this person can access your data in any number of ways. You would never believe how big this problem is. To test it out, I asked a friend to walk into a couple of offices, saying that he was from “the phone company” responding to a problem, and asking to see the network. Access was granted to this complete stranger 100% of the time!

So there you have it – 3 quick tips. Have fun. Play safe and don’t have an identity-give-a-way!

Click here to find out how you can receive a FREE problem prevention network audit – just to make sure you are actually safe.