Choosing Backup and Recovery Solutions for the Virtual Environment

One of the least popular action words in computing – perhaps not the runaway leader – but it’s up there – backup. 

One of the most expensive undertakings in computing – perhaps not the most expensive – but it’s up there – the painful crisis following a system failure without a – backup.

There’s no need to remind regular readers of the inevitability of a hard drive crash and of the necessity of running with a proactive backup strategy – they get it (I think     )

But, given the accelerating pace of change in the small business market – most particular in the use of  virtual machines, small business owners may well need a quick refresher in how to implement a strategy which ensure both physical and virtual environments are actively protected.

Here’s a timely guest article from Michael Krutikov, a Product Marketing Manager over at Symantec, in which Michael explains how to get it right.

————————————————————————————————–

In a virtual environment, each host server has the potential to become a single point of failure for business-critical applications. Because of this, businesses need to invest in practically invulnerable backup and recovery solutions that have been specifically designed for the virtual environment – as well as the physical environment.

You could, of course, use one backup and recovery solution for your physical environment and purchase a second for your virtual environment, but that can introduce a whole host of problems that you may not have the time or resources to handle, like the need to manage a second interface, the disruption to your team – who has to learn it – and the cost for a second set of backup hardware and licenses. Instead, most experts recommend streamlining your backup and recovery needs by finding a single solution that protects both environments and will:

• Provide granular- and application-level recovery. To ensure that you can restore what you need, when you need it, make sure that your backup and recovery solution offers all levels of recovery, including full virtual machine, individual virtual disks, virtualized application & database servers, as well as files, folders and even individual emails. That way, you can get your most critical business components back up and running quickly.
• Deduplicate (data deduplication is a specialized data compression technique for eliminating duplicate copies of repeating data), across both physical and virtual environments. When you deduplicate data across both the physical and virtual environments, you’re able to not only save large amounts of disk space as compared to compression or single-instance storage, but you can reduce backup storage costs and backup window times, as well.
• Include storage efficient backup. This improved form of data backup will exclude deleted blocks from a backup to increase your storage efficiency.
• Automatically convert physical backups to virtual machines. By choosing a backup and recovery solution with this feature, you’re able restore physical servers to virtual machines, and it eliminates the need to have an already-configured, physical server ready to go in case of a failure.
• Offers physical server and multi-hypervisor support. Because many organizations are running multiple hypervisors, finding a solution that supports them all will simplify your backup complexity, and management – and help reduce your licensing costs.

To ensure that your backup and recovery solution keeps even new virtual machines protected, be sure to look for one that will automatically detect new machines as they come online. That way, your team won’t have to spend time and energy searching for new machines – or editing backup up policies when new applications move to different hosts.

Michael Krutikov is a Product Marketing Manager, supporting Backup Exec since joining Symantec in 2007. With a 14 year career in IT, he now works on marketing partnerships and programs built from thousands of meetings with partners and customers in a constant learning mission to deliver Symantec solutions that can better address their needs.

Malware Hunting? Checkout These 20 + Free Tools Designed To Destroy Tough Malware

Choosing and using the right tool, which has been designed specifically for the job at hand, is obviously a levelheaded approach. Still, I’ll wager that you can conjure up more than one occasion when you’ve encountered the “one tool for all purposes” mindset – the so-called “Birmingham Screwdriver” effect – “If it doesn’t work – hit it. If it still doesn’t work, use a bigger hammer.”

The Birmingham Screwdriver approach, taken by many AV solutions, may not always be the most appropriate approach to eradicating a tough malware problem – a specially designed application which targets specific classes of malware may be a better solution.

The following tools have been specifically designed to help skilled users better identify malware infections and then, eradicate (hopefully), those specific infections. These tools require advanced computer knowledge – unless you feel confident in your diagnostic skills, you should avoid them.

Just to be clear – not all of these tools are “one-click simple” to decipher, and users need to be particularly mindful of false positives.

Should you choose to add these applications to your antimalware toolbox, be aware that you will need the latest updated version for maximum impact.

Note: Many of the following tools have been tested and reviewed here previously.

Emsisoft HiJackFree

The program operates as a detailed system analysis tool that can help you in the detection and removal of Hijackers, Spyware, Adware, Trojans, Worms, and other malware. It doesn’t offer live protection but instead, it examines your system, determines if it’s been infected, and then allows you to wipe out the malware.

Runscanner

If you’re a malware hunter, and you’re in the market for a free system utility which will scan your system for running programs, autostart locations, drivers, services and hijack points, then Runscanner should make your shortlist. The developers of Runscanner describe this freeware utility as having been designed to “detect changes and misconfigurations in your system caused by spyware, viruses, or human error.”

HijackThis

HijackThis is a free utility which heuristically scans your computer to find settings that may have been changed by homepage hijackers, spyware, other malware, or even unwanted programs. In addition to this scan and remove capability HijackThis comes with several tools useful in manually removing malware from a computer. The program doesn’t target specific programs, but instead it analyses registry and file settings, and then targets the methods used by cyber-crooks. After you scan your computer, HijackThis creates a report, and a log file (if you choose to do so), with the results of the scan.

RKill

RKill is a program developed at BleepingComputer.com – “It was created so that we could have an easy to use tool that kills known processes that stop the use of our normal anti-malware applications. Simple as that. Nothing fancy. Just kill known malware processes so that anti-malware programs can do their job.”

Emsisoft BlitzBlank

BlitzBlank is a tool for experienced users and all those who must deal with Malware on a daily basis. Malware infections are not always easy to clean up. In more and more cases it is almost impossible to delete a Malware file while Windows is running. BlitzBlank deletes files, Registry entries and drivers at boot time before Windows and all other programs are loaded.

McAfee Labs Stinger

Stinger is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses. It is not a substitute for full anti-virus protection, but rather a tool to assist administrators and users when dealing with an infected system. Stinger utilizes next generation scan engine technology, including process scanning, digitally signed DAT files, and scan performance optimizations.

Specialty Removal Tools From BitDefender

28 special removal tools from Bitdefender.  On the page – click on “Removal Tools”.

Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool

This tool checks your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove the infection if it is found. Microsoft will release an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month.

NoVirusThanks

NoVirusThanks Malware Remover is an application designed to detect and remove specific malware, Trojans, worms and other malicious threats that can damage your computer. It can also detect and remove rogue security software, spyware and adware. This program is not an Antivirus and does not protect you in real time, but it can help you to detect and remove Trojans, spywares and rogue security software installed in your computer.

Norton Power Eraser

Symantec describes Norton Power Eraser in part, as a tool that “takes on difficult to detect crimeware known as scareware or rogueware. The Norton Power Eraser is specially designed to aggressively target and eliminate this type of crimeware and restore your PC back to health.”

FreeFixer

FreeFixer is a general purpose removal tool which will help you to delete potentially unwanted software, such as adware, spyware, Trojans, viruses and worms. FreeFixer works by scanning a large number of locations where unwanted software has a known record of appearing or leaving traces. FreeFixer does not know what is good or bad so the scan result will contain both files and settings that you want to keep and perhaps some that you want to remove.

Rootkit Tools:

If you think you might have hidden malware on your system, I recommend that you run multiple rootkit detectors. Much like anti-spyware programs, no one program catches everything.

IceSword

IceSword is a very powerful software application that will scan your computer for rootkits. It also displays hidden processes and resources on your system that you would be unlikely to find in any other Windows Explorer like program. Because of the amount of information presented in the application, please note that IceSword was designed for more advanced users.

GMER

This freeware tool is essentially a combination of Sysinternals’ Rootkit Revealer and Process Explorer. The program can list running processes, modules and Windows services, in addition to scanning for the presence of rootkits.

Special mention 1:

MalwareBytes – In addition to its superb free AV application, MalwareBytes offers a basket full of specialty tools. The following application descriptions have been taken from the site.

Chameleon

Malwarebytes Chameleon technology gets Malwarebytes running when blocked by malicious programs.

Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit BETA

Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit removes the latest rootkits.

FileASSASSIN

FileASSASSIN can eradicate any type of locked files from your computer.

RegASSASSIN

RegASSASSIN removes malware-placed registry keys in two simple steps – just reset permissions and delete! This powerful and portable application makes hard-to-remove registry keys a thing of the past.

Special mention 2:

A Rescue Disk (Live CD), which I like to think of as the “SWAT Team” of antimalware solutions – is an important addition to your malware toolbox. More often than not, a Live CD can help you kill malware DEAD!

Avira AntiVir Rescue System – The Avira AntiVir Rescue System a Linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore. Thus it is possible to repair a damaged system, to rescue data or to scan the system for virus infections.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk – Boot from the Kaspersky Rescue Disk to scan and remove threats from an infected computer without the risk of infecting other files or computers.

Free BootMed For Your Sick PC

I’ve covered a boatload of  free Live CDs (a boot disk on a CD) in the last few years, including – Boot, Recovery, Rescue, Antivirus, and so on. To work effectively with such tools generally demands a very high level of user experience with operating systems, which effectively restricts usage to geeks or, the occasional very daring newbie.

I’ve just spent a week, or so, testing BootMed, a Ubuntu Linux driven set of recovery tools which is a little different than most such tool sets – it’s much more new user friendly.

On launch, BootMed defaults to Firefox which opens on the developer’s site – “What can BootMed do”.

That’s a bit of a twist on most recovery tools/disks/applications, since the developer has recognized that not all users have the practical background, or the experience, to work with these types of tools unaided.

The tutorials (walk- throughs) on this page (What can BootMed do) – shown below – should make working with the specific applications included on the CD/DVD much easier for less experienced users than it would be otherwise. Kudos to the developer on this one.

Recovery

• Troubleshoot Windows Boot Problems
• Copy files from a computer that will not boot to a pen drive or external hard drive
• Scan for viruses with
  • Stinger
  • ClamWin
• Make a forensic image of a damaged or corrupted hard drive with dd-rescue and recover files from the image
• Recover deleted files with:
  • TestDisk
  • PhotoRec
  • Foremost
• Recover a deleted partition with TestDisk

Misc.

• Create a virtual machine from a physical computer
• Wipe (securely erase) a Hard Drive or Pen Drive

More experienced users will simply venture straight to the Desktop to access the available tools.

The following screen capture illustrates the applications available.

Note: Under “Applications”, additional tools are available.

You can see from the following screen capture, BootMed allows the user to access all attached devices (and their files), from the “Computer” icon.

The following two graphics show the AV’s available. Both AVs will automatically update their definition database – provided the PC is connected to the Internet.

McAfee’s Stinger – a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.

ClamWin Free Antivirus – ClamWin is a free antivirus designed for Windows.

Two file recovery applications are available including PhotoRec, a powerful recovery application.

And TestDisk, which adds additional functionality – including partition recovery.

There are many more applications included in this bag of tools including – GParted partition manager, as well as WINE, which will allow you to run Windows applications from within BootMed.

The CD/DVD burning application Brasero (available under “Applications”), is shown in the following screen shot.

System requirements: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Download 32 bit ISO at: Download.com

Download 64 bit ISO at: Download.com

I particularly like BootMed since it allows a fairly typical user access to complex tools while at the same time, not feeling abandoned in the scary world of operating systems. The developer has recognized this chill factor, and does a fair amount of “hand holding” – I think that’s very cool.

If you’re now a geek, or a high level user, think back to the days when you could have used some “hand holding”. If you were lucky enough to get it, I think you’ll agree that “hand holding” can make a major difference.

Don’t have a CD/DVD drive? Then – install BootMed to a USB flash drive. Easy to follow instructions are here.

Download Free BootMed – PC Medicine That Works

I’ve covered a load of  free Live CDs here in the last few years, including – Boot, Recovery, Rescue, Antivirus ……….. To work effectively with such tools though, demands a very high level of user experience with operating systems which, effectively restricts usage to geeks or, the occasional very daring newbie.

I’ve just spent a week, or so, testing BootMed, a Ubuntu Linux driven set of recovery tools which is just a little different than most such tool sets, inasmuch as it’s much more new user centric than most.

On launch, BootMed defaults to Firefox which opens on the developer’s site – “What can BootMed do”.

That’s a bit of a twist on most recovery tools/disks/applications, since the developer has recognized that not all users have the practical background, or the experience, to work with these type of tools unaided.

The tutorials – What can BootMed do – shown below – should make working with the specific applications included on the CD/DVD much easier for less experienced users than it would be otherwise. Kudos to the developer on this one.

Recovery

• Troubleshoot Windows Boot Problems
• Copy files from a computer that will not boot to a pen drive or external hard drive
• Scan for viruses with
  • Stinger
  • ClamWin
• Make a forensic image of a damaged or corrupted hard drive with dd-rescue and recover files from the image
• Recover deleted files with:
  • TestDisk
  • PhotoRec
  • Foremost
• Recover a deleted partition with TestDisk

Misc

• Create a virtual machine from a physical computer
• Wipe (securely erase) a Hard Drive or Pen Drive

More experienced users will simply venture straight to the Desktop to access the available tools.

The following screen capture illustrates the applications available.

Note: Under “Applications”, additional tools are available.

You can see from the following screen capture, that BootMed allows the user to access all attached devices (and their files), from the “Computer” icon.

The following two graphics show the AV’s available. Both AVs will automatically update their definition database – provided the PC is connected to the Internet.

McAfee’s Stinger – a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.

ClamWin Free Antivirus – ClamWin is a free antivirus designed for Windows.

Two file recovery applications are available including PhotoRec, a powerful recovery application.

And TestDisk, which adds additional functionality – including partition recovery.

There are many more applications included in this bag of tools including – GParted partition manager, as well as WINE, which will allow you to run Windows applications from within BootMed.

The CD/DVD burning application Brasero (available under “Applications”), is shown in the following screen shot.

System requirements: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Download 32 bit ISO at: Developer’s site.

Download 64 bit ISO at: Developer’s site.

Installing BootMed to a USB flash drive: If you do not have a cd-rom (e.g. a Netbook), you can install BootMed to a bootable USB flash drive. To do so you first need to download the cd, then follow these instructions.

I particularly like BootMed since it allows a fairly typical user access to complex tools while at the same time, not feeling abandoned in the scary world of operating systems. The developer has recognized this chill factor, and does a fair amount of “hand holding” – I think that’s very cool.

If you’re now a geek, or a high level user, think back to the days when you could have used some “hand holding”. If you were lucky enough to get it, I think you’ll agree that “hand holding” can make a major difference.

Rescue Your PC With Free Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Much of today’s malware is expert at hiding or camouflaging itself – making it both hard to detect, and obviously more difficult to remove. But, if you can get to malware before it has a chance to run live within the installed operating system – you have a real chance of detecting and eradicating the varmint.

This is where a Rescue Disk (Live CD), which I like to think of as the “SWAT Team” of antimalware solutions – comes into play. More often than not, a Live CD can help you kill malware DEAD!

It’s important to know though, not all antimalware Live CDs are in fact, “Rescue Disks”. And, not all “Rescue Disks” are in fact – antimalware Live CDs.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10, by far and away my antimalware tool of choice,  combines the best of both genres. Not only is is superb at identifying and removing malware but, with it’s onboard tool kit it, definitely qualifies as a Rescue Disk.

Note: Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10, is designed to scan, and disinfect, both 32 bit and 64 bit machines. As well, Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 can be run from a USB device.

The following is a quick walkthrough using Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 in both malware scanning and “tool kit” capacities.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 is available for download as an ISO file only, which means – you must burn the ISO image file to a CD/DVD, and then boot the application from your CD/DVD drive. If you’re unsure as to how to setup your machine to boot from your CD/DVD drive, PC Support at About.com has an easy to follow tutorial – How To Boot From a CD, DVD, or BD Disc.

If you don’t know how to burn an ISO image, you’ll find instructions below.

At boot-up, Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 runs through a fairly large number of routines so be patient until the main menu screen appears.

From the menu screen, run the update task which will update the anti-virus databases. Following which, you can then go to “Scan your computer” or….

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

…….. you can choose to configure the scan settings to your specific requirements.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

As the application is scanning, you will be reminded of both the percentage of objects scanned and, an estimated time to completion.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

The bonus features bolted on to Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 include:

Konqueror Web Browser

The Konqueror web browser integrated into Kaspersky Rescue Disk can view websites and save the pages you have visited. You can view all visited pages after exiting Kaspersky Rescue Disk. By default, the Kaspersky Lab website is displayed in the browser.

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Integrated File Manager and Registry Editor

The Integrated file manager will allow you to access the Hard Drive/s. As a last resort (if it comes to that),  you will be able to save your important files (any file for that matter), using this tool.

As well, using the Registry Editor, you will be able to view and change settings in your system registry,

Click on graphic to expand to original size.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 is an extremely powerful tool, with many more capabilities than I’ve been able to cover in this short review. I’m more than a little surprised that it can be downloaded at no cost. A serious computer user would do well to have this application ready to go when faced with one of those –  O No!!, moments.

To read a blow-by-blow description of Kaspersky Rescue Disk vs. Malware, checkout guest writer Mark Schneider’s – A Lesson In Malware Removal Using Kaspersky Rescue Disk, here on this site.

System requirements: Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or higher), Vista, Windows 7  (32/64 bit support for all).

Download the ISO image file at: Kaspersky

If you’re unsure as to how to burn an ISO image file to a CD/DVD in order to create a bootable disk, here’s an easy method. In this illustration I’m using a freeware application CDBurner XP.

1)  Activate  CDBurner XP.

2)  Insert a blank CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive.

3)  Click on “Burn ISO image”, which will open the write screen.

4)  Select kav_rescue_10.iso which will reside in the location in which you saved the file.

5)  Click on “Burn disc”

6)  Sit back and relax until the job is complete (2/3 minutes).

Tweaking.com Windows Repair Utility – What Super Users Say

Normally, I wouldn’t re-run an application review in less than twelve months – unless the features and benefits of the application had been upgraded, very substantially. Even so, I’m reposting my August 31 review of Tweaking.com Windows Repair, because of the following comments from regular readers and super users – Steve M. and Rocco T.

If you haven’t yet added this outstanding repair utility to you tech toolbox, you may reconsider after reading the following two comments.

Steve

September 1, 2011 at 10:49 pm

Excellent program. Just featured it twice in a week because it really saved us. I’m so use to re-registering files or doing fixes it is second nature. We just ran into a computer that the answer and suggestions on the web just didn’t work. The program re-registered over 1000 files and the pc was fixed. Ironically I had worked with it for two hours and remembered your review! SFC and every solution became fruitless.

TeXaCo

September 7, 2011 at 10:34 pm

I just wanted to let you know that my brother talked to me about problems on his computer where registry entries were apparently messed up. He could not open any word documents at all because they were all garbled with numbers and letters.

I didn’t know exactly what to tell him how to fix it and then I remembered you posting this so I told him to download this and try it out. Sure enough after using the registry repair at tweaking.com his computer is back to normal….without a reformat.

I just figured you would like to know. It saved me some headaches

Thanks for posting this

Original review – Tweaking.com Windows Repair – A One Click Simple Free Repair Utility

Since reviewing software (both free and commercial), is a good part of what I do as a blogger, I’ve tested and evaluated more than a thousand applications in the last few years.

Sprinkled amongst these applications has been a good selection of  “one click simple” computer maintenance solutions. But, “one click simple” computer repair solutions, have been conspicuous by their absence.

While freeware maintenance applications are readily available for download (and, many of them are very capable), finding a good, solid, freeware application, suitable for less technically inclined computer users, has been more of a challenge – until now.

Tweaking.com has just released (August 24, 2011), a super all-in-one repair tool called – what else – Windows Repair. Don’t be fooled by the plain name though. This small tool has plenty of functionality, including the ability to fix registry errors and file permissions – as well as issues with Internet Explorer, Windows Update, Windows Firewall, and more. Windows Repair can even restore Windows original settings which have been changed by malware – a common occurrence.

Fast facts – Windows Repair can do the following:

Reset Registry Permissions
Reset File Permissions
Register System Files
Repair WMI
Repair Windows Firewall
Repair Internet Explorer
Repair MDAC & MS Jet
Repair Hosts File
Remove Policies Set By Infections
Repair Icons
Repair Winsock & DNS Cache
Remove Temp Files
Repair Proxy Settings
Unhide Non System Files
Repair Windows Updates
and more…

As the following screen captures show – Windows Repair is not only simply to operate but, it “holds the user’s hand” while working through the repair process.

Note: All screen shots can be expanded to the original size by clicking.

For those users dealing with a malware infected system, the application directs to a number of anti-malware freebies so that the repair process can begin on the right footing.

As the application points out in the following screen shot, there’s nothing to be gained by completing a repair sequence if there are errors in the file system. While the system file check is optional, it makes good sense to run this tool.

Likewise, with the file version checking tool.

Prior to starting the repair process a System Restore option is available.

A quick piece of advice: never allow an application to make system changes, without creating a System Restore Point first.

The application provides a three level system of repairs – Basic Mode, Advanced Mode, and Custom Mode. I’ve shown the Basic Mode, and Custom Mode interfaces, in the following two screen captures.

Basic Mode:

Custom Mode:

Using Tweaking.com – Windows Repair by Majorgeeks.com (Click on graphic to play video).

System requirements: Windows XP, 2003, 2008, Vista, Win 7.

Download at: MajorGeeks

Windows Repair makes it easy to repair common Windows problems and, its ease of operation should make it ideal for less experienced users.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Tweaking.com Windows Repair – A One Click Simple Free Repair Utility

Since reviewing software (both free and commercial), is a good part of what I do as a blogger, I’ve tested and evaluated more than a thousand applications in the last few years.

Sprinkled amongst these applications has been a good selection of  “one click simple” computer maintenance solutions. But, “one click simple” computer repair solutions, have been conspicuous by their absence.

While freeware maintenance applications are readily available for download (and, many of them are very capable), finding a good, solid, freeware application, suitable for less technically inclined computer users, has been more of a challenge – until now.

Tweaking.com has just released (August 24, 2011), a super all-in-one repair tool called – what else – Windows Repair. Don’t be fooled by the plain name though. This small tool has plenty of functionality, including the ability to fix registry errors and file permissions – as well as issues with Internet Explorer, Windows Update, Windows Firewall, and more. Windows Repair can even restore Windows original settings which have been changed by malware – a common occurrence.

Fast facts – Windows Repair can do the following:

Reset Registry Permissions
Reset File Permissions
Register System Files
Repair WMI
Repair Windows Firewall
Repair Internet Explorer
Repair MDAC & MS Jet
Repair Hosts File
Remove Policies Set By Infections
Repair Icons
Repair Winsock & DNS Cache
Remove Temp Files
Repair Proxy Settings
Unhide Non System Files
Repair Windows Updates
and more…

As the following screen captures show – Windows Repair is not only simply to operate but, it “holds the user’s hand” while working through the repair process.

Note: All screen shots can be expanded to the original size by clicking.

For those users dealing with a malware infected system, the application directs to a number of anti-malware freebies so that the repair process can begin on the right footing.

As the application points out in the following screen shot, there’s nothing to be gained by completing a repair sequence if there are errors in the file system. While the system file check is optional, it makes good sense to run this tool.

Likewise, with the file version checking tool.

Prior to starting the repair process a System Restore option is available.

A quick piece of advice: never allow an application to make system changes, without creating a System Restore Point first.

The application provides a three level system of repairs – Basic Mode, Advanced Mode, and Custom Mode. I’ve shown the Basic Mode, and Custom Mode interfaces, in the following two screen captures.

Basic Mode:

Custom Mode:

Using Tweaking.com – Windows Repair by Majorgeeks.com (Click on graphic to play video).

System requirements: Windows XP, 2003, 2008, Vista, Win 7.

Download at: MajorGeeks

Windows Repair makes it easy to repair common Windows problems and, its ease of operation should make it ideal for less experienced users.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Got A Sick PC? Give It Some Free BootMed

I’ve covered a load of  free Live CDs here in the last few years, including – Boot, Recovery, Rescue, Antivirus ……….. To work effectively with such tools though, demands a very high level of user experience with operating systems which, effectively restricts usage to geeks or, the occasional very daring newbie.

I’ve just spent a week, or so, testing BootMed, a Ubuntu Linux driven set of recovery tools which is just a little different than most such tool sets, inasmuch as it’s much more new user centric than most.

On launch, BootMed defaults to Firefox which opens on the developer’s site – “What can BootMed do”.

That’s a bit of a twist on most recovery tools/disks/applications, since the developer has recognized that not all users have the practical background, or the experience, to work with these type of tools unaided.

The tutorials (walk- throughs) on this page )What can BootMed do) – shown below – should make working with the specific applications included on the CD/DVD much easier for less experienced users than it would be otherwise. Kudos to the developer on this one.

Recovery

• Troubleshoot Windows Boot Problems
• Copy files from a computer that will not boot to a pen drive or external hard drive
• Scan for viruses with
  • Stinger
  • ClamWin
• Make a forensic image of a damaged or corrupted hard drive with dd-rescue and recover files from the image
• Recover deleted files with:
  • TestDisk
  • PhotoRec
  • Foremost
• Recover a deleted partition with TestDisk

Misc

• Create a virtual machine from a physical computer
• Wipe (securely erase) a Hard Drive or Pen Drive

More experienced users will simply venture straight to the Desktop to access the available tools.

The following screen capture illustrates the applications available.

Note: Under “Applications”, additional tools are available.

You can see from the following screen capture, that BootMed allows the user to access all attached devices (and their files), from the “Computer” icon.

The following two graphics show the AV’s available. Both AVs will automatically update their definition database – provided the PC is connected to the Internet.

McAfee’s Stinger – a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.

ClamWin Free Antivirus – ClamWin is a free antivirus designed for Windows.

Two file recovery applications are available including PhotoRec, a powerful recovery application.

And TestDisk, which adds additional functionality – including partition recovery.

There are many more applications included in this bag of tools including – GParted partition manager, as well as WINE, which will allow you to run Windows applications from within BootMed.

The CD/DVD burning application Brasero (available under “Applications”), is shown in the following screen shot.

System requirements: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Download 32 bit ISO at: Download.com

Download 64 bit ISO at: Download.com

I particularly like BootMed since it allows a fairly typical user access to complex tools while at the same time, not feeling abandoned in the scary world of operating systems. The developer has recognized this chill factor, and does a fair amount of “hand holding” – I think that’s very cool.

If you’re now a geek, or a high level user, think back to the days when you could have used some “hand holding”. If you were lucky enough to get it, I think you’ll agree that “hand holding” can make a major difference.

If you’re not familiar with booting from a CD, checkout TechPaul’s – How to boot from a CD.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

A Computer Recovery Walkthrough With Free Trinity Rescue Kit

Popular guest writer Mark Schneider, walks you through a computer recovery operation using the Trinity Rescue Kit, which, as he puts it, “saved my bacon”.

Today, I was doing a little maintenance on my daughters Gateway laptop, uninstalling one anti-spyware program, and upgrading another to real-time protection. It seemed to go fine – I ran the Uninstall from Programs and Features in Vista, and enabled the full time protection in Malwarebytes, with the registration codes and rebooted.

When the computer shut down, I noticed it installing several updates. I didn’t think much of it at the time but when the machine restarted, the brown stuff hit the fan. I didn’t have any mouse! Even the Track pad was totally unresponsive. So, I plugged in a old USB trackball mouse, success!

I then clicked on the admin account I keep on the machine and went to type my password – nope, the keyboard didn’t work either. So I rebooted after plugging in my USB keyboard. Windows went through its usual routine and told me the keyboard had installed and was ready to use, except, it wasn’t. It wouldn’t work at all.

Basically, I was hosed! I couldn’t run the device manager from the limited account, or do a system restore. I had to get into the admin account, or I was stuck.

So I did what any red-blooded geek would do, I Googled “resetting a password in Vista”. I came up with usual Microsoft solution, you know the one where you use the password reset CD you made when you set up the computer, yep that one, the one no one ever makes!

Fortunately for me, I also found a reference to TRK or the Trinity Rescue Kit. TRK is a Linux based bootable CD, that can be used for resetting passwords, recovering files and a few other things relating to Windows calamities.

Publisher’s description: Trinity Rescue Kit or TRK is a free live Linux distribution that aims specifically at recovery and repair operations on Windows machines, but is equally usable for Linux recovery issues.

Once the CD booted normally, I typed in “winkey u admin” – this started TRK searching, and mounting all the files in the system. I choose “Enter” in the next dialog, and then typed an “*” confirmed this with a “y”, and this created a new administrator account with no password.

I was able to log into the Administrator account and then began the next phase of fixing the corrupted drivers. This took a little longer than I anticipated. I tried deleting the Track pad and keyboard in Device Manager , both had the little caution signs next to them indicating a damaged or corrupted driver; rebooted but this didn’t work.

I finally resolved the problem by using a restore point. Fortunately, you can get there with just a few clicks of the mouse. So I got lucky; the USB mouse worked, and the TRK worked after some trial and error.

Get the Trinity Rescue Kit here. I recommend it for your toolkit, it definitely saved my bacon.

Fast facts:

TRK is a complete command line based distribution, apart from a few tools like qtparted, links, partition image and midnight commander.

Full read/write and rpm support (since build 333)

Easily reset windows passwords (backup and restore option)

Four different virus scan products integrated in a single uniform command line with online update capability

Full ntfs write support thanks to ntfs-3g (all other drivers included as well)

Clone NTFS file systems over the network

Wide range of hardware support (kernel 2.6.39.3 and recent kudzu hwdata)

Easy script to find all local file systems

Self update capability to include and update all virus scanners

Full proxy server support

Run a samba fileserver (windows like file sharing)

Run an ssh server

Recovery and un-deletion of files with utilities and procedures

Recovery of lost partitions

Evacuation of dying disks

UTF-8 international character support

Powerful multicast disk cloning utility for any file system

Two rootkit detection utilities

Elaborate documentation

It is possible to boot TRK in three different ways:

As a bootable CD which you can burn yourself from a downloadable iso file.

From a USB stick/disk (optionally also a fixed disk), installable from Windows, or from the bootable TRK CD.

From network over PXE, which requires some modifications on your local network (version 3.2). Has the ability to act as a network boot server itself, without any modifications to your local network.

Trinity Rescue Kit is now in Version 3.4, and is better than ever before.

Getting started with TRK.

Download at: Developer’s site.

This is a guest post by Mark Schneider of the Techwalker Blog, who brings a background as a high level techie, to the blogging world. Why not pay a visit to Mark’s site today.

This article was originally posted here on March 11, 2010.

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Panda SafeCD – Plus Six More Free Recovery Tools

Sitting down and pushing the start button on your PC only to have it refuse to boot, will fit right in with anyone’s definition of frustration. It’s almost a personal thing – “why are you doing this to me?” But all is not lost.

Before you consign your dead PC to the garbage dump, or start considering just what kind of boat anchor you might craft, you should know that there are some terrific free tools that can help you recover (provided it’s a software issue).

These free applications are at the “Top of the Class”, in my view. Since I first wrote on this issue, back in June 2010, I’ve added Panda Security’s (the highly regarded developer of Panda Cloud free antivirus), Panda SafeCD, to the list below.

I’m not suggesting that you download them all but, if you have some spare CDs – why not? Or, do a little info gathering on the author’s site – then choose those that best meet your specific needs.

Hiren’s Boot CD

Hiren’s Boot CD is a boot disk containing various diagnostic programs such as partitioning agents, system performance benchmarks, disk cloning and imaging tools, data recovery tools, MBR tools, BIOS tools, and many others for fixing various computer problems.

Downloading this application is a bit of a hassle, since ownership of some of the utilities on the CD is open to interpretation.

Ultimate Boot CD for Windows

A terrific recovery CD for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing computer problems, but since it involves hands on “building skills” to compile the necessary tools, it’s not for everyone. Nevertheless, for those who have the skills, this utility is a “must have”.

Trinity Rescue Kit

Trinity Rescue Kit, or TRK, is a free live Linux distribution that aims specifically at recovery and repair operations on Windows machines, but is equally usable for Linux recovery issues.

Ubuntu Live CD

Can’t boot into Windows? Can’t figure out how you’re going to rescue all that data that you can’t reach? Ubuntu Live CD can come to the rescue. Need to connect to the Internet as part of your recovery process? No problem – Ubuntu Live CD makes it easy.

Specialty Recovery Tools:

Panda SafeCD

This useful utility comes in handy when you need to clean a friend’s PC (or your own), from a malware infected state. It is specially useful for detecting and disinfecting malware infections which give regular AV products running within Windows a hard time.

Features include: Automatic detection and removal of all types of malware. Boot from CD or USB stick. Supports using updated signature files. Supports 13 languages. Supports both FAT and NTFS drives.

The download consists of an ISO. You can either burn this into a CD/DVD or alternatively create a more convenient Boot USB stick by using something like the Universal Netboot Installer (UNetbootin).

Kaspersky Rescue Disk

This rescue CD can scan your boot sector, and your Hard Drives from the outside looking in. Malware doesn’t have a chance to hide if it’s not running. It’s become the first step I now use, when I’m dealing with an infected machine.

Avira AntiVir Rescue System

Avira AntiVir Rescue System is a Linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore. Thus it is possible to, repair a damaged system, rescue data, scan the system for virus infections.

Just a personal note: I scan all my machines with this application on a weekly basis.

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