ICY Tip: Optimize Storage Space and Access Speeds with 2.5" and 3.5" HDD/SSD Combinations using the MB561U3S-4S with New EZ-Tray System

How to protect your data by preventing Cryptolocker, Cryptodefense, and other ransomware attacks with offline backups   Cryptolocker is a ransomware Trojan that may come in the form of an email attachment which anyone can accidently open. CryptoLocker encrypts most documents that it has access to, even if those files are not directly on your computer but instead on your network. It may take several hours (depending on how much data you have) to fully encrypt all the documents it has access to, and the virus stays quiet and stealthy until it’s fully completed. Once completed, it notifies the user with a popup window and a timer. This Trojan is becoming more and more common and sophisticated to the point where it can render your Windows System Restore useless, so you can’t restore your system to a previous point in time. Many people claim that they’ve been infected with CryptoLocker and opted to pay the ransom where they ultimately discovered they’ve been duped and don’t end up with the key –all their precious files are as good as gone. Unfortunately this isn’t the only Trojan of its kind –there are many viruses that perform similar functions as CryptoLocker.   CryptoLocker utilizes RSA 2048-bit to encrypt your data making it near impossible to crack. To protect your critical data, we recommend that you:   1. Do not open email attachments unless you know it’s from a trustworthy source 2. Make sure you have a good anti-virus software on your system 3. Keep a local offline backup, keep a cloud backup, or do both for even more protection   You may be able to protect yourself from threats such as viruses, but that won’t always be the case since oftentimes we share computers. Unless you’re always there to supervise other users, you won’t have full control of your system so the best way to protect your data is to make a backup onto another drive or in the cloud. For small files, we recommend you upload them to the cloud via Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, or Apple’s iCloud but if you want to protect your photos, videos or other larger files, your best bet is to make a backup locally on a separate drive and disconnect/turn off the drive when not in use, so ransomware won’t be able to access your backup even when your computer has been infected, and you can always restore your important files when necessary.   Most people (maybe even you) don’t backup their data thinking that it’s a hassle or that it’s pointless, but it can save them a significant amount of time in the event where malware, hardware failure, cyber crimes, or natural disaster wipes their data. A disaster recovery plan to protect data is crucial and we strongly recommend anyone to backup their data and set the backup offline, before it’s too late.   How to make an offline backup?   It’s easy to make a backup. You’ll first need to find a drive with a large enough capacity to carry the data that you’re trying to backup. You can opt to install your drives internally or externally with an enclosure but no matter you which you decide, we recommend you to get enclosure with a “hot-swap” design that allows you to remove the drive from it or turn off its power, in order to make your backup offline. See below for how to setup an offline backup.   System Requirement Internal Method (HDD Rack or Cage) External Method Empty SATA port from motherboard USB 3.0/USB 2.0/eSATA port from system Empty 5.25” device bay from case ICY DOCK external HDD enclosure SATA / 4 pin power connector from PSU SATA Hard drive or SSD SATA cable Backup software (optional) ICY DOCK mobile rack or cage   SATA Hard drive or SSD   Backup software (optional)     Setup an external hard drive with ICY DOCK external HDD enclosures or HDD dockings:   Recently, Seagate and Western Digital have both announced the release of their line of surveillance HDD which they have specifically engineered for surveillance and video analytics applications. Seagate offers their ST1000VX000, ST2000VX000, ST3000VX000, and ST4000VX000 models while Western Digital offers their WD10PURX, WD20PURX, WD30PURX, WD40PURX models. Both the Seagate Surveillance HDD and Western Digital Purple HDD are optimized to withstand the rigors of 24x7 multiple video streaming by offering greater storage capacity, reduced power consumption, and increased reliability. Reduced wattage (shown in table below) directly translates to decreased temperatures which lead to increased drive reliability as heat is a leading culprit for system failure. And a 3TB surveillance drive can store a massive amount of data. (roughly 42 days of high-quality video streaming @ 1290x1024 resolution, 30fps)   Setup a HDD mobile rack or cage with ICY DOCK mobile racks/cages that include power button:   If the system space is not the concern, installing a HDD to the mobile rack or HDD cage gives you many benefits. It saves you desk space, reduces cable clutter, and provides direct SATA speed from the system. All ICY DOCK HDD mobile racks and cages support SATA hot-swap feature allowing you to quickly remove the drives from your system without any disassembling required. Simply remove the drive from the system after backup process and store the drive in a safe place for offline backups. You can also create multiple backup drives within a single enclosure. Some of our mobile racks and cages have individual drive power buttons which lets you shut off the drive to prevent virus attacks and help in saving energy. Make sure your motherboard supports SATA hot-swap function (which most motherboards do), and check to see that you’ve enabled AHCI mode for the hot-swap function. Making offline backups allows you to take a quick proactive approach and to prevent data loss if you should ever download a virus. Ideally you would want to run a virus scan on the data you want to backup, turn on the storage device (or insert the drive) to perform the backup, and then remove the drive from the system or shut down the drive to make it offline so virus such as CryptoLocker can’t access your drive since its offline and no longer readable by your system. You can routinely run a virus scan, turn on your storage device and back up your data on a daily/weekly basis to ensure backups are up to date and virus free.   Popular backup software:   AOMEI Backupper, EaseUS Todo Backup Free, Cobian Backup, Macrium Reflect Free, FBackup and Backup Maker.   Popular anti-virus software:   Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, AVG AntiVirus Free, Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition and AVAST! AntiVirus. Note: All software mentioned in this article are recommended based on thorough research but have not been tested by ICYDOCK USA   ICY DOCK External HDD Enclosures Click HERE to view external HDD enclosure page   ICY DOCK HDD docks Click HERE to view HDD dock page   ICY DOCK HDD Mobile Racks Click HERE to view HDD mobile rack page   ICY DOCK HDD Cages Click HERE to view HDD cage page

ICY DOCK USA 11740 Clark St. Arcadia, CA 91006 Tel: 626.956.8800 Fax: 626.956.8811

ICY News: SSD shadiness: Kingston and PNY caught bait-and-switching cheaper components after good reviews

Be careful when you are buying SSD!

"Over the past few months, we’ve seen a disturbing trend from first Kingston, and now PNY. Manufacturers are launching SSDs with one hardware specification, and then quietly changing the hardware configuration after reviews have gone out. The impacts have been somewhat different (more on that in a moment) but in both cases, unhappy customers are loudly complaining that they’ve been cheated, tricked into paying for a drive they otherwise wouldn’t have purchased......."

Read More:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184253-ssd-shadiness-kingston-and-pny-caught-bait-and-switching-cheaper-components-after-good-reviews#disqus_thread

ICY News: How SSDs Work: Architecture, TLC vs. MLC NAND, & Endurance

"We covered SSD questions pertaining to varying voltage levels on evolving NAND types (SLC, MLC, TLC), cell decay when an SSD goes unused, P/E cycles and endurance, and "what's next" after TLC for Flash types......"

Very informative article with detailed videos explanation at: http://www.gamersnexus.nethttp//www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1497-ssd-architecture-1-what-is-tlc-nand-mlc-anatomy?showall=1#JVRCvjuxhdsQjvKS.99

Introducing the ICY DOCK ICYCube MB561U3S-4S 4 Bay USB 3.0 & eSATA(PM) Hot Swap 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDD/SSD External Enclosure - White

Introducing the ICYCube MB561U3S-4S 4-Bay external 2.5” & 3.5” HDD enclosure with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and eSATA interface. The MB561U3S-4S is designed for those in need of large data storage with a small footprint and supreme build quality. The USB 3.0 interface allows you to access up to four drives at up to 5Gbps and is backward compatible with USB 2.0. The eSATA interface delivers fast SATA III speed, supports eSATA port-multiplier function and is compatible with most of RAID controller card with eSATA port-multiplier interface. The 4 bay capacities give you enough room to optimize your data storage system with efficiency. The ICYCube MB561U3S-4S supports both 2.5” and 3.5” SATA SSD/HDD with our new EZ-Tray design, allowing you to mix your 2.5” and 3.5” HDD within a single enclosure to save desktop space, power consumption and cost. The detachable 80mm cooling fan provides excellent cooling to the drives, and the 3 speed fan switch gives you full control over noise and temperature. The built-in power supply removes any requirement for an overly large power brick which helps you save space. The ICYCube MB561U3S-4S is a quad bay USB 3.0 enclosure with fully loaded functions and eye-catching design. It is perfect for media professionals, and people who need a high quality HDD enclosure for their storage needs. Multiple Interfaces with Great Capacity Having multiple drives conveniently placed into a single enclosure can provide many benefits such as the ability to transfer files between drives, backing up all your precious files or storing/organizing large archives. More importantly, doing this saves you big bucks from buying additional enclosures, gives you more desktop space and saves energy. The ICYCube offers both USB 3.0 and eSATA interface. USB 3.0 interface allows you to access four drives with up to 5Gbps transfer speed, and is backward compatible with USB 2.0, the most common interface for many things, which makes ICYCube a perfect HDD enclosure for various applications such as: media archives, network attached storage, external server storage, IT data transfer tool and more. With USB 3.0 interface, you’ll have blazing fast transfer speeds for applications such as data backup from your system to your external enclosure which can save you time. The eSATA interface delivers fast SATA III speeds up to 6Gbps, and allows you to access four drives via a single eSATA connection (eSATA port multiplier required). It is compatible with most of RAID controller card that has eSATA port-multiplier interface, which gives you an option to setup a hardware RAID externally, perfect for system that has limited space. This tiny enclosure can take up to 24TB total capacity with largest capacity drives available on the market (6 TB), which is more than enough space for most of the applications. The New EZ-Tray Takes It All The new EZ-Trays provide the best compatibility for both 2.5” SATA HDD/SSD and 3.5” SATA HDD at all heights, ranging from lighting fast 2.5” SATA III SSD to 3.5” SATA 6TB HDD. The drive installation is simple: place the drive in the tray aligning the screws holes, screw in the provided screws, and you’re set! If you have more than four drives, additional trays can always be purchased. In addition to that, you can quickly swap out drive via hot swappable bays so you aren’t required to shut down your computer or the ICYCube, saving you valuable time. (Note: the USB host will refresh while swapping drive via USB. The remaining drive(s) will cycle during this process) Better Cooling for Better Performance Our ICYCube was designed from the ground up with intentions of fulfilling the demand of our customer base, so we packed it full of awesome features. It features an 80mm detachable fan for easy maintenance. Simply remove the fan unit, use a dust blower or a damp towel to wipe off the blades, and snap it back in; it can’t get any easier to clean. We’ve included a fan speed switch that allows you to select between a whisper-quiet low, a rapid cooling high, and an auto setting based on Smart Cooling Technology. The Smart Cooling Technology determines the temperature of your drives, and changes fan’s RPM accordingly to keep your drives nice and cool. The Classic Remains a Classic To define the ICYCube MB561U3-4S as “beautiful” would be an understatement. Crafted from Hi-Grade aluminum with two different available color schemes, the ICYCube sports a matte coat with a hint of glittery shine similar to that of Apple’s Macbook series. The front panel displays its fine glossy coat contrasting the outer housing in a unique blend. Our ICYDOCK logo is displayed on both sides so you can be assured that your product is an ICY DOCK –known for reliability and built tough. The low profile white LED indicator light indicates activity of each hard drive. This allows you to know which drives are currently being accessed or whether they’re sitting idly waiting for activity. We’ve used a moderately illuminating white LED for the indicator light so it shines just bright enough that you can be notified of activity, but not so bright where it’s distracting. Also the ICYCube MB561U3-4S uses a built in power supply to keep all major components within the unit so there’s no need for clunky power bricks to occupy any space on your desk, so you can keep your work space nice and neat. Lastly, ICY DOCK has a 3 year warranty which gives you the peace of mind to feel confident for years to come. Key Features * Plug and play installation, no drivers required * SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with up to 5Gbps transfer speed * Backward compatible with USB 2.0 interface * eSATA connection with up to 6Gbps transfer speed (port-multiplier required) * New EZ-Tray system supporting both 2.5” and 3.5” SATA HDD/SSD of all heights * Adjustable cooling fan with 3 speed settings (low, high, and auto) * Support largest capacity drives available on the market (6 TB) * Removable EZ-Tray design allows you to quickly swap out drives * Moderately illuminating white LED for power & drive activities * High grade aluminum alloy frame with detailed matte finish * Include 4x EZ-Trays which features shock absorbing technology to help protect your drives * Detachable 80mm ball bearing rear cooling fan provides easy maintenance * Integrated power supply, so big power bricks aren’t necessary * Rubber padded soles for enhanced stability Quick links: MB561U3S-4S Product Page MB561U3S-4S Product images MB561U3S-4S Datasheet ICY DOCK Tel: 626.956.8800 Fax: 626.956.8811 11740 Clark St. Arcadia, California 91006 Sales e-mail: sales01@cremax.com Support e-mail: tech@icydock.com

Introducing the ICY DOCK EZConvert Air MB382SP-3B Open Air 2.5” to 3.5” SATA SSD & HDD Converter / Mounting Kit

Change can lead to more innovative and groundbreaking products which is the path we have taken here at Icy dock. First, we had the popular EZConvert MB882 and EZConvert Pro MB982 converter series which allowed 2.5” drives to take the 3.5” form factor in a fully enclosed device. Up until recently, our customers have been seeking a similar device with an open air design with exceptional cooling, and the EZConvert Air MB382SP-3B is our response. The EZConvert Air MB382SP-3B converts any 2.5” SATA HDD/SSDs into 3.5” Hard drives; features an extremely robust stainless-steel exterior with a cleverly designed locking mechanism to keep your drives immobile. The open air design, ventilated slots, and metal construction all work simultaneously to keep your drives as cool as possible. 2.5” Drive Support For All 3.5” Bays With the abundance of 2.5” SSDs and hard drives combined with the steady drop in price, it’s a great time to purchase more storage. Many computer cases on the market do not have built in support for 2.5” SSD/HDD which makes a 2.5” to 3.5” HDD/SSD converter an absolute necessity when purchasing 2.5” SSDs or hard drives. For enterprise, it’s valuable for upgrading file servers without paying a tremendous amount for an entire system upgrade. With its self-adjusting mechanism design, the EZConvert Air MB382SP-3B accepts 2.5” SATA SSD/HDD of any height from 7mm to 15mm and keeps your drive stable while the spring tension drive clamp provides shock absorption. The EZConvert Air has the exact same form factor of a 3.5” hard drive, including the outer dimension, location of the SATA connector, and the mounting holes for both side and bottom allowing it to fit perfectly into any standard 3.5" SATA drive bay including HDD mobile racks, cages, external enclosures, PC, Mac, file servers and more. Any system that takes the 3.5” SATA HDD is compatible with the EZConvert Air MB382SP-3B. With the optional bottom screw holes, this allows you to completely lock in 2.5” drives into the EZConvert Air allowing extra drive security. The added security feature is a must have for rugged system builds that require drives to be completely immobile yet easily accessible. It’s the small details we consider that make Icydock your go-to brand. Convenience Meets Practicality It’s never been easier to install your 2.5” HDD/SSD. Simply press on the latch to open the locking mechanism, insert your SSD or hard drive into the SATA connector, and close the latch and you’re ready to go. The EZConvert Air does not require any tools for SSD or drive installation, effectively decreasing installation time and labor of maintenance. The open design of this converter gives you quick access to your drives when the situation arises. If you need to swap drives, you can do so with ease. For customers that swap their drives a lot, the built in SATA PCB bridge protects your HDD/SSD connector from wearing out during the insertion and removal cycle, and it delivers the full speed of SATA 6Gbps without any speed reduction. Advanced Cooling Design There’s a reason we coined the name “EZConvert Air”–because of how much airflow this converter allows. With its open air design, heat can rapidly escape from your drives during your most intensive applications. This in turn can lead to better performance since excessive heat may slow down your system. Strategically placed ventilated slots surround the converter allowing heat to escape from all sides and angles, while the metal frame acts as a giant heat sink to quickly cool your hard drives. The open air design, ventilated slots, and metal frame combine to produce an advanced cooling system to put your mind at ease. Key Features * Converts 2.5” SATA HDD or SSD to 3.5” SATA hard drive * Heavy duty stain-less steel exterior with easy access to drives * Open air design for rapid heat dissipation * Ventilated slots allow air to flow through converter * Drive stabilizing & self-adjusting mechanism * Universal 3.5” HDD mounting holes * Tool-less design for quick & easy HDD/SSD installation * Optional bottom screw holes for extra drive security * Fits all 2.5” SATA drive heights from 7mm to 15mm Quick links: MB382SP-3B Product Page MB382SP-3B Product images MB382SP-3B Datasheet ICY DOCK Tel: 626.956.8800 Fax: 626.956.8811 11740 Clark St. Arcadia, California 91006 Sales e-mail: sales01@cremax.com Support e-mail: tech@icydock.com

Introducing the ICY DOCK EZConvert Air MB382IP-3B Open Air 2.5” to 3.5” SAS HDD & SSD Converter / Mounting Kit

SAS interface has been widely used for server applications and is considered an enterprise solution in the storage industry. The enterprise 2.5” SSD/HDD represents one of the fastest growing segments because of its faster IOPS, low power consumption and better shockproof rating. The EZConvert Air MB382IP-3B provides a quick and cost-effective method for server upgrades; it converts any 2.5” SAS HDD/SSDs into 3.5” SAS hard drives, while maintaining the exact 3.5” SAS HDD specifications and it fully support SAS dual channel function. The EZConvert Air features an extremely robust stainless-steel exterior with a cleverly designed locking mechanism to keep your drives immobile. The open air design, ventilated slots, and metal construction all work simultaneously to maintain your drives as cool as possible. Enterprise Design With Impressive Features The MB382IP-B puts an emphasis on industrial level SAS storage applications --designed using the dimensions, connection locations, and mounting positions making it an exact replica of a 3.5” SAS drive. This particular converter is intended specifically to be used for 2.5” SAS drives that are required in 3.5” SAS internal hard drive bays of tower and rack mount chassis, as well as with SAS backplanes or hot swap modules. The MB382IP-3B is backwards compatible with SATA HDD/SSDs and fully supports SAS dual channel daisy-chain function which is perfect for iSCSI SAN server and data center applications. The MB382IP-3B utilizes a full stainless steel exterior combined with an open air design, thus creating an exceptional environment to cool any 10K, 15K RPM 2.5” SAS mechanical or enterprise 2.5” SAS solid state drive. It’s invaluable for enterprise because it simplifies upgrading file servers without paying a tremendous amount for an entire system upgrade. Additionally, the rock solid construction is ideal for industrial and enterprise level applications where equipment robustness is a necessity. For maximum compatibility, we’ve included our new self-adjusting mechanism to support of all drive heights ranging from a slim 7mm to a thick 15mm. With the optional bottom screw holes, you can securely lock in 2.5” drives into the EZConvert Air allowing extra drive security. The added security feature is a must have for rugged system builds that require drives to be completely immobile yet easily accessible. It’s the small details we consider that make Icydock your go-to brand. Convenience Meets Practicality It’s never been easier to install your 2.5” HDD/SSD. Simply press on the latch to open the locking mechanism, insert your SSD or hard drive into the SAS/SATA connector, and close the latch and you’re ready to go. The EZ-Convert Air does not require any tools for SSD or drive installation, effectively decreasing installation time and labor of maintenance. The open design of this converter gives you quick access to your drives when the situation arises. If you need to swap drives, you can do so with ease. For customers that swap their drives a lot, the built in SAS/SATA PCB bridge protects your HDD/SSD connector from wearing out during the insertion and removal cycle, and it delivers the full speed of SAS up to 6Gb/s per channel without any speed reduction. Advanced Cooling Design There’s a reason we coined the name “EZConvert Air”–because of how much airflow this converter allows. With its open air design, heat can rapidly escape from your drives during your most intensive applications. This in turn can lead to better performance since excessive heat may slow down your system. Strategically placed ventilated slots surround the converter allowing heat to escape from all sides and angles, while the metal frame acts as a giant heat sink to quickly cool your hard drives. The open air design, ventilated slots, and metal frame combine to produce an advanced cooling system to put your mind at ease. Key Features * Converts 2.5” SAS HDD or SSD to 3.5” SAS hard drive * Support SAS dual channel function * Backwards compatible with 2.5” SATA HDD or SSD (SAS host required) * Designed for iSCSI SAN server and data center upgrade * Heavy duty stain-less steel exterior with easy access to drives * Open air design for rapid heat dissipation * Ventilated slots allow air to flow through converter * Drive stabilizing & self-adjusting mechanism * Universal 3.5” HDD mounting holes * Tool-less design for quick & easy HDD/SSD installation * Fits all 2.5” SAS/SATA drive heights from 7mm to 15mm Quick links: MB382IP-3B Product Page MB382IP-3B Product images MB382IP-3B Datasheet ICY DOCK Tel: 626.956.8800 Fax: 626.956.8811 11740 Clark St. Arcadia, California 91006 Sales e-mail: sales01@cremax.com Support e-mail: tech@icydock.com