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From Email to a client
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I've finally compiled my list of suggestions for helping to secure them and streamline the process of setup. This will help insure consistency of the laptops which will provide a much better classroom experience. Hopefully, the computers will be running XP, but these recommendations will work for Vista as well.

Implementing all of this will take quite a bit of time to get it setup. However, the long-term benefits greatly outweigh the short-term expense.

*Assumes all computers running the same (or very very similar hardware).

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Initial Preparation - before any use by a student or faculty
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Cost: FREE (except time & software licenses)

• All computers must have any "junk" software removed.
• Default applications must be installed - Firefox, MS Office, PDF Creator, OpenOffice.org, AVG, Adobe Reader, Picasa, Google Earth, Virtualbox, Thunderbird, etc.
• All class specific applications must be installed - typing software, etc
• TCP/IP set to OpenDNS.

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Imaging of Computers
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Cost: FREE or $100/computer

Imaging of the computers is very critical. This insures that you have a full and complete bit by bit backup of your systems. In a worst-case scenario, it can save tons of time. Also, after the class is over, the computer can be returned to "ready to go" state for the student.

The basic step is your setup 1 computer just how you want it (known as the master). It has all the software and drivers installed needed. Once you have this master setup, then you can image all the other computers (known as slaves) to the master.

The advantage is time. Rather than have to go to each computer and set them all up individually, you create them all at once by using a master/slave setup on your network. The master computer is running the server version of the imaging software and distributes its image to all the slaves on the network.

Free - There are free open source solutions out there that work really well although they aren't as intuitive as the proprietary options.

http://www.clonezilla.org  - best open source for networked imaging

http://ping.windowsdream.com - best for single machine imaging

$100 / computer - these are software that I've used in the past extensively and work well.

Acronis True Image Echo Workstation
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/

Norton Ghost
http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost

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MS Steady State
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Cost: FREE (except setup time)

Note: Runs on 32-bit XP, Vista only

Microsoft has released a product called Steady State. Once installed, it uses imaging technology to return a computer to an exact state every time the computer is restarted. This means that after setting up a computer initially, the computer will be returned to that state after every reboot.

This software can be incredibly useful to make sure that a computer is always in a clean workable state for the classroom. Unlike relying totally on imaging (which requires the master/slave process each time), Steady State returns the computer to a proper state after reboot - automatically. The computer can much more easily be locked down for internet access, etc.

Windows SteadyState in the Classroom
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/seeit/classroom.mspx

Windows SteadyState Disk and System Protection
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/whatis/diskandsystemprotection.mspx

FAQs
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/c/6/fc6955de-0765-46fc-b2a9-47b4d4bcd160/SteadyState_2.5_Technical%20FAQ_updated.pdf

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Network Access and Protection
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Cost: Service - FREE (except setup time), Router - $60

All computers should be using OpenDNS for security and robustness. This is easily setup in the tpc/ip settings; however, ideally the classroom computers should be running on a separate subnet from the main building network. They need to be behind their own router that we can control.

We should immediately purchase a WRT54GL, flash it with DD-WRT firmware, and install it on the building network. Then we setup the student laptops to connect to it only.

WRT54GL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190

DD-WRT Firmware
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/What_is_DD-WRT%3F

OpenDNS
http://www.opendns.com/smb/solutions

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Educating Users
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One of the most important steps in this process is educating the users/students on basic safety and security. Fortunately, I have a couple of blog posts that help address this. During the class itself we also spend quite a bit of time discussing simple security issues.

Layered Security Basics
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/03/layered-security-basics.asp

Simple Rules for Your Computing
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/01/simple-rules-for-your-computing.asp

Why did I get infected in the first place?
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/07/why-did-i-get-infected-in-first-place.asp

Myspace and Antivirus 2009
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/12/myspace-and-antivirus-2009.asp

Labels: acronis, backup, security, xp installation, xp software

Obviously, backing up your data is the most important since you can always replace failed hardware. However, recovering from a system crash can be very time-consuming. Installing XP, Vista, or Linux plus all your applications and then tweaking your system can be a pain.

Acronis® True Image Echo Workstation
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/

Add-ons / Acronis® Universal Restore
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/universal-restore.html
*This allows you to recover to an image if the hardware changes. It basically resets the HAL in Windows, and can be very useful.

Acronis is nice because it will image while the system is running under XP. I've used it for several years now and had great luck with it.

Here is the method that I suggest you do for a complete backup of your computers.

1. Backup all important data "bulk data" (movie files, word docs, spreadsheets, pictures, email files, etc) to removable drive, DVD, etc. A great utility to find a lot of extra data is JDisk Report.
   
2. Delete the "bulk data" from each machine after backup and before imaging. This keeps the image file(s) from being too bloated.
3. Run a temp file cleanup utility, Diskeeper Pro, and Registry Mechanic.
   
4. Image the PC and store the image to a removable drive, DVD, online storage, etc. Use the "archive splitting" option in the imaging software so break the images into 4.7 GB chunks so they will fit on a DVD.
   
5. Copy the "bulk data" back to the pc once imaging is completed.
   

Now you have a "clean" image of the pc that can be recovered relatively quickly and easily. If you have a computer that you use a lot and add software too, you can do an incremental image with Acronis also, which can be set to run automatically.

Additional Resources:

Technology Report 1-8-2008
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/01/technology-report-1-8-2008.asp

Firefox and Google Bookmarks
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/07/firefox-and-google-bookmarks.asp

Trusting Google with your Email
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/07/trusting-google-with-your-email.asp

Backing up your System
http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2008/06/backing-up-your-system.asp

Labels: acronis, backup, imaging

All too often, I have clients whose computers crash. Fortunately, I can recover the data most of the time, but there are times when the hard drive physically fails. In those cases recovering the data becomes nearly impossible and very very expensive.

Recently, I created a document for my clients on "The Importance of Backups". Here is copy/paste of that document and a PDF copy. Spread the word.

The Importance of Backups

Rule #1: You are only as good as your last successful backup from which you can recover!

The most important thing on your computer (PC or Mac) is not the hardware nor really the software. These can be replaced relatively easily. The most important thing is your data. Period.

Backing up your data can be very simple and painless. For most people, it should not take that much time either. Here are some simple ideas:

• Purchase a “thumb drive” and simply copy any important data to your drive.

• Use blank DVD-R's and your DVD burner – blanks cost less than $0.20 each.

• Purchase a removable hard drive – you can get 320GB of storage for about $100 now.

• Most of your data will be located in your “My Documents” folder on an XP machine.

• Certain programs, such as older versions of Quicken or Quickbooks, like to store the data file in the program directory. Always check those programs and move the data file to your My Documents.

• You may not want to backup all your music each time if you have an iPod – that will serve as your backup.

• Pictures, music, and videos take up the most storage space. You may not want to back them up every time depending on your storage capacity.

Off-site backup is very important. It won't do you any good if you backup your data, but your house burns down.

Also, thieves steal computers, removable drives, etc. I have had several clients this year who have suffered business and home theft, including their computers. You need to periodically store a backup at a trusted family member or friends house or safety deposit box.

You also need to consider the safety and security of your backups. This means that your backup data should be treated as securely as your live data. With JungleDisk you can encrypt your data so that neither JungleDisk nor Amazon employees have access to your data. If you are using DVD's or a removable drive, then I recommend using TrueCrypt containers to keep the data safe.

My Recommendations:

Primary Backup: JungleDisk which uses Amazon's S3 service. This gives you encrypted off-site backups that is a no-brainer to use and very cost effective. Typically you can have 30+GB stored for less than $10/month.

Secondary Backup: Every 2 weeks, I copy my TrueCrypt container to a removable USB drive.

Tertiary Backup: Once a month I copy everything to removable DVD's. The files on the DVD's are stored in an encrypted TrueCrypt container, and the DVDs are locked in a fireproof safe.

Printable PDF Copy

Backups-Importance.pdf

Labels: acronis, amazon s3, backup, jungledisk, rule #1