Happy World Backup Day! Go Backup Your Stuff! Seriously.

Hard drive backups are like the socks of gifts you give yourself. They’re initially about as unexciting as gifts can get, only to become the best gift ever in a pinch. Got a meeting in 20 minutes and your normal sock reserve is empty? Thanks for the bag-o-socks, Uncle Steve! Your hard drive just exploded, taking the past 3 years of your digital life with it? Thanks for the backup, past-me!

Besides being the day that keeps the people who make Peeps in business, today also marks the Third Annual World Backup Day. World Backup Day is a tradition that started on reddit back in 2011, and has been rippling out through the rest of the tech-loving world ever since.

Making today’s Backup Day particularly special is the fact that it falls on Easter, which, if nothing else, means you get to use “BRB! Gotta go check my backups!” as a way to escape any awkward family conversations that pop up before the ham is done. Or you could be a cool guy and introduce your less tech-centric family members to the concept of backin’ up their bits.

Oh, and tomorrow is April Fool’s day. Probably not the safest day for data, you know?

So, how should you go about backing things up?

If you’re trying to keep it simple, just go buy/find a big ol’ external hard drive, plug it into your operating system’s built-in backup tool (Here’s a guide to Backup on Windows, or Time Machine on OS X), let it do its thing, and then stick the backup somewhere safe. If you can find somewhere off-site (like a trusted friend’s house), that’ll help you retain your data in case of fire or flood.

If you want to get fancy and push your backups online, a couple of the big backup guys are doing deals in honor of today’s techno-holiday. Crashplan dropped their annual price from $71 down to $42 for the day, and Backblaze is giving away 3-months free to all newcomers. If you’ve only got a handful of files that you need to keep backed up, Dropbox’s free 2GB plan is a solid option.

Hard drives are cheap. Lost data isn’t. Go, go, go!

Preparing for the End of Windows XP and Office 2003 Support

Support for Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 ends on April 8th, 2014. Are
you ready? After support ends, there will be no new security updates,
non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, or online
technical content updates.

If you continue to run Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after
April 8, 2014, you are exposing your company to potential security risks, as
unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security threats.
Further, independent software vendors (ISVs) and hardware manufacturers are
less likely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP as we near
the retirement date.

For many, migration efforts are well underway to get current. For those that
require additional assistance, Microsoft offers in-depth technical resources,
tools, and expert guidance to ease the deployment process. To learn more about
migration and deployment programs, and to explore solutions if your current
migration plans extend beyond April 8th 2014, please contact your
Microsoft Support Professional. We are dedicated to helping you remain secure
and are here to assist you every step of the way.

Visit the Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 end of support site
for more information on resources available to help with your migration.

For additional insights on the security risks of running on older operating
systems, see the Microsoft Security Blog on Operating System Infection Rates.

iOS 6.1.3

Apple has released iOS 6.1.3 Update Today.   This fixes the passcode bypass bug.   To install the upgrade go to Settings on your IOS Device.  Once in settings go to General and then go to Software Update and Install.

Help Me – Make it Easier

Help Me Norman

Well that is the theme of our new shortcut link we have created just for you.   We have found that when we are trying to help our clients remotely their seem to be issues typing sometimes sterlingrosellc.com in or just how to spell it.   We have decided that to make your life easier we have purchased helpmenorman.com to assist you in providing quicker and more efficient technical support.

Data-Plan Drains

We’ve talked about keeping your data usage in line with your plan to avoid expensive extra charges. It’s getting easier and easier to exceed your plan’s limits, and it’s going to get more expensive. Here are some data-plan drains you can easily plug.

Let’s start with the cloud. As much as we like the idea of being able to store all sorts of files in a place where you can get them from any computer and easily share for collaborative efforts, the cloud has its dark side. Companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Google all encourage you to store work, music and picture/video files on a site so you can easily share them on mobile devices.

When those mobile devices are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, they use cellular data networks. And because we’re sharing these files more – or accessing music files on a cell phone or even from our car radios as we travel – we’re using a lot of data. If you have a 2-gigabyte-per-month data plan, you can drain it pretty fast.

You can prevent hefty charges by either limiting your data downloads or by increasing your plan’s limit. Either way, you still need to watch your data so you don’t drain your plan.

Little plug-in hot spots are becoming more popular, and they can be big drains on your plan. Again, you can download a lot of data when you’re using a cellular network. And if you invite a business associate or friend to use your hot spot while on a cellular network, guess whose data they’re downloading. That’s right – yours.  It won’t take long to drain your account and get hit with those extra charges.

Those 4G cellular networks can really sneak up on you, too. After Sandy, we drove to South Carolina and Florida. When we stopped our first night out, I turned on my laptop to work with a client. When I finished, I got a text message from my wireless carrier telling me I had already used 50 percent of my monthly data limit. It was only then that I realized my computer getting back into sync after being off for a few days. With a 4G connection, it took only 45 minutes to hit 2 gigs.

Fast Internet connections are readily available on cellular networks. You really need to monitor your use, but we know that can be difficult. As much as we dislike Microsoft’s Windows 8, it has a feature that can measure your usage when connected to a measured connection. You can also set your computer so that you don’t get any Windows updates when you’re on a wireless network. You will need Windows 8 – and upgrades are going $39 to $200.

Where can you get some help? You’re not likely to get it from the carriers. We see unlimited data plans going away as more people put more things in the cloud and access them more often. It makes good business sense for them, so being more vigilant makes good sense for you.

We can answer questions and offer advice on your particular data-plan and usage needs. Just call us at 973-433-6676 or email us.

This article was published in Technology Update, the monthly newsletter from Sterling Rose LLC.