kirabug’s idea files

Think they want you to back up?

GraveWarning.jpg 800×539 pixels

Speaking of which, when did you back up lately?

So, uh, we were without a database for a little while this evening, but it’s back now.

…

I, uh, think I’m gonna go run some backups, just to ease my nerves.

Which reminds me: if you’re in NaNoWriMo, or you’ve done anything else of note in the past few weeks that you don’t want to lose by freak accident, this is a good time to back up. Yes, right now, while you’re thinking about it.

Go on. I’ll wait.

One of the chatboards I wander through on occasion is currently being blocked by a Denial of Service attack. In reading about the attack, I found a link to an article entitled The Attacks on GRC.COM (and no, there’s no relation between Gibson Research Company and me).

Anyway, it’s worth a read.

Either way, now that you’re thinking about it, you should:

• Run Windows Update or Apple Software Update to make sure your computer is running the latest software and security patches
• Make sure your virus software is up-to-date. (Or search for “free virus scan” on your favorite search engine and use one of the online scanners. Note: these usually only work on PCs, not Macs.)
• Make sure you’re running a good firewall — or at least check to make sure your computer’s covered. Visit Symantec’s homepage and click the “Symantec security check” link in the leftmost column for a check. (This does work on Macs.)
• RUN A BACKUP OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT STUFF.

If you find something wrong, you don’t necessarily have to run out to the store right now and fix it (though if I were in your shoes I probably would), but PLEASE SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPUTER when you’re not using it if it’s not secure. A computer that has no power can neither be attacked nor attack others.

Yeah, so last night at about 11:30, I was working on some code for a little side-project while watching the Phillies game and generally trying to spin down from a crazy day. I got about 2/3 of what I needed done, and I tried to push a new stylesheet up to the system, when suddenly everything choked. Dreamweaver, which is prone to the occasional odd error message, informed me that it couldn’t upload the file in question because, well, the file didn’t exist, or maybe I didn’t have permission to use it.

And, well, that’s bunk, because I’m the ONLY one with permission to use these files, and this particular one had been uploaded mere minutes before. So I logged on to my web host and decided to manually upload the file instead…. only to discover that Dreamweaver wasn’t lying; the directory I was working in was empty. So were most of the others. Most of the pages here woudn’t load, and a good chunk of my other work was just plain gone.

Panic ensued.

I sent a note to the support team, waited a few minutes, and watched as one by one entire directories just poofed. No backup files, no forum, no wordpress… Another panicked note to the support team. This time, a response: they’re aware of it and working on it and it’ll be up within the hour. But that was at 1 AM and I have to be to work early today for a meeting. (yay meeting.)

Did you ever go to bed at night and wonder if everything you’d done was going to be there in the morning? Not a comfy feeling. I think I “get” Neverending Story in a whole new way now.

After a fitful night sleep, I’m back, and so is everything else. The support team was, as always, good to their word. And I am immediately applying what I learned. First, a backup was done. (I do these regularly, but not regularly enough.) And second, I’ve added a link to my Xanga blog in the links section. Strangely, when everything else was disappearing rapidly last night, the homepage was still there, so the links section was still functional. If all else has failed, I’m relatively sure Xanga will still be standing, and since it doesn’t live on the same server as everything else, it’s a decent place to post updates when I can’t post updates. Of course, in case of catastrophe, homepage mileage may vary, so you may want to make note of that one somewhere if you haven’t already.

So anyway, mental breakdown over, and I have to get my butt to work. Here’s hoping the next 24 hours contains fewer heart-attack inducing elements for all of us.

Ouch.

Backup takes care of most of my stuff - up to the iDisk - on a nightly basis, but not the comics or the photos. I’m running my backup processes right now.