The most important thing for me to save are my Outlook Express emails and my Roboform passwords. That way I can at least access all the places I need, to download and re-install all the software I use.
Thankfully I was able to still access my Laptop and very, very slowly (the system was painfully slow because of the damge done by the virus) start a process of trying to save my system without having to reformat the whole disk. I say thankfully because after a virus attack not everyone is able to even access the system.
I tried anti-virus software, I attempted to fix things using the various "malicious advertising" expulsion applications (Ad-aware, Spybot etc.). All to no avail. After almost three days I resigned myself to the fact that it would have to be a re-format which means restoring my Laptop to factory settings. What a nightmare!
First of all I made a backup of my Outlook express email software, emails, account settings etc. For this I downloaded a great little free trial software application called Outlook Express Back Up Wizard. This software met by needs better than others I tried.
If you don't use Outlook Express then you can download others by searching here:
The I did a search for some backup software to back up the files that I could and also to use for future occasions. After trying a few that either wouldn't work on my system, or didn't back up to the medium that I wanted(CD Rom Discs) I found a great tool that just did the trick and in fact I plan to buy as soon as the free trial is up. The software is called "NTI Backup Now 4 Deluxe Suite" and it is so straightforward that even a tech dummy like me found it simple.
I added my Roboform passwords, my Internet Explorer favourites, my Outlook Express backup, my Microsoft Money backup files(For accounting purposes), as many software installation files as I had and most of the files and folders that I have used recently.
Of course what I also ralised is that I have not kept the Install files of loads of the software that I have on my Laptop. Bad mistake! This means that I will have to go search for these again to download to my reformatted system.
What I will do in future is save every Install file in it's own folder with passwords, serial numbers and any other useful info in a notepad file alongside them.
The hard lesson I have learned is to make sure in future I do frequent backups of my system. I have been online since 1998 and never had any major problems. This is the first and I foolishly underestimated the damage a virus could do.
My next step is to get an external drive to use as a backup and as I mentioned to use it frequently.
I hope this has given you some food for thought. As I sign off here I am going to insert my Toshiba Product Recovery CD-Rom.
If I had taken the necessary precautions I wouldn't have just lost three days of my time. Three days I could have been putting to better use.
Ah well, there is positive in every bad situation. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself:-).
Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned
Dive! Dive! Dive!
Have you seen action movies that show a secret agent or a cop dodging bullets while hurriedly putting on some scuba diving gear, and then plunging into the clear blue sea? Action movies like that from Hollywood often take a lot of preparation and actors don't immediately just put on a set of scuba gear and jump into the sea without getting any training !!! While some would think that a body-double or a stuntman is playing the role, it is often the actors themselves who dive, but whoever it is, they definitely needed to take a scuba diving course to be able to dive safely.
Scuba diving is not just wearing a scuba tank on your back, and breathing under water, even the breathing part is not just about inhaling and exhaling, there are many techniques on how to coordinate your breathing with different body positions and underwater conditions. Mistakes can lead to serious incidents which is why Hollywood production studios seek the knowledge and advice of trained scuba diving instructors.
Now where do they get an instructor for scuba diving, you might ask? And how do we know that what these diving instructors might be teaching us is not a bunch of hoopla? Well, there's a scuba diving training agency called the Professional Association of Diving Instructors or PADI and it oversees much of the scuba training worldwide, as well as providing PADI Instructor Development Courses or IDC to professional divers, so that they know what to do in different diving situations, and are allowed to teach people a variety of PADI courses. Scuba diving courses and Instructor training may vary slightly among different localities or countries, but they mostly follow the standards provided by PADI.
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors also oversees the implementation of different scuba diving instructional technologies. They make sure that different educational tools and media are maximized for advanced and novice instructors. PADI ensures that the latest methods and technologies are rigorously scrutinized before divers try them out and this helps prevent unwanted mishaps in a variety of different diving activities.
One of PADIs goals is to provide comprehensive training to aspiring scuba diving instructors. Many people find scuba diving instructorship a challenging and fulfilling career, PADI IDCs are available to anyone with the necessary prerequisites. Teaching people how to scuba dive requires a lot of training, logging a number of hours in the actual diving environment as well as passing the PADI IDC. PADI IDC requires instructors to have certain minimum training underwater before they can be accepted into a PADI Instructor Development Course. It is also imperative that PADI diving instructors are well rounded in facing different emergency situations. While diving, there are cases when people experience problems with their equipment or certain environmental conditions. PADI IDC Phuket instructors should be more than ready to respond to these problems and help their diving students get through any stressful situations. There are certain medical requirements and equipment checks performed prior to the dive. People who are ill or are suffering from certain physical conditions or are not physically fit to dive are required to stay out of the water.
PADI IDC provides a fun and relaxed training environment for a lot of aspiring diving instructors. In famous diving spots like Phuket, PADI IDC Phuket provides monthly PADI IDCs for potential diving instructors. PADI diving courses are very strict, and although diving is a fun and safe activity, most diving instructors always feel a great deal of responsibility for their student's welfare underwater. So for PADI IDC Phuket safety and fun come first !!!
Both Mal Keenan & David Yuri are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mal Keenan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Make Money Online and Public Relations. Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Tips Newsletter.For An Online Home Business You Can REALLY Believe In Check Out:. Mal Keenan's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
David Yuri has sinced written about articles on various topics from Games, Health and Forex Trading Forex. Learn what it takes to be a instructor. Get the right information about PADI IDC. And Learn about. David Yuri's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.
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