Back it up first. Most retail Registry cleaners will do this for you, but for extra protection, you can also do it yourself, first. One way is to create a Restore Point. Yes, this will effectively save your registry too. If you don’t trust System Restore you could try use the free Emergency Recovery Utility NT (ERUNT). (Unless you’re not using Vista, then you may experience some issues.) Try your Registry cleaner’s backup feature, as well.

Once you’ve backed up your Registry, open your cleaner, close all of your other programs, and start the process. After scanning your Registry, the cleaner will display a list of entries it thinks you can or should delete.

This is the hard part. How do you know what you can safely delete. Unless registry cleaning is a sick hobby of yours, you won’t – which is why I don’t recommend it. On the other hand, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Play around if you want – you have a back up if everything goes wrong, right?

Here are three Registry cleaners worth looking at – all recommended by PCWorld Magazine:

EasyCleaner:You can download ToniArts’ free cleaner in installable and portable versions. The Registry cleaner (one small part of this useful tool) lacks a real backup, but it can undo your changes as well as save a list of what it’s about to delete. And if it finds an invalid entry that might be dangerous to delete, it warns you with a yellow or red light icon (green, of course, means safe).

CCCleaner: Another free one that does more than just clean the Registry. More conservative than EasyCleaner, CC tends to find less and risk less, and backs up its changes into an easy-to-restore .reg file.

Reg Organizer: ChemTable’s massively powerful Registry tool costs $40, but it handles the Registry like nothing else. It has automated and manual cleaners, automatic backups, a Registry editor that puts Windows’ Regedit to shame, and even a Registry search tool that can help you delete or change every entry (or a selection of the entries) containing a particular word.

For more on the subject (including some contrary ideas), see also How to Clean Your Windows Registry and Speed Up Your PC by Steve Bass.

For more on cleaning your registry and a host of other PC and Mac solutions contact SanFrancisco Tech Support.com

Today’s San Francisco Tech Support blog highlights great article by PC World on the value of secure drives over security software. I’m not sure if this is necessarily the case, however, it’s obvious that if your drive is separated from your PC (and in your possession) it will be more secure than left in a relatively public space. Until you lose it, that is. At which point, it becomes a whole lot less secure. Unless you have purchased a secure hard drive that is.

Which is why you need hardware-encrypted storage.

Unlike software-based encryption systems, secure hard drives lock out intruders at the hardware level, preventing anyone from seeing any part of the drive until they enter a secure password. This prevents hackers from using conventional software tools to circumvent your encryption.

Perhaps the two best products on the market at the moment for mall businesses are the notebook-friendly varieties. Internal notebook drives like the Seagate Momentus 5400 FDE.3 prevent your mobile PC from even starting without a password, making it virtually impossible to get to your data. External models like the Maxtor BlackArmor Portable Hard Drive let you add security layers to your mobile systems without retrofitting your laptop.

If you put all of your critical business data on a Maxtor BlackArmor drive, you can be reasonably sure that it will never find its way into enemy hands in readable form. Because when you plug in a the drive for the first time, you are prompted to create a secure password. From that point forward, the drive will be protected. Unplug it from your USB port, and it will use its last trickle of power to relock itself instantly. A thief will have a hard time getting inside – as will a professional data-recovery service - so whatever you do, don’t forget your password – and don’t store it on that drive!

For more info on security systems and for other IT support, contact: SanFranciscoTechSupport.com

PGP Corporation has become the first company to offer full disk encryption on a software-as-a-service subscription, which should bring the technology within the reach of more San Francisco / Bay Area small businesses.

Selling through Managed Service Provider Network channel partners enterprises will be offered PGP’s Windows or Mac Whole Disk Encryption software on a month-by-month ‘pay as you grow’ contract, with flexibility to increase or decrease according to needs.

The service includes the PC encryption software, a key recovery service, plus reports on the encryption status of each machine for compliance and auditing. Laptops using the software can only be accessed by providing a key, which means that should they be lost or stolen, hard drive data remains encrypted an inaccessible.

The costs themselves are comparable over a year to buying the software on a stand-alone basis, PGP admitted, but this removed the obstacle of deployment and ongoing management that has, up to now, put off many smaller enterprises with around 100 mobile users.

Deployment is probably the biggest advantage of the new model because it means that companies don’t have to commit staff and infrastructure to getting full disk encryption projects off the ground. Using either one of the appointed partners it should be possible to get the technology into a small enterprise within days or weeks, instead of months.

Lost laptops containing unencrypted data have become an almost routine way for enterprises of all sizes to lose sensitive data, a frequency IDC’s Charles Kolodgy was quoted by PGP as having recently described as “obscene”.

Monthly prices and volume discounts had yet to be confirmed  but were said to be in line with the annual per-seat prices already quoted for stand-alone use. This is about $160 per year.

Contact San Francisco Tech Support for more info.

Frustrated with being passed to India or the Philippines for your IT tech support needs? Call your local Bay Area computer tech support specialists here at SanFranciscoTechSupport.com

4. When considering a tape back up software decide whether you will need server only back up or server and desktop back ups. Great software for tape back up systems is available from Cheyyenne, Maynard, Palindrome, and Filesafe. Know what software will suit your needs. Read reviews , case studies, and trade publications.

5. Select tapes that have a proven reliability. Most people recommend 3M, Exabyte, or Sony tapes.

6. Once you have all your needs figured out create a note and then get quotes form different dealers. Comparison shop to get the best deal.

Before you sign a check ask about guarantees and service. Many vendors offer training too. Look for honesty, reliability, and transparency. Most people who have these qualities will talk openly about successes as well as failures.

Insist on testing back ups. And store the tape back ups off site so that they are not destroyed in case of floods or fire.

Put a team in place that creates for your company an infallible back up system that runs like clock work. Don’t forget to take care of clean ups and maintenance too.

For more tips call San Francisco Tech Support – Your Bay area computer / IT consultants.

This article is printed from http://www.SelfGrowth.com –  By Arthur Raise ]]> http://www.sanfranciscotechsupport.com/index.php/2008/09/28/tape-backups/feed/ 1 http://www.sanfranciscotechsupport.com/index.php/2007/12/28/san-francisco-bay-area-computer-tech-support/ http://www.sanfranciscotechsupport.com/index.php/2007/12/28/san-francisco-bay-area-computer-tech-support/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:18:08 +0000 admin http://www.sanfranciscotechsupport.com/blog/?p=3 Bay Area Computer Tech Support:

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