File Management, Virus Protection, and Backup Chapter 4

Rules for Naming Files When naming files, you must adhere to a set of rules called file-naming conventions In newer versions of Windows, your filename must: Not exceed 255 character Contain */:<>|”\? Filenames in newer versions of Windows can contains spaces and numbers and are not case sensitive

Reserved Words There are certain words that the operating system might reserve only for its use in naming files. In newer versions of Windows, these reserved words include: aux, com1, com2, com3, com4, con, lpt1, lpt2,lpt3, prn, nul

File formats The file extension is related to the file format, which tells the computer how the data is arranged and what was used to encode it. Many software programs have a native file format which is the preffered type of file it likes to deal with. For example, the native format for MS Word is the DOC format and thus the .doc file extension

Saving Files on the Computer The first choice you make is the physical location of the file such as the floppy disk (A:) the hard drive (C:) or some other location such as a CD burner. After that, you may choose to place your file in a folder. Folders are the graphical representations of the computers list of files called a directory The main level in the directory is called the root director (generally the physical location)

C:\My Music\Reggae\MarleyOnelove.mp3 C:\ is the drive letter or root directory of the hard drive My Music is the primary folder Reggae is a secondary folder Marleyonelove is the filename .mp3 is the file extension showing this as a type of music file This represents the file specification more commonly known as the path to the file

File Sizes and Dates File manager also shows the size in KB of files on your computer Also shows the date modified These can be useful for identifying the latest version of something or determining if a file will fit on another media such as a floppy disk. Dates can also be used in the search function to locate files.

File management in application software From the save dialog box, you have a drop down menu that allows you to select a location for the new file The file name and file type allow you to assign a name and file format. From this menu you can also change the display options, create new folders, and navigate to different folders.

Should I “Save” or “Save As…” First time a file is created, both options will do the same thing: allow you to select a filename and location On files that have been saved previously, the Save option will save the file in the same location with the same name. On files previously saved, Save As… allows you to change the location and name if you wish Good to use Save As if you are making a second copy of a file to a floppy disk or other media

File Management Utilities Windows provides “My Computer” and “Explorer” My Computer shows the files and folders available in with icons or a list of filenames Explorer shows files in a tree like hierarchy showing where files are while showing the entire file structure at the same time

More management information In Explorer and My Computer, you can select more than one file by holding the CTRL key and clicking on the files you want to select If all of the files are in a row, you can click the first item in the list and then hold the SHIFT key down to select the last item in the list From here you can rename, copy, Move and delete files and folders

Some tips… Use descriptive names so you’ll recognize your file from a list Keep original file extensions so your computer knows how to open the file Put related files in a folder together Maintain a good hierarchy of related files

More tips Use the My Documents folder for your files and add subfolders as needed Don’t mix data and program files Don’t keep files in the root directory Copy files from disks to the hard drive so they run faster

Even more tips… Follow copyright Delete files no longer in use Monitor location of stored files Monitor storage space on devices to make sure they aren’t getting close to full Back up important data frequently

Physical File Storage Formatting creates tracks on a disk and then divides them into sectors Tracks and sectors are numbered to allow for addressing of each storage compartment CDs and DVDs have spiraling tracks from the center and magnetic disks generally have concentric circles

Formatting a Disk Generally accomplished through a file utility For floppy disks, right click on the A: icon in my computer and choose Format Disk Fast format erases the disk Format erases the disk and recomposes the sectors and tracks CD and DVD usually have a utility that guides you through the process of formatting the disk for use

Keeping Track of Files Computers have different file systems that allow them to locate and store files. Windows uses FAT and NTFS Macs use HFS The operating system groups sectors together to form clusters Addresses of clusters are kept in look up tables called FAT (File Allocation Table for FAT computers) and MFT (master file table for NTFS)

Deleting Files Generally when you choose to delete a file from your computer it changes the cluster’s status to empty The data remains until a new file is stored there File shredder software deletes data from the hard drive in a way that makes it difficult to retrieve

The Recycle Bin The recycle bin, usually on the desktop, protect you from accidentally deleting files To restore an accidentally deleted file, open the recycle bin, find the file, right click and choose restore.

Fragmented Disks When the operating system cannot store all of the parts of a file together, it will locate other areas on the disk and store pieces here and there, causing fragmentation. After awhile, lots of fragmented files will lower the speed of your hard drive as it moves to locate these pieces scattered across the disk Periodically, you should run a defragmentation utility to rearrange the files in a more efficient manner. Right click on hard drive Choose Properties from the pop-up menu Click the Tools Tab Click Defragment Now….and wait quite some time before it is done

Computer Viruses Malicious code is a term used to describe a lot of types of programs that are intended to disrupt your computer’s normal functions Includes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses written by hackers

What is a virus? A virus is a set of program instructions that attaches itself to a file, reproduces, and spreads to other files Viruses can corrupt data, destroy data, disrupt computer function, or display irritating messages Viruses are many times spread to other computers via email and floppy disks

More on viruses…. Viruses may also deliver a payload in addition to replicating…ranging from destruction to screen graffiti Some viruses infect and act as soon as they have access to your computer Others wait for a trigger date or trigger event

Types of viruses File viruses infect application files Boot sector viruses infects the system files needed to turn your computer on Macro viruses infect macros which are small programs, usually within application software, that carry out repetitive tasks

Trojan Horses Trojan horses do not replicate itself Instead it appears as something that looks like something else, maybe a graphics program or a file in an email When executed, it searches your machine for password information Can also include backdoors which allow hackers to access your computer remotely Sometimes trojan horses are combined with viruses or worms causing a blended threat

What are Worms? Worms are designed to spread from machine to machine, instead of file to file as viruses do Some worms appear in emails and must be executed to be installed whereas others such as Sasser can actually travel networks without any action on the user’s part

What do viruses, Trojan horses, and worms do? Various degrees of harm from annoying to very destructive Network Traffic Jams are caused when worms are active and are taking a lot of network services Denial of Service attacks cause a lot of computers to try and access a site at one time, bringing the web servers down Browser reconfiguration reset your homepage and block you from accessing certain sites

More bad things…. Delete and modify files on your computer Access confidential information such as usernames, passwords, banking info, etc. Degrade performance of your computer Retroviruses can disable anti-virus software and firewall software

How can I keep my computer safe? Do not open executable files from email Check the links in emails before you click to make sure the address is not redirecting you Avoid file sharing software such as Kazaa Keep patches and updates to OS current Install and update anti-virus software periodically

Anti-virus software Anti-virus software is a set of utility programs designed to detect and remove malicious code Checks all files for additional length, extra code in unused portions of existing programs, and by searching for known problems through the virus’s signature file.

Using Anti-virus software Best case scenario is to leave your anti-virus program running all of the time in the background to scan all incoming files Other than that, files should be scanned at least once a week Signature files should downloaded every few weeks or when you read about a new threat

How reliable is virus software? If used correctly, it is very efficient but not 100% protection against viruses. Multi-partite viruses can infect various types of files on your computer and be difficult to delete Polymorphic viruses mutate and change their code slightly to avoid detection with it’s signature Stealth viruses remove their signature from disk and store themselves temporarily in memory

Virus Hoaxes You may receive emails or pop-up windows at websites telling you about a new virus that you need to remove that are untrue If unsure, contact Information Resources at 968-9885 or visit the website of your anti-virus vendor to search their database of known viruses. Do not forward these messages on to others

Backing Up Your Data You should backup data that is important to you to avoid accidentally overwriting or loss due to hardware failure You can make backups, or copies, of important files to floppy disk, CD, DVD, or network storage areas such as your H: drive

Making Backups Many computers come with backup software that allows you to backup everything on your computer (full-system backup) or just the files that are important to you Once you’ve backed up your data, find a safe place to store the backup and keep them current as important files on your computer change. If an accident or hardware problem occurs, simply restore the files from the backup copy.

What should I backup? Any personal information or data files (Excel spreadsheet, word docs, etc.) Internet connection information Email folders Email address book Your Favorites in browser Any downloads you may have paid for, including music files

More tips… Be sure and scan for viruses so you aren’t accidentally backing up viruses Backup your data often enough to avoid a significant loss of data (determined by you what is significant) Store backups in a safe place away from your computer

What should I backup to? Depends on your computer and your pocket book, and the importance of the data CD and DVD easy on many computers today Floppy and Zip disks may limit your backups by lack of space Network and web space can many times hold lots of data Second hard disk allows you to constantly have two copies in case one fails Tape drives can copy large amounts of data using backup software

Types of Backups Full backup-as the name implies, it backs up everything on the disk Differential backups makes a backup of files that have changed or been added since the last full backup. Incremental backups make backups of files that have changed or been added since the last back up, regardless of the type of backup

Boot and Recovery Disks Sometimes the very kernel of your OS is corrupted and needs to be repaired Many systems ship with a recovery disk that restores the OS to it’s original factory settings If not, recovery CDs can be created using the Automated System Recovery Wizard in the Backup Utility of Windows XP Boot disks, either on floppy or CD, contain the operating system files needed to boot your computer without accessing the hard disk Boot disks can also be created by right clicking the A: drive and choosing Format, under which has an option to create an MS-DOS start up disk