Backup

[Annette]

Some of you may know that OH and I are not doing too well at the moment. He's my resident IT expert and as a result I have had to learn very little for myself so please bear with me in my ignorance as I try to explain what I want to know.

We have a wireless network. I have a desktop and an old-ish laptop. OH has the same upstairs.

OH is the Administrator and as such, can see my emails and everything else. Usually that wouldn't be a problem but at the moment I am not so happy about it.

Also, I have a few sensitive files which I would be very upset if they got lost for any reason.

SO....

is there any way I can do a backup from my desktop to my laptop, and would that be a safe way of protecting my stuff?

I have been looking at some external hard drives. Would it be very hard for a numpty like me to get one and do the backup? And how safe are they? Would I need to leave it plugged in or could I "put it away" somewhere?

Sorry, I really am very ignorant. I used to get very impatient with people like me when I was a single lady, but somehow I had to let him take responsibility for some stuff which means I really know nothing now. I will need step by step instructions and diagrams I am afraid!

[Coco]

The easiest thing to do would be set up an external email address like yahoo or hotmail or something and email the documents over to yourself as attachments from the existing email address, then delete them from the sent box. That way you could also use that address for the personal emails. You could downlaod the docjents onto your other machine or just keep them in the email folder then he will never be able to access them without a password. Just make sure you log into the account occasionally so that it doesn't deactivate (though I think it takes about 3 months of no useage for that to happen.
I take it you use outlook otherwise i'm not sure how he is able to see your email? Probably the easiest solution as you can then access the documents from any computer.

I hope you're not too low, thinking of you 

[Cob-Web]

An web-based e-mail address is a fab idea if you have a small number of documents - but the inboxes are quite small, and fill up rapidly 

A memory stick might be a solution to move files from one to the other, though.  These can hold quite a lot of data; and have the advantage of not needing any special drivers or software.  I think we have a freebie/spare memory-stick somewhere; drop me a PM and 'll pop one in the post for you with step-by-step instructions 

[Pammy]

It does rather depend on how much data you want to store. An external drive would probably be the best way to store everything and you can unplug it and put it away. If it is just a small amount then a memory stick is a good alternative but they are not very bif generally if it was a freebie - but you can buy them easily 2gb in size now and up to 4.

Deffo set up a web based email account then he won't be able to see what's what. You also do need to be careful though that he hasn't put on any key logger software. That records all your key strokes - and so identifies your passwords and what they are for, and screen shots of web activity etc. You wouldn't know it was there as it hides in the background and only the person who installed it can get at it. It doesn't appear on any programme lists. If he hasn't done it, you might want to think about putting some on. You can then see if he has been at your machine. But beware it's the kind of activity that can turn a problem into a major issue.

If you use MSN or similar you might also want to make sure it's not saving the logs of your conversations on your machine either.

[Annette]

Thanks for that. I'm of to Maplin in a minute.

Just another question:

If I get myself another email address, would he know? What I mean is if I use this computer to set it up, wouldn't he be able to see that? If I used my laptop (which isn't used all that much normally) would he be able to find out about it then? (I will have to find out how to do that too LOL!)

I don't think I will go down the key logger on yet. Not sure it's that bad yet. If it does get that bad then yes, we will part ways as far as the computers are concerned!

How can I check to see if our MSN is being logged? That might not be a bad thing. I will at least have a record of what he has been saying to me!

[Coco]

Just quickly.... My free Yahoo has 10m storage or for £11.99 a year you can double that, from all my uni work, work work etc documents, I still have it all saved in there without the upgrade so even with an external drive it may be woth backing up to email too in case you were to lose it or something.

Make sure you delete your internet history, temp files, cookies etc to make it slightly less easy than a click of a button to see what you have been looking at. To do this go to (In a web window) at the top - Tools> Internet options> and delete history, temp etc. It's in there somewhere but the exact way to get to it depends on which version of explorer you are running.

It depends just how much of a whiz he is as to what he will be able to access. Maybe best to use the lap top as a caution and set up a password on there to get into it.

Just about to pop out - hope someone can come along and give a more detailed answer 

[Annette]

It depends just how much of a whiz he is as to what he will be able to access. Maybe best to use the lap top as a caution and set up a password on there to get into it.

He works in IT!

[Coco]

uh-oh! Well TBH if he really, really wanted to, given his level of experience Vs yours he could probably do quite a bit to see what you're up to. Do you only have internet access at home? Could be worth trying to avoid keeping on/doing anything private on your home computer if you really do have concernes about his accessing it all. I'd also say, try to stick to the lap-top now too.
And, just a thought, he would be able to read all of this too 
Best play ignorance if he doesn't expect you to know how to hide anything he won't know to look!

[Annette]

Yes I know.

He's not a bad man, but we aren't doing too well at the moment and there are some things I would rather keep to myself. Nothing sinister though!

OK, well I have bought a USB flash drive. But don't knoe how to transfer my files over (told you I was a numpty!)

Mostly Word files. I tough I had understood what the guy in the shop said, but obviously not.




OK, I am dumb, but not terminally stupid. I have sorted myself out now, thanks for your help.

Got a lovely little thingy from PC world; 4Gb, £19.99!!! Way to much space for what I need. So, now I think about it, I could have taken you up on your offer Rachel. Thanks for that, Hon. Very appreciated.