Presenting the Facts about Data Breaches
If you're faced by an investigation team, after a data breach, it is no use putting on your 'Mr. Sincerity' face and making vague statements. They want documented facts.
2020-11-14
170 reads
Phil Factor
- Interests: Motorbikes, Beer, gardening, conservation, Local history.
Responding to the Call of the Wild
Phil Factor's manual for taming machines, applications, and other wild beasts.
2020-10-17
142 reads
Of Hedgehogs and Database Design
One of the finest songs of the sixties had the following lines … "Sitting one day by myself, And I'm thinking, "What could be wrong?" When this funny little Hedgehog comes running up to me, And it starts up to sing me this song. Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the […]
2020-08-22
380 reads
Exploring SQL Server Indexes: Stairway to Exploring Database Metadata Level 3
This level of the Stairway to Exploring Database Metadata focuses on indexes and all the information you can gather about them.
2020-08-05 (first published: 2016-09-28)
5,072 reads
2020-06-27
229 reads
Falling Over our Assumptions
There's a saying about what it says about a person to assume something. However it's something we all do every day. Phil Factor brings us a guest editorial about assumptions in SQL code.
2020-06-25 (first published: 2009-04-08)
839 reads
2020-05-30
222 reads
Representing uncertainty in difficult times
The Covid-19 pandemic has provided examples of how uncertain data can eventually be presented to the public as certainty. How, as data people, should we represent uncertainty in our data?
2020-05-02
174 reads
Build and fill a SQL Server Database using SQL Compare CLI and a Batch Script
Phil Factor provides a powerful DOS batch script which, when coupled with SQL Compare CLI, allows you to build databases from source, during development, and fill them with the specific datasets required for testing.
2020-03-19
437 reads
SQL Server Extended Properties: Stairway to Exploring Database Metadata Level 7
In this level, I’ll introduce Extended Properties. As with the previous levels, I want to illustrate as much as possible with practical and immediately useful code.
2020-03-18 (first published: 2017-02-22)
3,967 reads
Blogs
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
SQL Server Security Hardening Guide Using the DoD STIG Checklist
Security on your SQL Server is important. That doesn’t need any explaining. But where...
Forums
Backing Up a DMK
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The Quiet Part
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BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
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Question of the Day
Backing Up a DMK
In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?
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