backups

WhatsApp users on Android could hit storage limits thanks to a change in Google policy. However, claims it could mean a "shock new fee" are misleading at best. Users of the popular messaging app can have their messages, including videos and images, ... automatically backed up from an Android device. However, WhatsApp itself does not handle the backup or store the data. Instead the backup is on Google Drive. Because WhatsApp doesn't hold backups itself, the Google Drive backup may be the only way to restore data when moving to a new phone, particularly when the old handset is broken or unavailable ... (view more)

If you lost all of the data on your PC, would you be devastated? According to a recent report, cyber crimes are booming thanks to the covid-19 pandemic . That's because cyber criminals are counting on the fact that most users are working remotely at ... home and/or retired, increasing their chances in converting a "sale". The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that in 2019, cyber criminals raked in $3.5 billion targeting individuals and businesses in the USA. Of that, $8.9 million was attributed to ransomware attacks, while scammers posing as fake technical support stole $54 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Paula M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I own a small business that has 15 employees. We process upwards of 100 emails a day, many of which contain important contracts and attachments. We use MS Outlook 365 as our email client and ... OneDrive to share attachments between employees and devices (such as smartphones). The emails and documents are critical and I need a way to backup both Microsoft Outlook 365 emails and OneDrive files locally in case our workstations are compromised. Do you know of an Office 365 backup program that can backup Outlook as well as OneDrive? Much thanks! " My ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Philip S. writes: " Dear Dennis, We are running Windows 10 on our office machine which has Microsoft SQL (MS SQL) installed. On that machine we use Microsoft SQL Server Manager to enter in data into our databases, though other ... machines can access the Microsoft SQL databases through the network using MS Access DSN files. A few years ago we hired someone to set up our databases; however, we are now running out of space on the C drive as the databases have grown significantly in size. We would like to move the MS SQL databases and then set up a RAID to make the data redundant ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am use Acronis 2016 with Windows 10 to backup my system. Recently I tried to restore my C drive, but the backup failed in the middle of the restore operation. I subsequently tried 3 more backups I ... made earlier in the year but they also failed. This makes me think there is something wrong with the backup drive. I ended up having to reinstall Windows clean on my system to get back up and running. I tried running 'chkdsk' on the backup drive, and it reported that the volume bitmap was incorrect. I followed your guide on ' How to Fix: ChkDsk ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Paul D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an external drive I use for backups. The other day I went to restore from backup but it aborted, stating the backup was corrupt. I have since run chkdsk (check disk) on the external drive and ... chkdsk reported that ' The Volume Bitmap is incorrect ' and to 'run chkdsk /scan to find the problems and queue them for repair.' I did that, but chkdsk says ' The shadow copy provider had an error ... A snapshot error occured while scanning this drive .' I have searched the Internet for an answer to this problem but can't figure out how to get ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kevin L. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been researching the best anti ransomware software for 2018 and came across your website. I was wondering if you had any recommendations? While searching for the best anti ransomware software ... (free), many websites have their own opinion on what anti ransomware software is the best, but most require a paid subscription. What is your opinion on the best anti ransomware software for PCs? " My response: I've answered this question in depth before (in a round about way) with my guide on How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps . This ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your article on How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps) and it was incredibly informative. I hope I never get infected with ransomware! That said, I have seen ... software products and services advertised online claiming they can prevent ransomware, but the information is often obscure. I feel like I am none the wiser. Even searching Google for ' how to prevent ransomware ' points to a very short article on Norton's website, which then links to Norton Antivirus. In your previous article, you said Norton didn ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Marjie H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just received an email offer from Norton Security asking if I would like to enroll in the Norton Identity Protection. In order to do so, the form says I need to provide my social insurance ... number. The protection being offered is free, so long as I renew my Norton Antivirus subscription. From what I understand, this service includes protection against personal credit, credit cards, bank, social insurance number (SSI), etc. My question is - with all this information they are asking for, what is the possibility they could be hacked and all my ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Rebecca' writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently purchased a tablet with Windows 10 and I have Windows Defender running. My question is whether I need to install any other protection to stop people (hackers) from being able to steal my ... bank details, etc. My dad was recently a victim of this but I don't know how to protect myself. How can I keep my PC secure in 2017? Thank you in advance! " My response: I have been asked this question no less than 100 times in the last 16 years I've been writing articles online - but the truth of the matter is that the answer changes slightly as ... (view more)