Content Filtering

Filtering "on the line"

You may have heard this term from your Internet Service Provider, but what does this mean?

In simple terms, some piece of equipment is scanning all your traffic, and doing it's best to filter out known virus, spyware, malware, spam, and all those other bad things we don't need in our lives.

That sounds great!

It is great, it is an amazing technology. Sadly when used by a service provider, the controls are so loose, and the detections are so rare, due to trying to please all the people all the time.

Just do it yourself. 

By using a filtering gateway, it can be configured to block all those bad things with much tighter control.  Not only that, specific sites can be blocked, sites pertaining to certain topics can be blocked. Access can be limited only to business hours, control between networks and offices, and so much more. Detailed logs of every single site visited on your network, including by who, when, and for how long.

It can even be set to block ads and pop ups before they even reach your computer.

So how is this done?

It is as simple as installing a filtering gateway device between your Cable or DSL Modem, and your main router or switch.  That way, every byte that comes out of your network will have to pass through the filter before it reaches out to the internet and every byte will have to pass through the gateway to come back into your network.

A easy to use interface allows configuration of filtering and logging settings.

As an added bonus, a state of the art firewall will keep your network safe from outside attackers, as well as log any type of attempt.

Truly one of the best additions you can make to your business network.

Contact us today to learn more.

IT Elite Computer Service

info@itelite.org

Video Conferencing

Video Conferencing

Remember when old movies, and tv shows would show the "Future"? How did everyone communicate? Usually it was by video conferencing. 

Not that long ago, it was considered almost impossible to have a live video conversation with someone across town or across the world.  The equipment and bandwidth were simply not available, and maybe more so, not affordable.  

These days though, everything has changed. With services such as Skype, and FaceTime, making a video call is almost as easy as making a phone call. 

Of course, as with anything, you sacrifice quality and security for convenience. Skype is far less than private, and FaceTime has serious issues making successful calls between iOS versions. With all commercial services, you are also sharing use with everyone else that decides to use it. Network congestion, DDOS, and many other potential disruptions can lead to extended downtimes with little recourse.

Well, did you know, you can easily run your own video conferencing network? 

Several different software packages exist to deploy your own network for your company. A simple directory will keep you in touch with employees and team members at multiple locations. Just click on their name, and be connected in moments.  

The advantages of a private network are limitless. Your calls may never leave your network, and if they must go through and internet service provider, they will be encrypted.  Your system is entirely under your control. No unneeded downtime, if there is an issue, you fix it, no support calls.  Because your calls aren't bounced around servers all over the world, the quality is incredible.  

So how is this done?

Well, there are two minimum elements to the system. A server, and a client.  On the server, all configurations are made, it is the main system that routes and connects calls. The client simply logs into the server, and connects with other clients.  Clients can be anything, PC, Mac, iPhone,Android, and many others.  

There are absolutely no limits placed on these connections, you can run a video call all day of you like, you are in control.

Hardware requirements are surprisingly minimal. Any reasonably modern PC can be a server, and just about any device can be a client.

How can i get this?

There is nothing stopping you from implementing such a system yourself.

TrueConf is an exceptional system. It is well documented, and reasonably easy to install and run.

Of course, if you don't care for the learning curve, we are always here to help. Having implemented many of these systems, we will have you up and running sooner than you thought possible, and available for and questions and concerns you may have.

IT Elite Computer Service

Basic Data Recovery 2

Basic Data Recovery 2

Now that you have read through Basic Data Recovery, and have some quick and easy tools to run to recovery deleted files, lets take a more detailed look at how and why these tools work.

The most important thing to remember is that just because you deleted the file, does not mean it is gone. When deleted, it does not simply cease to be and is wiped from existence. It is many times in the exact same spot where it was, you just can't see it now.

Well, how could this be?

Meet "The Master File Table"

The Master File Table is a complex mechanism built into Microsoft Windows that essentially is meant to keep a record (or index of records) of all files, folders, permissions, etc on your hard drives.

Every file has an entry in this table and has various flags or attributes assigned to it. These change in one way or another every time the file is used or changed. So, as you may have guessed by now, a deleted file is merely marked as deleted in the MFT. It goes nowhere, the data is not destroyed. When you hit delete, you tell Windows that you don't need that file anymore, it marks it as such, and you think it is gone.

So what happens now?

Now that you have decided that this file is not needed, the space it takes up can now be used for new files. This is why it is important to recover deleted files as soon as possible. As soon as you mark it deleted Windows can start overwriting that space with new files. Windows does not write data in straight line, it uses a complex algorithm to determine what space to use and when.  So as you continue to use your computer that deleted file space will begin to get used up, just because the deleted file was at the end of the drive space does not mean it wont be the first to get used up. Now the good news is, that in most cases the space occupied by that file wont be overwritten in one pass, just small chunks of it will be used up as needed. This helps recovery attempts because you may be able to recovery a "corrupt" file long after deletion. The file will be missing a few bytes here and there but can often be repaired.

So how do these programs work?

The main way the simple data recovery programs work is to merely read the MFT and detect files marked for deletion and give you the option to restore them to a non-deleted state. As the MFT is quite detailed, these programs can pull additional information, including how much of the space has been over written, thus calculating your chances of a successful recovery.

It is that simple.  If you can recover it, great! If not it's time to dig deeper.

Just because this method may not be able to recover your files does not mean there is not a great many other methods to do so. 

Basic Data Recovery

Basic Data Recovery

Let's start simple.

Let's start by looking at a common situation where you may need data recovered.

The most common and what you have certainly experienced is simply deleting a file you should not have.  We have all done it, and we will all do it again.  So, on Windows this is an easy one, just restore it from the Recycle bin. Similarly on Mac OSX you can restore it from the Trash.  It's something of a safeguard against the all too common accidents.

    What if you have already emptied the trash? This is where you start to get into some real, but basic, Data Recovery. There are many software solutions for this crisis, some free, most not. You simply run the software and hopefully retrieve the file from the results. It is worth noting that, the more the hard drive gets used from the point the file is deleted, the less likely a successful data recovery is. So, don't wait.

Some software worthy of note:

Piriform Recuva - Windows -  Free and simple. Just download, run, and hope for the best. Very few settings to tweak, but it is meant for the casual user, not a Data Recovery Professional.

https://www.piriform.com/recuva

Recover My Files - Windows - Just as easy to use, but also has many settings to really pinpoint what you are looking for.  Available as free version, but only to view the files. In order to recover them you will have to pay for a software license.

http://www.recovermyfiles.com

Prosoft Data Rescue - Mac OSX - This one is great for Apple data recovery, but does not fair so well on Windows hard drives. It has a simple and advanced mode. The simple mode is very simple, and the advanced mode can get very, very advanced. This one is most certainly not free, but if you know what you are doing, pick up a copy. Nothing else compares for Apple Data Recovery.

Now for one most people overlook, that can be more effective than any of the above listed.

System Restore.  Built into windows and runs before any major updates, software installs, and even just regularly on a schedule.  Now, System restore on it's own is not great for data recovery. It merely attempts to restore the entire system to an earlier date. This is often not what you want when all you need is one or 2 files. It is also known to fail in its restoration and leave the operating system in an unusable state.

So why i am talking about this? Because of an excellent piece of software that leverages System Restore in a way never intended.

System Restore Explorer - Windows - This free software allows you to mount any restore point from any data and simple browse through the files. This way you can pick out only the files you need and restore those. It is quite easy to use, and generally very effective. It may not be the first choice for a restoring a deleted file, because there is a lot of manual searching involved, but it can be the best choice in the end.

http://nicbedford.co.uk/software/systemrestoreexplorer/

Now, keep in mind, this is possibly the simplest form of data recovery, and certainly not where you have to stop when trying to recover files. 

Check back for several more articles going deeper and deeper into Data Recovery Techniques in the ongoing series

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