Issue 34 SMARTS Broadcast Systems June 1997
HOW TO RECOGNIZE A VIRUS.
We seem to talk more about viruses and backups in the Newsletter than any other topic, but
every month we get support calls from someone who has been hit.
Your protection against a virus is to have an up to date virus scan program on your computer
and run it at least once a week. Some operators have it set up to scan their drive every day
when the computer is turned on.
Your second protection against a virus is to follow our recommended backup procedure of
rotating disks, one for each day of the week. You do your backup at the end of the day Monday
on your Monday disk, Tuesday on your Tuesday disk, and so on. If on Wednesday you discover a
virus, you can then go backwards through the days of the week until you find a clean backup to
restore.
All incoming software should be scanned before you put it on your hard drive. Be careful
of Internet downloads. Be careful about who has access to add programs to your office computer.
In some stations, the weekend dj has added games to the office computer, and infested it with a
virus. Your station management needs to make it clear who had access and authorization to enter
something into the computer. It is not worth the risk to expose your valuable receivable and
scheduling data.
Some of the symptoms of a virus include one of your programs suddenly not running. Or you
may get data from one part of SMARTS showing up in some other part. EG: Co-op posting data on
your Breaklog transfer to SMARTCASTER.
If you don't know how to run a Scandisk on your office computer, you should learn to do so.
Scandisk will detect damaged files, and offer you the chance to fix them. In some cases it will
flush out a virus.
It's an unfortunate reality that we have to spend time and Newsletter space in this direction,
but our hope is to offer you the means of protection against a virus.
YOU MUST USE MS DOS...
We recently had a very puzzling support question from a Missouri station -- co op for the
26th of the month would not post as the log was nailed. After a great deal of "digging" we found
that the computer was using another version of DOS.
When you were first sold SMARTS your station filled out a Hardware Spec Sheet certifying
that the computer had been equipped with the current version of Microsoft (MS) DOS. That is a
prerequsite for running DOS.
If you would like to check your computer for the version of DOS, go to the C> and type VER
(ENTER) The computer will display what type and version number of DOS you are using. Most of
you will have MS DOS 6.2. If you find another version of DOS that is NOT Microsoft, you may be
in for problems. We suggest you install MS 6.2.
If you are running Windows 95, you will have DOS 7, which is fine for Version 7 of SMARTS,
the current release version.
A MISCONCEPTION IN MASTERS...
We may have mentioned before that there is a misconception of one of the commands in the
Master file. We have had several support calls regarding the question "Do you want this entry
on another Master?" If you answer Y for Yes to this question, you are then allowed to choose
what other Master you want to work on. IT DOES NOT TRANSFER YOUR ENTRIES FROM YOUR FIRST MASTER
ONTO THE SECOND MASTER. You must still enter the times for your entry onto the second, and
succeeding Masters.
CLEANCHECK AND CLEANADJUST.....
These two options are now on your menu in Version 7, under MISC. However, you must use them
with caution.
They do not correct mistakes made on posting or billing. You must do that in the Short Term
Direct Access option, or in Check Posting. If you make a mistake in billing, adjust out the entry
and then use Cleanadjust to remove the line from the bill. If you make a mistake in Check Posting,
reverse post the entry in the account to correct it, and then remove the line from the bill in
Cleancheck.
If you try to make corrections using Cleancheck or Cleanadjust, your receivables will be off.
DON’T USE 998...
Account #998 is not available for use. It must be left as OPEN ACCOUNT. Several stations
tried to use it this past month, and had reports that would not run correctly.
We are aware that some of you are in dire need of more account numbers. The new Windows
version of SMARTS will have unlimited account numbers.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER.....
Jan Schad
OFFICE: 800-7476278 SUPPORT: 800-765-2930
SALES: 800-498-0487 E-MAIL: officesupport@smartsbroadcast.com