If in the unhappy event you are told to evacuate (Huricanes wildfires and such) grab your family photos and your back up disk and hit the road.

A full-featured, portable backup and storage solution with Maxtor SafetyDrill™ for complete recovery of your PC hard drive’s contents in case of a system crash or virus/spyware attack. Features data encryption and Maxtor DrivePass™ to help safeguard the contents of your drive against unauthorized use. With up to 160GB you can automatically back up or sync your work and home computer and confidently carry your up-to-date portfolio in your pocket. A simple user-interface makes automated backup scheduling, specific file restoration, sync, security, drive and power management a snap. USB-powered for PC and Mac users. Includes 5-year limited warranty.

The Maxtor Online Store USA – Product Info.

The average computer user only becomes aware of his or her hard drive in two circumstances: When it fills, or when it fails.

Hard Drives: Under the Hood.

Follow the link if you want to learn more.

Bottom Line:The Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ is an excellent combination of small-business RAID muscle, gigabit throughput, and home-oriented media features. It’s expensive, but worth the price if abundant storage, fast transfers, and RAID reliability are what you need.

Pros: Fast transfers. Supports the three major desktop OSs. Granular performance-tweaking settings. Well-behaved network client. Many features.

Cons: Some parts of setup are tricky. Attached USB hard drives must be FAT or FAT32, not NTFS. Expensive.

Netgear ReadyNAS NV+: At A Glance – Reviews by PC Magazine.

Anti-spyware software packages can rid your system of these unwanted and malicious programs. Anti-spyware software works by identifying any spyware installed on your system and removing it. Much like a firewall or anti-virus program, anti-spyware software is crucial to maintain optimal protection and security on your computer and network. Two popular and free anti spyware programs are Spybot and Ad-Aware.

CrystalTalk™ (kris’t?l-tôk). n. Noise-canceling technology manufactured by Motorola; “a bundling of microphone noise reduction and noise adaptive speaker enhancements meant to improve the clarity and intelligibility of speech while you are in a noisy environment.” – Motorola.com

Motopure H12 = H680 + CrystalTalk – Gearlog#more.

Have you ever needed to hide files from prying eyes? Perhaps you have your resumé and cover letters stashed on your machine at work,  This month’s utility, Folder Phantom, allows you to easily make folders disappear and reappear.

- Folder Phantom: Hide Your Files and Folders – Downloads by PC Magazine.

Computer technology makes everything we do in the office easier and faster. Unfortunately it can also make it easier and faster for embezzlers and thieves. Many dentists are concerned about external security. They fear computer viruses or Internet hackers.  These concerns need to be addressed however it is far more likely that the security of the office will be breached or compromised internally by people working in the office.

On the most basic level a security system isolates sensitive information and then limits access to that information to approved individuals. It is analogous to handing out office keys to employees. In theory it is possible to create perfect security for your computer system. However to do so would make the security measures so cumbersome and time consuming we would never get any work done. In the real world we compromise between efficiency and security.

In most offices, passwords are the principle method of allowing access and authorization. But oftentimes users forget their passwords. When this happens a new password needs to be assigned, involving time and effort. Another problem with passwords is the tendency for both dentists and staff – for the sake of an easy life – to lend their passwords to the other people working in the office.

The latest step in the evolution of spam: the mass mailing of MP3 audio files. This trend was first detected in European mail traffic by the company’s spam analysts.

The spam circulating in MP3 files is so-called stock spam, which is designed to artificially increase the price of certain stocks by advertising them. This type of spam first appeared in August of last year and has since then become widespread. It is notable that spammers actively use a number of innovative methods when sending this type of spam in an attempt to evade detection by spam filters: for instance, stock spam was sent in the first mass mailing to use specially crafted graphics files containing background ‘noise’, and in .pdf files, which at the time could not be detected by spam filters.

From Kapersky Labs

See, here’s the problem. To feel comfortable with having an open channel that allows your OS to be updated at the whim of a third party (even/especially* Microsoft … * delete as applicable) requires that the user trusts the third party not to screw around with the system in question. This means no fiddling on the sly, being clear about what the updates do and trying not to release updates that hose systems. While any and all updates have the potential to hose a system, there’s no excuse for hiding the true nature of updates and absolutely no excuse for pushing sneaky updates down the tubes. Over the months vigilant Windows users have caught Microsoft betraying user trust on several separate occasions and this behavior is eroding customer confidence in the entire update mechanism.

» What’s really broken with Windows Update – Trust | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com.

The first level of security, the windows logon, is like the key to the office door. If you don’t have that key you can’t get into anything.

The second level is application passwords. These are like keys to the filing cabinets. This key allows you to get into the charts. However there is still a locked drawer in the Dr.’s office

The third level of security is like the key to the locked drawer where the cash and checkbook is kept.

The ePad family of signature input devices enables you to capture legally-binding handwritten electronic signatures, eliminating the need for wet-ink on paper. Our comprehensive product offering covers the full spectrum of esignature processes and environments, from the field to retail office to high-security workflow applications.

Every member of the ePad family comes bundled with Interlink’s standard esignature software, IntegriSign Desktop. Once your ePad is installed, you’re ready to esign!

Electronic signatures, ePad signature capture pads.

InneRAID® Duo
The InneRAID® Duo is a robust and easy-to-use internal RAID solution for protecting data and ensuring system availability. It offers a turn-key solution by a rugged disk enclosure with hot-swappable trays, durable fan cooler, and reliable RAID controller. Using SATA host interface and 100% hardware RAID approach, InneRAID® Duo is definitely the excellent RAID solution for various applications.

ACCUSYS: The RAID Architect- Products : InneRAID: ACS-75200.

Look at this site for some reliable and reasonable priced RAID options. When your hardware guy trys to sell you a RAID 5 SCSI set up for $2,000 say what about this, its only $250?

RAID 5 is an excellent system for data security it is just a lot more than most dentists need, it is like using a semi truck to haul a six pack.

Spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans are lurking online, waiting to infest your computer. All could easily cripple your PC if you’re not careful. Worse yet, hackers could steal important personal information. If that’s not enough to send you hiding under the covers, you also have to find a way to keeps your kids safe online. Scary? You bet. Unmanageable? Not at all. Pull the covers off you head and listen to us. Our super security guide will help you wise up and stay safe.

Security Super Guide – Security Super Guide – Review by PC Magazine.

Read the whole article, there is even a complete guide on how to set up a pretty good security system for free.

Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket?

You can take it with you after all. External storage is becoming sleek and svelte and insanely portable. We have three pocket hard drives to always keep your files on hand.

By Tony Hoffman
Some external hard drives are bulky, hold massive amounts of data, and require their own power supply. Not so the new breed of portable hard drives. They’re pocketable—especially in winter. They draw all their power from your computer’s USB connection. And they hold far more data than a thumb drive. Pocket hard drives? If you have data to transfer, don’t leave home without one

Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket? – - Review by PC Magazine.

RAID systems can be set up in five different arrays ranging from RAID 0 to RAID 5. In dentistry we do not need fancy (and expensive) SCSI RAID 5 systems. A simple (and inexpensive) IDE mirror works great.

Two vendors make IDE RAID controllers Arco form Florida www.arcoide.com and Accusys from Taiwan. www.accusysusa.com. An IDE system including two hard drives and installation should cost less than $500.

It would also be a great way to transfer images or a patient record to a colleague you are meeting for lunch, or carrying around any data you want to keep safe and handy.

Wallet Flash Drive the size of Credit Card 128 MB to 2GB

Wallet Flash Drive the size of Credit Card 128 MB to 2GB on L Gadgets.

N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any statute, regulation, or

CMS Velocity2 RAID Backup System – Review by PC Magazine

Quite pricey on a per-GB basis.

This system in PC Magazine could be a great security system for a dental office. It is a bit expensive, the 500GB version goes for about $1,100. However that is still a lot less than the $4,000 RAID V systems many vendors want to sell us. Follow the link for details including a photo, it looks like a space age toaster.