ICDNT - Saving Everything
Do you have any recommendation as to a
new hard drive? I am running 32-bit Windows 7, which I know carries
limitations, but basically as I am using the drives to share movies to the TVs
around the house, I am wondering if one of these server solutions are better,
such as the GoFlex from Seagate, or would I just be better sticking more drives
in the box? Also, would these server boxes have the limitation, which I believe
is 3GB although I could be wrong. I know backing up is going to become pretty
much impossible as the terabytes mount, but I am muddling along for now.
Under Win7 32-bit, you can only boot
from partitions that use the NTFS Master Boot Record system. This has a maximum
size of 2TB. But you can format other drives, including external ones using the
GPT system that allows partitions up to 9.4 zettabytes. One zettabyte is a
billion terabytes, which is more than the storage capacity of the entire
internet.
If most of your data is just movies
ripped from DVDs or Blu-rays, there is no need to back them up - you already
have them backed up to disc. If they are digital-only copies bought through
iTunes or recorded from broadcast TV then I suppose you could burn each one to
its own disc, but there are bound to be lots of DRM bear traps waiting to snap
round your carefree ankle. I know I bang on a lot about backing up. That's
because none of you ever listen. I don't know anyone else who actually backs up
their hard disk properly. Lots of you think you do, but unless you have a
incremental backup and a separate, bootable, disk image in a 'go' bag next to
your bed, ready to grab in the middle of the night when the house is on fire;
you don't. But even I would never bother backing up commercial movies. They
take up lots of disk space and are easily replaced at about £10 each. A
terabyte is about 250 films. Anyone who accumulates that many films is far too
busy watching new films to have time to rewatch the old ones.
I Wake
on LAN can be a useful feature, but don’t waste energy trying to exploit it
ICDNT - The Plan from Uncle
I need your advice, Uncle Luis. I want
to learn more about the basics of computers; hardware and software, then
eventually moving on to networking. People confuse me with the whole compTIA
and Cisco debate. CompTIA offering the A+ and the N+, Cisco offering IT
Essentials which is the same syllabus as the A+ and the various levels for
networking. What is your suggestion?
I'm much more of an autodidact. I do
have a degree in 'computing with real-time computing' and I learned a few
interesting things when I was doing that, but I learned a lot more fixing and
programming actual PCs than I did studying how to fix and program them. CompTIA
and other professional qualifications are a way to persuade someone to give you
a job, but the best way to learn is on that very job.
It's not as catch-22 as it sounds.
It's a process of boots trapping your level of technical competence by degrees.
Start by taking your own computer to pieces. Break it, fix it, modify it. Build
working computers from salvaged pieces of junk. Network them and write simple
programs for them. You can learn how to do this just by reading the web; it's
quite good fun and you are solving real problems. Then, armed with this
knowledge and your boundless enthusiasm, get a very junior job or internship in
IT support at a medium-sized company. It doesn't matter what the company does,
you just want it to be big enough to have its own IT services department. If
you are lucky and show willing, that company might pay for you to take the
CompTIA, MCSA or Cisco exams. If they don't, you can take them in your spare
time and with your own money.
Don't stress too much about which one
to take, choose the one that looks easiest based on your current knowledge.
Professional qualifications are a way to demonstrate how much you already know,
not a way of learning. Once you have the qualification, use it as leverage to
get a better job that will teach you new, more interesting things.
YOU
ASKED!
FAQ
Print
Viruses
Viruses
that print themselves out?
No.
Viruses that infect your printer. Researchers at Columbia University have
discovered a security vulnerability that could allow a virus to use this to
take control of some networked printers.
How
does it work?
When
the printer receives a print job, it checks for certain control codes that
identify the job as a firmware update. If they are present, it overwrites its
own flash RAM with the code. Surprisingly, lots of printers don't have any
kind of hash or digital certificate to verify that the update is legitimate.
What
could an infected printer do?
We
most obvious virus payload would be to simply print the same document out,
over and over again. A more aggressive virus could reprogram the printer to
jam the fusing roller on at full power until the thermal override cut in
-destroying the printer - or overheat the stepper motors, potentially causing
a fire. The most sinister tactic would be to intercept print jobs and forward
them to computers on the wider internet. Networked printers are usually
accorded 'trusted' status on networks and bypass the normal firewall and
routing restrictions.
How
would a printer get infected?
Via
a spambote mail or Facebook posting that asks you to print out a % coupon to
take advantage of a special offer. The print job for the coupon would have
the firmware /p update embedded in it.
