| | There are a lot of reasons a
computer can lose data | |
Challenges
in Recovering Deleted Email
Both computer forensics experts and data
recovery technicians seek to recover deleted data. Data recovery
is primarily interested in bringing back files, while computer
forensics tends to dig deeper, looking not just for deleted
documents, but also for metadata (data about data - such as
file attributes, descriptions, dates, and other information)
and meaningful snippets of unrecoverable files. One area of
particular interest is email.
Read
Full Text
How is
data written, stored on, and erased from hard disks?
One of my favorite IT Directors, Buzz
Eyler of the Orcutt Unified School District, tells me that,
"Most people have no clue how data is stored on a hard drive
running Windows. A discussion of how it is written and marked
for erasing would help a lot of people understand what's happening
under the hood of their computer."
Read
Full Text
The
Case for Electronic Discovery
Nearly all documents created in offices
these days begin their lives on a computer, as a computer file.
Computer files are quite dynamic in nature. They change over time
as they are accessed. Computer files are not immortal, but the act
of deleting a file does not destroy it. Nonetheless, the very act
of using a computer overwrites computer files.
Read
Full Text
The
Five Stages of Data Loss
The computer crashes and what happens?
Well, irritation at first. The darn thing is supposed to
work, and you've got work to do. After fiddling with it
for a bit and getting error message this, error message
that — and what did I do that was an illegal instruction?
Am I going to get a ticket? Aren't I the executive here?
Is this some kind of Sarbanes-Oxley trick? Surely this will
work if I turn it on & off a few times.
Read
Full Text
Backups
Backup, backup, backups!
If there's one thing I've
learned in 20 years and 12,000 data recoveries, it's that
everybody doesn't back up their data sometimes. Computers
may be dumb, but they know when you don't have your data
backed up — because that's when they break. Don't let
your computer fool you — back up new data daily.
Read Full
Text
Data
Recovery Myths and Misconceptions
In the very early 80's, IBM introduced
the IBM PC, progenitor of most modern personal computers.
That same year, undoubtedly, the first PC hard disk failed
and someone was screaming about their data and cursing IBM.
Shortly after that, we started the data recovery industry
and created most of the established practices and recovery
techniques in use today. Over the years we've seen quite
a few pieces of misguided advice about recovering data in
the popular media, and heard many others. I don't know if
we've heard it all, but we've heard these: Slap it, heat
it, hit it, freeze it, drop it, tap it, swap the board,
open it and spin it, use Norton, spin it with a drill, use
a higher voltage, it will fix itself, and pray.
Read Full
Text
Computer
Hoaxes for the Beginner
Can you say, "hoax?"
With the advent of email, one person
can send millions of messages. With the help of willing
accomplice friends, a single hoax chain letter can multiply
into hundreds of millions. There are any number of hoaxes
and well-meaning people can unwittingly propagate them.
Read Full
Text
"I
think I've lost my data and I don't know what to do..."
There are a lot of reasons a computer
can lose data. Some are more catastrophic than others. If
the hard disk in the computer is making a clicking, grinding,
or scraping sound, then it's time to turn off the computer,
remove the hard disk, and sent it to a data recovery house
— we recommend Data
Recovery Worldwide, of course. There is one thing
you can do to determine if the sound is due to a failed
hard disk. Immediately turn off the computer. Let the hard
disk stabilize for a few minutes and open up the computer.
Then either remove the hard disk or unplug the power from
it. Then turn the computer back on. If it's still screeching
(and there's no power to the hard disk), the problem is
not the hard disk. You're in luck! Your data may still be
safe and you should have your computer diagnosed.
Read
Full Text
On
or Off?
Is it better for my
computer to leave it on or shut it off when I'm not using
it?
To my way of thinking, there
are four main reasons to be concerned about leaving a computer
on all day and night. They are: electricity cost, data security,
damage from power spikes, and thermal/environmental issues.
All of these can be causes of damage to your computer or
files. All of these may require you call us for data recovery.
Read Full
Text
Viruses
What are computer viruses, Trojans
and zombies?
Sounds like a horror movie, doesn't
it?
Computer viruses are bits of computer
code (1's and 0's) that, just like people viruses, use the
host (computer) to multiply and infect other hosts. Trojans
are bits of code that take some control of your computer
without your permission, and make it do something you don't
tell it to do. Your computer is a zombie when it has an
uninvited bit of code on it that "listens" for a command
from a remote computer to do its bidding. Viruses and Trojans
are types of "malware," or malicious software.
Read Full
Text
"What
to do when your hard drive makes loud noises... "
When you get a shiny new computer
(or even an old grimy one), it's a box full of promise.
Like a blank page, it's just waiting for you to put something
interesting down. It's an invitation. It's a challenge.
And so you do. You put in pictures of family, friends, and
vacations. You put your taxes in. You put your checkbook
in. You put letters to family and friends, business and
government, and even to yourself. You put in your calendar
and your schedule. In goes your resume, your essays, your
homework. It holds your address book, your Christmas card
list, and lists of your favorite places on the Internet.
Read
Full Text |
