"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per Stormin Mormon:
Something got me. And, it did some kind of damage that two techies could not
recover.

What kind of anti-virus were you using?

On my daughter's machine, Avast threw a warning once but my macho
son-in-law just *had* to click the button that said "Ignore this
warning" and the system got hosed beyond recovery.

It wasn't a Trojan, but a bad USB controller that moved me to a backup
scheme where at least a couple of my backup drives are not readily
available - i.e. I have to drive to get to them.

That way, when things go really South, and it hasn't dawned on me yet
that something is hosing my backups as I attach them in an effort to
recover... the non-availability will hopefully save me from myself.

I also have a rule - which I will hopefully have the presence of mind to
follow - that once I am down to a single backup, I will never, *ever*
attach it to the problem PC. Instead, I will make copies on another PC
and use the copies.
--
Pete Cresswell

Home data security plan:

1. Primary online data storage - NAS server box with fully mirrored
disks

2. Onsite offline backup - Encrypted USB3 portable disk in fire safe

3. Offsite offline backup - Encrypted USB3 portable disk in safe deposit
box at bank

Put PC backups to NAS automatically at least weekly. Portable disks to
match NAS disk size, do full copy backups monthly, updating the onsite
disk, swap with the offsite disk, update that disk and place back in
fire safe.

Total cost $500 or so, and pretty solid data protection without too much
fuss.