TNPC Newsletter
by Dan Butler
17 December 2005
Hello
A lot has happened since the last issue. I have personally had
computer issues with my Internet connection, my monitor, mouse,
and chair. It seems like one thing after another. Funny how
something as simple as a mouse can mess you up.
The winner of last months drawing was Mark Shields. His book is
in the mail. The first two entries I drew had no mailing address
and missed out. How do you enter the next drawing? REGISTER
YOURSELF for the drawing by following these TWO steps:
1. Send an email to the address below by midnight
(CST), Friday, 23 December 2005, to:
–> december-prize@tnpcnewsletter.com
(Don’t just hit “Reply.” That email will not
enter you into the drawing…)
2. Be sure to include your real name and your
snail mail (postal) address.
Please note that you must get your answer in BEFORE the deadline
or it will NOT go into the random drawing.
Just before sending this I read a thought provoking article
called Syndication and the Live Web Economy by Doc Searls. He
talks about RSS and the changing nature of the Internet. You can
read it here:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8731
The article is at the Linux Journal website but isn’t about
Linux. It addresses where the Internet is headed and how it may
affect you.
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** Some Random Thoughts on Backing Up Your Data
My recent computer problems have been thinking about backups and
which data is important on my computer. While typing my thoughts
up I heard sirens outside. Looking out the window I saw
firetrucks coming down the street. I noticed the orange flames
above the roof of a house across the street. It was 3:00 am. I
quickly woke my wife and we went outside to get more
information.
Fortunately it wasn’t the house on fire but the shed in the
backyard next door. Nobody was injured. Think about if there had
been a fire at your house. Would you have been prepared with
your data? Certainly a computer would not be the first thing you
grab. But the data on that system could make your life much
easier if you had it.
Think about the recent hurricanes and people displaced by the
water.A backup of certain data would make life much easier. When
my car caught fire several years ago I made sure to grab my
briefcase. It had the backups and files I needed to keep
running.
Similarly when a tornado in March of 2000 hit the building I was
working in I made sure to grab my backup disk. That backup disk
enabled me to keep working almost uninterrupted until we were
allowed back in the building a month later.
Two weeks before the tornado I was giving a talk at a local high
school. Just before the talk the fire alarms went off and the
building was evacuated due to a bomb threat.
The week before the tornado I spent at a hotel room in Dallas,
TX with a borrowed laptop while one of my children recovered
from surgery.
Reading the above you may decide I am a safety risk! Well it was
an interesting period of time. The common denominator in all the
above scenarios was a small Zip disk containing all the
important files I used and updated on an ongoing basis. I was
able to switch computers and locations quickly without downtime.
When thinking about backups we often think of a copy or image of
the current hard drive, but that only helps if the hard drive
goes out. The solution we have recommend in our books over the
years involves automatically copying one hard drive to another.
When the first drive goes out, you simply swap in the extra
drive.
What if you are unable to access your computer? The swap does
not help much. So I personally carry a small “snapshot” of
important data with me. The snapshot includes my financial
information, passwords, current work files, addresses, etc. For
me this is on the Zip disk I mentioned earlier. I do not
recommend buying a Zip disk just for this task. CD-ROM’s are
much cheaper and more universal today. I have the Zip so I use
it.
What else do I keep on the Zip disk? My current writing
projects, records necessary to run the TNPC Store
(tnpcstore.com), my PGP public keyring, and other personal
items. That disk goes with me when I leave the house.
Why not use a little keychain sized USB storage device? For me
they are just too small. I am afraid of losing them. I have lost
Memory Sticks from my camera. I do not want that to happen with
my data.
Sensitive data is PGP encrypted. If the disk is stolen that data
is not accessible to anyone without the private key and the
passphrase. Since I may have to access this data from another
computer I keep the PGP install program on the disk as well. I
install that first then I can decrypt my files. The procedure I
use to encrypt/decrypt the files is exactly the same as what I
teach in my book Tame Your Email.
If you do not use PGP – and I think you should – you can simply
zip the files with a program like Winzip and put a password on
the file. That is a basic level of protection. Next zip the zip
file and use a different password. Now you have two levels of
security. The important thing is to remember the passwords!
Personally I will continue to use PGP. It is much stronger and
it is one less worry for me.
I will talk more about backups in future issues. For now I
recommend you put a pad of paper next to your machine. Start
making a list of all the files you cannot live without. After a
few weeks your list will be pretty complete and will contain
items you probably did not think of originally. Now you can plan
a way to back those files up and have access to them in case of
emergency. Do this now while you are thinking about it.
I have started a thread at the TNPC Talk board where we can
share what types of files are important to you and different
methods of backup. Come on over and share your thoughts. You can
find the forum here:
http://www.TNPCnewsletter.com/discuss/
Give some thought to your backup needs now – before you find
yourself in crisis mode.
–
© 2005 Dan Butler
Dan Butler is the Editor-in-Chief of TNPCNewsletter.com and the
author of the amazing new book that shows you how to save your
identity, get your email read, and put more time into the things
you really enjoy…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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your email box? Want to have your messages seen by the people
that matter? “Tame Your Email” reveals the secrets to taking
control of your inbox while leaving the thieves and spammers
out of sight and out of mind.
Click here> http://www.TameYourEmail.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Want to get your finances under control? I know of a
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won’t have to pinch pennies, get a second job or cut back
your spending in any way.
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Copyright 2005 Dan Butler
All Rights Reserved.
ISSN: 1522-4422
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