<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Macrium Reflect Server Plus contains several features that are useful when backing up data that is stored in an Exchange Database. This includes the ability to backup and restore individual databases and even restore individual mailboxes and items in those mailboxes. This blog post will cover how to backup and restore Exchange Databases, and some of the granularity that Macrium Reflect Server Plus offers.To create a backup of your Exchange Database, you can either create an image of the disk that the Exchange Databases are located on, however, this does not offer the granularity of restoring one database to a point in time. If all the databases are stored on the same disk, when the image is restored, all the databases will be put back to the same point in time. Server Plus allows you to create a backup of each individual database. To do this select ‘Backup Microsoft Exchange’.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>You will then be presented with a wizard showing all Exchange databases that are available to be backed up.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>You can then select the databases that you want to backup and where the backup will be stored, you can also specify an ‘Alternative Location’ to be used as a destination, as a failsafe if the first destination is unavailable, or for backup drive rotation.By selecting ‘View selected component files’, you can see the list of files that makes up the currently selected items, along with the last modified date and size of each.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Once you are happy with your selection, click ‘Next’.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>The next page of the wizard is where you will create your backup schedule and define the retention rules that will be applied to it. Once you have configured these, select ‘Next’ to review the settings that you have selected.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Once you are happy with your settings, select ‘Finish’.Restoring ExchangeWhen restoring your Exchange Database, there are several different ways you can do this.Image Restore — If you have taken an image of the partition/disk where your exchange database is located, this can be restored, setting the Exchange Database to the point-in-time when that image was created. However, if you have more than one Exchange Database located on the partition/disk, this will also set these databases back to the point-in-time that the image was created.Microsoft Exchange Restore — If you have backed up your Exchange Databases, you can restore a whole Exchange Database without altering other Exchange Databases. First select the ‘Restore’ tab in Reflect then select ‘Microsoft Exchange Restore’. Next you can choose each database that you want to restore.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>By default, the most recent backup will be selected to restore. The ‘Backup Plan’ shows the backup files selected. The ‘Restore Summary’ lists all databases restoring and the date/time of the backup file to restore from. Clicking ‘Restore’ will then restore this database back to the original location.You can also restore a backup of your databases back to a different a different location. This can be done by selecting ‘Restore to (database name)’.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>This will open the ‘Select Restore Destination’ wizard.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Select ‘Restore to alternate location’. After selecting ‘Next’ you can specify the database that you want to restore to.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>By following these steps, the database will be restored, without altering the other Exchange Databases.Mailbox Restore — A mailbox restore allows you to restore individual emails from a backup of Microsoft Exchange. This is useful if the Exchange Backup contains useful emails or attachments that you want to retrieve, without restoring the whole database. In order to perform the Mailbox Restore, Microsoft Exchange MAPI and CDO must be installed on the Exchange Server for Exchange 2010 and earlier installations. For Exchange 2013 or later, we use EWS, which comes with Exchange by default. Occasionally a Visual C++ redistributable package is required, if this is redistributable is not present, you will receive an error message with a link to download the redistributable. The user that is running Macrium Reflect must also have full access permissions for the mailbox that is being restored to and an existing mailbox must be present with the same name (a new mailbox will not be created). The steps that are required to set the mailbox permissions can be found at the article below:<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Setting+up+permissions+for+Mailbox+Restore">https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Setting+up+permissions+for+Mailbox+Restore</a>To perform the Mailbox Restore, select ‘Restore Exchange Mailboxes’ from the ‘Microsoft Exchange Restore’ tab.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Next, select the database, where the email and mailbox that you are restoring is located.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>You will then be presented with a list of mailboxes that are in that database, by expanding this, you will be presented with a list of items that are stored in that mailbox.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Once you have selected the items/mailboxes that you want to restore, select ‘Restore’. The items that you selected will then be restored back to that mailbox.Download a 30-Day Trial of <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server-plus?x-ca=blog">Macrium Reflect Server Plus here</a>.

backing-up-and-restoring-exchange.jpg

Macrium Reflect Server Plus contains several features that are useful when

Backing Up and Restoring Exchange

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure><h3>Operational Technology and Disaster Protection</h3>Stephen Macpherson<h4>Market Niche?</h4>When I last wrote a blog on this topic, I was discussing why Macrium Reflect and Macrium Site Manager are so popular in business critical or industrial environments. Twelve months ago in that<a href="/blog/machine-management-and-support-in-industrial-environments-c4769235718d"> blog</a> I discussed how our product development roadmaps and feature sets are being influenced by the requirement of industrial IT infrastructures for a reliable, stable backup solution that support the growing family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Since that last blog, we have seen an even greater uptake of Macrium Software for these needs and have a better understanding of what is driving this trend.<h4>IT vs. OT</h4>During recent technical pre-sales discussions with a very helpful customer they shared with us how they differentiate their corporate technology infrastructure into two parts:<ol><li>Information Technology (IT); this is the corporate network and systems that supply services to office-based staff, people focused needs, data and infrastructure. IT can tolerate outages and operates within a benign office environment. Equipment is updated and replaced more frequently (2–3 years), and load is focused on the normal five day business week.</li><li>Operational Technology (OT); describes the needs of industrial production processes that often run 24x7 in harsh environments with very low tolerance of system downtimes. Device / Machine replacement cycles are typically much slower than the PC for replacement; it is not unusual to find a multi-million dollar system controlled by a Windows XP industrial computer. Servicing and replacement are costly and will operate within a tight schedule and strict acceptance test requirements. OT needs can be anywhere in the world with unusual or non-existent network connectivity.</li></ol>The different parameters and services levels of IT and OT help us better understand why Macrium Reflect is frequently selected for use in the OT environment.<h4>What is the Need?</h4>The OT environment often contains standalone industrial PCs or Servers controlling or monitoring part of a manufacturing process that is automated or in an isolated location. We have many examples of customers from oil and gas pipelines, radiology, dental scanning, navy ships, airport lighting, fruit sorting and lumber mills. All of these have the need for Macrium Reflect to be reliable, low maintenance, stable and provide the backup or cloning service every time without fail.<h4>Technical Requirements</h4>Aside from industrial strength reliability, what are the other main technical needs of OT environments and what makes Macrium Reflect Imaging the ideal solution?<ul><li>The Windows / software setup is likely to be highly customised and difficult to recreate from scratch. In case of failure, therefore, a Macrium Image backup is the ideal DR option In contrast, for office IT, the main concern is the protection of typically centrally stored, documents, not system recovery.</li><li>Often these systems are quite old, running Microsoft Windows versions that are long out of support. For this reason Macrium maintains support for all Windows from XP (and 2K3) onwards including a variety of Windows embedded configurations.</li><li>The backup process is designed to operate within the resource constraints found with systems of that vintage.</li><li>If required, the backup endpoints can be centrally managed with <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager">Macrium Site Manager</a>. This has been designed specifically to operate in the heterogeneous network topologies characteristic of OT.</li></ul>Quite often the solution is required to provide a system roll-back or DR service, there might be two disks and if one fails the other takes over using an image cloned from the primary disk. In summary reliability and stability are key for OT needs along with excellent compatibility with Microsoft Windows.You can download a 30-Day Trial of Macrium Reflect <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/home?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Home</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/workstation?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Workstation</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server-plus?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server Plus</a>, or <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Site Manager</a>.

Operational Technology and Disaster ProtectionStephen MacphersonMarket

Backup of Business Critical OT Environments

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>A hardware driver is software that provides the link between the operating system and the underlying hardware. It is separate from the main OS code (kernel) to enable support for arbitrary hardware that may not even exist when the Operating System was released.There is a default set of drivers provided by Microsoft. These cover most common hardware. For hardware without default support, or for enhanced features or performance the manufacturer will provide drivers.A driver will contain the following<ul><li>.inf file. This contains a description of the driver and its associated files. It will include a list of hardware it support and what operating system and CPU type it supports.</li><li>.sys file. This is the driver software.</li><li>.cat file. This is a list of included files with their cryptographic hashes, or thumbprints</li></ul>It may also contain supplementary files containing localised text etc.These files may either be shipped as a zip archive, a self extracting archive, or a full windows installer.There are two points in the usage of Reflect where drivers may be required.<ul><li>Building Reflect rescue media</li><li>Migrating an installed OS to new hardware — Redeploy.</li></ul>Normally a driver will be added to an online (running) operating system. However, for Reflect usage, because the OS requiring the drivers is offline (not running) at install time, the discrete driver set is required; running a provided installer will install the files in the online (running) OS.When the driver files are not distributed as a zip archive, there are two possible methods to extract these files.<h3>7zip</h3>7-Zip is a free and open-source file archiver. (<a href="https://www.7-zip.org/">https://www.7-zip.org</a>)Using third-party tools, it is possible to open the archive of the executable and manually extract files from inside it. One such tool is 7zip a free, open source archiving tool.In the example below, I will be extracting the relevant files out of the Intel NVMe driver application. This will allow the Rescue Environment to communicate with the NVMe drive.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>This application in this example contained a 32bit and 64bit folder when extracted. Depending on the architecture of the machine you will be using the Rescue Media on, you can then extract the files from the relevant Windows installer.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure><figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Once you have extracted the installer, you can locate where the driver files are located. Depending on how the installer is constructed, it may be necessary to extract further files. In this example, the NVMe driver files are located in a cabinet file (an archive file format).<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>By opening this cabinet file, we can find the relevant driver files. These files can then be added to the Rescue Media.<h3>Temp</h3>The second way to extract the driver files from the installer is to by running the installer. When the installer is running, these files are often stored in the %Temp% folder.You can access this folder by pressing the Windows + R keys. This will open the ‘Run’ search menu. In the search box, enter %Temp% and press enter.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>By checking the folders located in %Temp%, you can often locate these driver files.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Once the drivers have been extracted, you can follow the article linked below to add these to the Rescue Media:<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Adding+device+drivers+to+Windows+PE">https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Adding+device+drivers+to+Windows+PE</a>and Redeploy<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Re-deploying+Windows+to+new+hardware+using+Macrium+ReDeploy">https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Re-deploying+Windows+to+new+hardware+using+Macrium+ReDeploy</a>It is not guaranteed that these methods will work with every installer, as it can depend on how the installer is constructed.You can download a 30-Day Trial of Macrium Reflect <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/home?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Home</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/workstation?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Workstation</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server-plus?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server Plus</a>, or <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Site Manager</a>.

A hardware driver is software that provides the link between the operating

How to acquire drivers for rescue media & ReDeploy

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>From accidental deletion to hardware failure, theft and malware, there are many ways to lose your valuable data aside from ghoulish foul play.We have put together a few things to think about to help you setup your backup.Remember, any backup is better than no backup; start off simple and optimise later but do it today.<h4>What should I backup?</h4>You have two options. They have different attributes. Depending on what you want to protect choose either one or both for the following.<ul><li>Image This will contain everything on your hard disk. If your disk fails or your computer is lost, you can use this to restore everything to new, booting hardware. You can mount or open this backup file as a virtual drive and open or copy out file. If you are using a compatible windows version, you can <a href="https://www.macrium.com/viboot">instantly boot </a>a backup as a virtual machine.</li><li>File and Folder This enables selective backup of folders or specific file types. For example, you may want to just backup your documents folder. A file and folder backup is roughly analogous to a very high performance zip archive with the same Macrium backup features as for image backups.</li></ul><h4>Where should I save my backups?</h4><ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_enclosure">USB disk</a> This is quick and cost effective solution. You can also<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Alternative+Locations+For+Backups"> rotate</a> two or more devices, keeping one in a separate location.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive">USB memory stick</a> These devices are fine for your bootable rescue environment, but are typically too small and too slow for efficient backup file storage.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage">NAS</a> This is more expensive than a USB disk but is more convenient; you have nothing to plug it, and you can share it between multiple computers.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_storage">Cloud </a>Hosted remote storage removes the risk of hardware failure, fire, flood or theft. However, it is slower and can be prohibitively expensive for large files such as image backups.</li></ul>You may want to consider a hybrid, storing large image backups on a USB disk and keeping a copy of your, smaller, file and folder backups of your documents in the cloud.<h4>When should I backup</h4>Automate your backups with a<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Scheduling+backups"> backup plan</a>. A backup plan is a combination of a schedule, sequencing and maintenance of the backup chain (purging or consolidating the oldest backup points).To simplify the process, Macrium Reflect Home includes predefined plans. Read more <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Scheduling+backups">here</a>.<h4>How to keep your backups safe</h4><ul><li>Fire and theft: Rotate your backups, storing one device in an alternate location</li><li>Malware: Use <a href="https://www.macrium.com/mig">MIG</a> and apply all security updates</li><li>Corruption: <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW7/Verifying+image+and+backup+files">Verify</a> your backups and make a 2nd copy</li><li>Encyption: Use AES to prevent anybody else accessing your data</li></ul><h4>What to do when things go wrong</h4>This is why we backup, and yet is often overlooked. There are three basic scenarios:<ul><li>Recover a deleted or corrupted file: <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Browsing+Macrium+Reflect+images+and+backups+in+Windows+Explorer">Choose</a> a backup, <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Browsing+Macrium+Reflect+images+and+backups+in+Windows+Explorer">mount</a> it and copy out the file.</li><li>My computer boots but something is broken : <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Restoring+a+system+image">Choose</a> a backup, and select restore.</li><li>My computer won’t boot : In this case, don’t panic, you can <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Restoring+an+image+from+within+the+Rescue+Media">boot</a> your rescue media. This contains a number of tools to directly <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Fixing+Windows+boot+problems">fix booting issues</a> and restore an image backup to the same, or <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Re-deploying+to+new+hardware">new hardware</a>.</li></ul>It is important to test that you can boot your rescue media. Don’t forget to check that you can access your backups and your system volume (c:\) from the rescue media. You should also check that you can mount a backup.<h4>Summary</h4>If you only do one thing today, setup your backup. And <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Creating+rescue+media">build rescue media</a>. OK, that is two things.Please read the <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/">KnowledgeBase </a>including the <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW7/Macrium+Reflect+Quick+Start">quick start guide</a>. We also have a range of <a href="https://www.macrium.com/resources/videos">videos</a> illustrating common usage of Macrium Reflect.<h3>Buy Macrium Reflect 7 Home edition</h3>For a fully featured backup, you should consider purchasing Macrium Reflect Home edition.This Halloween, we are offering 20% off Home Edition, to keep your data safe from ghouls. Offer Expires 7th November 2019:<a href="http://www.macrium.com/Halloween2019">www.macrium.com/Halloween2019</a>

From accidental deletion to hardware failure, theft and malware, there are many

How to avoid backup nightmares this Halloween

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>A common question we receive is ‘what happens to my Windows license when I restore to new hardware’? There is no easy answer to this question, however, there are several factors that you should consider.Windows activation is a feature that is designed to verify your copy of Windows is genuine and has not been used on more devices than the Microsoft Licence Agreement allows. When Windows is installed on a device it will associate itself with that device’s hardware. If a significant change is made to that device’s hardware (motherboard, storage device, NIC, CPU), you will be asked to reactivate that license. Windows will check this hardware against the hardware that was present at the time of installation. An example of a significant change to the hardware is restoring an image to a new computer.In order to reactivate your Windows license, you will need access to an internet connection. When using Macrium ReDeploy to restore an image to dissimilar hardware, only the storage driver will be ‘injected’ into the restored image in order to make it bootable. This means that if the machine that you are restoring to contains a network adapter, that requires specialised drivers, these will have to be manually installed before Windows can be reactivated.However, in some rare circumstances it may not be possible to reinstall this driver before reactivating the license. For XP era OSs, there is an impasse in the case where you cannot login until the OS is re-activated, but you need to login to install the NIC driver. The way around this is to use phone activation. Instructions will be displayed in the re-activation wizard. Later versions of Windows take a ‘Reduced Features’ stance to non-activated licenses, this gives users the chance to install the NIC driver then reactivate the Windows license. Operating Systems above Windows XP also feature a ‘rearm’ period, which acts as a grace period before reactivation is required. In the event that you are unable to activate the license, a phone call to Microsoft support will normally resolve these issues.<a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12440/windows-10-activate">https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12440/windows-10-activate</a>There are three types of Windows Licenses (OEM licenses, Retail licenses and Volume licenses), depending on the type of license that you have, different steps may need to be taken.You can determine the license you have by opening a command prompt and entering slmgr.vbs /dlv then press enter.This will open a window that contains information about your license, including the type of license that it is.<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>Original Equipment Manufacturer licenses are preinstalled on a device by a manufacturer to allow use straight from purchase. In the case of earlier OEM licenses (earlier than Windows 8) the Windows OS will be checked against a System Locked Pre-installation (SLP) key that is stored in the BIOS of the machine that Windows was preinstalled on. In the case of later OEM licenses (Windows 8 and later) the OEM will use a tool that will place a unique key in the BIOS of each system that is verified by the Windows installation. Officially OEM licenses are not transferable. However, sometimes re-activation is possible.Volume licenses (MAK) are used in business, education and government and are not permitted to be resold. These licenses can be reactivated when the Windows installation is moved to new hardware, however, can not be used if the computer changes ownership.Retail licenses are commonly known as a ‘boxed edition’ of Windows. This is due to these licenses being purchased separately from a retailer separate from the hardware it is going to be installed on. These licenses can also be moved to new hardware and then reactivated.You can download a 30-Day Trial of Macrium Reflect <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/home?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Home</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/workstation?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Workstation</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server-plus?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server Plus</a>, or <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Site Manager</a>.

A common question we receive is ‘what happens to my Windows license when I

Post migration Windows license considerations

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>The following applies identically to image backups and clones. For brevity, though cloning is discussed, what follows applies equally to both. When cloning a Linux file system, there are some important factors that must be taken into account. In this blog post we will be discussing these factors in regard to cloning a disk, however, the same will apply when imaging and restoring Linux disks.<h4>File Systems</h4>Linux is often associated with the Extend File System (Ext), since it was created specifically for use with the Linux kernel. The Ext 2,3,4 file systems are supported by Macrium Reflect, meaning that an Intelligent Sector Copy can be performed. Other. less common, Linux file systems (XFS, JFS, BTRFS, etc) are not natively supported by Reflect. You will still be able to perform the clone, however, a Forensic Sector Copy will be performed. This will take more time due all sectors being copied, not just the in use sectors. When performing a backup, the resultant image may not be much larger than when performing an intelligent sector copy, due to long runs of 0s being very effectively compressed.Note: Windows by default will not recognise the Ext file system, you will not be able to browse Ext file system included in an image without the use of an additional driver, the Knowledgebase article linked below contains further details: <a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Browsing+Linux+EXT+File+System+Images">https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Browsing+Linux+EXT+File+System+Images</a><h4>Offline Disk</h4>Macrium Reflect is a Windows application and as such only run on the Windows platform. The file systems previously discussed are mainly supported in consideration to dual boot systems, and people who want to backup their whole disk, secondary boot drives included. Since Macrium Reflect is a Windows application it cannot be installed on A Linux partition, these partitions must be cloned while in an offline state. You can clone these partitions from either your Windows OS or Rescue Media.<h4>Partition Schemes</h4>When cloning a Windows disk, the only partitioning schemes that must be considered are GUID Partition Table (GPT) and Master Boot Record (MBR). When cloning a Linux disk, a third-partitioning scheme must also be considered; Logical Volume Manager (LVM). LVM is not support by Macrium Reflect, meaning that the Linux disk will either have to be GPT or MBR to be cloned.You can download a 30-Day Trial of Macrium Reflect <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/home?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Home</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/workstation?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Workstation</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server</a>, <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/server-plus?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Server Plus</a>, or <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager?x-ca=blog&amp;source=post_page---------------------------">Site Manager</a>.

The following applies identically to image backups and clones. For brevity,

Cloning and imaging Linux file systems

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>We wrote the original ‘Customer support the Macrium Way’ in 2012. There have been many changes in the last 7 years as we have grown but support remains a key company value and very close to our heart. Below is an updated version of the <a href="/blog/customer-support-the-macrium-way-98afa8d134ae">original article</a>.<h3>Customer support the Macrium Way 2019 Edition</h3>Macrium software has always been a developer led company, and in the early years of its life, the developers also responded to all support tickets. This created a virtuous loop with developers understanding users pain points and improvements and fixes being quickly released. Through this, and an obsession with not leaving any customer’s issues unresolved, we gained a reputation of having great support.As our company grew around our expanding product range, we found that we had to rethink how we do support; developer time could not scale to supporting our rapidly increasing number of customers. The dilemma was how to grow while maintaining our unique customer experience.<h4>The Macrium support team</h4>Our solution has been to build a support team, co-located within the development team. This maintains efficient communication ensuring that users still get the best technical support rapidly escalating to a developer when required. It also ensures that developers are still ‘in the loop’ with user issues and requests.With the introduction of Windows 10, Microsoft now issue a bi-annual update. These updates have proved to contain significant breaking changes unlike the old Service Pack update cycle. The support team have the vital role of keeping up to date with insider previews vital to continued reliability.<h4>Premium support</h4>Having a dedicated support team enabled us to offer phone support, a frequently requested option. We charge a little extra for this.Support for business editions is renewable, at either the standard or premium levels, and includes free access to new major versions as they become available.<h4>Support during a Trial</h4>If you are trialling our software, please don’t hesitate to raise a <a href="/support">support ticket</a> or use our <a href="https://forum.macrium.com/">customer forum</a>. Frequently, it is when you are unfamiliar with our software that you have the most questions. The trial period runs for 30 days, but we will be happy to extend it, when required.<h4>Worldwide sales support</h4>Another change is that we now have an international distribution network, with a native team in London and Denver and partners in <a href="https://www.macrium.com/distributors">German, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Australia</a> providing local support for an extensive network of <a href="https://www.macrium.com/partners/find">Reseller Partners</a> ready to answer any pre-sales questions you may have.<h4>Other support resources</h4>We maintain an up-to-date KnowledgeBase (<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/">knowledgebase.macrium.com</a>) and there is a very active support forum (<a href="https://forum.macrium.com/">forum.macrium.com</a>).Whatever you need please don’t hesitate to <a href="/contact">contact us</a>. Whatever channel you use for support you should receive an answer that is both personal and technically excellent. This is the least we feel our customers deserve.<a href="/support">https://www.macrium.com/support</a>The Macrium support team.

We wrote the original ‘Customer support the Macrium Way’ in 2012. There have

Technical support the Macrium Way

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>This article will cover the details of what is included in a Macrium image backup.A disk is divided into multiple partitions. On each partition, the allocation of space and indexing of data is managed by a file system. The Macrium imaging process takes a copy of the data underlying the filesystem. This, with a copy of the ‘metadata’ outside the filesystem, represents a faithful copy of everything stored on a disk enabling a system to be returned to a bootable state if a hard disk is corrupted or otherwise fails.<h3>What is always excluded</h3><h4>Page &amp; Hibernation files</h4>To minimise the size of the image file, the page and hibernation files are always excluded. These contain data discarded when Windows reboots, and consequently are not useful to restore a system to a bootable state.¹<h4>The shadow copy storage area</h4>Windows creates VSS snapshots at various points, as does Reflect as part of the backup process. While the snapshot is live, the copy on write process intercepts all writes to the disk, storing the data that is about to be over-written in the shadow copy storage area (also known as the diff area). The size of this diff area can be considerable. This is why pre-restore system restore points are not available in a restored system.The diff area data is not excluded from image backups created in the Macrium rescue environment. The exclusion of the diff area is orchestrated by the VSS system optimisation writer, however the Windows snapshot subsystem is not available in Windows PE or RE. Therefore, you will find that image backups taken in the rescue environment will be larger.²<h3>What is optionally excluded by Intelligent sector copy mode</h3>Reflect has two imaging modes Intelligent Sector Copy (the default) and Forensic Copy.Filesystems allocate storage blocks as files are created and appended and deallocate blocks when a file is deleted. Intelligent sector copy mode only reads active blocks. This speeds up the backup process and reduces the size of the backup.³ For all normal purposes, this is the correct option and will enable a system to be restored from scratch.The alternative mode, Forensic Copy, will include every storage block⁴ in the backup (excluding the data discussed above). This potentially enables the recovery of deleted files as deallocated data is also included in the backup. For SSD based storage, this option has no utility and will only have the effect of slowing down the backup process.⁵<h4>Footnotes</h4>[1] h<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging">ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging</a>[2] Unfortunately, the inclusion of the diff area in rescue environment backup does not mean you will be able to recover your system restore points. The snapshot is invalidated on reboot as the diff area must remain in complete sync with all filesystem activity, and this cannot be maintained where there is a possibility of a foreign mount.Read more about VSS here … <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/volume-shadow-copy-service">https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/volume-shadow-copy-service</a>[3] A storage block is the minimum allocation unit of a filesystem. For NTFS, it is called a cluster. It is made up of a contiguous block of sectors. A sector is the minimum addressable unit of data on a disk, and typically represents 512 or 4096 bytes.[4] The size of the backup won’t be reduced by as much as you expect as compression will radically reduce the storage required for runs of zeros.[5] On SSD based media, a TRIM command is executed for de-allocated sectors. In response, the SSD firmware will internally de-allocate the sectors from its page store (a page is the smallest unit of SSD storage that can be erased). Subsequent reading of de-allocated sectors on SSDs will not return the originally stored data; typically it will just return zeros. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_(computing)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_(computing)</a> This presents an ongoing issue for legitimate computer forensics requiring the use of undocumented factory SSD commands to extract the de-allocated data.

This article will cover the details of what is included in a Macrium

What is in an image backup

<h3>Virtualization with Macrium Reflect — Part 5</h3>
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
In this series of blogs, we have discussed how to move a physical server into a virtualized environment, using a
 variety of hypervisors:
Hyper-V: <a href="/blog/virtualization-with-macrium-reflect-5a3ceff61a7f">Virtualization with
 Macrium Reflect — part</a><a
 href="/blog/virtualization-with-macrium-reflect-5a3ceff61a7f"> 1</a>
VMware: <a href="/blog/virtualization-with-macrium-reflect-part-2-3ce4df3b2e51">Virtualization
 with Macrium Reflect — part 2</a>
Citrix Xen:<a href="/blog/virtualization-with-macrium-reflect-part-3-adbc94676361"> Virtualization
 with Macrium Reflect — part 3</a>
Proxmox: <a href="/blog/virtualization-with-macrium-reflect-part-4-318e2a1ec21f">Virtualization
 with Macrium Reflect — part 4</a>
We have also discussed some of the advantages of doing this: centralised management, lower power consumption,
 scalability and in some cases, improved resilience.
In the final blog post in this series, we will be discussing Macrium Reflect’s tool, viBoot, and how it can be used
 to almost instantly create a Hyper-V virtual machine using a backup image. This is done by creating two Microsoft
 Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX) files for each disk that is described in the selected Macrium Image File:
<ul>
 <li>The first disk that is created contains the relevant information to describe the disk layout and signature to
 mark it as a viBoot VHDX. The data for the disk is retrieved from the relevant Macrium Image File by the Macrium
 Virtual Disk Provider filter driver as required. Since the data is not actually stored in this VHDX file, the
 size will remain small.</li>
 <li>The second VHDX file is a differencing disk that will receive any modifications made during the lifetime of the
 virtual machine. This disk size can rapidly increase depending on the usage of the virtual machine.</li>
</ul>
The default location for these two VHDX files is C:\ProgramData\Macrium\viBoot. However, this location can be
 configured in the Macrium viBoot UI.
To use viBoot, you will need to have the Hyper-V feature enabled in Windows. The article linked below contains
 details of how to enable this feature if you haven’t done so already:
<a
 href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/enable-hyper-v">https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/enable-hyper-v</a>

Note: viBoot only supports Microsoft Hyper-V running on a minimum of Windows 8.0 or Windows Server 2012.
Once Hyper-V has been enabled, you can now add viBoot to your Macrium Reflect installation, if you did not install it
 during your initial setup. To install viBoot on an existing Macrium Reflect installation, open the Windows Control
 Panel then select ‘Programs’.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
This will open a list of programs that you have installed. Select your Macrium Reflect installation and then select
 ‘Change’.
This will open the ‘Modify, Repair or Remove’ wizard. Select ‘Next’, you will then be presented with three options:

<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Select ‘Modify’, then select the checkbox next to ‘Install viBoot’. Once you have followed the wizard to completion,
 you will have viBoot installed.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
To start using viBoot, you will first need an image that can be used to boot the virtual machine. If you have not
 already created your image, please see the article below:
<a
 href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Creating+a+backup+image+of+your+computer,+drive+or+partitions">https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Creating+a+backup+image+of+your+computer,+drive+or+partitions</a>

Now that you have installed viBoot, you will notice that the option is no longer greyed out in the ‘Restore’ tab when
 viewing the image that you have created.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Selecting this will open the ‘Hyper-V VM Settings. This is where you will configure the virtual hardware settings for
 your virtual machine you are about to create.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
These settings should be changed depending on the contents of the image and the purpose of the virtual machine you
 are about to create. If the computer that was imaged had more powerful hardware, you may want to assign more startup
 RAM and Processors to the virtual machine. You can also set a custom name to make distinguishing this virtual
 machines from others easier, by default this name will be ‘viBoot — [NAME OF YOUR IMAGE].mrimg’. Once you are happy
 with your choices, select ‘Finish’ and your virtual machine will be created.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Once your virtual machine has been created, it will open automatically. You now have a virtual machine at the point
 in time that your image was created.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Your viBoot virtual machines can then be easily managed using the viBoot dashboard.
By selecting ‘New’, you can easily create more virtual machine based off your images.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Once the machine is in an Off state, the ‘Backup…’ button can be selected to create an new image of the
 virtual machine.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
Delete allows you to delete the virtual machines that you no longer need. This also gives you the option to create a
 backup before the virtual machine is deleted.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
<h4>Why use viBoot?</h4>
There is a massive number of practical applications for rapidly booting a virtual machine from a backup image.
 However, we will mainly talk about three scenarios where we often see viBoot used.
Recovery — An example we often see is users booting an image in viBoot, temporarily replacing their broken physical
 machine with a virtual machine, that takes over from the point in time where the image was created. With minimal
 configuration, your virtual machine can replace your physical machine while it is repaired. This can help mitigate
 potential hardware failure in scenarios where downtime can have disastrous consequences.
Making Changes to an Image — With viBoot, it is possible to boot an image make changes to the files contained within
 the image, and then create a new image using the ‘Backup…’ option. This new image will include any changes that you
 have made. By doing this, you can make any necessary changes to your image, before restoring it back to hardware.

Fast Physical to Virtual — Throughout this series, we have discussed the steps necessary to create a virtual machine,
 boot it with the Rescue Media, and then restore an image of your physical servers to that virtual machines. Using
 viBoot the virtual machine is created in the exact state the source machine was in when the backup was run, removing
 the need to boot the virtual machine into the Rescue Environment to then perform a restore. This can save large
 amounts of time if you intend to migrate several physical servers into a virtual environment. You can even manage
 these virtual machines in ‘Hyper-V Manager’ once they have been created.
<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>
More information on viBoot can be found in the KnowledgeBase article below:
<a href="https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW72/Macrium+viBoot">Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase</a>
You can download a 30-Day Trial of Macrium Reflect <a
 href="/products/home">Home</a>,
 <a
 href="/products/business/standalone/workstation">Workstation</a>,
 <a
 href="/products/business/standalone/server">Server</a>,
 <a
 href="/products/business/standalone/server-plus">Server
 Plus</a>, or <a
 href="/site-manager">Site Manager</a>.

Virtualization with Macrium Reflect — Part 5In this series of blogs, we have

Virtualization with Macrium Reflect — Part 5

# Site Manager Update

With a new release of Site Manager comes a variety of new features. Today we will be discussing some of these in more detail, so that you can get the most out of this new update.

#### Scheduled Activity

The new ‘Scheduled Activity’ tab in Site Manager allows for all activity (backups and remote syncs) to be scheduled in one convenient location, with a new UI that makes it easy to see the information that matters most.

In this tab, you will be able to view all the repositories that you have configured. Below the repository, you will see all backups that are scheduled to use that repository as a destination, these scheduled backups can appear as four colours:

**Green** — This indicates that is are no fails or warnings for this scheduled backup.  
**Yellow** — This indicates that there is at least one warning for the scheduled backup, but no failures.  
**Red** — This indicates that there is at least one failed backup for the scheduled backup.  
**Grey** — This indicates that the scheduled backup has been disabled. This is done with the toggle switch next to ‘Run Now’.



Below the scheduled backups, you have the ‘Schedule Backup’ option. This allows you to schedule a backup for the repository you selected this under. In the wizard that opens, you can select the ‘Definition’ and ‘Schedule’ that you want to use for this backup schedule.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

For more information on scheduling a backup using Site Manager, please see the following blog post:

[How to schedule a backup using Site Manager](/blog/how-to-schedule-a-backup-using-site-manager-f3148a608bb5)

Under the ‘Schedule Backup’ option, is the remote sync. If you have configured a sync for the repository, then you will see detailed statistics for the sync.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

If you have not configured a sync, then it will show ‘No Remote Sync’, selecting this will present the ‘Configure Synchronization’ button, selecting this will open the ‘Schedule Activity’ wizard, allowing you to easily configure a sync. Once a remote sync has been configured, it will be displayed as one of three colours:

**Green** — the last performed sync was successful  
**Red** — the last performed sync failed (includes cancelled).  
**Grey** — the sync is not set up.

#### Repository Page

With the scheduling of backups being moved to the ‘Scheduled Activity’ page, the Repository page has been redesigned to focus on repository status and browsing.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

#### File and Folder Backups

A feature that has often been requested is the ability to perform File and Folder backups from the Site Manager.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

To schedule a File and Folder backup using Site Manager, navigate to the ‘Definitions’ tab and select ‘New Definition’. Once you have selected ‘Files and Folders’ you can then create a name and description.

On the ‘Computers’ page of the wizard, select the computers that you want to be included in the scheduled backup.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

On the next page of the wizard, select ‘Add Folder’ and add the UNC path. You then have extra options that allows you to define ‘Files to include’, ‘Files to exclude’ and ‘Folders to exclude’.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

Once you are finished, the rules that you have defined will be shown in the wizard.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

On the final page of the wizard, you can select additional options for the backup:

**Compression** — This applies a level of compression to your backup.  
**Encryption** — This allows you to specify which level of AES encryption and password you want to apply to your backup file (if any).  
**Verification** — When verification is enabled the entire backup will be checked to ensure the integrity of the data inside.  
**Comment** — This allows you to add an additional comment to any backup file that is created by this definition.

More information about these options can be found in the knowledgebase article linked below:

[Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM/Setup+-+Backup+Definitions#Setup-BackupDefinitions-Step3-Options)

Once the backup definition has been created, navigate to the ‘Scheduled Activity’ tab, then select ‘Schedule Backup’ under the repository you want to use as a destination. You can then select this definition and a schedule for how often the backup should be performed.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

You have now scheduled a file and folder backup. Once you have created a file and folder backup it can be opened and verified in the same way as a disk image and will appear in the same interface when browsing a repository.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

Note: File and Folder backups cannot be restored using Site Manager and can only be restored using the Agent.

#### Multiple File and Folder downloads

When browsing image files, it is now possible to download multiple files and folders as a single ZIP file. This can be done by selecting the ‘Repositories’ page in Site Manager and then selecting the repository that contains the backup you want to browse. Once you have selected the repository, select ‘Browse’ and then select the relevant image file.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

Once you have selected ‘Open Image’, you will be presented with the ‘Image Browser’. This will allow you to select a partition that is included in the image. You can then select multiple files to download and select ‘Download’.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

This will download all the select files as a ZIP file.

#### Backups During Remote Synchronisation

When configuring or editing a sync, you now have the option to ‘Allow Backup During Remote Synchronisation’.

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

The process for performing a backup during the remote sync is shown below:

1) The remote sync can only start when no backups are running — this is so that there is a consistent, point in time view of which backups exist.  
2) The sync process will find changes and data to upload and sort them by computer.  
3) Changes are uploaded for the computer with the smallest amount of data to upload.  
4) The computer from step 3 is ‘unlocked’ and backups for this computer may now start, this will only occur once all the data has been transferred for this computer.  
5) Steps 3 and 4 are repeated until all data is uploaded.  
6) The change is committed in the remote location. Before this step, if the sync fails, the changes can be rolled back to the previous repository state.

#### Quiet Install

The ability to perform a ‘Quiet Install’ has now been added when manually installing Macrium Agent. This is useful when you are unable to perform a remote install of Macrium Remote Agent, but still want it installed without the desktop and start menu shortcuts. More information about performing a manual install can be found at the knowledgebase article below:

[https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM/Agent+Manual+Install](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM/Agent+Manual+Install)

![](/no-image-to-display.jpg)

For more detailed information about these changes, and information about fixes and changes to existing features, please view the Macrium Site Manager Knowledgebase shown below:  
[https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM/](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM/)

Contact us [for more information](/contact), for a demonstration,  
or [download a trial of Site Manager.](/site-manager)

20200825-macrium-site-manager-v7-2-5161-whats-new-f2925d09d686.jpeg

With a new release of Site Manager comes a variety of new features. Today we

Site Manager Update

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# Introducing Macrium Site Manager 8.1

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve made a series of improvements to Macrium Site Manager. The latest version, Site Manager 8.1, will be available for you to use from Wednesday 14th June 2023. This update improves the user experience and includes integrations for seamless use alongside other products.

## How do I Upgrade to Macrium Site Manager 8.1?
You’ll be able to update Site Manager from Wednesday 14th June 2023. When you log in, you’ll see a notice explaining some steps you need to take before doing so. Please note - The change is not automatic. You will need to actively opt into the update by clicking the button presented to you after login.

## What’s New With Macrium Site Manager 8.1?
Here is a breakdown of the improvements we’ve made since version 8.0.

### Speed Improvements
Macrium Site Manager 8.1 includes all Reflect 8.1 changes, including speed improvements.

### Macrium Boot Media Agent
- There’s now an automatic connection to the Macrium Site Manager server. This allows server-initiated restores and full monitoring and control of all rescue media-based operations.
- You can now restrict access to rescue media to specific users or groups using the permission management systems in Macrium Site Manager, including full active directory integration.
- Auto-repository mapping reduces time to manually restore backups using Macrium Site Manager rescue media. This removes the need for the user to manually map a repository and provide server paths, username and password (for logged-in users).
### Macrium SiteDeploy Integration
- Add license keys and start trials from the improved first-run wizard for both Macrium Site Manager and Macrium SiteDeploy.
### Simplify Disaster Recovery
- For disaster recovery from rescue media, computers can automatically be identified and backups for that computer can be listed directly in the Macrium Reflect restore interface, with no manual steps required.
### Improved Interface
- Improved computers page which gives you better visibility of repository usage and easier access to backups.
- Improved intuitive rules for partition selection makes partition selection easier than ever.
- The Macrium Site Manager initiated restore wizard has been updated to make the process of restoring a computer simpler and faster.
### Post-Backup Power-Saving Options
- Better management of out-of-hours backups, with added ability to shut down, reboot or suspend computers after backup completion. This is especially the case when combined with the existing Wake-on-Lan features in Site Manager.
Find out more about the upgrades in Macrium Site Manager 8.1 in our [video demonstration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQRHp36T4fQ) and access the [release notes here](https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/MSM8/Release+Notes). 

We hope you enjoy exploring the benefits Site Manager 8.1 has to offer and encourage you to [share your thoughts](https://www.macrium.com/contact) and feedback to assist with our continual improvement programme.

The latest version of our sitewide backup system, Macrium Site Manager 8.1, is now available for you to use. Here's the improvements we've made.

Introducing Macrium Site Manager 8.1

infosec

product

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<figure><img alt="" src="/no-image-to-display.jpg" /></figure>In this thread of #BackupFAQ blog post you can find answer to common questions we receive from our customers, where we explain all you need to know about Macrium Software, our Products and the Backup industry. Leave a comment if you have suggestions for our next publication.This week we explain how support works and how its renewal may affect your licence.<h3><a href="https://www.macrium.com/support">Macrium Support &amp; Maintenance</a></h3><h3>What does Standard support include?</h3>Macrium Reflect business editions (Workstation, Server, and Server Plus for Exchange and SQL), all include 12 months free Standard Support &amp; Maintenance included in the purchase of each license, which is renewable for subsequent years. Standard Support includes access to support via email, our KnowledgeBase and our customer forum.We also offer a Premium Support option which includes priority response and telephone support.Both Standard and Premium Support include Upgrade Protection, so Minor updates (for example v7.1 to v7.2) and Major upgrades (for example v7 to v8) are free while the subscription is current.<h3>What does Home Essentials support include?</h3>When you purchase Macrium Reflect Home Edition, Macrium Home Essentials Support is provided free for one year.Macrium Home Essentials Support includes access to support via email, our KnowledgeBase and our customer forum. Many problems can be solved by finding solutions within the Forum, KnowledgeBase (KB) Tutorials, Help Tutorials and YouTube videos; these are instant solutions rather than having to wait for Macrium Support to respond (usually within 24 hours during weekdays).After the year of Home Essentials ends you will still have full and permanent access to our active and helpful customer forum and KnowledgeBase.<h3>Does Home Essentials support include upgrades?</h3>Minor updates (for example v7.1 to v7.2) are free. Major upgrades (for example v7 to v8) are chargeable but with an upgrade discount — usually around 40% to 50% off the price of a new license.<h3>What is the difference between the Macrium Reflect Home Essentials Support and Macrium Reflect Standard Support?</h3>Workstation licenses include eligibility for support when using Reflect in a business environment, which is explicitly NOT supported for users of the Home edition.Workstation licences have Standard Support and Maintenance that can be upgraded to Premium 24x7 Support, and is renewable as an optional fee each year. It also allows you to get Major updates for free.With the Home Edition, Essentials support cannot be renewed after 12 months unless a new license is purchased.NB: 30-Day Trial users (of any edition) receive email support and we will answer any questions while evaluating our software for the full 30 days of the trial.<h3>What are the big differences between standard and premium support?</h3>Both offer access to the Support Forum, KnowledgeBase, Upgrade Protection and remote support via email. But Premium support offers benefits that can be key when a disaster strikes: It offers the option of receiving Telephone Support, having Case Priority, 24x7 coverage and a typical response time of 12 hours instead of 24 hours.<h3>Do you offer email and Forum support for the Free Edition?</h3>The free edition is not supported although users do have access to view the Forum, KnowledgeBase and YouTube videos. We have over 6 million users of Macrium reflect Free worldwide and there is no way we could provide support for a free product. Of course we hope the Free Edition will demonstrate the value of Macrium Reflect and result in people who are willing to pay for additional value. But if you want to keep using the free version, you’re welcome to do so: it is not time limited in any way (unlike the 30-Day Trial).<h3>How does the support renewal process work?</h3>The Business Support and Maintenance subscriptions are for 12 months and must be renewed to retain access to support and maintenance. All business edition licenses without a current support subscription are eligible for an upgrade with a discount of up to 50%.Any business edition of Macrium Reflect (Workstation, Server, Server Plus, and Technicians Licenses) that have a current support subscription, are eligible for a free upgrade to the current version. If the support subscription for a license expired within the last 90 days it is still possible renew it, so the license will be eligible for a free upgrade.Home Essentials Support is for 12 months only and cannot be renewed, unless a new license is purchased.Please note: the upgrade discount only applies to previous purchased versions, it does not apply when upgrading from the free or 30-Day Trial to the latest full purchased version.<h3>Will my licence still work if my support has expired and I don’t renew it?</h3>Yes, Macrium Reflect Home, Workstation, Server, and Server Plus licenses are perpetual and independent of the support subscription.Each Macrium Reflect Workstation, Server, and Server Plus Editions license key is for one computer and it should be only transferred to another computer for legitimate upgrade/replacement purposes. When you purchase any of these editions you have the software licenses for life, there is no annual fee to pay, independently of having renewed your support or not.The exception is when you upgrade an old version to a current version. Your old license key becomes invalidated and replaced by the new upgrade license key.<h3>What about the Technicians and Deployment Kit Licenses?</h3>These two license types run alongside the other business editions. These license are ideal for IT technicians or service companies who might maintain a large number of PCs and may wish to back them up prior to carrying out work. Without the Technicians License, each PC requires separate licensed copy of Macrium Reflect, because the usual licensing arrangement is machine specific. Using a Technicians license allows the technician to backup or image each PC using a single license.The Technicians Deployment Kit License allows up to 5 technicians to create “Master” or “Golden” images and deploy them to an unlimited number of workstations and servers. This enables internal IT departments and commercial IT specialists to set up PCs without having to purchase a separate license for each workstation or server providing the software is not installed on more than one PC at a time.The Technicians and Deployment Kit licenses last for one year, after which they can be renewed. If the subscription is not renewed they will downgrade to a standalone Server Edition license and Portable Application Support* will no longer function.Macrium Premium Support &amp; Maintenance is included with Technicians and Deployment Licenses, while the license subscription is active.<h3>*What is Portable Application Support?</h3>Portable application support ships exclusively with Macrium Reflect Technicians Licenses. In addition to allowing you to create a bootable USB stick from which you can rescue your systems, you can also optionally add Portable Application support to your media. This will allow you to run Macrium Reflect on your licensed PCs directly from the USB stick, without needing to install Reflect on the workstation or server first. The base install of Macrium Reflect may only be installed on a single PC at a time. If you wish to move this install, you will have to uninstall and reinstall the software.We hope you have enjoyed this post. We will come back soon with more #FAQs updates.You can download a 30-day Trial of <a href="https://www.macrium.com/products/business/standalone/workstation">Macrium Reflect Workstation</a> or <a href="https://www.macrium.com/site-manager">Site Manager 7.</a> Technical support for Trial users evaluating our software is available via <a href="https://www.macrium.com/support">email.</a>

In this thread of #BackupFAQ blog post you can find answer to common questions

#BackupFAQ — If my support expired does it affect my software licence?

# 6 best ways to love your data

It’s been said and repeated countless times, but data is the most valuable resource in the world. Your data. Everyone’s data. Companies are still clamoring to learn everything and anything about you to sell on to the highest bidder, hackers are hoping to get a valuable nugget for ransom leverage, and others are just collecting… collecting and waiting for a time when it can be best used. 

Sounds more like a horror story than a romance, but you aren’t powerless! There are a few important ways to show your data some love, and what better time to do it than International Love Data Week? 

## Check out these International Love Data Week events

First of all, let’s have a little fun and schedule in some great online events that are going on! Here are a few that jumped out, but be sure to check out [the complete list here](https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/cms/4544 "www.icpsr.umich.edu"). There are plenty of online and in-person events to choose from. 

[**Falling in Love with Data**](https://villanova.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJElcOmorzksGNT1cyET8YgVcX2yAOAnRLbu "https://villanova.zoom.us") - This beginner workshop will provide an overview of ICPSR, an online data archive available to social science researchers.

[**Dating with Data: 50 Years of Romantic Relationships**](https://calendar.lib.vt.edu/event/10275825 "calendar.lib.vt.edu") - How have US attitudes toward inter-racial, inter-religious, and LGBTQ+ relationships changed over the past half century? Find out what surveys from 1972-2022 say while sharing some Valentine's Day treats as part of International Love Data Week!

[**Love Data Week - Data Privacy**](https://library.temple.edu/events/1389 "library.temple.edu") - Learn about data privacy from Dina Gayanova, a data privacy and cybersecurity attorney in Holland & Knight's Philadelphia office.

[**Data for Social Good**](https://uncw.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lcuCurTgrHtfdskbF47WpbT4f5Gap_kHO#/registration "uncw.zoom.us") - Data can be used to bring about changes that matter. Hear from various researchers about how they have used data to make an impact on society. They will reflect upon how they first recognized what impact their data could have, and how they then worked towards turning that data into a form to be practically used beyond academia.

**[Love Data Week: Introduction to Data Visualization with Tableau](https://library.temple.edu/events/1436 "library.temple.edu")** - Do you like data? Do you like good looking graphs? Do you like presenting information in eye-catching ways? If you answered yes to any of those, you might be interested in learning more about data visualization.

## Choose a privacy-focused alternative search engine

Google isn’t the only kid on the block anymore. There are new alternatives every day, but if you’re looking for an option that keeps your privacy front and center, why not give these a spin? Ecosia even plants trees the more you search! 

[DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/ "DuckDuckGo.com")

[Startpage](https://www.startpage.com/ "www.startpage.com")

[Ecosia](https://info.ecosia.org/privacy "info.ecosia.org")

Disclaimer (and minor rabbit hole for you to fall into)

[Global surveillance alliances are an important](https://www.techspot.com/article/2515-surveillance-intelligence-alliances/ "www.techspot.com"), and sometimes invisible, piece of the cyber security puzzle. It’s important to educate yourself on your country’s laws and alliances, as all the good intentions a company may have are still subject to the law.

## Regularly check your app security settings

You’ve heard the saying, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” Luckily, in most jurisdictions, the law has finally caught up with technology and we’re now able to choose what information we share. The apps we love to use have a tendency to love using us back, but it’s important that all parties involved are okay with that trade.

So keep an eye on [your security settings](https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-check-app-permissions-ios-android-macos-windows/ "www.wired.com"), actually [read your EULAs](https://measuringu.com/eula/ "measuringu.com") (or at least give it a good college try), and take a few moments to consider what you’re giving in exchange for that “free” product or service.

## Learn about the most common cyber security threats

[Cyber criminals are constantly changing and adapting their techniques](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home "www.ncsc.gov.uk") for getting their hands on your info, but the absolute best protection against it: knowledge. Learn about the different ways your information can be accessed and stolen so it’s more obvious to you when you see it.

Even things as simple as keeping different passwords for different accounts, and turning on 2-factor authentication can go a long way.

## Best VPNs in 2023

This could be a blog post in itself (and probably will be soon) but we’d be remiss if it wasn’t included in this list. There are a variety of VPNs out there to suit your needs and price point, whether it’s just a browser extension or something for your whole household.

[TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/vpn/best-vpn "www.techradar.com") has done a really great review of all the major VPNs out there right now, so have a read for the most current info and get started. Most offer free 30 day trials!

## Protect your data with backup and recovery software

And of course, rely on [Macrium Reflect 8](https://www.macrium.com/ "www.macrium.com") to protect your home PCs. Whether your data is compromised by hackers, lost due to human error, or destroyed due to a natural event, a well-planned backup strategy will protect you when you need it most.

Running regular backups is like a good insurance policy, and routinely checking you can restore them is the easiest way to trust your data is in good hands. And with [Macrium Image Guardian (MIG)](https://www.macrium.com/mig "www.macrium.com/mig"), you can rest easy knowing that even your backup files are safe from ransomware.

To celebrate International Love Data Week, we’re offering 20% off Reflect 8 Home! (from now until 20th February 2023) So put all these practices in place, get yourself top-notch backup and recovery software, and share the love with someone whose data you want to protect, too!

![macrium-software-adoption-certificate-lovedateweek23.png](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/macrium_software_adoption_certificate_lovedateweek23_84a3327e78.png)

It’s been said and repeated countless times, but data is the most valuable resource in the world. Your data. Everyone’s data. Companies are still clamoring to learn everything and anything about you to sell on to the highest bidder, hackers are hoping to get a valuable nugget for ransom leverage, and others are just collecting… collecting and waiting for a time when it can be best used. 

Sounds more like a horror story than a romance, but you aren’t powerless!

6 best ways to love your data

Similar to the [federal government](/the-federal-government-and-cybersecurity-risks "The Federal Government and Cybersecurity Risks"), state and local governments have cybersecurity threats. While the federal government is in charge of the U.S. as a whole, state and local governments manage cities, towns, tribals, and municipalities. This difference also leads to shifts in the way governments establish cybersecurity. On a state-to-state or city-to-city level, applications may change based on a number of factors. 

## What Does Cybersecurity Look Like on the State and Local Level?

State and local governments are vulnerable to cybercriminal activity as “they collect, process, store, and transmit vast amounts of sensitive data.” The wrong hands can weaponize and misuse data.

In 2020, hackers carried out 79 individual [ransomware attacks against U.S. government organizations](https://icma.org/blog-posts/practical-measures-local-government-avoid-ransomware "icma.org"). It cost downtime and recovery of nearly $18.88 billion. Clearly, ransomware is pervasive. The attack suspended “municipal operations, ultimately disrupting infrastructure services for 911 systems, utilities, and payment platforms with state and local governments.” 

[Cybercriminals target local governments](https://www.nlc.org/wp-contenthttps://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/2020/04/SML_2020Report_web-1.pdf "www.nlc.org"), which can “threaten to erode the trust that residents have in critical institutions.” The increasing reliance on IoT and automated systems may invite cyberattacks. They take advantage of gaps in security and the multiple entries of technology. Inadequate security measures and negligence within municipalities generate cyber risks.

![1406439_state-and-local-gov-graphic-3-2_071522.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406439_state_and_local_gov_graphic_3_2_071522_3fc6314d14.jpg)

From a [review of local government cybersecurity in 2020](https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/look-local-government-cybersecurity-2020 "icma.org"), local governments have three ways of cybersecurity structure: 

1.  **Centralized**: A single IT department is responsible for managing all the cybersecurity in a town or city. As a benefit, it ensures an extensive coverage of risks.
2.  **Decentralized**: Every department must run its own cybersecurity. Unlike centralized, a police department or building division in a town government must deal with IT matters individually.
3.  **Federated**: For local governments that operate with federated, it’s shared. The chief information security officer (CISO) assumes part of the authority for cyber protection. Local offices and departments take on the rest. The disadvantage of this model is that the CISO does not set the precedent for local government departments. A lot of breaches and cyberattacks can happen from a lack of education surrounding proper cybersecurity protocols. If a CISO is unable to totally control a local government’s cybersecurity, departments may be susceptible to hackers.

## Cybersecurity Preparedness

As with federal government agencies, local and state governments commonly take action post-attack. 

An example comes from the Riverside Ohio police and fire department in 2018\. The department servers suffered an unrecoverable data loss from 10 months of information. Unfortunately, it “effectively shut down the police department’s records management system.” Surprisingly, Riverside went through another data loss only a month after the initial shutdown. Since the first time, they ran daily backups in case it happened again, which it did. In March 2018 and May 2019, [two attacks occurred in the local government](https://icma.org/blog-posts/practical-measures-local-government-avoid-ransomware "icma.org") of the city of Baltimore as well. 

An [IBM news report](https://newsroom.ibm.com/2020-02-27-IBM-Survey-Only-38-of-State-and-Local-Government-Employees-Trained-on-Ransomware-Prevention "newsroom.ibm.com") examined the results from a poll. In it, U.S. city and state employees assessed their readiness for cyberattacks. Overwhelmingly, more than natural disasters and terrorist attacks, 73% of government employees feared “impending ransomware threats to cities across the country.” 

![1406447_stateandlocalgovgraphic1_071922.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406447_stateandlocalgovgraphic1_071922_969ebd5e0d.jpg)

Moreover, respondents revealed the prevalence of ransomware attacks. A poll showed that the departments of 1 in 6 employees had a ransomware attack. This evidence has not stimulated proactive prevention. Only 38% of employees received “general ransomware prevention training.” 

Along with cybersecurity structure in local government, there are obstacles to achieving uniform and effective cybersecurity across states, towns, and cities.

## Problems in Governments that Cause Cyber Risks 

Other factors contribute to the flaws in cybersecurity at this level of government. [IoT emerges as a feature in buildings](https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5356053/global-smart-buildings-market-by-technology-ai "researchandmarkets.com") that will only continue, according to Smart Buildings Market for 2021-2026\. The research estimates that “over 78% of new construction will involve at least one facet of IoT and/or related smart buildings market-related technologies over the course of the next five years.”

More state and local governments will incorporate these types of technologies into their offices. "[T]hese internet-connected devices and systems greatly increase exposure to cybersecurity risks.” IMCA reviewed the [consideration for IoT safety in municipalities](https://icma.org/blog-posts/cybersecurity-considerations-implement-iot "icma.org"). They go in hand with the accessibility and streamlined application that IoT offers. Technology is not dangerous but a lack of cybersecurity resources is.

![1406375_stateandlocalgovgraphic1_071422.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406375_stateandlocalgovgraphic1_071422_91111930fa.jpg)

Risks for administering IoT devices:

*   Weak or hard-coded passwords
*   Old and unpatched embedded operating systems and software
*   Insecure data transfer and storage
*   Lack of secure updates

![1406389_state-and-local-gov-graphic-2-2_071822.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406389_state_and_local_gov_graphic_2_2_071822_43e47181bc.jpg)

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) surveyed 103 state and local officials to [determine why governments lacked an effective security strateg](https://www.govtech.com/sponsored/how-state-and-local-governments-can-make-their-security-operations-ready-for-the-future "govtech.com")y:

*   46% said lack of cybersecurity skills among their workforce
*   40% said issues with integrating security tools
*   36% said the inability to rapidly respond to threats

The following security and compliance challenges include: 

*   Legacy 
*   Unpatched and non-supported networks increasing exposure
*   Excessive manual processes 
*   Limited enterprise visibility around the endpoints connected to networks

From the survey, 66% of participants acknowledged that “their data-sharing practices are only somewhat mature or not mature at all."

Governments experience challenges with data accessibility and sharing. They have difficulty transforming data into actionable intelligence. It's a result of different data formats and storage environments. “At the same time, governments must deal with an ever-evolving regulatory environment and an increasingly privacy-focused landscape that makes it safer for them to limit data sharing rather than expose themselves to added risks.”

Data analytic challenges from a CDG survey:

*   41% said security
*   38% said privacy concerns
*   35% said data quality
*   34% said data silos

The article poses a few solutions:

*   Governments need to better align their data with people, technologies, and processes for the connection to be seamless.
*   Storing and indexing data calls for reconfiguration for security. 
*   Muncipilatites must leverage modern technologies to support data sharing across departments.
*   Cybersecurity is a necessity and data contains confidential information that demands protection. 

On top of this, 52% of state and local government IT/Security professionals agreed their budget hasn’t improved. This could hinder [training on ransomware prevention](https://newsroom.ibm.com/2020-02-27-IBM-Survey-Only-38-of-State-and-Local-Government-Employees-Trained-on-Ransomware-Prevention "newsroom.ibm.com/").

## What Regulations Constitute State and Local Cybersecurity? 

The EU implements the [General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)](https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ "gdpr.eu"), a data privacy and security law that provides regulations for organizations worldwide to control cybersecurity. Some states have begun implementing cybersecurity mandates on their own. Following this, the U.S. is starting to catch up with statewide mandates such as the [California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)](https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa "oag.ca.gov"). The act provides guidance for California businesses and organizations, mostly to protect consumers and let them have greater control over their personal information and what businesses can take advantage of. 

Additionally, the [2018 California Civil Code on Security of Connected Devices](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB327 "leginfo.legislature.ca.gov") places a new requirement on manufacturers. On January 1, 2020, manufacturers began following these guidelines. IoT devices are now sold with the right security features to protect data and privileged information. The code will reduce "unauthorized access, use, adaption, disclosure, or destruction."

The New York City chief technology officer issued the New York City Internet of Things. It defines IoT safety and security practices. The new order creates processes to evaluate city technology. ICMA's “Cybersecurity Considerations to Implement IoT,” also gives recommendations for improvement.’”

The Committee on Homeland Security wants to introduce [The State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act](https://homeland.house.gov/imo/media/doc/State%20and%20Local%20Cyber%20Act%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf "homeland.house.gov"). The proposal stems from fears that the federal government is slow to cybersecurity. Stretched state and local budgets and current defenses cannot stand against foreign hackers.

The act develops "a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant program." Advocates plan to tackle cybersecurity risks for state and local governments.

A National League of Cities report, “[State and Local Partnerships for Cybersecurity](https://www.nlc.org/wp-contenthttps://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/2020/04/SML_2020Report_web-1.pdf "www.nlc.org"),” believes in a collaborative approach. Cities and states can strengthen national cybersecurity infrastructure together. 

Currently, “Delaware is the only state that offers voluntary statewide cybersecurity training for state non-executive and local government employees.” Out of the 50 U.S. states, only 16 mandate cybersecurity training. Nine states lack cybersecurity training programs completely. 

Organizations are fighting to unify and structure the inconsistencies among states.

## How to Secure Critical Local and Government Data 

Beyond firewalls and antivirus software, a simple and inexpensive (compared to ransomware costs) solution is keeping backup images and copies of data. In this way, governments will have another layer of protection in case of ineffective cybersecurity. 

Security is central to software design at Macrium. Our applications give you complete control over where your data is stored and will operate fully offline for the most secure, air-tight networks.

Macrium Software provides extensive backup imaging for this reason. Check out our website to learn about installing effective backups to prevent data loss at [Macrium.com](https://www.macrium.com/ "macrium.com").


State and local governments are vulnerable to cybercriminal activity as “they collect, process, store, and transmit vast amounts of sensitive data.” The wrong hands can weaponize and misuse data. In 2020, hackers carried out 79 individual ransomware attacks against U.S. government organizations. It cost downtime and recovery of nearly $18.88 billion. Clearly, ransomware is pervasive. The attack suspended “municipal operations, ultimately disrupting infrastructure services for 911 systems, utilities, and payment platforms with state and local governments.” 

State and Local Government Cybersecurity Risks

Here in the northern hemisphere, summer has rolled round again, bringing record temperatures across Europe and North America with it. While a cold shower or an icecream might be enough to cool us down, things aren’t so simple for the devices that we trust to store our data. Have you ever wondered why data centres are so cold? The answer is slightly more complex than “to keep the IT people cool”.

We all know that excess heat is bad for our devices. You may have even seen pictures or videos of competitive overclockers using liquid nitrogen to stop their CPUs overheating, and if you haven’t: [tomshardware has got you covered](https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/how-to-competitive-overclocking-overclocker-tips,5636.html "tomshardware.com"). However, proper cooling isn’t just important for CPUs, it is also important for storage devices.

First, it can be beneficial to define what is a good temperature for a storage device. Although the exact numbers will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, some basic outlines are

Solid State Drive (SSD) - 0 °C to 60°C (32°F to 140°F)

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - 0ºC up to 70ºC (32ºF to 158ºF)

For more information you should read the manufacturer’s specification. This example is from a [Samsung 870 EVO](https://www.samsung.com/uk/memory-storage/sata-ssd/870-evo-1tb-sata-3-2-5-ssd-mz-77e1t0b-eu/ "samsung.com"):

![20220725-why-you-should-keep-your-data-cool-this-summer.png](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/20220725_why_you_should_keep_your_data_cool_this_summer_1f814025b5.png)

What happens if the temperature of the drives rise above this? Well, basically, nothing good. Many modern devices are smart enough to monitor their own temperature via their firmware. If temperatures reach a certain level, they may throttle their own performance to prevent further overheating. Whilst this is good as it prevents the drive from further overheating and potentially damaging components, this may also lead to reduced performance including reduced I/O performance. This [large-scale case study](https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~omutlu/pub/flash-memory-failures-in-the-field-at-facebook_sigmetrics15.pdf "users.ece.cmu.edu") of flash memory failure in the field at Facebook’s datacentres notes:

_“Higher temperatures lead to increased failure rates, but do so most noticeably for SSDs that do not employ throttling techniques.”_

Not only have they noticed a correlation between shorter flash storage lifespan with higher temperature, but drives that don’t implement performance throttling at higher temperatures had noticeably shorter lifespans than their counterparts that do.

In [this whitepaper](https://aiot.innodisk.com/wp-contenthttps://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/2020/07/Achieving-Extensive-Data-Retention-in-High-Temperature-AIoT-Applications-1.pdf "aiot.innodisk.com"), innodisk also draw a correlation between temperature and a decrease in data retention. 

_“Data retention decreases in higher temperatures and with increasing program/erase (P/E) cycles as both these factors induce a higher rate of charge leakage.”_

Charge leakage occurs when the dielectric barrier designed to trap a charge in the flash cell degrades, if the dielectric degrades too much, the cell can no longer hold a charge and thus can’t be programmed. For more information about the structure of NAND flash cells, I recommend reading [this blog post](/how-do-ssds-work#:~:text=SSDs%20are%20fundamentally%20made%20up,SSD%20and%20the%20host%20interface. "macrium.com"). Higher temperatures mean that charged particles in the flash cell move more, further eroding the dielectric layer. 

As for HDDs, [in this article by Backblaze](https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-temperature-does-it-matter/ "backblaze.com") they indicate that in their datacentre there was no significant correlation between drive temperature and drive failure rate. In their ‘Hard Drive Temperature Takeaways’ they state:

_“As long as you run drives well within their allowed range of operating temperatures, keeping them cooler doesn’t matter.”_

However, this leaves a lot of room for speculation if the HDD exceeds the operating temperature, something that might not be that difficult as temperatures spike globally, and the average user does not have datacentre cooling to rely on.

The good news, however, is that there are steps we can take to help our storage devices out. Most methods to keep data cool may seem like common sense: from keeping devices away from direct sunlight, placing the device in an area with good air circulation, to avoiding heavy workloads in high temperatures and turning the device off when not in use; there are a lot of things we can do to reduce the temperature of our devices.

On the very hottest days, if you can’t keep your storage cool, just turn it off; that’s what Google and Oracle do.

[https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62202125](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62202125 "bbc.com")

Keeping devices as cool as possible will not only prevent potential damage from overheating but many also improve data retention.


Here in the northern hemisphere, summer has rolled round again, bringing record temperatures across Europe and North America with it. While a cold shower or an icecream might be enough to cool us down, things aren’t so simple for the devices that we trust to store our data. Have you ever wondered why data centres are so cold? The answer is slightly more complex than “to keep the IT people cool”.

Why you should keep your data cool this summer

company

# Macrium Software one of UK’s Best Workplaces in Tech™

[Manchester, UK] The 2023 UK’s Best Workplaces in Tech™ list has been launched by Great Place To Work® UK, recognising Macrium Software among the list of organisations in the Small and Medium category.

Macrium Software’s employees anonymously reported that innovation and collaboration within the business make the company a great place to work.

> “The company culture is extremely friendly, I always feel comfortable going to my colleagues for help. Hard work is definitely recognised and management appreciates the extra effort that's made. I have felt extremely welcomed when working with different departments and have always been given help and resources when needed. It's a really nice feeling to enjoy working and knowing that I can ask for help if it is needed!”

An employee survey comment

## Great Place To Work® UK - Best Workplaces in Tech™️ list 

Now in its sixth year, the Best Workplaces in Tech™️ list celebrates companies adept at developing dynamic, collaborative cultures that serve as a catalyst for innovation and personal growth for all.
Great Place To Work® UK administered its research-backed Trust Index© employee survey and analysed the responses of UK-based tech employees to determine the Best Workplaces™ list.  

The surveys asked employees to comment on how their company supports their work-life balance, sense of fulfilment, job satisfaction, psychological safety and financial security. 

Evaluations also included an assessment of how well the organisation was able to deliver consistency of employee experience across all departments and seniority levels. 

Macrium Software is one of just five businesses in the North West to make the 2023 list in the category. The business also received Great Place to Work’s certification and featured on its .. lists earlier in 2023. 

## People are “Our Greatest Asset”

Macrium Software’s CEO, Nick Sills, said:

> “At Macrium Software, we recognise that our people are our greatest asset. We take great pride in fostering a supportive and positive working environment, where each individual can thrive and reach their full potential. We believe that by investing in our employees' professional and personal development, we can achieve the highest levels of success and innovation as a company. As a team, we are dedicated to creating a culture that values collaboration, creativity and mutual respect and we are committed to providing our employees with the resources they need to excel both in and outside of the workplace.”

## Keeping People “At the Heart of the Business”

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place To Work® UK said:

> “The Best Workplaces in Tech™️ list is created using the anonymous feedback collected from employees within the technology industry about their workplace experience. In one of the country’s fastest-growing industries, it’s fantastic to see these Tech organisations putting their people strategy at the heart of the business and implementing policies, practices and programmes that sustain an impactful and consistently great employee experience for all. A huge congratulations to Macrium Software for making one of our most prestigious lists.”

---ENDS---

### About Macrium Software 

Macrium Software is the industry leader in image-based backup and recovery software. We’re a vital part of digital security and business continuity plans for enterprise businesses, SMBs, and IT professionals across all industries and sectors. In a world where data is the most valuable resource, we've made it our business to protect yours. 

[www.macrium.com](https://www.macrium.com/)

Follow Macrium Software online: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/macrium), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/paramount-software-uk-limited), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/macrium/), and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/macrium/)

© 2023. Paramount Software UK Limited. Macrium Reflect® is a registered trademark of Paramount Software UK Limited. 

### About Great Place To Work®

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, on a mission to make every company a great workplace for all. Every year, they receive direct feedback from over 10 million workers around the world telling us how they really feel about their employer. 

Their survey is completely confidential and anonymous, so people can feel comfortable to be honest about their workplace, and companies can gain detailed insights into how they can better serve their people.

Only those employers who have the highest levels of trust, job satisfaction, and who empower ALL their employees to thrive both in and outside of work are awarded official Best Workplaces™ recognition.

For more information, visit [www.greatplacetowork.co.uk](https://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/)

Macrium Software has been named as one of the UK's Best Workplaces in Tech™ by Great Place To Work®, the global authority on workplace culture.

Macrium Software one of UK’s Best Workplaces in Tech™

cybersecurity

windows-backup

The retail industry is not exempt from cyberattacks. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed shopping from in-store to online. However, our overall reliance on digital technology has transformed retail. Cyberattacks cost retailers millions of dollars in ransomware prices. With today’s digitally focused business environment, investing in cybersecurity is a top priority.

Let’s review the current state of cybersecurity in retail and how preparation can save this sector from corrupt hackers.  

## How Is Retail a Target for Cyberattacks?

A main driving force for why cyber attackers target the retail industry is customer information. Credit card payments and personal information are highly advantageous to cybercriminals. Storing online data to re-enter shopping accounts is risky if there is not proper cybersecurity established. 

![1406759_Retail-Graphic-1-1_080122.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406759_Retail_Graphic_1_1_080122_4cd6d06fba.jpg)

IT Pro published an article about [why retail is ranking in cyberattacks](https://www.itpro.com/security/cyber-security/360747/why-retailers-are-the-most-targeted-sector-for-cyber-attacks "itpro.com"). Criminals who have access to customer databases “can send phishing emails pretending to be a legitimate business.” At this time, they can “ask for personal details, send malicious links, or include malware that can wreak havoc on a customer’s PC.” 

The article also signifies this risk is not exclusive to online shopping. The Internet of Things (IoT) is practicable in today’s business environment. Physical objects integrate with technology to be more available and adaptable. IoT devices in the retail industry include point of sales (PoS) systems and security cameras. As they incorporate technology features, there is more access for hackers. Malware-infected PoS systems are a threat to the private information of businesses and customers.

Progressive technology gives cyber attackers multiple points of entry. The retail industry can avoid costly repairs and preserve the image of its business. For either online shopping or in-person, establishing basic cybersecurity protocols is a preventative defense. 

[The Consumer Goods Forum](https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/global-learning-mechanism-resources/cyber-attacks-the-increasing-risk-for-retail/ "theconsumergoodsforum.com") reports that “retail is more vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the nature of its online traffic and the design of its e-commerce websites.” Phones, stored customer data such as payments and personally-identifying information, and online shopping convenience make enforcing cybersecurity a challenge.

User-friendliness is a conflict. Retailers worry that “robust security measures can make the purchasing process seem time consuming and difficult, driving customers to abandon purchases.” If a customer-focused retail approach overshadows security measures, hackers will continue to plague retail industries. This is one obstacle the retail industry encounters when balancing between security and customer satisfaction. 

However, retailers who have not yet experienced cyberattacks or are unaware of current threats will soon realize that it’s not one of the other. Cybersecurity plays a considerable role in the authority, trustworthiness, and reliability of a company. In the worst cases, customers will leave a company when their personal security is at risk. 

![1406766_Retail-Graphic-2-1_080122.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406766_Retail_Graphic_2_1_080122_770d7c7acb.jpg)

## Aftermath of Ransomware on the Retail Industry

Beyond the first sting of a cyberattack hit, there are other consequences that ruin a business. [Retail Touchpoints](https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/blog/cybersecurity-data-privacy-and-esg-highlight-risk-trends-for-retail-and-consumer-markets "retailtouchpoints.com") lists five impacts regulations and investigations have on retail companies:

*   Financial exposure
*   Reputational risk
*   Limited options given the optics of litigating against the government
*   Time and resource-intensive
*   Business disruption

These impacts are critical for retail businesses to see that there are not only financial losses, “but also the potential for brand damage and loss of data.” The article shares two types of data: customer-related and intellectual property linked to confidential business operations. 

Online shopping opens the doors for us to purchase global goods and services. The U.S. economic regulations don’t always agree with those in Spain or the Netherlands. Cybersecurity practices from one country to another can lead to gaps in cyber safety across the marketplace. Along with the changing landscape of how technology is distributed and used in retail, it can be hard to keep up and maintain standardized cybersecurity. 

![1406779_Retail-Graphic-3-1_080222.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406779_Retail_Graphic_3_1_080222_efe22548db.jpg)

## What Are the Responses for Ransomware and Encryption in Retail?

[The Sophos’ State of Ransomware in Retail 2021](https://assets.sophos.com/X24WTUEQ/at/8c5hfmh8h8w3sh72b8v65hr/sophos-state-of-ransomware-retail-2021-wp.pdf "assets.sophos.com") (PDF) surveyed “5,400 IT managers across 30 countries [with] 435 respondents from [the] retail sector.” The key findings from the survey showed: 

*   Ransomware hit 44% of retail organizations in 2021
*   Cybercriminals encrypted 54% of organizations’ data after a ransomware attack
*   32% of businesses paid the ransom after their data was encrypted
*   On average, ransom payments cost US$147,811
*   Most often, only 67% of data is recovered when businesses pay the ransom
*   The average bill to resolve a ransomware attack is US$1.97 million for retailers who must factor in lost opportunity, downtime, network cost, device cost, ransom paid, and people time
*   For retailers who went through encryption, 56% use backups to restore data
*   Compared to the global average, the retail industry isn’t as equipped with encryption prevention: 34% vs 39%
*   The global average for cyberattack preparation is 82%, while the retail industry is only 78% 
*   50% of retail respondents who don’t believe they will be attacked are relying on strategies proven ineffective from ransomware
*   13% of participants do not have any concerns about ransomware

![1406785_Retail-Graphic-4-1_080222.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/1406785_Retail_Graphic_4_1_080222_d32fed45ed.jpg)

Among the recommendations Sophos provides the retail industry, they suggest making backups. In the line of defense, backup is a crucial aspect. They point to the downfall of losing data, regardless of paying the ransom. As there is rarely a full data recovery from cyberattacks, having backups is reassuring. 

Firewalls may fail and cybercriminals are becoming far more advanced than existing infrastructure security. Even with layers of cybersecurity protection, once a hack occurs, backups can redeem stolen data. They may eliminate the need to pay the ransomware.

The report also referenced the “3-2-1” backup plan. Companies should have three separate copies, two types of backups, and one offline and offsite copy that cyberattackers can’t reach.

Security is central to software design at Macrium. Our applications give you complete control over where your data is stored and will operate fully offline for the most secure, air-tight networks.

Macrium Software is a backup and image recovery solution. Along with other malware plans and protection software, backups are valuable ways to keep data despite malicious cyber activity. Check out our website to learn about installing effective backups to prevent data loss at [Macrium.com](https://www.macrium.com "macrium.com/8-home").

20220801-the-retail-industry-and-cybersecurity-risks.png

The retail industry is not exempt from cyberattacks. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed shopping from in-store to online. However, our overall reliance on digital technology has transformed retail. Cyberattacks cost retailers millions of dollars in ransomware prices. With today’s digitally focused business environment, investing in cybersecurity is a top priority.

The Retail Industry and Cybersecurity Risks

Macrium Software Great Place To Work Tech Sept 2023

Macrium-Software-Great-Place-To-Work-Tech-Sept-2023-1200x630.jpg

# What is a Sysadmin? Celebrating the Quiet Heroes of IT

Today is system administrator (sysadmin) [appreciation day](https://sysadminday.com/). As a company operating in the tech industry, we want to stop and highlight the crucial, but often underappreciated, work of these professionals that keep our computers and servers alive, our people in communication and organisations around the world in business.

In this blog post, we will delve into the world of sysadmins, explore their roles and the traits that make them successful. For those curious about a career in this field, we’ll also provide insights into how to get ahead in the profession.

## What Does a Sysadmin Do?

Sysadmins are so ubiquitous and manage so many tasks that it’d be easier to ask, “what don’t they do?” But here are some of the responsibilities their roles may cover on a daily basis. 

![Macrium-Software-Sysadmin-Day-Graphic-LinkedIn-Twitter-1200x627-July-2023-01.jpg](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/Macrium_Software_Sysadmin_Day_Graphic_Linked_In_Twitter_1200x627_July_2023_01_60939b1463.jpg)

### Build Machines

A fundamental task of a sysadmin is building and configuring machines that meet their business’ specific needs. This includes setting up workstations, servers and other hardware components, ensuring they function optimally to support the company’s operations.

### Data Security

Data security is crucial in today's digital landscape. Sysadmins play a critical role in implementing and maintaining security measures to safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access, data breaches and cyber threats.

### Virus Protection

Protecting systems from viruses and malware is an ongoing battle. Sysadmins are responsible for installing and managing antivirus software, conducting regular scans and promptly responding to any security threats that may arise.

### Write Code

Automation is key to improving efficiency. Sysadmins often write code or use scripting languages to automate repetitive tasks, manage configurations and streamline a business’ processes.

### Keep Users Connected

Sysadmins are the bridge between technology and end users. They provide technical support, troubleshoot issues and ensure that users can connect and collaborate seamlessly.

### Maintain Servers

Maintaining servers is a core responsibility of sysadmins. They monitor server performance, address hardware and software issues and ensure that critical systems operate smoothly.

### Configure Servers

Sysadmins also configure servers, which involves setting up user accounts, managing permissions and optimizing server performance.

### Update Servers

Keeping software and operating systems updated is vital to their security and performance. Sysadmins are responsible for applying patches and updates to servers and other systems to ensure they remain secure and efficient.

## What Traits Do You Need to Be a Successful Sysadmin?

Being a sysadmin requires a unique set of traits that go beyond technical skills. Successful sysadmins possess a combination of technical expertise and personal qualities that allow them to excel in their roles. Essential traits a sysadmin needs include the following. 

### Clear Communication

Effective communication is essential for sysadmins, as they often need to explain technical concepts to non-technical users. Clear and concise communication helps them provide instructions, troubleshoot issues and collaborate across teams.

### Responsiveness

In the fast-paced world of IT, being responsive to user requests and technical issues couldn’t be more important. A successful sysadmin promptly addresses problems and ensures minimal downtime to keep business operations running smoothly.

### Curiosity

Curiosity drives sysadmins to continuously learn and explore new technologies. Staying curious enables them to adapt to the ever-changing IT landscape and find innovative solutions to complex problems.

### Problem Solving

Sysadmins are natural problem solvers. They possess the ability to analyze issues, identify root causes and implement effective solutions to resolve technical challenges as quickly and painlessly as possible.

### Proactiveness

Being proactive is essential for Sysadmins. It allows them to anticipate potential problems and address them before they escalate. Proactive sysadmins implement preventive measures and monitor systems to prevent issues from occurring in the first place.

### Patience

Technical issues are frustrating and sysadmins often encounter complex problems that require patience and time to solve. Patience and persistence are essential traits for a sysadmin, equipping them to work through challenges methodically and solve problems - both for users and themselves.

## How Can I Become a Sysadmin?

If the role of a system administrator has your attention, there are various skills you can build and paths you can take to embark on a career in this much-demanded area.

- **Education and Training:** Pursue a degree or certification in computer science, IT or a related field. Formal education provides a strong foundation in IT principles and concepts.
- **Gain Technical Experience:** Obtain hands-on experience with computer systems, networks and operating systems. Internships, volunteer work, or personal projects can help you build practical skills.
- **Develop Problem-Solving Skills:** Nurture your problem-solving skills by tackling technical challenges and finding creative, independent solutions to common challenges.
- **Learn Scripting and Automation:** Automation is a key aspect of sysadmin work. Familiarize yourself with scripting languages like [Python](https://www.python.org/), [PowerShell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerShell) or [Bash](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/bash-scripting-tutorial-linux-shell-script-and-command-line-for-beginners/). 
- **Networking and Collaboration:** Join IT groups, network within communities, attend industry events and connect with professionals in the field to expand your network and learn from experienced sysadmins.
- **Certifications:** Consider completing industry recognized certifications like [CompTIA](https://www.comptia.org/) [Network+](https://www.comptia.org/certifications/network) etc. These certifications validate your skills, catch the attention of recruiters and ultimately, make you more attractive to employers.
- **Stay Updated:** Keep yourself informed about the latest trends and developments in IT by reading [tech blogs](https://techworldtimes.com/top-technology-blogs/), attending webinars, listening to [podcasts](https://explodingtopics.com/blog/tech-podcasts) and exploring online resources.

## Happy Sysadmin Day - Explore Our Open Roles

We hope this blog shows our appreciation for sysadmins everywhere - thank you for all you do! If you’re looking for a career in IT, we invite you to explore our open roles - take a look and apply [here](https://www.macrium.com/careers-and-culture). 

Macrium-Software-Sysadmin-Day-Blog-Hero-July-2023.jpg

Join us in celebrating sysadmin day as we highlight the quiet heroes of IT,  what it is they do and what it takes to become a successful sysadmin. 

What is a Sysadmin? | Macrium Software 

# Macrium Software Launches Deployment Product with Potential to Save IT Professionals “Days of Work”

MANCHESTER, UK (17th May 2023)  - [Macrium Software](https://www.macrium.com), the industry leader in image-based backup and recovery software, has announced the launch of Macrium SiteDeploy®, a new product with the potential to save IT professionals days of work on Windows operating system (OS) deployment. 

In a digitally transforming world, the need for organizations to access and restore their devices remotely and at scale, whether PCs, laptops, thin clients or servers, is only becoming greater. 

Macrium SiteDeploy® is designed to reduce the number of manual steps performed during the deployment process. This can significantly cut complexity and reduce deployment time, potentially saving IT teams days of work*. 

For example, deploying 100 Windows PCs using Macrium SiteDeploy® with Microsoft Sysprep answer file injection could equate to a time saving of 16 hours, or two working days, compared to the manual processes widely used in the industry. This could free up time, resources and budget for businesses to focus on strategic priorities and innovation.

“Despite how crucial and ubiquitous it is across all organizations and industries, creating and deploying images remains a headache for IT professionals,” explained Nick Sills, CEO of Macrium Software. 

“A  full deployment process can involve many manual steps. This means it often takes significantly longer than projected, costing businesses time and money. On the other hand, much of the software on the market to automate deployment includes convoluted features. These are often unnecessary and can get very expensive, very quickly.”

Imaging and deployment are required in many scenarios across most businesses and organizations. It enables multiple or large numbers of endpoints - e.g., computers, servers or thin clients, to be built or restored to a set state. This standardizes OSs, so apps, software and security settings run consistently across devices. It also reduces the time and resources needed and offers greater control over configuring and managing IT infrastructure. 

### Cutting complexity 

A common challenge with imaging and deployment is how complicated the deployment process can become. One of the causes of this is the need for businesses to deploy to different types of hardware. Using Macrium’s proprietary software ReDeploy and Driver Harvesting, Macrium SiteDeploy® can alleviate this by ensuring deployments work across disparate hardware. Macrium SiteDeploy® also automates partition resizing, taking away yet another step often performed manually by IT admins.

Its intuitive dashboard empowers users to deploy, monitor and manage large volumes of endpoints from one place. Offering greater control over system and process management, Macrium SiteDeploy® also allows IT admins to organize images and repositories using custom tags, even at scale.

### Faster deployment 

Another key aim behind the development of Macrium SiteDeploy® is to cut the time deployment takes. With a built-in Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) and the ability to inject templated answer files for Microsoft Sysprep, Macrium SiteDeploy® can save hours in setup time. The answer file allows admins to reduce manual configuration and bypass the out-of-box experience with preconfigured admin accounts and active directory settings.

The launch of Macrium SiteDeploy® comes following a two-month beta testing program. The response from early adopters, who ranged from Sysadmins at SMEs and large businesses to PC build technicians and IT professionals in healthcare and education, has been “overwhelmingly positive”, continued Sills.
“Feedback from our first wave of users includes that Macrium SiteDeploy® saved them significant amounts of time and would remove the need for specialized training. Several are eager to adopt it in the long-term and believe they can easily make a business case to do so,” he continued. “This bears testimony to the exciting potential Macrium SiteDeploy® holds for a diverse range of businesses and organizations.”

“We are proud to bring Macrium SiteDeploy® to the market and look forward to seeing the tangible benefits it will bring to our new and existing customers.”

As businesses prioritize digital transformation and work to scale up their remote operations, the global OS imaging and deployment software market is projected to grow by 14% between 2022 and 2030⁺. 

## [Request A Demo](https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1PXyODNMKQVSw5TJHWSmPgQfz1ls)

To learn more about Macrium SiteDeploy®, please visit: [https://www.macrium.com/products/business/technicians/sitedeploy ](/products/business/technicians/sitedeploy)

*During testing carried out by Macrium Software, manually completing admin tasks after a new image was deployed to a PC took an average of nine minutes and twenty five seconds. Macrium SiteDeploy® enables the user to bypass this process. Test results available on demand.

⁺Global OS Imaging & Deployment Software Market Segmentation, Regional Research Reports. Source: [https://express-press-release.net/news/2022/11/04/1286789](https://express-press-release.net/news/2022/11/04/1286789) 

—ENDS—

**About Macrium Software**
Macrium Software is the industry leader in image based backup and recovery software. We’re a vital part of digital security and business continuity plans for enterprise businesses, SMBs and IT professionals across all industries and sectors. In a world where data is the most valuable resource, we've made it our business to protect yours. www.macrium.com 


© 2023. Paramount Software UK Limited. Macrium Reflect® and Macrium SiteDeploy® are registered trademarks of Paramount Software UK Limited.

**Sales Enquiries:**
Stephen Macpherson 
Director and Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Macrium Software
Email: [stephen.macpherson@macrium.com](mailto:stephen.macpherson@macrium.com)

**Media Enquiries:**
[marketing@macrium.com](mailto:marketing@macrium.com)

1672658_SiteDeploy-Promotional Images_1200x627_Op1_063023.jpg

MANCHESTER, UK (17th May 2023)  - Macrium Software, the industry leader in image-based backup and recovery software, has announced the launch of Macrium SiteDeploy®, a new product with the potential to save IT professionals days of work on Windows operating system (OS) deployment. 

Macrium Software Launches Deployment Product with Potential to Save IT Professionals “Days of Work”

Macrium-Site-Manager-8-1-Upgrade-Announcement-Blog-Post-Banner-1000px-500px-June-2023.jpg

# How to Create Strong Passwords and Remember Them

Passwords are like door keys. We rarely think about them until we lose them, or worry someone else could have them. 

Considering how heavily we rely on passwords to access the apps, accounts and devices we need to even get off the ground in the morning, it’s surprising how little thought we put into them. 

And this isn’t only true of the general population. “Even people who’d consider themselves security conscious in the physical world can leave their digital twins exposed online,” explains [Professor Daniel Dresner](https://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:ctq-k1m4j1j0-cod3jy/fse-inaugural-lecture-series-department-of-computer-science-prof-daniel-dresner "events.manchester.ac.uk - Professor Daniel Dresner"), Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Manchester. 

“Using passwords is a flawed system. And as cyber criminals adopt technologies such as machine learning, passwords are likely to become obsolete."

“But until something better comes along, it’s a good idea to level up your password game.”

## Why are We so Bad at Creating Secure Passwords?

News articles about password mistakes and cyber security attacks are a dime a dozen. We’re saturated with warnings that if we don’t change our passwords, someone will clear out our bank accounts and sell everything we own on the dark web. 

“Much of this is sensationalism with a side order of fear, uncertainty and doubt,” Dresner adds. 

“However, as too many things we want to access online rely on passwords, it's still a very good idea to be careful out there.”

Despite daily stories of data breaches and the accompanying finger-wagging, [more than two thirds of people](https://www.techradar.com/news/exclusive-most-people-still-make-up-their-own-passwords-and-reuse-them "techradar.com") use the same password across multiple accounts.

So, with a stream of security and password-related advice coming at us, why aren’t we listening?

## Remember, Remember…

“It’s often about memory,” Dresner continues. “Anyone is capable of  creating a strong password on the spot. But remembering it when we need it is a different story.” 

“So many websites demand mental algorithms from us. They make remembering the combination of letters, numbers and special characters so far from what we might be comfortable with.” 

“This causes us to downgrade our attempts to create a secure password. So instead, we end up creating one that’s guessable.”

“And if we can guess it, you can be sure the criminals’ software will be able to as well.”

## My Passwords are Probably Fine, Right?

Another trap many of us fall into is assuming hackers won’t target us individually. [Around one third of people](https://www.techradar.com/news/exclusive-most-people-still-make-up-their-own-passwords-and-reuse-them "techradar.com") don’t feel that they’re in danger of being hacked. 

Surely a hacker wouldn’t concern themselves with one account when they could go after big businesses and hold them to ransom instead? Right? Wrong!

## What do Cybercriminals do with Stolen Passwords?

Cyber criminals can do significant damage once they’ve accessed your account. Some of their motivations include, but aren’t limited to, the following.

### To Steal your Money

 A cyber criminal could guess the password to one of your accounts which holds payment information. From there, they can perform an account takeover. This involves changing your password, locking you out and using your payment details for their own ends. This is also a key part of identity theft.  

### To Steal your Identity

To many people, identity theft sounds like a far-fetched concept that only happens in movies. On the contrary, it’s surprisingly common and up there with credit card fraud as one of the top motivations behind cyber crime. Duplicating someone’s identity can be done with minimal data. Email addresses, bank accounts or credit cards may be opened with basic details such as a name, address and date of birth. Criminals can then use this to access money or benefits in your name. This could damage your credit score and your chances of gaining approval for mortgages or other forms of credit.

### To Target your Friends or Employers

Spear phishing, or carefully targeted attacks, see cyber criminals break into your accounts and gather details on the people you know or the company you work for. They can then use this to pose as you and solicit more information from their targets. One click on a malicious link or a seemingly innocent comment could give a criminal all they need to compromise a friend, a loved-one or an entire business.

## What Can you do to Mitigate Risk?

To mark [World Password Day,](https://www.nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk/world-password-day "nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk") we partnered with [Professor Dresner](https://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:ctq-k1m4j1j0-cod3jy/fse-inaugural-lecture-series-department-of-computer-science-prof-daniel-dresner "Professor Dresner") to offer tips on how to create strong passwords you’re more likely to remember.

## How to Create Strong Passwords and Remember Them

*   **Don’t complicate it** - We all know the advice to create passwords with combinations of special characters, upper and lower case letters and numbers, etc. Thankfully, this is no longer considered best practice. Instead, the National Cyber Security Centre recommends using [the ‘three random words’ method](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/the-logic-behind-three-random-words "www.ncsc.gov.uk"). A password comprising random words unrelated to you or your life is likely harder to crack and easier to remember. Whether a website’s password complexity requirements will allow you to do this is another story, explains Professor Dresner. “Don’t blame the customers and employees. Blame the people who expect us to use systems that are not only unintuitive but actively deny us the opportunity to follow the science of good passwords.”
*   **Adopt a password creation convention** - Echoing the three random words method, adopting  a convention could help you create secure and memorable passwords. Examples include the [Bruce Schneier method](https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/03/choosing_secure_1.html "schneier.com"), or the [person-action-object (PAO) memory method](https://artofmemory.com/blog/pao-system/ "artofmemory.com"). 
*   **Consider using a password manager** - Uptake of password managers was initially slow, but they are becoming increasingly popular as they prove their worth. They work by storing multiple usernames and passwords in one place and pre-populating the fields on a login screen. They can also generate and store random passwords for you. Examples include [Keeper Security](https://www.keepersecurity.com/ "keepersecurity.com"), [Dashlane](https://www.dashlane.com/ "dashlane.com"), [1Password](https://1password.com/ "1password.com") and [Nord Pass](https://nordpass.com/ "nordpass.com").
*   **Two-factor and multifactor authentication** - While many people see extra steps to login as inconvenient, data shows that it can significantly boost security. [According to Microsoft](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-entra-azure-ad-blog/your-pa-word-doesn-t-matter/ba-p/731984 "techcommunity.microsoft.com"), your account is more than 99.9% less likely to be compromised if you use multi-factor authentication. Many websites give you the option of switching this on or off when you register. You also don’t have to use it every time you log in. Typically it kicks in again after periods of inactivity or when logging in using a new device. 

## Great Password Resources

Taking the above on board will definitely improve your password security. But twinning this with ongoing awareness is even better. 

Here are some great tools for keeping password security front-of-mind in the long-term. 

*   Find out if your data has been breached and in which major incidents at [Have I been Pwned?](https://haveibeenpwned.com/ "haveibeenpwned.com")
*   Hold yourself accountable for password security by taking the [Password Pledge](https://www.nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk/world-password-day#toc-0 "nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk") and spreading the word by sharing.
*   For IT professionals and system owners, the National Cyber Security Centre offers [this excellent guide](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/passwords "ncsc.gov.uk") to creating password strategies.

## Perfect Your Backup Plan

If this post has got you wondering how you can better protect your most valuable data, from documents and music libraries to photographs and PDFs, download a free trial of Macrium Reflect [for home users here](/products/home "Macrium Reflect Home") and [business users here](/products/business/standalone/workstation "Macrium Reflect Workstation"). 

![A headshot of Professor Daniel Dresner of the University of Manchester, wearing a dark green suit, bowtie and glasses.](https://strapistoragemacrium.blob.core.windows.net/strapi-uploads/uploads/professor_daniel_dresner_a0f9690081.png)

## About Professor Daniel Dresner

Daniel is the first Professor of Cyber Security at [the University of Manchester](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/ "manchester.ac.uk"), which he joined after 22 years with The National Computing Centre. He takes a diverse community-based approach to cyber security and runs exercises to help people learn how to cope with the risk of online harms. 

He is a founder of the [IASME Consortium](https://iasme.co.uk/about/ "iasme.co.uk"), where he applied his work in standards development to champion cyber security for SMEs. 

He is a vocal advocate of the local cyber ecosystem and furthers the opportunities cyber security offers innovation and growth as part of the [Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry](https://gmcyberfoundry.ac.uk/ "gmcyberfoundry.ac.uk") and the [DiSH – Digital Security Hub](https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/digital/global-digital-influencer/greater-manchester-cyber-ecosystem/greater-manchester-digital-security-hub-dish/ "greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk") in Manchester City Centre.

Daniel has regularly lectured about risk and cyber defence to cohorts from India and the Western Balkans at the [Defence Academy of the United Kingdom](https://www.da.mod.uk/ "da.mod.uk") for the Chevening Programme. Daniel also revived The Ratio Club thought leadership group for cybernetics – which included Alan Turing – as part of his research work promoting the balance between people and technology.

He contributes to books and conferences and appears on the BBC explaining cyber security to the wider community. He is a Fellow and Founder member of the [Chartered Institute of Information Security](https://www.ciisec.org/ "ciisec.org"). Daniel was voted one of the top 20 cyber security influencers worldwide 2018-2021 and Best Educator at the [Security Serious Awards 2022](https://www.securityserious.com/ "securityserious.com").

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-dresner-fciis-6382381/ "linkedin.com")    [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DanielGDresner "twitter.com")



Macrium-Blog-World-Password-Day-2023-Graphic-5000px.png

Using passwords is a flawed system. But until something better comes along, it’s a good idea to level up your password game. To mark World Password Day, we chatted with Manchester professor Danny Dresner FCIIS to bring you practical tips on creating secure and memorable passwords.

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