Why People Do Not Go for Professional Data Recovery?

People and organizations that primarily rely on computers for their day-to-day activities, inevitably come across data loss problems at some time or other. No matter what may be the cause of a data disaster, the natural human urge, after all, is to recover the lost data with a high success rate and without incurring exponential expenses.
There are several DIY data recovery software available in the market which can be successfully used by an individual or an organization to recover the lost data. Besides being really cheap and cost-effective, DIY data recovery software offers many other advantages, which makes it a very appropriate data recovery solution. Yet, it has often been observed that people prefer to go for professional data recovery services rather than using recovery software. One of the reasons for this may be that the data recovery software is of no use in case of a mechanical failure of any storage media. Besides this, the professional data recovery companies offer many other advantages such as:
1) Human Supervision and Assessment of the Problem
In case of any major data loss scenario, what people tend to hate most is the sense of vagueness and uncertainty associated with the situation. They desperately look for some one who can give them a realistic assessment of the situation and can supervise the entire recovery process with confidence and surety. The human factor associated with professional data recovery services makes them a great success.
2) Professionalism
When the data at stake is very precious and critical for survival purposes, people and organizations expect it to be recovered with ample professionalism and responsibility. They know that any amateurish attempt to salvage their data may end up in a disaster and can render the lost data irretrievable for ever.
3) Experience
The technical staff working for a good data recovery service has the requisite experience of working with and recovering data from various types of storage media subjected to all types of abuse and mishandling. Hence, they are often in a position to recover the lost data with a high rate of success.
4) Qualified Staff
All the authentic data recovery companies have a highly qualified staff and well-trained data recovery technicians. Many good companies even hire PhD-level data recovery experts for advisory and technical purposes. This gives a prospective customer a sense of confidence regarding the recovery of his inaccessible data.
5) Use of Specialized Software and Hardware Tools
A genuine data recovery company always has a well-stocked inventory of many types of software and hardware tools at its disposal, so as to perform any type of data recovery job with success and confidence. In addition to this, the highly skilled data recovery technicians are often in a position to improvise and customize the tools to suit the situation.
6) Free-of-charge Assessment and Advice
Almost all the major data recovery companies offer a free-of-charge assessment and diagnosis of the data recovery problem submitted to them. They often advise their customers regarding the data recovery solution that will be most appropriate for them, without asking for any special fee. This helps the customer in deciding upon and planning his or her future course of action.
7) Advanced Estimates about Recovery Cost
A reputed data recovery company always provides its customers with a realistic estimate of the expected recovery costs. Whether he or she wants to avail their services or not is entirely left to the discretion of the well-informed customer.
8) No-recovery-no-charge Policy
All the well-established data recovery companies follow a policy of no-recovery-no-charge. They charge their customers only for the data recovered and in case of a failure to recover data, the customer is not charged anything. This arrangement makes the data recovery companies a very tempting option.
9) Entire Onus on the Recovery Company
Once a storage device or a digital gadget is submitted to a data recovery company, the entire onus lies on the recovery firm for the success or failure of the recovery procedure followed or any damage incurred to the media under consideration.
Considering all the above mentioned benefits of hiring the services of professional data recovery companies, no doubt, people mostly prefer to go for professional data recovery.
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Floppy Disks and Data Recovery

Before looking into the recovery of data from them, let us first have a look at how the floppy drives function and what they are used for.
What are Floppy Disks?
The floppy disks consist of a thin disk that is made up of magnetic material and is enclosed in a plastic cover. The disks have a hole in the centre. In the hole, a metal apparatus is fixed. The spindle that is present in the floppy disk drive can fit into this apparatus and thus make the disk rotate.
A slot is present in the cover of the floppy disk from where contact can be established in between the read/ write head and the disk itself. Thus, data can be written onto the disk or can be read from it.
The method in which data is stored on the floppy disks is similar to the storage method used in case of hard drive i.e. the disk is divided into a number of sectors that are present in the form of circles on either of the disk’s surfaces. Each of these sectors has a specific address and can store 512 bytes of data. The above configurations may vary depending upon the type of floppy disk.
In the 3 and a half inch versions of floppy disks (the ones that are commonly used these days), a fabric is present within the cover in order to remove any dust that is present on the disk surface.
As far as the floppy disk drives are concerned, they are available in some of the desktop computers. On others, they have to be installed or external drives have to be used.
Use of Floppy Disks
These days, most of the software or applications that are used have sizes greater than the space available in a floppy disk. Thus, they cannot be stored in it. This is one of the reasons for floppy disks becoming obsolete.
However, they are still used in some of the older computers. Such computers usually lack an optical disk drive (one that can read data from CDs or from both CDs and DVDs). Hence, in case of a system crash, floppy drives come in handy where CDs cannot be used to boot the computer.
They can also be used for the transfer of data from such systems. In some rare cases, floppy disks are used for backing up of data. This data may include documents, software that is small in size, photographs etc.
How Data can be Lost from Floppy Disks?
The floppy disks are data storage media that are highly vulnerable to damage. The data present in them can be lost easily. Data loss can occur in the following ways:
The floppy disks are highly sensitive to dust. The plastic cover that is present on the floppy disks is usually insufficient to provide adequate protection over a long period of time.
The data present on the disks can be lost due to an effect of external magnetic field.
The data present on floppy disks can also be lost if they are mishandled. For example, scratches can form on the disk surface, the cover of the disk may open up etc.
The disks are also susceptible to logical errors. Such errors can take place when a file gets written incompletely on the disk due to power surges, power cuts etc.
Finally, the data retention capacity of the floppy disks goes on reducing with use. Some of the bad quality floppy disks may even stop functioning within a couple of weeks.
Recovering Data from Floppy Disks
In case the cause of inaccessibility of data from the disk is lack of proper lubrication, then the data can be recovered by making use of a proper lubricant.
To repair the logical errors that may be present in the data stored on a floppy disk, many data recovery software are available on the internet. Good quality software can be chosen from the same in order to recover the data.
In some cases, you can access the data present on the floppy disk by making use of a different floppy disk drive. Thus, one can try inserting the floppy disk into different computers in an attempt to access the data present on it.
Remember that floppy disks show the largest amount of failures. Hence, preferably they should not be used. In case the use of floppy disks is unavoidable, the data present on them should be backed up onto the computer hard drive before use.
Source: Free Articles

Better Software Foundations

I visited the ruins of a Roman settlement, the other day that was set in a lovely valley in the middle of an island.
The setting was idyllic, sheltered from the winds and not too far from the main market town, it seemed an ideal spot to farm and bring up a family.
Its history was thoughtfully provided on signs around the ruins of a substantial dwelling, which had been expanded in Roman times to include a hot and cold bathroom and mosaic floors. All of this was very attractive and a considerable investment for the landowner. But the settlement was abandoned, and it occurred to me that there had to be a good reason since it was clear that someone had put a lot of effort and finance into their dream.
I wondered if Vikings, who were known to be active in this area after the Romans left, had attacked it but there were no signs of charred brick work or the aftermath of battle.
Looking around another sign revealed the problem. There had been more than one attempt to settle the area, but the land formed a natural point of drainage for the hills around, and successive buildings had each eventually succumbed to subsidence.
I was left in no doubt that the buildings were of a good quality and that the builders were competent at construction, but clearly it had taken a few generations to work out that this was not a suitable site for construction. If we really wanted to settle this place now we would drive piles deep into the ground to overcome the subsidence.
The point that this drove into my mind was that of developing software. It is all too often the case that Software development organizations and their customers make the same mistakes over again. If the foundations are shaky then there is no point in building, but with a little forethought someone will could solve the problem and provide a safe way of delivering a good foundation.
The biggest mistake that organizations make is to rush to cut code before they understand the problem they are solving. That doesn't mean you have to be complacent and that sitting around in a few meetings will solve all your problems.
What should be done is: -
Ring fence what you know.Ring fence what you don't know.Make sure you are developing the right product.Build the software that you know will not change.Check that what you are building is what is wanted.
Often the customer just doesn't know exactly what they want, so you need to involve them in the development process. The earlier they get to know the product then the more likely they are to buy into the solution.Having said all of that..
Code should be built where it enhances the understanding of the problem both to the customer and the developer.
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Find Answers to Disturbing Questions Using Keylogger

This solution is System Keylogger. It logs keystrokes, chat conversations, applications, windows, websites, passwords, emails and can take screenshots at a given period of time. System Keylogger is the ultimate surveillance tool. It is invisible, informative and impeccable.
System Keylogger can be used for monitoring PCs at home and in the office. At home, you can look after your child. You’ll see what resources he’s visiting and notice if he spends time in suspicious chats or forums. You’ll know before it’s too late if he gets an invitation from an unfamiliar person asking for a meeting without your consent.
The program can help you to save your marriage. If your spouse acts suspiciously and it looks like he’s having an affair online, you can use the spyware to log his emails and chats. This’ll enable you to act beforehand and help to make things right.
Another good point of using System Keylogger is that it can raise efficiency of your office employees. Use the program to log what applications they are running, what websites they are visiting and make screenshots to see how they spend time in front of PC. It’s also possible to turn on the splash screen that will inform them about logging.
You can use System Keylogger absolutely without a risk of being exposed. While the program is active, it’s almost impossible for an unauthorized person to notice, deactivate or terminate it. The advanced stealth engine will hide it from System Tray and Task Manager. It’s also important that when it comes to viewing the collected data, System Keylogger is at its best, delivering all logs through a friendly interface. Moreover, you can even make System Keylogger send Activity Logs via E-mail or FTP to monitor your PC remotely.
With System Keylogger, you can be sure that everything is OK, both in your family and at work. It’ll let you notice the upcoming problem in advance, so you’ll be able to deal with it promptly. Whether you want to keep an eye on your child, spouse, employee or anyone else who uses your PC, System Keylogger will be the optimal solution. Being aware is being secured. Visit http://www.systemkeylogger.com to get a trial and see the program in action.
Pricing and Availability
System Keylogger runs under all versions of Microsoft Windows and costs $49.99 (USD) for a single-user license. Licensed customers are entitled to the fully-functional version of the product, free technical support and free upgrades. More information on System Keylogger, as well as its free trial copy is available free of charge from http://www.systemkeylogger.com.
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9 Tips To Keep Windows XP Running Smooth

There are many things that cause a computer to be sluggish from software to hardware. It can be too small a hard drive or not enough RAM. It can be anything from BIOS and/or Operating System Settings to programs that are eating up your CPU and RAM (no matter how much you have). Or it can be your network.
Personally, I work my computer like a young mother with a house full of kids 12 to 18 hours a day.
That mother needs to unwind at the end of the day and so does my computer and probably yours too.
Here are 9 Tips in the order they should be completed that can help keep your computer happy and working without complaining:
1. This is so basic I shouldn't need to say it, Keep Which Ever E-Mail Program You Use Cleaned Out. I have clients who are always complaining, but who refuse to dump years and years of accumulated e-mail.
2. Make sure you have a good anti virus program (Only one per computer please), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.
3. Make sure you have a good anti spy ware program (Only one per computer), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.
4. Run Disk Clean Up Daily (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean Up - a box opens - make sure each box is checked, click 'OK' - a box pops up - Click Yes).
5. Delete Cookies and Cached Files Daily (Start, Control Panel -if you have not done it yet, click 'Switch To Classic View', Internet Options - a pop up box will appear - Delete Cookies, Click OK, Click Delete Files - check 'Delete All Offline Content' - Click OK, Now Set Your Clear History to no more than 7 Days - if you haven't used it for a week you probably won't miss it - Click OK)
6. A very important step almost everyone misses: Empty The Prefetch Folder (Start, My Computer, 'C' , Windows, Prefetch Folder, Edit, Select All, File, Delete - pop up box appears - Click Yes, Close Windows Window)
7. Empty Recycle Bin. For the sake of brevity, I am assuming everyone knows where it is and how to empty it.
8. Scan Hard Drive 'C' (Start, My Computer, Right Click 'C' - box opens - Click Properties at the bottom - another box opens - Click Tools, Click Check Now, Make sure both 'Automatically fix file system errors' and 'Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors' are checked, Click Start. Get a cup of java (oh, black, thank you) and Wait !
9. Defrag Computer (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter - window opens - Select 'C' Drive, Click Defragment). Pop a top and Wait !
The last two steps (8 and 9) can take awhile if they have not been done recently. I complete this entire routine on my computer just before I stop work for the day everyday and the entire sequence takes no longer than 20 minutes and often much less.
You can find more help with free download links at http://www.remotehelpdesk1.com
tmm
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Top Ten Methods To Access Banned Websites

We all know the scenario. You're at work or at school and someone in their infinite wisdom has decided to block access to one of your favourite sites.
For reforming the situation we used the proxy server, but today it has no use, because network administrator can block it exactly in the time it is created. There are some ways that can help you to avoid firewalls and network blocks. Here's the free list of anonymous proxy-servers.
We suggest you 10 of the best ones:
1. Use an IP Address – Using an IP address is the fastest and easiest way for getting around access restrictions based on domain name.
2. Use Google Cache – If getting the web site's very latest content isn't crucial for you, Google cache is your best bet.
3. Use an Anonymizer – An anonymizer allows you to gain access to a third-party site. The third-party site then reroutes your request to the server you need to access.
4. Use Online Translation Tools. When you use this method, the translation service becomes your web proxy.
5. Use Google Mobile Search – Using Google mobile search will be familiar to anyone who's used a web proxy. While Google mobile search does work, it may not always produce ideal results.
6. Use a Public Proxy Server – You can find any number of free proxy servers out there on the internet. But be aware that if you do want to give this a try, you'll first need to adjust the internet connection settings in your preferred browser Internet Explorer, for example.
7. Access Web Pages By E-mail – This can be a great technique if all you're looking for is a single web page. This method's biggest drawback is that it doesn't offer access to larger files.
8. Use Tor Distributed Proxy – Tor, which can be found on the internet at tor.eff.org, is a sophisticated proxy server which makes use of multiple anonymous servers for each web request it receives.
9. Create Your Own Proxy Server – It will come as no surprise that the most sophisticated method may bring you the best results. You can create your own proxy server and host it from your own home, or get hosting through a service provider. What's more, having your own proxy server will allow you to activate SSL encryption, and also make sure that no one can spy on your content.
10. Use Alternate Content Providers – If you've tried every other method, and nothing seems to work, then an alternate service provider may be a last resort. A good example is Gmail: if your access to Gmail has been blocked at a certain location, simply set up another e-mail address with a less well-known site, and configure Gmail to forward your e-mails to the new address.
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Most Useful Method To Protect Confidentiality - Wipe Disc

Disc wiping is a useful method of maintaining confidentiality because deleted files are not often deleted from the hard disk. High security installations like government and security institutions have specific protocol for file deletion. The United states Department of Defense has specified that a file must be overwritten three times. The newer operating systems such as Windows XP and Mac OS X use a journaling file system that renders complete erasure of files almost impossible. Journaling file systems keeps a log in which the changes to a journal is updated before writing it to the main file system. This reduces the chance of a file becoming corrupt in the event of a power failure. The system accomplishes this task by keeping metadata in various locations in the disc. These metadata are rarely wiped out with a standard file shredder. The task is made harder by fact that these systems often use I/O commands to continuously ferry the data from one location to another. It's these power enhancing features of the file systems that requires the need to bring in more powerful disc wipes. However, to use a disc wipe one must store the data on a temporary partition by using any journaling or non journaling file system. When its time to wipe all files just uses a disc wipe software such as Eraser to secure the entire segment.
“Disc wipe” softwares work by rapidly overwriting the segment of a drive with nonsensical information. By literally burying the file under multiple layers of garbage the data is rendered practically unrecoverable. Wipe disc works much like your average paper shredder. Though the letters on the scraps of paper are visible it is practically an impossible task to put them back together.File shredding and disk wiping are commonly confused to be the same. To understand the difference one requires a basic idea of what really happens to a file after it has been deleted. Many a people wrongly assume that by deleting a file they are rendering it impossible to be recovered. The fact is that it's very much possible to retrieve a deleted file, often pretty much intact. Deleting a file works by removing the address of the file thus rendering it invisible in the directory or index. Theoretically what it means is that the segment is now available to be use for newer data. The data is very much there on your disk until newer files overwrite them.
File shredding is no doubt a good method of obliterating a file it has its limitations. If a defrag utility is used after the original file was saved the file will be scattered on several locations. This renders File shredding ineffective and the only way to assure the total decimation of the file is to “Disk wipe” the entire segment. This obliterates all the files in the entire portion of the disc thus leaving no loop hole for the file to be recovered. Unfortunately, any software that is written can be reverse- engineered which creates loop holes in the usage of any “wiping” software. The only remaining and guaranteed way is to completely destroy the disc by physically melting it or pour acid on it.
By: Sam Miller
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