why you back up your files.....

Mike Lavigne · Jan 21, 2017

I got home tonight, very anxious for a relaxing weekend with the new Aqua Formula dac and SGM server, along with the new system performance boost from the Furutech 105-D outlet covers.

it's going to be sweet.

started listening, and I got drop outs on the first files I played. hummm? I turned the SGM on and off, still drop outs. then a file would not play. this time I turned off the SGM, and then waited and turned it off with the power switch on the back. waited a minute, then started it back up. tried it again and I could not get a file to play. walked upstairs to make sure the 30TB NAS was fired up. it was. hummm? called my son and asked him to look at the NAS.

he dialed in and looked. oh oh, there was a virus encrypting my files, a very very bad thing. he asked me to immediately turn it off and unplug it. which I did. then he told me to unplug the network for my mirroring 30TB NAS in the house, which I did. he said he would be there in 30 minutes to investigate.

when he showed up he looked at the history for the 30TB NAS. he had granted limited access to someone and they had added some browsers and cleaning software, but allowed the encryption virus to ride in. this was 10 days ago, the next day the virus started encrypting my files. finally tonight it had done enough damage that every file I touched was bogus.

my son had not allowed access to the other NAS and thought it was ok. we decided to go grab it to verify. good news, it was fine......all my 15 terabytes of music and 3 terabytes of pictures were fine and safe.

we then took it back and placed it upstairs where the other NAS had been, then went downstairs and started the mapping process. my son set the NAS as read only to protect it from any further incursions. Monday he will re-format the other NAS and it will become the mirror. he left 30 minutes ago, the mapping is half done (60,000 or 125,000 tracks are mapped).

I had been wondering where all my files had gone, and blamed it on the Roon software. I will need to re-assess what I think now.

looking forward to a nice weekend again......thank god for a smart son and safe back-up......other than 2 hours lost......no harm done.

garylkoh · Jan 21, 2017

This is an attack that is unfortunately increasing in frequency with all the music servers (and by this I don't mean only high-end servers) and music stored on PCs in the world. It's called Ransomware - a Trojan (usually) that will encrypt your files, and you have to pay a ransom for a key to decrypt them.

Mike, I hope that your son also checked the rest of the network to be sure that the Ransomware is not also present but still dormant. Some of the more sophisticated ones will install another cell somewhere else in the network with a delayed activation trigger.

btw, ransomware does not only target music files......

Mike Lavigne · Jan 21, 2017

garylkoh said:
This is an attack that is unfortunately increasing in frequency with all the music servers (and by this I don't mean only high-end servers) and music stored on PCs in the world. It's called Ransomware - a Trojan (usually) that will encrypt your files, and you have to pay a ransom for a key to decrypt them.

Mike, I hope that your son also checked the rest of the network to be sure that the Ransomware is not also present but still dormant. Some of the more sophisticated ones will install another cell somewhere else in the network with a delayed activation trigger.

btw, ransomware does not only target music files......

yes; he did check. they were ok.

Folsom · Jan 21, 2017

I hate that stuff. Mike I'm glad you have your mirror and can recover from this. I'm rather tech-savy but have still lost data before that was never coming back so I know what it can be like!

In fact I hate cyber crime and stuff so much that I sometimes fantasize were I Superman that I'd go personally make visits to such people.

still-one · Jan 21, 2017

I have been using computers, laptops and music servers for over 30 years now and have never backed up anything and have never had a drive go bad. If I did I would grab my CD's and reload a new server. It would make for a good time to cull the albums I no longer listen to. Of the handful of downloaded hi-rez I there aren't any I couldn't live without should there be a problem wanting to load them again.

I am not telling anyone not to back-up, just not worth it for me.

audioguy · Jan 21, 2017

I back mine up to an external drive(s) and give a copy to a friend who lives a few miles from me. Cyber crime is not the only thing that can wipe out your files. Some kind of fire (even limited in scope) can do the same and if all of my files are in my home, I am screwed - but now I'm not !!

Kal Rubinson · Jan 21, 2017

garylkoh said:
This is an attack that is unfortunately increasing in frequency with all the music servers (and by this I don't mean only high-end servers) and music stored on PCs in the world. It's called Ransomware - a Trojan (usually) that will encrypt your files, and you have to pay a ransom for a key to decrypt them.

Mike, I hope that your son also checked the rest of the network to be sure that the Ransomware is not also present but still dormant. Some of the more sophisticated ones will install another cell somewhere else in the network with a delayed activation trigger.

btw, ransomware does not only target music files......

In addition, one needs an off-line and, ideally, an off-site backup.

Kal Rubinson · Jan 21, 2017

still-one said:
I have been using computers, laptops and music servers for over 30 years now and have never backed up anything and have never had a drive go bad. If I did I would grab my CD's and reload a new server. It would make for a good time to cull the albums I no longer listen to. Of the handful of downloaded hi-rez I there aren't any I couldn't live without should there be a problem wanting to load them again.

I am not telling anyone not to back-up, just not worth it for me.

Scary. I cannot imagine reripping my recordings as that has taken years (and is not yet complete). I wish you continued good luck.

Steve Williams · Jan 21, 2017

garylkoh said:
This is an attack that is unfortunately increasing in frequency with all the music servers (and by this I don't mean only high-end servers) and music stored on PCs in the world. It's called Ransomware - a Trojan (usually) that will encrypt your files, and you have to pay a ransom for a key to decrypt them.

Mike, I hope that your son also checked the rest of the network to be sure that the Ransomware is not also present but still dormant. Some of the more sophisticated ones will install another cell somewhere else in the network with a delayed activation trigger.

btw, ransomware does not only target music files......

simply incredible. I never knew such things existed

still-one · Jan 21, 2017

Kal Rubinson said:
Scary. I cannot imagine reripping my recordings as that has taken years (and is not yet complete). I wish you continued good luck.

Kal
I didn't say it was for everyone. Insurance (backups) to me is only for something you cannot afford to replace. There is no music that I can't live without or easily replace (or even Stream). When I move on the the next storage device I will not reload all of the music that is on my current unit.

I go through the music on my server and my CD's a couple of times a year a eliminate those items I haven't listened to in awhile. I am not into collecting music. Nostalgia for the SOS I grew up listening to isn't part of my DNA. I would rather search out new artists and releases. Again, this is just me. I know a lot of people who surround themselves with albums and CD's they will never listen to again.

Ron Resnick · Jan 21, 2017

I like electronics in general, I used to build Heathkits, I have had an FCC amateur radio license since I was 12, I am very comfortable using a soldering iron. But I have never liked computers. I like devices with switches, knobs, buttons, dials. I have always found computers frustrating.

The risk of losing information stored on computers is one reason I have never considered computer storage to be an "archival" storage medium. A framed photograph is just as vulnerable to fire as a computer hard drive, but a framed photograph seems more enduring to me than an intangible image on a computer storage chip.

Ever since I was working all night at my first job many years ago writing a memo on a word processing system, and I saved the file only to learn that somehow my last save exceeded some storage parameter and the whole memo was lost (as well as a few other data losses along the way) I have been careful about creating multiple computer back-ups, and having a back-up system which is not electrically or physically connected to the computer itself.

You were wise, Mike, to have that mirror back-up system. I am glad for you that ultimately no files were lost!

Mike Lavigne · Jan 21, 2017

Ron Resnick said:
I like electronics in general, I used to build Heathkits, I have had an FCC amateur radio license since I was 12, I am very comfortable using a soldering iron. But I have never liked computers. I like devices with switches, knobs, buttons, dials. I have always found computers frustrating.

The risk of losing information stored on computers is one reason I have never considered computer storage to be an "archival" storage medium. A framed photograph is just as vulnerable to fire as a computer hard drive, but a framed photograph seems more enduring to me than an intangible image on a computer storage chip.

Ever since I was working all night at my first job many years ago writing a memo on a word processing system, and I saved the file only to learn that somehow my last save exceeded some storage parameter and the whole memo was lost (as well as a few other data losses along the way) I have been careful about creating multiple computer back-ups, and having a back-up system which is not electrically or physically connected to the computer itself.

You were wise, Mike, to have that mirror back-up system. I am glad for you that ultimately no files were lost!

about a year ago my son recommended I add the extra mirroring NAS in the house away from the Barn.....that it would be far superior to a RAID approach. he said he was not doing it for me, he was doing it for him. it would be simple for him to implement. he knew if I had an issue with my files it would fall on him to resurrect my files from the ashes in some way. with the protected files it would be easy to just use that and go forward with minimal hassle.

he proved prophetic.

he also does not use a windows operating system on this mirroring NAS, so it's not as vulnerable to outside tentacles (no, don't know what he uses).

asiufy · Jan 21, 2017

Hey Mike,

What was the brand of the NAS you were using, that was affected by the malware/ransomware? I'm checking my QNAP right now...

Bruce B · Jan 21, 2017

I am so glad I have a wife that is an IT specialist that works with firewalls/security at Boeing. She has Unix systems with Synology back up storage in my studio!!

Mike Lavigne · Jan 21, 2017

asiufy said:
Hey Mike,

What was the brand of the NAS you were using, that was affected by the malware/ransomware? I'm checking my QNAP right now...

HP Proliant Microserver.

the clean one is Synology DS1515.....not running windows.

853guy · Jan 21, 2017

Hi Mike,

Appreciate you sharing this. It really sucks. Ugh. Definitely a lesson worth learning from, as I guess I tend to take for granted these sorts of things and think they'll only ever happen to someone else. Glad it wasn’t a total loss, thanks to your son’s smart thinking and the fact storage has become so cheap to utilise.

Nevertheless, it got me spooked. I have thousands of albums, with new ones added regularly, and although it’s just music and most of it’s replaceable, I’ve just gone through them all to see if everything’s ok.

Thankfully after checking, I can confirm all the grooves on my vinyl are intact, and all the cover art and liner notes are there too. Whew.

(Insert tongue-in-cheek smiley face here.)

edorr · Jan 21, 2017

still-one said:
Kal
I didn't say it was for everyone. Insurance (backups) to me is only for something you cannot afford to replace. There is no music that I can't live without or easily replace (or even Stream). When I move on the the next storage device I will not reload all of the music that is on my current unit.

I go through the music on my server and my CD's a couple of times a year a eliminate those items I haven't listened to in awhile. I am not into collecting music. Nostalgia for the SOS I grew up listening to isn't part of my DNA. I would rather search out new artists and releases. Again, this is just me. I know a lot of people who surround themselves with albums and CD's they will never listen to again.

No. It is about cost / benefit. If the "cost" (expressed in time) of losing your files is having to spend say 500 hours reripping and cataloguing all your files, and the "cost" of backing up is say 5 hour of work per year, then if the risk of losing your files exceeds 1% per year, it makes economic sense to back up. Most people will back up anyway even if it does not make economic sense, much like buying insurance does not technically make economic sense. Of course, if you have a lot of time on your hands and you enjoy spending 500 hours reripping this math does not work.

still-one · Jan 21, 2017

edorr said:
No. It is about cost / benefit. If the "cost" (expressed in time) of losing your files is having to spend say 500 hours reripping and cataloguing all your files, and the "cost" of backing up is say 5 hour of work per year, then if the risk of losing your files exceeds 1% per year, it makes economic sense to back up. Most people will back up anyway even if it does not make economic sense, much like buying insurance does not technically make economic sense. Of course, if you have a lot of time on your hands and you enjoy spending 500 hours reripping this math does not work.

I am not trying to convince anyone to stop backing up their hard drives. There is no cost / benefit calculation for me. I simultaneously load music while I am listening so there is no extra time involved.

Kal Rubinson · Jan 21, 2017

edorr said:
No. It is about cost / benefit. If the "cost" (expressed in time) of losing your files is having to spend say 500 hours reripping and cataloguing all your files, and the "cost" of backing up is say 5 hour of work per year, then if the risk of losing your files exceeds 1% per year, it makes economic sense to back up.

I do not have to do the math. I know that, if I lost my collection, I would not rerip my collection because I could not face that task again even though I have the discs. It would be analogous to the death of a good friend, mourned and not replaceable. Backups, however, let me clone him as needed.

still-one said:
I am not trying to convince anyone to stop backing up their hard drives. There is no cost / benefit calculation for me. I simultaneously load music while I am listening so there is no extra time involved.

Understood. Your situation (and philosophy) and practice is consistent. Mine are different.

Mike Lavigne · Jan 21, 2017

853guy said:
Hi Mike,

Appreciate you sharing this. It really sucks. Ugh. Definitely a lesson worth learning from, as I guess I tend to take for granted these sorts of things and think they'll only ever happen to someone else. Glad it wasn’t a total loss, thanks to your son’s smart thinking and the fact storage has become so cheap to utilise.

Nevertheless, it got me spooked. I have thousands of albums, with new ones added regularly, and although it’s just music and most of it’s replaceable, I’ve just gone through them all to see if everything’s ok.

Thankfully after checking, I can confirm all the grooves on my vinyl are intact, and all the cover art and liner notes are there too. Whew.

(Insert tongue-in-cheek smiley face here.)

as a certified 'not young' guy of 65, I need a format that works when I fall asleep while listening. so play lists and server based listening just fits my life style. my listening has always been dim lights while relaxing.......

I still choose vinyl for my most focused listening.

why you back up your files.....

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