The Australian-specific problems and questions PC thread

[mdt]

Anyone recommend a backup system similar to that referred to below?

Megaupload closure hits legitimate users
Nick Galvin
January 23, 2012

THE operation to arrest the founder of the online file-sharing service Megaupload and close down the website has left users worldwide in limbo and prompted warnings that consumers should not rely on "cloud" storage for their data.

Kim Dotcom, who was arrested during his 38th birthday party at his luxurious Auckland mansion, was the brain behind Megaupload, infamous as a place to download pirated movies and television programs.

But apart from storing illegal material, Megaupload was also used legitimately by hundreds of thousands - possibly millions - of people around the world.

Dotcom Mansion, the home of the accused Kim Dotcom. Photo: Reuters

The site address yesterday displayed a notice from the FBI announcing the domain name had been seized "pursuant to an order issued by the US District Court", with no indication when, or even if, they would be able to access their files again.

Steve Su, a Perth academic, was caught out by the closure. He lost material he had uploaded to share with his students.

Mr Su said the FBI should have distinguished between legal and illegal content.

"It's like confiscating everyone's mobile phone because terrorists used them," he said. "I don't think it's correct to penalise the technology because, based on that logic, shouldn't the internet be taken down, as this is how people infringe copyright?"

Mark Pesce, a futurist and web commentator, said the incident had cast a shadow over cloud storage services in general.

"Everyone who is using a cloud-based back-up service right now is asking themselves how secure it is," Mr Pesce said. "The folks who have legitimate files on Megaupload can't get to them and they are pissed off. It has made cloud services look that much less legitimate."

Megaupload is just one of several popular services known as "cyberlockers" that allow users to upload files and access them from wherever they want.

Sites such as Dropbox, RapidShare and Hotfile typically take little or no responsibility for the material their users upload, potentially leaving the sites open to legal action.

The author and software developer John Allsopp said if people were serious about protecting precious data such as family photos and videos, keeping local copies was essential.

''In addition to keeping your content in the cloud, it's essential to also keep a local backup,'' Mr Allsopp said.

"And because backing up is something even most tech savvy people tend to not do religiously, a network-attached storage device which your laptop or desktop can connect to wirelessly, and to which backups can be automatically be made as often as several times a day, is a no-brainer."

Mr Dotcom and the three other men arrested in the raid are expected to appear in an Auckland court today for proceedings to extradite them to the US.

The police spent much of yesterday searching the $NZ 30 million ($23 million) mansion leased by Mr Dotcom in the Auckland suburb of Coatsville.

They removed artwork, computers, documents and 18 luxury cars, one of which reportedly bore the number plate "GOD".

Mr Dotcom has retained the American lawyer Robert Bennett, who represented Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones sex harassment case, to fight charges of criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit racketeering.

Carlos Sanchez Almeida, a Spanish lawyer known for his crusading stance on issues of online privacy and piracy, has urged users to take stock of the data they have lost in the Megaupload shutdown in preparation for a possible class action against the US government.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/...#ixzz1kDrlMQWG

[sweatyworker]

Netgear ReadyNas or similar. Come with some pretty straight forward backup software.

You can get them from CPL in North Melbourne. Probably around $500-00 wih two 1TB drives

[The Pork Hunt]

http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=182

[auR32]

QNAP's are good...

[mdt]

So, I've still not replaced my VAIO after the last debacle, but I'm looking at doing so again. I'm getting a blue-out twice a day now some days.

I've been waiting on Sony's new range to arrive, but I've not heard anything from the store. But my question is about Windows 8, why is it taking so long to be released on new in-store computers? When should I expect it? Any clues?

[Timbo_S3]

So, I've still not replaced my VAIO after the last debacle, but I'm looking at doing so again. I'm getting a blue-out twice a day now some days.

I've been waiting on Sony's new range to arrive, but I've not heard anything from the store. But my question is about Windows 8, why is it taking so long to be released on new in-store computers? When should I expect it? Any clues?

Hackintosh ftw

[Philthy_]

So, I've still not replaced my VAIO after the last debacle, but I'm looking at doing so again. I'm getting a blue-out twice a day now some days.

I've been waiting on Sony's new range to arrive, but I've not heard anything from the store. But my question is about Windows 8, why is it taking so long to be released on new in-store computers? When should I expect it? Any clues?

All my favorite nerd sites tend to say release in Q4 this year.

Also as per Timbo there is talk of a nice new skinny macbook pro coming out very soon

[mdt]

All my favorite nerd sites tend to say release in Q4 this year.

Also as per Timbo there is talk of a nice new skinny macbook pro coming out very soon

WTF? That's far too long to wait.

Would the new Mac have solid state data storage?

[Philthy_]

WTF? That's far too long to wait.

Would the new Mac have solid state data storage?

Yep apparently. The new intel chips are coming out next week and the MB pro is supposed to follow:

http://www.macworld.com.au/news/inte...4-april-50496/

[mdt]

Actually, now that I think of it, transferring my outlook data to the mac equivalent would be a nightmare. Think I'll stick with a PC.

I'd kinda like the reliability of a Mac though.

Edit: Just bought a new VAIO off eBay: NEW Model Sony Vaio F Laptop 16.4" FULLHD 2nd Gen i7 8GB 512GB SSD BLURAY HDMI

Postage from Nigeria is cheap!

[[c e r e a l]]

I'm getting a blue-out twice a day now some days.

[mdt]

lol. Funniest show ever made.

[The Pork Hunt]

[mdt]

So, my Sony VAIO eventually arrived. SSD rocks. Has taken me a couple of hours to bring the computer up to date. Normally takes me a day.

[tenji]

Actually, now that I think of it, transferring my outlook data to the mac equivalent would be a nightmare. Think I'll stick with a PC.

I'd kinda like the reliability of a Mac though.

Edit: Just bought a new VAIO off eBay: NEW Model Sony Vaio F Laptop 16.4" FULLHD 2nd Gen i7 8GB 512GB SSD BLURAY HDMI

Postage from Nigeria is cheap!

I've actually just done the transition. And transferring everything across took me a couple of hours was very easy too!

[IML337]

Yeah Windows 8 is still months away.

Why do you keep buying Sony Laptops when they do nothing but drive you crazy?

My X220 had a decent fall from the couch onto a ceramic floor, and after pressing the keyboard back into place it's 100% perfect. Can't recommend it highly enough.

[mdt]

Yeah Windows 8 is still months away.

Why do you keep buying Sony Laptops when they do nothing but drive you crazy?

My X220 had a decent fall from the couch onto a ceramic floor, and after pressing the keyboard back into place it's 100% perfect. Can't recommend it highly enough.

For the most part, my Sonys have been relatively trouble free. I only come on here to whinge when something goes wrong. When I consider that I carry them with me virtually everywhere I go, I reckon they're pretty good.

I won't be buying them from the Sony Store again though, when I asked them whether they could get the same spec I got off fleabay, they told me that he had never heard of a VAIO with the same configuration. They're only selling them with 256gb storage, which is just not good enough IMO.

[sweatyworker]

Jebus I loath Mac OS... I love the mini as a piece of hardware and it halved my power consumption compared to my old desktop tower.

Need a grunty build it yourself low power option for a windows box

[IML337]

Jebus I loath Mac OS... I love the mini as a piece of hardware and it halved my power consumption compared to my old desktop tower.

Need a grunty build it yourself low power option for a windows box

I've had it on the brain for a while now to replace my desktop tower PC with a Mac Mini, and use Bootcamp to run Win7 on it. The Mac Mini is grunty enough for most home tasks, isn't it? Maybe not for gaming though...

What about a Shuttle? I've seen them here with stonking CPUs in them for about AUD$600-700.

[Zorg2]

Nice specs matty hope this one stays reliable

[mdt]

This computer just keeps on getting better.

It backed up 100gb of data in about 20 minutes via a USB 3 drive. On my old laptop, it would have taken 8 hours or so.

I've also discovered that solid state drives also don't need defragmenting.

[The Pork Hunt]

This computer just keeps on getting better.

It backed up 100gb of data in about 20 minutes via a USB 3 drive. On my old laptop, it would have taken 8 hours or so.

I've also discovered that solid state drives also don't need defragmenting.

Not that they dont "need" it, u can **** it up by doing so but honestly anyone whos defragmented a hdd since the 1990's is a time wasting spastic anywhoos

[IML337]

Not that they dont "need" it, u can **** it up by doing so but honestly anyone whos defragmented a hdd since the 1990's is a time wasting spastic anywhoos

haha yeah, I can't recall the last time I did a defrag.

You're right though Matt, USB 3.0 and a Solid State Drive = super fast. 5ghz Wireless N is also really fast, if you have a 5ghz router.

[mdt]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean Tim. If I have ADSL2, can I get faster internet speeds by upgrading my router?

[The Pork Hunt]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean Tim. If I have ADSL2, can I get faster internet speeds by upgrading my router?

Nah, Having used your wirless/adsl i would doubt it, its pretty fast.. Tim just lives in a monkey cage and cant get a good regular 2.4 ghz signal, u'd have no drama streaming HD etc on your network from what i saw

[mdt]

After reading Floody's fb post about someone who got his phone and laptop hacked, it got me thinking about the case for encrypting my laptop.

Has anyone does this? Is it a good idea? What are the downsides?

[lem0naid]

forgotten password...?

Has anyone does this? Is it a good idea? What are the downsides?

[The Pork Hunt]

After reading Floody's fb post about someone who got his phone and laptop hacked, it got me thinking about the case for encrypting my laptop.

Has anyone does this? Is it a good idea? What are the downsides?

I guess you're probably talking about the wired journalist? As per usual it was a purely social engineering "hack". Encrypition wouldn't have made a difference it was because of the linking of all sorts of online accounts, passwords that are easy to.obtain if U know a bit about the person etc.
if you want the best advice, use different passwords (i use 1337speak' song lyrics because its easy to remember) "secret questions" for security on accounts shouldn't be the actual real answer (because people can find them out) also try to keep the email you use for really important things not the one advertised on your social media sites etc

Oh and if U think your old mind can't keep track of all the accounts, email addresses and passwords its more secure to have them all written down on a piece of paper stored somewhere like a safe rather than using password managers or storing them in a textfile etc

[mdt]

I guess you're probably talking about the wired journalist? As per usual it was a purely social engineering "hack". Encrypition wouldn't have made a difference it was because of the linking of all sorts of online accounts, passwords that are easy to.obtain if U know a bit about the person etc.
if you want the best advice, use different passwords (i use 1337speak' song lyrics because its easy to remember) "secret questions" for security on accounts shouldn't be the actual real answer (because people can find them out) also try to keep the email you use for really important things not the one advertised on your social media sites etc

Oh and if U think your old mind can't keep track of all the accounts, email addresses and passwords its more secure to have them all written down on a piece of paper stored somewhere like a safe rather than using password managers or storing them in a textfile etc

That's what I need to know. Thanks Wes.

[IML337]

Take the time to read the wired article about it Matt, and his subsequent follow ups (when they get published). Because the guy that got hacked is a journo he has the ability to articulate what happened in a way that most folks can understand. It's interesting reading.

[sweatyworker]

After reading Floody's fb post about someone who got his phone and laptop hacked, it got me thinking about the case for encrypting my laptop.

Has anyone does this? Is it a good idea? What are the downsides?

Our work laptops use Pointsec to write all data encrypted. Good points: If you shut down Windows cleanly then it's quite difficult to access the data.

Bad Points: If you don't shut down cleanly then you are screwed because the encryption software can't write to the Master Boot record and then you can't boot into Windows. If you just lock your screen or use sleep mode you aren't fully protected. If you are just using windows you aren't necessarily protected till it writes your data.

I've read one article from that guy and I'd say it makes a case for having a good old POP3 mail account with a trad ISP rather than relying on cloud mail. Just my 0.02