Q: I just read your column about getting good tech support for computers. Step two in that column says I should write down the make and model number of the computer, plus the serial number. That's easier said than done. I am partially disabled. Finding the make and model number, plus serial number, of my computer is not so easy. It requires bending and stretching and squinting to find the numbers.
Ed Zgonc
A: In that same column, I mentioned a free program called Belarc. Just go to www.belarc.com and download it. When you run it, Belarc will give you an incredibly detailed list of how your computer is set up and the accessories you have installed. It also will give you the name and model of your computer. I've noticed that it even gives the service tag number -- the number used when communicating with the company -- for my Dell computer. It's a fine program and only available as a free download.
Q: I have read many times that it is important to change passwords frequently. It seems to me that, if my password gets uncovered, it will be used immediately, so it should make no difference whether or not it has been changed frequently. What do you think?
George Stewart
A: You make a good point. However, there are good reasons to change the password frequently. Not all stolen passwords are used immediately. At times, hackers harvest a bunch of passwords and user names. That happens all too frequently these days when a hacker breaks into a commercial server that stores customer information. Once that server is breached, the user names and passwords become a commodity that can be sold as a large list to other hackers and computer criminals. Some time may pass before they're actually used. And all that becomes increasingly dangerous since many users -- incorrectly -- use the same password for multiple sites.
Q: I have an old hard disk that no longer works. My wife wants to get some recipes and other documents off it. We have looked into data recovery but the quotes range from $200 to the thousands. I would appreciate your input on hard disk data recovery and its success and cost.
Allen Stewart
A: The likelihood of recovering data depends on several things. If the problem is just scrambled software, there are data recovery programs that can recover the information right at home -- no expensive outside help needed. But if the disk isn't working because of electronic or mechanical failure, then it probably would take a professional to recover the data.
A good start is to use a program such as GetDataBack. You can download itm at http://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm. What you'll get is a crippled version of the full program. You can use it at no cost to see if the data can be recovered. If it can, you may decide it's worth paying the $70 to $80 for software to be able to save those files.
If that doesn't work, you're faced with dealing with a commercial data recovery service. You can find services lusing a Google search with these words: hard disk data recovery. You'll see that many of these companies only charge if they can recover the data. But still, as you've discovered, the price can be very high. That's why I repeat myself so often in the column, urging people to back up the data on their computer. It costs nothing to do that using Windows' built-in back up program. And if your disk crashes, there's no need to worry about expensive data recovery methods.
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