Monthly Archives: December 2013

Archive SkyDrive with 7Zip

One of the down-sides of the new cloud sharing platforms is that you often don’t have a backup other than the recycle bin. (Dropbox does offer a PackRat feature.) I decided to do a little experiment with 7zip to see how I could create my own SkyDrive Archive.

  • First of all most of the cloud storage Giants have a file size upload limit, so we will need to break apart larger folders.
  • Download 7zip Command Line Utility.
  • Create a Folder Named Batch under your C:Drive.
  • Place the 7Zip Download file in the C:Batch Folder.
  • Also in the C:Batch folder make a new .txt document and save it as 7zip.bat.
  • Paste the following text in the 7zip.bat document:

 

cd /D C:UsersUserOneDrive
for /d %%X in (*) do C:Batch7za9207za.exe u “F:Backups%%X.7z” “%%X” -y -mx9 -mmt -wf:temp

  • Replaced the italicized   C:SkyDrive  with the path to your SkyDrive Folder.
  • The %%X  is a folder name wildcard. (So whatever the name is in the source folder, call it that in the destination folder.)
  • Save and run the batch file!
  • More helpful commands and their explanations can be found at the links below:

http://www.dotnetperls.com/7-zip-examples

http://www.7-zip.org/faq.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-7Zip-to-Create-Multiple-Compressed-Folders-in-One-Go

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Sync SkyDrive with Google Drive using RoboCopy

  • Install SkyDrive & Google Drive to their respective directories on your PC.
  • Backup your files before running any test batch files!
  • Create a batch file using a text document and saving it as .bat.
  • WARNING! The following fie is a mirror and can both add files and remove files from the destination Directory.
  • Paste the following text into the batch file:

@echo on
robocopy C:SkyDrive “D:GoogleDriveSkyDrive” /MIR /TEE /r:0 /w:0 /log:”C:Skydriverobocopy.txt”

  • The /MIR switch creates a Mirror of your SkyDrive in your Google Drive Folder.
  • The /TEE ensures you see the Output of the files in the console.
  • /r:0 & /w:0 reduce the wait and retry time delay to 0.
  • /log:”genericnameforlogfile.txt” outputs the entire console to a text document.

Dyn Internet Guide Pro vs OpenDns VIP Web Filtering

UPDATE January 14,2016: Since Oracle’s purchase of Dyn DNS the Internet Guide product is being phased out. Check out DNSFILTER.COM instead.

I have been a happy OpenDNS user, but recently switched to Internet Guide from Dyn the providers of the DynDns service. I will enumerate a few of the differences below and then let you vote on your favorite.

  • Both companies use the DNS settings in your Router and/or PC to redirect DNS requests to their servers for resolution.
  • OpenDNS specializes in domain name resolution, while DynDns focuses website redirection for those with Dynamic IP addresses. Hence when using Dyn Internet Guide you do need to setup a hostname (i.e. hostname.dydndns.org) and associate it with your network. You can skip the hostname setup with OpenDNS and associate your ip address.
  • OpenDNS uses a simple update client to keep your Dynamic IP address current while Dyn Internet Guide can be configured directly on DynDns capable routers and also use a more featured PC software client allowing you to use several networks with designated hostnames which is perfect for using the DNS service in multiple locations.(Open DNS allows multiple networks for Enterprise customers.
  • OpenDNS uses a community based approach to Web Content Filtering allowing users to cast their vote to rate a specific site. Dyn Internet Guide uses the Barracuda Web Filtering technology which has been an acclaimed corporate security company for many years.
  • OpenDns does not specifically block Ads, just Adware, while Dyn Internet Guide does a really good job of blocking the majority of Ads if you block the Advertisement and Pop-ups category.
  • Sometimes you may wish to view which URL’s are being visited or being blocked. OpenDns provides excellent Logging & Stats with a simple click to whitelist a domain that was blocked, while logging with Dyn Internet Guide is limited to router logging or using a sniffing tool like WireShark, NetMon 3.4 or DNSQuerySniffer.
  • Both OpenDNS & Dyn Internet Guide have an ample number of categories with exception of OpenDNS not having Ad-Blocking functionality.
  • OpenDNS allows 50 whitelisted sites & 1 Network with their VIP plan while DYN Internet Guide Pro  allows 3 networks and 100 Whitelisted sites.
  • Internet Guide has a significantly faster page load speed for me than OpenDNS. I would estimate twice the page load speed.
  • OpenDNS VIP costs $19.95 a year while Internet Guide is $10 plus the accompanying DynDns Pro plan which is $25 totaling $35.
  • In summary I would see OpenDNS as simpler and more user friendly, but Dyn Internet Guide more comprehensive, aggressive and customizable.