Weekly Q&A: Recover deleted files on a hard drive
Question:
I deleted a user account on my XP Pro machine. I’d never done this before. In spite of my computer education, I wasn’t familiar with what actually takes place, and I just didn’t think! I’m a businessperson and busy.
Question: Is there a way that I can recover the deleted files on this hard drive? I did some online reading. Some programs are available. (I trust none of them, especially since this is my business computer.)
Answer:
This has been a fairly common problem in Windows. When people are having problems, they often think that deleting the user account may clear up the situation. However, in deleting the user accounts there is an option to not delete all the associated files. If you didn’t delete all of the user files, then you should be able to log on as Administrator and find the files under Documents and Settings, plus the old user name.
However, if you did delete all the files, then your only option appears to be data-recovery programs. Rather than searching the Web for programs, it’s best to go to a site such as CNET’s Download.com. At Download.com, many of the programs are rated by both the editors and the users. These should be clean programs, as complaints would cause the software download to be pulled off the site.
Also of interest is the number of people who have downloaded the program. The more who have used it, the more likely that it is a safe program. The following is a link to the free Windows data-recovery programs at CNET Download.com.
How Recession-Proof Is IT?
There are just as many surveys and reports making the case for or debunking the assertion that we are currently in a recession.
Likewise, when it comes to IT spending, the results vary in terms of severity but the fact is that businesses across the country are currently reining in technology budgets because of slowing economic growth across the board.
One need only look to three industry heavyweights in software, hardware software and Internet search and advertising to gauge what chief information officers and their cohorts in the finance department might be thinking when it comes to expenditures on enterprise technology.
For instance, Cisco Systems may predict in its upcoming earnings report that revenue will be little changed or perhaps even in decline from the previous three months according to recent analyst report by Nikos Theodosopoulos of Swiss investment bank UBS..
Moreover, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said in May that demand in the U.S., which accounted for about half of annual revenue, has "softened."
Microsoft, meanwhile, is one of the few technology giants not too adversely affected by slowdowns as sales of Windows were strong for the three months ended June 30. However, its near ubiquitous Microsoft Office software suite missed the company’s sales goals for a second straight quarter amid flatter demand and high piracy rates in places China.
More telling is the prospects for the area in which Redmond seems to be making a strategic shift, the Internet. Microsoft’s Internet advertising also fell short of its targets as it lost business to Google.
Yet Google, Microsoft’s fiercest competitor in the space in mid-July released second-quarter results for the three months ending June 30, showing that while net income had risen by more than a third to $1.25 billion, the increase was slightly lower than expected.
A problem area for many businesses these days, according to IT pro Don Leatham, is whether to purchase only "best of breed" solutions or rely on one larger vendor.
"While having only one support and license agreement is convenient, the Swiss Army knife solution will not provide the level of functionality, depth or manageability of the point solutions," said Leatham director of solutions and strategy at Lumension Security in Scottsdale, Ariz.
IT pros, former finance and IT executives as well as third-party vendors all contend that it won’t so much be a recession-induced drop-off in IT spending that will be the main issue. Rather, it’ll be how companies decide what to buy, what purchases can wait and how shelling out cash of any kind can best be leveraged in an environment such as this.
Surveys Said!
It’s evident that expansion is slowing, which in turn affects the attitudes and perceptions among enterprises doing business with technology firms. Measuring overall sentiment and how it affects IT spending can be tricky depending on who commissioned the report, what the central questions of that study are, who’s asking them and, of course, who stands to benefit from the information.
"Most industry surveys are showing that IT budgets will be reduced, or will have smaller increases, than in previous years," said Everrett Johnson, a former finance executive, a CPA and past iinternational president of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and IT Governance Institute. "First to be hit will be services and projects with poor ROI. Staff at larger companies may also be the first to face reductions."
Johnson adds that enterprises no longer have the luxury of supporting or recovering from underperforming IT investments.
"IT leaders will rely heavily on their bench strength within IT staff and judiciously hire new talent," he said.
In that vein, here’s a cursory look at a few of the more prominent reports on IT spending released over the first half of 2008, which may give IT pros a greater insight into what people are saying and what areas will see the most cuts and/or increases:
Fitch Ratings, the corporate credit rating concern, believes that the credit profile of technology providers going forward will be enhanced by greater exposure to non-U.S. markets due to higher growth opportunities in emerging markets. The report also concluded that vendors can benefits from diversification of products and services to hedge risk, which could lead to lower volatility and exposure to the effects of cyclical purchases. For instance, the report said a software company experiencing a slowdown in sales of its products might want to consider beefing up its service and support components for existing customers and clients.
"However, the source (product or vertical) of revenues needs to be examined closely, as well as regional profitability characteristics," the report concluded.
Citi Investment Research’s July survey of more than 200 chief information officers arrived at a conclusion that reflects a cautious outlook for technology spending that promises to be flat in the latter half of this year as opposed to the same period in 2007. But the study also pointed out that the estimated contraction in spending would make it a buyer’s market for enterprise managers –good news for companies, but bad news for vendors. According to the study, 100 CIOs in Europe and 100 stateside see a flatness in spending, down from the comparable period a year ago.
The report went on to say that new IT projects are being shelved in the second half of the year as respondents indicated that they only expect to shell out 19 percent of their technology budgets on new projects, a decrease from 23 percent in 2007.
Computer Economics’ July report, "Computer Economics IT Spending Staffing and Technology Trends," concedes that economic growth has finally begun to "pull down IT spending increases." As a result, the Irvine-Calif. based research outfit found that median IT operational budgets will growing 4 percent this year — a decline from the 5 percent growth seen in 2007.
The report’s executive summary paints a cautiously optimistic picture for IT spending going forward: "To be sure, IT spending and staffing levels are not generally falling, just as the U.S. economy is not yet, technically, in a recession." The report continued. "Nevertheless, it does not take an outright recession for organizations to pull back their IT spending and staffing growth plans."
Forrester Research, a tech industry research giant that usually takes a larger macroeconomic view of the industry, announced earlier in the year it had revised its earlier estimate of a 4.6 percent increase in U.S. purchases of IT goods and services down to a more modest 2.8 percent.
In early spring, Forrester posited that fresh numbers from "newly available economic data" pointed toward a "slight recession in the United States" and will impact IT spending for 2008.
As a whole, Forrester predicted that the global market for IT purchases is estimated to reach $1.7 trillion, but that this year global IT purchases are expected to grow 6 percent versus well over 6 percent in 2007.
"The U.S. share of expenditures in global IT purchases market is anticipated to shrink down to 33 percent, from about 40 percent in 2003. But the United States will continue to dominate the software spending market with 44 percent of the share," the report said.
Forrester also predicts that neighbors to the north and south, Canada and in many Latin American countries, will see spending slow. While U.S. IT purchasing will grow slightly to $552 billion in 2008, spending on IT in Canada and Latin America will reach $126 billion. Forrester calls the growth respectable at an "8 percent increase for the regions," but still a significant drop off from between 13 and 17 percent growth from 2004 through last year.
Michael Cangemi, president of Cangemi Company LLC and a former president of Financial Executives International, has been both a CIO at CFO at one point or another in his career. Wnd while he didn’t specifically admit that some of the numbers he’s seen in several reports denote a recession, he did agree that overall there is a downturn.
"Bascially yes, in downturns companies look to save cash and reduce expenses. Therefore regarding IT investments they focus on smaller investments that will reduce expense or increase revenue," Cangemi said. "The ROI for all investments goes up in an economic downturn. Companies ride equipment and legacy systems longer."
Should we buy that or that?
If an old television in a living room no longer works but is too big and meddlesome to move out and one doesn’t want to buy a cabinet for the new TV, why not improvise and put a curtain over the big TV and put the smaller and more sleek and modern one on top of it? It seems an apt analogy to describe the thinking of IT pros in the current environment.
Even modest slips in economic growth do not often cause marked spending swings in the IT space. Yet IT investment tends to reflect macroeconomic conditions.
With that in mind, it’s obvious that almost all globally competitive enterprises and even small shops with just a few PCs, a Microsoft Office application stack, one server and some browser-based, e-commerce software have to, in fact, spend money on something in regards to IT-related products and services.
The question for IT managers — not to mention rank-and-file pros charged with recommending purchases and upgrades — becomes not do we spend this year but what should we spend on?
Desktops are a staple of all businesses, but more than half of large businesses, expert say, will likely spend money supporting, repairing or maintaining systems and entry-level servers this year.
Next to desktops, notebooks and low-end, entry level servers, it’s actually printers and related support services that will garner a lot of the spending coin as well.
"(The current environment) has certainly IT procurement managers more conservative and more likely to ask themselves questions like ‘Do I really need this?’ or ‘Do I really need this now?’," said Mark Wood, vice president of product strategy and member of the office of the CTO for San Francisco-based security software firm nCircle. "IT companies and their procurement counterparts are taking hard looks at priorities. Once, the top three project priorities would be likely to receive funding; now, it’s the top two or maybe only the top one that gets the dollars."
As a former IT auditor and financial manager as well, Michael Cangemi of Cangemi Company, has a premise that’s in step with this assertion, but he suggests that a methodical approach to spending should be put in place in good times and bad, so that information resource strategy and planning becomes the reason for spending and not the other way around.
"Since estimates of productivity improvements and increases in revenue from better information are hard to estimate, managers do not put enough effort into working out realistic returns on the investment," he said. "Basically, the devil is in the details and it is up to operating managers and finance to study before they recommend or approve the purchase."
That said, what most of these reports and many of the analysts and prognosticators always fail to mention is the expenditure side of the business that doesn’t involve a software package, a piece of hardware or even a new e-commerce solution service. Maximizing a tangible product purchase more often is complemented by going out and getting the right people. In most cases this can help a company save money on goods and services by hiring IT services pros who have the goods.
Recession-proof IT gigs?
In the end, the calculations on what constitutes a recession can only be seen in retrospect, as economists have always maintained that we don’t know we’re in one until several quarters showing a down cycle have elapsed and the data can be analyzed through hindsight.
However, one report issued in mid-July suggests there is something technologists can measure right now and that’s people. Conventional wisdom dictates that if a company bought an ERP system months ago that has been sitting on a shelf and hasn’t been installed or has a new network device that still has the plastic on it, then they would need an application implementation specialist and network admin person for those respective duties.
Top 20 Most Recession-Proof Professions report indentified software design and development; networking and systems administration; software implementation analysis; testing and quality assurance; database administration; and general IT management with cutting-edge mobile IT and Web 2.0 skills as areas in high demand.
Overall, the general category of IT had the biggest prospects in the report, which means that there may yet be a ray of hope for vendors shopping their wares to match up with a steady flow of human capital at various businesses.
"As a vendor, I have to be coldly realistic about how buyers make up their minds and all of these are very valid reasons for choosing one solution over another," said Mark Wood, of nCircle. "In the current economic climate, I think technological performance is going to mean even less. Things like existing relationships and familiarity with technology will be the primary driving forces."
Book Review: “Cisco Firewall Video Mentor”
Any time you have a chance to learn the same information you would in a classroom for a fraction of the cost, you should take advantage of it. Additionally, if you can learn the same material but in less time than you would in the classroom, then you’d be foolish not to capitalize.
While there are plenty of books in the market about firewalls — most of which cover the same material you would in a classroom — they all suffer from the fact that they take longer to read and digest than if you just spent a few days listening to an instructor.
Enter Cisco Firewall Video Mentor. This product — you can’t really call it a book even though it has an ISBN and is sold as such — consists of 16 video vignettes on one DVD. Each snippet runs between 10 to 30 minutes and includes configuration tasks — such as setting up SSH access — and walks you through it. A small lab manual accompanies the DVD and includes the elements you’d expect to find in a training guide: scenario, steps, etc.
I was very impressed by the quality and content of the Cisco Firewall Video Mentor and hope to see this format utilized more often.
If Not Windows 7, Then What?
Microsoft is already making noise about Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista due in late 2009 or early 2010. And while most IT departments that skip Vista will likely move from Windows XP straight to Windows 7, others are considering ditching Microsoft altogether.
“Because of the fiasco with Vista — and what a debacle that OS was — we’re probably not going to wait for another cycle of Microsoft products,” says one IT professional, who communicated via e-mail and asked not to be identified. “We’re looking at open source and the Mac as potential future suitors.”
He’s not alone. While Apple Inc.’s Mac operating system still hasn’t dented the Microsoft enterprise juggernaut, it is making inroads with businesses. Numbers from Forrester Research Inc. released in July show the Mac’s progression: From October 2007 through June 2008, enterprise market share for the Mac OS grew from 3.6 percent to 4.5 percent.
Linux had less penetration and less potential for penetration, the Forrester report concluded. So, while Vista might still take over for XP and Windows 7 looks like a sure thing to replace both its predecessors, Microsoft isn’t quite as much of an enterprise OS juggernaut as it used to be.
LPIC Exam Changes - Part Two
As I mentioned last week, in order to keep its LPIC exams current, the Linux Professional Institute is in the process of updating its Level 1 and Level 2 exams.
The following changes are being made to the second exam required for LPIC Level 1 certification: LPIC 102. A date of implementation is not yet known.
On the old exam, Topic 105 was “Kernel,” and it consisted of two objectives:
- 105.1 Manage/Query kernel and kernel modules at runtime (weight: 4)
- 105.2 Reconfigure, build and install a custom kernel and kernel modules (weight: 3)
All of the kernel topic have been moved out of this exam into higher-level tests. In its place, the old Topic 109, “Shells, Scripting, Programming and Compiling” has been renamed “Shells, Scripting and Data Management” and renumbered as 105. It consists of three objectives:
- 105.1 Customize and use the shell environment (old weight: 5; new weight: 4)
- 105.2 Customize or write simple scripts (old weight 3; new weight: 4)
- 105.3 SQL data management (a new objective altogether and assigned a weight of 2)
The old Topic 110 — the X Window System — from LPIC 101 has been moved to this exam and renamed “User Interfaces and Desktops.” The objectives and weighting are:
- 106.1 Install and Configure X11 (weight: 2)
- 106.2 Setup a display manager (weight: 2)
- 106.3 Accessibility (weight: 1)
Topic 111, “Administrative Tasks,” has been moved to 107 and two objectives have been removed: “Tune the user environment and system environment variables,” and “Maintain an effective data backup strategy.”
Topic 108, “Essential System Services,” borrows from several other topics to create a new entity. 108.1, Maintain system time, comes from 111.6 and the weight changes from 4 to 3. 108.2, System logging, comes from the old 111.3, Configure and use system log files to meet administrative and security needs, and the weight has changed from 3 to 2. 108.3, Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) basics, come from the old 113.2, Operate and perform basic configuration of Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), and the weight has changed from 4 to 3. Objective 108.4, Manage printers and printing, comes from the old Topic 107, “Printing,” and has been condensed significantly (it now has a weight of only 2).
Topic 109, “Networking Fundamentals,” used to be 112. Topic 110, “Security,” was formerly known as 114 and has a few changes to its weighting of objectives.
As convoluted as the changes may be to follow, what’s most interesting are the topics and objectives that are in the current version of the exam that will be removed from the future version. Consider the following:
- Booting, initialization, shutdown and runlevels have been moved to the first exam.
- Documentation (which included notifying users, finding Web sites, etc.) has been removed.
- Backup strategies (formerly weighted 3) have been removed, but knowledge of many of the tools (tar, cpio, dd) has been moved to exam 101.
- Configuring Linux as a PPP client (formerly weighted 3) has been removed.
- Operate and perform basic configuration of Apache (formerly weighted 4) has been removed.
- Properly manage the NFS and SAMBA daemons (formerly weighted 4) has been removed.
LPIC-1 Study Guide
I always find it somewhat humorous that the best vendor-neutral Linux certification is so broad in scope that it can’t really be called an entry-level certification. To become LPIC-1-certified, you must pass two exams from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI).
Those exams not only exhaust your knowledge of command-line options, but also expect you to know hardware, the kernel, security and a plethora of other topics.
Given that breadth, it’s not uncommon for books about these exams to be meaningful to anyone working with Linux — not just those cramming for an exam. The best of those books, by far, is the “LPIC-1 Linux Professional Institute Certification Study Guide” by Roderick W. Smith. Certified by LPI as one of its “Approved Training Materials,” the book is both thorough and engaging. Instead of just walking through the objectives from start to finish, the chapters build on each other and the material is covered in a much more logical manner.
If you’re looking for a good overall Linux book to fill in your coverage of general topics, you can’t go wrong by picking this one.
Rent-A-Proctor
BUSINESS IDEA NO. 965: RENT-A-PROCTOR
As I was reading the latest press release from Prometric — which has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deliver exams to patent attorneys — it suddenly hit me how we can solve what’s wrong with today’s exam environment.
I’ve been bothered for some time by the fact that we still expect candidates to be physically present at a brick-and-mortar storefront in order to answer multiple-choice questions on high-end IT questions.
I’ve ranted about this before, and each time, someone — usually multiple someones — points out the need for a candidate to verify their identity and to make sure that they don’t cheat (I’ll hold off on sharing my thoughts about the ability to cheat in existing test centers for now).
In other words, people can’t be trusted; therefore, and we must proctor their actions by using VUE or Prometric centers. The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) FAQ says it best:
“Unfortunately, for Web-based exams in unproctored situations, you cannot get around the fact that someone else could take the exam for you — or be right with you as you take the exam. At this time, there’s really no way to securely offer exams online without a proctor present.”
As I was reading the Prometric press release, however, I had an epiphany: If the issue is simply that you need someone to verify your identity and watch you take the exam, why do you have to go to them? Why can’t the proctor make house calls?
Suppose ACME Inc. wants Johnny Administrator to gain ABC certification so it can continue to say that its entire staff is certified. Johnny gains the knowledge needed through books, training, etc. Under the current scenario, he then takes a day off and drives to the testing center in City Y. There, he shows two forms of ID, walks into a closet of a room and answers 75 multiple-choice questions on the oldest workstation and monitor that the testing center owns. To remind him that he shouldn’t cheat, he must leave his belongings at the front desk and take note of the closed-circuit camera overhead that may or may not be monitored.
Under the proposed scenario, a proctor would show up at ACME at the allotted time and be introduced to Johnny by his supervisor, thus confirming identity. The two of them would move to Johnny’s workstation (which would most likely be far superior to that at any testing center) where Johnny would be given information on how to begin the test (either by logging in to a Web site, downloading an executable, or — heaven forbid — actually performing some actions on the live system). At the end of the test, the proctor would deliver the results to both Johnny and his administrator and then move on to his next appointment.
The benefits of this scenario are legion. Not only could multiple types of exams be given, but the proctor could actually be knowledgeable in the topic area (gasp!) and able to give meaningful feedback. The candidate would not miss more work than the time the exam consumes, and be able to work with equipment that they are comfortable with and use daily. The supervisor can have immediate feedback on their employee and know what areas they are strongest (and weakest) in.
I can’t imagine a greater win-win scenario.
What you need to know about Cisco’s new CCNA specializations
What are the new CCNA specializations?
To become a specialized CCNA, you must first be a “regular” CCNA, and then pass a single certification test in your specialist area.
There are three new CCNA specializations:
- CCNA Security
- CCNA Voice
- CCNA Wireless
Each of these is an area of technology in which Cisco is pushing for a very strong presence.
What do I need to know about these specializations?
CCNA Security
The CCNA Security grounds you in core security technologies that every Cisco admin should know and use to secure the network. To pass the certification test, you need to demonstrate that you have the knowledge to set up a security infrastructure that will defend your network from outside threats. For example, you will be tested on security threats, securing a Cisco router with the IOS, implementing AAA, ACLs, the IOS Firewall, and IOS IPS features. This specialization became available on June 24, 2008, and is valid for three years. The prerequisite is a valid CCNA. The exam number and name that you will need is 640-553 - IINS (Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security). To learn more about this specialization, please see the official CCNA Security page.
CCNA Voice
The CCNA Voice certification ensures that you have the skill set to perform installation, operation, and administration of VoIP solutions. In preparing for the certification, you will gain a solid foundation in voice applications and their concepts, including Cisco Unified Communications architecture. This specialization became available on June 24, 2008, and is also valid for three years. The prerequisite is a valid CCNA. The exam number and name that you will need is 640-460 IIUC (Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications). To learn more about this specialization, please see the official Cisco CCNA Voice page.
CCNA Wireless
This is the “wave” of the future. You will be able to support wireless LANS in your network, as well as be able to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot any Cisco WLANS, which can be of great benefit to you on your Cisco career path. This specialization will be available on July 25, 2008, and is also valid for three years. The prerequisite is a valid CCNA. The exam number and name that you will need is 640-721 IUWNE (Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials). To learn more about this specialization, please see the official CCNA Wireless page.
Should you consider a CCNA specialization?
While you may have your own reasons for pursuing these certifications, here are the reasons that I came up with:
- Career opportunities — I don’t think you have to look very far in the want ads to discover that the workplace is not only looking for people who have a broad range of skill sets, but they are looking for people who have skill sets that fit a special niche. These specializations could give you an edge up on other candidates.
- Confidence — Obtaining a new certification always helps you to build confidence in your skills. Additionally, when you are interviewing for a new position, management feels much safer knowing that someone who knows how to secure a network from Internet attacks is in charge of their network.
- Capability for advancement — Although you have to be CCNA-certified to obtain any of these specializations, they will broaden your understanding of specific areas and make you a more rounded and confident Cisco admin. Also, it is a good next step in your career path initiative to the CCNP or CCIE.
Conclusion
What do you think of Cisco’s new CCNA specializations? These three specializations are a newly available stepping stone in the certification ladder. Which, if any, will you choose? Do you feel that new CCNA certification levels were necessary?
COMPTIA ADDING VIRTUAL TRAINER CERTIFICATION
On July 1, CompTIA announced that it was adding a module to its Certified Technical Trainer (CTT) certification for virtual classroom trainers.
The CTT+, a vendor-neutral certification for IT trainers, requires passing a proctored exam and creating/submitting a video presentation for grading.
Starting in August, those seeking CTT+ can choose whether they want to be certified with the virtual designation (which will include a recorded online assessment) or just the standard classroom trainer designation.
BASH YOUR WAY THROUGH EXAM STUDY
Over the years, I’ve seen many approaches to certification exam study. You can do everything from taking an exam blind — the idea being that it will help you get a feel for what questions and topics are on the exam, even if you fail — to sitting through weeks of expensive vendor training designed to help you pass.
Between those two ends of the spectrum reside all the books, test engines, flashcards and other products intended to help you prepare.
This past week, however, I ran across one of the most unique study methods I’ve seen in a while, and I wonder whether the concept can be adapted to more uses. A candidate, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote a very simple Bash script. That script randomly pulls the name of a utility from a list of those you need to know for Linux Professional Institute (LPI) exams, and then accesses the man page for that utility. It takes key items from the man page (freely available in every Linux distribution, as well as online from numerous sites), parses what it finds, and presents it in a quiz format.
For example, one time the candidate would see several of the options that work with the ls command, but not what they do. He would then have to correctly identify what each option does, and check his answers by pressing a key that then revealed only that portion of the man listing for ls. Many iterations later, the same question might appear, only now it would be the description (”Which option with ls will show the index number of each file?”), and he’d have to guess the option (-i).
It wasn’t a perfect script by any means - grammatical errors and other oddities crop up when you’re just parsing man pages to get your questions - but it impressed me immensely. And that fact that the study solution he had created was free opened my eyes to thinking about other implementations.