Hard Drive Recovery Group
  • Hard Drive Recovery Group
  • Who We Are
  • Get In Touch
  • Hard Drive Recovery Group
  • Who We Are
  • Get In Touch

Computer Fails In Space

6/27/2017

0 Comments

 

We use computers or a similar technology such as a smartphone or any smart gadget in our daily lives. We use it for personal use, school, work, or leisure. The popularity of these smart gadgets has brought the World Wide Web even closer to the masses, thus the use of social media and the Internet has also catapulted into fame. Today, you can’t see a home without a personal computer or laptop to help them stay connected to the web.

These tech advances are even more crucial when it comes to space technology. Flying rockets, manning the space station, and sending astronauts or robots to explore uncharted planets is a big risk and challenge you can’t just easily do so without the help of advanced computing technology. Unfortunately, the technology is not always reliable and problems arise that requires immediate solutions because these trips to space aren’t just risky but mighty expensive too.

The primary device failed on Saturday, leaving the $100bn orbiting laboratory to depend on a backup system to route commands to its solar power system, radiators, cooling loops and other equipment.

The station's current five-member crew from the United States, Russia and France were never in any danger, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement.

Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Jack Fischer, both with NASA, will partner for the spacewalk, which is expected to last two hours, the US space agency said.

Earlier on Sunday, Whitson assembled and tested a spare electronics box to replace the failed device, which had been installed during a spacewalk on 30 March, said NASA spokesman Dan Huot.

NASA's last emergency spacewalk took place in December 2015 when two US astronauts left the station to release the brakes on a robot arm's mobile transporter.

(Via: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-international-space-station-iss-computer-spacewalk-broken-mission-emergency-a7749956.html)

Modern technical computing devices are crucial to the success of space launches and the various space exploration programs. It is not an easy feat to send a man to space or make sure they survive the long months manning the International Space Station. They need sophisticated computing technology that can keep them safe all the time and not use an untested technology that will not only compromise the mission but endanger their lives too.

The 50-pound data relay box, known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer, or MDM, is one of two "tier 2" command and control computers mounted in the station's power truss that route commands to a variety of critical systems and relay telemetry from them to the ground. While the one operational tier 2 MDM can handle the full load, NASA managers opted to replace the failed box as soon as possible to restore full redundancy.

And so, Whitson and Fischer will venture back outside just 11 days after completing their most recent excursion on May 12, switching their spacesuits to battery power around 8 a.m. to officially kick off U.S. EVA-43.

Whitson checked out a replacement MDM Sunday and she will install it by herself Tuesday, working on the front side of the station's power truss. The box is about the size of a small microwave oven.

While Whitson focuses on replacing the failed MDM, Fischer will mount two antennas on the Earth-facing side of the Destiny laboratory module to improve communications with spacewalkers.

(Via: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/failed-computer-requires-quick-spacewalk-repair/)

You see just how big of an impact computers have on space missions especially when they don’t work out as planned. In this case, the problem was said to be a hardware issue. The space station actually uses as many as 44 MDM computers that have total control of everything in the lab. When one of them fails to work, it can be disastrous to everyone on board so it must be taken cared of immediately. Hence, there is the need for the urgent spacewalk by no other than Whitson herself who also installed the device about a couple of months ago to ensure everyone’s safety.

While only a handful of people get the rare opportunity to work as professional astronauts, many of us deal with computers every day. Like the incident in space, the hard drive is also one of the most vulnerable components of your computer and its failure can be disastrous especially if you don’t have a backup in place. If you find yourself in a similar situation, check out this link to learn more about hard drive recovery service: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/how-to-choose-a-hard-drive-recovery-service/. To give you more insight on the types of data recovery tools often used to recover data, this may probably help: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/data-recovery-tools/.

The blog post Computer Fails In Space Read more on: http://www.harddriverecovery.org



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/computer-fails-in-space/
0 Comments

Beefing Up Servers For The Cloud

6/24/2017

0 Comments

 

We are in a digital age that is quickly overwhelming humanity with mind-boggling technologies year after year. While it seems that the majority of mankind has openly embraced technology in their lives (especially smartphones and smart gadgets), there are still countless technologies out there that baffle us or we are yet unaware of for good measure. For example, we are all aware of cloud computing and even make use of cloud storage ourselves but that mostly describes what we know about this rising technology.

We know so little about how servers work in cloud computing. We just know that the cloud must need lots of servers to provide storage for all the data coming its way, and we are talking about lots and lots of data from all corners of the world. Fortunately, companies into cloud computing like Amazon are taking care of this matter and ensure our data stay safe and accessible to us in the cloud, so we need not worry about it ourselves.

Organizations make use of cloud infrastructure to take help of cloud computing to perform their day to day work to continue their operations. Cloud infrastructures are typically accessed using a pay-per-use model, unlike structures of payment that enable users to subscribe to vendor services for a set price or subscription-based pricing models. Instead of purchasing cloud infrastructure from a provider, organizations can also build their own cloud infrastructure in their premises. An organization using a service provider cloud is termed as public cloud; when an organization uses its own infrastructure, it is termed as a private cloud; and when an organization uses bits of public and private infrastructure, it is termed as a hybrid cloud.

Cloud infrastructure empowers the organization or company to manage traditional workload data by using an open private cloud deployment model. Organizations deliver cloud constructed cohesive infrastructure as a service in order to make new investments, technologies, and upgrade to better capture and position them in the market and to improve manageability. Cloud infrastructure services are generally used across all major verticals such as government, telecom, healthcare, banking, manufacturing, financial services, and others. The global adoption rate of cloud infrastructure services is increasing due to the growing implementation rate in Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America regions.

(Via: http://www.military-technologies.net/2017/05/23/cloud-infrastructure-market-trends-and-forecast-by-2024/)

The people’s preference for doing most things online and the number of digital documents and data they accumulate requires far more sophisticated and extensive data storage management than your traditional hard drive can provide. Moreover, the use of mobile gadget continually rise along with the increase in businesses taking their business to the web means there is a greater need for reliable data storage more than ever. The cloud provides the solution we have all been looking for without driving us insane.

Hitachi will supply IBM-made mainframe computers loaded with its own operating systems starting in fiscal 2018, beating a retreat from hardware development in the age of cloud servers.

The arrangement was announced Tuesday. Hitachi will continue developing operating systems for mainframe machines. New products will offer improved compatibility with Hitachi's "internet of things" platform Lumada. 

Mainframes have been widely used across Japan's public and private sectors for in-house computer systems since they emerged in the 1950s. Japan was a particularly big market, with Hitachi, IBM, NEC, Fujitsu and others all competing for a piece of the pie at one point. 

(Via: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Hitachi-IBM-to-collaborate-in-mainframes-in-the-cloud-era)

Amazon may have dominated the cloud business industry but perhaps not for long as Hitachi and IBM have teamed up and finally came to terms with the reality that cloud computing is the norm of data management and storage these days. It may be hard to beat Amazon’s achievements in cloud computing but the two will try their best to beef up their own servers and tap the cloud market that is quickly growing by the minute.

For those businesses that haven’t yet shifted from traditional data storage to that of the cloud such as the use of a RAID server, check this link regarding its server recovery: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/server-recovery/. On the other hand, individuals with data recovery issues can benefit from this: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/clean_room.html. No need to go far because you can count on us to help you with most of your hardware and server needs and issues.

The following blog article Beefing Up Servers For The Cloud Read more on: Hard Drive Recovery Group



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/beefing-up-servers-for-the-cloud/
0 Comments

Private Servers For Dummies

6/22/2017

0 Comments

 

When we think of servers, we often picture out stacks of these tech wonders housed in pristine environments of major tech companies. This program supports other computer programs in one or more computers used mostly by big enterprises. There are actually different server types depending on their purpose. However, have you ever thought of getting one for yourself? The rise of private servers among small business owners is growing in popularity these days, so it might be an option for you to consider anytime soon.

In layman’s term, a private server is a virtual machine that one administers privately. You don’t just place a server in any location because it often comes within a group. Moreover, servers need sufficient power supply and a stable Internet connection aside from them being obviously noisy too. And just like laptops and computers, you can buy a private server in a similar manner these days.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) have taken the small business world by storm. The advantages offered by VPS are considerable and can save any business a lot of money, but are more obvious in the small business community where a few thousand dollars can mean the difference between success and failure.

A VPS removes the need for your company to have its own physical servers. Access to a VPS gives your company the same advantages of having a physical server, but the operating system is run on the cloud. Anything that can be done on a physical server can be accomplished on a VPS without the expense of owning or leasing the physical equipment.

A small business that wants to save money on operating costs but has the need for a dedicated server can find a substantial number of companies on the internet that can fill their needs, but not all of these companies are created equal. Cost, security, performance benchmarks and other factors vary from company to company and there are tradeoffs for the customer to consider.

(Via: https://www.techworm.net/2017/05/virtual-private-servers-5-things-look-taking-small-business-online.html)

Cost is one of the factors you have to consider when deciding whether a private server will work for your burgeoning business venture or not. Find out if what it offers can compensate for the cost you are shelling out on such an investment. Next is security as cyber crimes are increasingly becoming common these days. Even big and global brands aren’t safe from these cyber hackers.

Lawyers on both sides of a debate over the authority of the state's sheriffs to bar private process servers from working in their counties were pressed by an active Georgia Supreme Court bench that hammered away at arguments questioning the plain language of the relevant statute and a "conspiracy" among the lawmen to freeze out private service in Georgia.

"It comes down to a gross abuse of discretion" for the sheriffs to enact a blanket, near-statewide ban on the servers and effectively nullify the law, said Parks Chesin & Walbert partner A. Lee Parks, representing the Georgia Association of Professional Process Servers (GAPPS).Some Georgia process servers work under the authority of the superior courts, which keep a list of such servers from whom litigants may choose.

But once a private server who is not on such a list fulfills the required training, bonding and other requirements, he or she must apply to a county sheriff for statewide certification.

Under the law, the sheriff must grant the certification which allows the server to work anywhere in the state. After that, the server can apply to work in any county, "provided that the sheriff of the county for which process is to be served allows such servers to serve process in such county."

(Via: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/id=1202786361064/Justices-Mull-Sheriffs-Conspiracy-to-Ban-Private-Process-Servers?slreturn=20170431081032)

Unfortunately, there may be some challenges to having your own private server but as long as you can prove that its use is for a good cause, you’d be able to use one as you see it fit. Always remember, though, to do your research first before you spend on a private server of your own. Aside from considering the cost, security, and performance, also include control and stability before making such a big purchase. You want to make sure your private server works for you and not become an additional burden that will take its toll on your business performance.

For the meantime, familiarize yourself with data recovery services through this link: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/data-recovery-services.html. Data loss is a constant fear for anyone who uses computers in their day-to-day. So, it makes perfect sense to learn more about hard drive recovery services when you still have time to prepare for it. When it comes to RAID servers, visit this link instead: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/server-recovery/. Or you can contact us for professional data recovery service at a price you can afford.

Private Servers For Dummies is republished from Hard Drive Recovery Group Blog



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/private-servers/
0 Comments

Computer Coding Basics You Should Know

6/19/2017

0 Comments

 

Knowledge and understanding of computer are crucial today because computers are used in almost all industries and institutions. If you have a genuine interest in computers and can see yourself making a living (or even a career) out of this interest, then taking computer classes make perfect sense to learn the vital computing skills you need out there in the real world. Computer coding is one of those classes that are getting much attention these days. Basically, computer programs run on codes. These codes tell the computer what to do - from simple text documents to more complex computing tasks.

Even though most people are now using computers in their day-to-day, only a few truly understand how computers work. Some justify their ignorance by the fact that they often use smartphones daily instead of actual computers and that you can always call on tech support for help for most of your computing troubles but wouldn’t it be cool to grasp what happens inside that expensive and sleek device most people and businesses can now live without.

College students have flooded into computer science courses across the country, recognizing them as an entree to coveted jobs at companies like Facebook and Google, not to mention the big prize: a start-up worth millions.

The exploding interest in these courses, though, has coincided with an undesirable side effect: a spate of high-tech collegiate plagiarism. Students have been caught borrowing computer code from their friends or cribbing it from the internet.

“There’s a lot of discussion about it, both inside a department as well as across the field,” said Randy H. Katz, a professor in the electrical engineering and computer science department at the University of California, Berkeley, who discovered in one year that about 100 of his roughly 700 students in one class had violated the course policy on collaborating or copying code.

(Via: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/us/computer-science-cheating.html?_r=0)

Computer program/ software involve working with algorithms. It may not mean much to you but these computer commands or instructions makes your computer do lots of things for you. Experts in the field no longer consider coding as an engineering feat but more of an art because you basically create lots of unarguably wonderful things with it.

It has become an everyday activity for kids, like going to swimming classes, football practice or ballet lessons. Every week thousands of children go off to computer coding classes.

Their parents may hope that the programming clubs, often facilitated by the voluntary group CoderDojo, will give them a headstart in life, propelling them to a highly-paid job with a dotcom - even if the mothers and fathers are not quite sure themselves what coding actually is.

"Everyone should learn how to programme a computer, because it teaches you how to think," Apple tycoon Steve Jobs insisted 20 years ago.

And it seems parents have taken the message to heart since CoderDojo was set up as a charity five years ago. The multi-national movement, which was set up in Cork, has provided free classes in coding for more than 70,000 people, both in Ireland and abroad.

(Via: http://www.independent.ie/life/family/learning/in-code-we-trust-the-benefits-of-giving-your-children-a-head-start-in-coding-35225092.html)

It’s not a bad idea to send young kids to coding school if they really want to. Never force them to do something they don’t like because it defeats the purpose of learning. However, if your kid doesn’t really like to dabble with computers just yet, you can ask them nicely to give it a try considering how increasingly important computers have become in our lives. It’s that vital that computer coding is now being considered to be integrated into the school curriculum similar to what Britain did.

While kids learn how to build websites among other equally cool things in these classes, there are some things they aren’t equipped yet to handle such as data recovery services. For the elite who are using Mac computer line, check out this link to learn more: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/mac-data-recovery/. For businesses using an server systems like RAID, http://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid-data-recovery.html may be what you are looking for.

Computer Coding Basics You Should Know is republished from http://www.harddriverecovery.org



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/computer-coding-basics-you-should-know/
0 Comments

Chips For Smartphones Not As Food

6/16/2017

0 Comments

 

Technology is a wonderful thing. It has actually given a new/different meaning to lots of things we used to know. Apple is not just a fruit. Blackberry isn’t either and same with chips. Tech companies may have gotten the inspiration from food in creating these world-changing innovations and it has forever changed the meaning of these things especially with smartphones. Who does not own a smartphone these days, right? Aside from not being cool, you miss out on a lot of things with a low-tech lifestyle. Social media and messaging apps are among the most popular features of these smartphones aside from popular games that forever erases the word boredom in your dictionary.

Smartphones also fuel your love for self-photography a.k.a. the taking of “selfies”. The latest smartphones often have high pixels and allow you to upload photos directly to your various social networking sites or even share to friends on messaging apps. High-tech mobile chips make all these things happen. It’s such a tiny object that holds just as much importance as any computer out there.

The Galaxy S8 may not be able to beat the iPhone 7 and iPhone 6s in speed tests, but it still delivers remarkable performance. The phone is the first one to offer users new 10nm chips from Qualcomm and Samsung, the same kind of chip technology that will be found in various other flagship handsets this year, including the iPhone 8. But chip manufacturing process is only part of the story. Sure the smaller chips get the more efficient and the faster they become, but these mobile chips are all based on ARM designs. So whenever ARM releases new chip designs, it’s good news for smartphone lovers.

ARM did exactly that at Computex — it announced a couple of new processors that are likely going to power next year’s phones, including the Galaxy S9 that Samsung is already working on.

These chips are the ARM Cortex-A75 that will likely be used by Qualcomm, Samsung, TSMC, and others to create flagship mobile chips, and the Cortex-A55 that will power many of the future mid-range handsets. Finally, there’s also a new Mali-G72 graphics processor for next year’s phones.

(Via: https://bgr.com/2017/05/29/galaxy-s9-snapdragon-845-chip/)

These new mobile chips spell the future. They aren’t just your typical chips that provide known features you already have in your mobile arsenal right now. You’ll now have a taste of augmented reality, machine learning, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence in the palms of your hand.

Back in March, ARM revealed a new technology called Dynamiq, which allows a combination of smaller, more power-efficient cores and larger, more powerful cores to be used on the same design. Previously, there needed to be an equal number of large and small cores. With a maximum of eight cores in a cluster, it’s now possible, for example, to have seven ‘Little’ A55 cores and one ‘Big’ A75. Not only does this offer more flexibility for manufacturers that use its designs, but the company says the Dynamiq family will be able to increase AI performance by more than fifty times over the next three to five years.

ARM says the “ground-breaking” Cortex-A75 boasts a 20 percent mobile performance boost over the older A73. It adds that the new processor can offer laptop-level performance while using the same amount of power as existing mobile processors. ARM sees the A75 being used in large-screen devices (laptops), servers, automobiles, and, of course, smartphones, where it will provide additional performance for advanced workloads such as machine learning. And thanks to improved instructions-per-clock efficiency, single-threaded performance is improved by around 20 percent.

(Via: http://www.techspot.com/news/69489-arm-new-processors-boost-future-smartphones-better-ai.html)

While you don’t really see it, these mobile chips make a world of difference to your entire smartphone experience. Design is not the only thing that sets smartphones apart like back in the days but what’s really in it, a.k.a. the mobile chip used. Nowadays, smartphones can be just as good as a regular PC. From single core to dual core and now quad core, it’s basically a mini PC or a handy computing device that you can take with you wherever you go.

If you don’t own a computer because you use your smartphone to do everything for you all the time, you spare yourself from the stress brought about by hard drive failures that plague most computer users. This link http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/hard-drive-failure-recovery-three-major-user-mistakes/ may be helpful for them even though smartphone users really need not bother themselves with these details at all. When looking for a data recovery service company to help you retrieve lost data because of a hard drive failure specifically on a Mac, this link may prove helpful to you.

The following post Chips For Smartphones, Not As Food was initially published on http://www.harddriverecovery.org



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/chips-for-smartphones-not-as-food/
0 Comments

Still In The Dark About Data Recovery Costs?

6/13/2017

0 Comments

 

Data is such a precious commodity. We hear it far more often than we’d like to admit these days. It is why both individuals and businesses alike go to extreme measures to ensure their data is safe and accessible at all times because they would lose their business without it. It is not always cheap but better to be safe than sorry. Once you lose your data, getting it back isn’t always that easy and you may have to shell out a lot of money in trying to retrieve it.

Fortunately, there are lots of companies that are into data recovery, so you can be sure to get your data back and save yourself from all the headaches. If there is one bad aspect of data recovery, though, it has to do with its pricing. The prices data recovery companies are asking can be a lot and businesses and individuals aren’t always so thrilled to find out how much they have to pay just to get their data back from oblivion.

There’s a lot that’s commonly misunderstood about the art of data recovery. Many would-be customers underestimate just how much we can retrieve from a damaged hard drive with the right tools and techniques, while others make the mistake of assuming they’ve permanently deleted their files when getting them back would, in fact, be trivial. Others wrongly assume that modern storage methods like flash memory are the Achilles’ heel of the data recovery engineer.

Most of all, though, customers misunderstand how much it costs. Their price expectations at the outset of a job vary wildly, and the quotes they receive from data recovery companies sometimes serve only to muddy the waters – certain costs may be hidden, the capabilities of the provider unproven and the amount of recoverable data unknown.

Here is an essential fact that you should know about the sophisticated and techie art of data recovery:

The first rule of data recovery: You pay for time, not quantity

The first thing you should know about data recovery pricing is that you’ll almost always be charged by the time the job takes, not the amount of data you need to recover, and any company that says differently should be eyed with suspicion.

Think about it: if you bring a shattered hard drive into the shop, the recovery job is essentially the same regardless of whether you’re attempting to grab a single file or several gigabytes of data. The real work is getting the drive to function again, not to transfer some or all of its contents to a fresh medium.

(Via: http://blog.krollontrack.co.uk/concepts-explained/data-recovery-pricing-explained/)

Data recovery pricing often depends on the media type involved, the file system in place as well as the extent of the damage among other factors. Data recovery is kind of expensive with some companies charging a minimum of $500 for just a single recovery while some charge it depending on the amount of data to be retrieved.

Online backup and disaster recovery provider Axcient today said it is offering its on-premise BDR virtual appliance free of charge to managed service providers, encouraging them to deploy the technology at customer sites.

Axcient Free, available for download from the company, provides full recovery of data for up to three servers and 20 terabytes of data, CEO Justin Moore told MSPmentor.

“This is a highly disruptive, free version of our platform,” he told me. “We are giving away the local part of our recovery-as-a-service platform.”

MSPs can think of this as a freemium offer. While organizations will still have to pay to replicate the backup to the cloud, they can also just use the free local backup if they wish as an easy way to dip their toes into BDR. Buying the cloud service is not required to get the free local backup.

(Via: http://mspmentor.net/backup-and-disaster-recovery/040914/axcient-free-disrupts-local-backup-and-recovery-pricing)

This initiative is somewhat unheard of in the industry as most companies offer their service for a specified fee. This is a breath of fresh air for businesses and individuals that use data in their daily operation because it’s free. The data storage management of businesses may fail them and the last resort has to be the hiring of the expert services of data recovery firms that don’t come in cheap.

Visit this link to learn more about data recovery pricing http://www.harddriverecovery.org/pricing.html or even ask for our expert help when you face such a situation yourself. You shouldn’t fret over data loss problems nor should you spend a fortune to get it back once you lost it. If you are using an older storage version, this link: http://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid-pricing.html may offer valuable insights on RAID recovery pricing. We can also help you out on this, so don’t hesitate to call us for help.

The following blog post Still In The Dark About Data Recovery Costs? is courtesy of Hard Drive Recovery Group



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/data-recovery-costs/
0 Comments

External Hard Drives = Data Loss No More

6/13/2017

0 Comments

 

Computer users know very well how frustrating it can be to deal with data loss. You can lose almost all the data saved on your PC in a snap. That means you have no choice but to say goodbye to all the photos stored in there; not to mention the videos, songs etc. you have painstakingly downloaded only to disappear without any trace. This data is a part of who you are, a virtual remembrance for the virtual life you have lived so far. But thanks to the many vulnerabilities of a regular computer, you can never tell when your hard drive will give up on you.

To save your data (and your memories as well as your sanity), make sure you have a backup plan in place in the form of an external hard drive to ensure no data is lost forever. Yes, you don’t need a genius solution to this age-old data loss dilemma. All you need is just a conventional technology and some common sense to foresee that such a disaster may strike (because your computer isn’t a super machine), so you need to prepare for it beforehand.

Whether it’s for backing up your entire computer or giving yourself some extra file space to work with, everyone needs an external hard drive. But with so many models on the market to choose from, which ones are worth getting? There are many factors to consider here, but the primary ones are storage space, speed, portability, and reliability. With that many factors, it’s impossible to definitively call one external drive the “best,” but it is possible to find five drives that, collectively, will fit the needs of anyone.

(Via: https://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/best-external-hard-drives/)

Even though external hard drives have been around the market for quite a while now, many computer users actually admit that not all of them own one yet even though they know the importance and benefits of having a backup storage. Aside from the usual threats of hard drive failure issues you face and cybercrimes like ransomware can also take you by surprise. Cyber crooks can take all your files from you without warning. Even paying the ransom in bitcoins is not an assurance that you can really get your data back. So, it’s just common sense to buy an external hard drive and save yourself from all the hassles brought about by unforeseen data loss. After all, there are cheaper brands in the market and you can choose the size you want depending on your data storage requirements.

But I found a site, or forum - I can't remember which - where someone was selling Bitcoin. I think I paid well above the quasi-official exchange rate for the coins; who really cares about the difference between 1.2 cents and 1.5 cents when you're only spending $25? I'd read something fun about them, probably in Wired, and wanted to understand them better, so I bought some.

Eventually, I had the Bitcoin sitting in a cold storage wallet. An offline file, outside of any online bank or exchange or digital storage facility. A text file, basically, with a long string of cryptographic hash that represented an encryption key. I didn't trust any online service not to crash and lose my investment.

I put it on a hard drive.

I used the hard drive for a whole bunch of things. Storing pirated music and movies and TV series, a portfolio of my best tech writing work, all my uni assignments, photos of friends and family and the couple of holidays that I'd taken. I took the hard drive with me when I moved out of home with my long-term girlfriend, and used it for all the things you use a portable hard drive for.

In the year or so that followed, we broke up, and I moved back home. As I was moving out I used the opportunity to clean up some of the accumulated tech detritus that comes with being a technology journalist. USB sticks, 3D glasses, USB cables, PC components. All that sort of literal junk. A pile of junk that went into a skip. That hard drive was in the pile, and it had that damn annoying click. I had better portable hard drives.

I didn't need, or care about, anything on it. The photos were backed up to another portable drive, my writing was in Google Drive, the music was on my desktop PC.

So I threw it away.

(Via: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/i-threw-away-48-million-in-bitcoin-20170528-gwf4jz.html)

Bitcoins are a really big thing these days. Although many people are still clueless about it, it is the perfect digital currency for cyber criminals who engage in crimes like ransomware. The article above can be really quite funny or annoying considering how much the bitcoin currency’s value has soared over the years. A $25 investment could well be worth around a million dollars in value in current time.

The major drawback to bitcoin use is that its value constantly fluctuates. No need to worry, though, if you don’t own one today because many computer users actually don’t. Meanwhile, a major problem you can relate to and probably have experienced once or twice in your lifetime (or even more) is damaging your hard drive. This article http://www.harddriverecovery.org/damaged-hard-drive.html got you covered. And since you often ask an expert computer technician to work on your damaged hard drive, it helps to check out this link http://www.harddriverecovery.org/pricing.html for data recovery costs, so you don’t get ripped off by unscrupulous computer pros.

External Hard Drives = Data Loss No More was first seen on HDRG



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/external-hard-drives-data-loss-no-more/
0 Comments

Useful Mac Tips You Dont Know Yet

6/11/2017

0 Comments

 

Apple has been a pioneer in computing and smart technology. They are led by innovators who dared to think out of the box and gifted the world with the Mac, the iPhone, and the graphical user interface. The world has two types of tech users: those who use Apple products and those who use Windows and Android. There are actually other computer operating systems out there but the users are only a handful and therefore insignificant.

Most people use Windows-powered PCs because they are cheaper than Apple products and there are different manufacturers selling it so you have a lot of options to choose from. Apple computers run on MacOS that have improved significantly over the years as people become more engrossed with the web. While Mac’s popularity has waxed and waned over the years, we can’t deny that it still has a big market and people can’t still wait to get their hands on their own iMac. If you’re new to Apple desktops and still wondering how it works, these tips can help you a lot and make the transition from Windows a smoother one.

Use Siri to change system settings on your Mac

You can use Siri to quickly make changes to your settings. Save time by using Siri rather than going though the System Preferences menus searching for the setting you require.

Correct Siri's mistakes

If Siri has misheard you, just click on the text where it has attempted to transcribe your words and correct them there before pressing return.

Copy and Paste between devices

Universal Clipboard is an extension to the Continuity features introduced in Mac OS X El Capitan. With Universal Clipboard you can cut and copy items on your macOS and iOS devices, and paste them on to other devices.

Sync Desktops on multiple Macs

One of the best new features that came to MacOS in Sierra is the way that the Desktop now syncs across iCloud - so you can go to your iCloud Drive on any of your devices and access the files and folders on your desktop.

Autocap and full stop like on your iPhone

If you like the fact that when you type on your iPhone or iPad the first word of a sentence is automatically capitalised, and a full stop is added automatically after you press space twice, you will like these new options that arrived in Sierra.

Locate your cursor

Next time when you can't see your mouse pointer on the screen just shake your mouse, or wiggle your finger on the trackpad: it's what we all do instinctively, but doing so will make the cursor grow in size momentarily so you will have no trouble spotting it.

See everything you have open on your Mac

Thankfully, since El Capitan when you select Expose you'll see minimised views of all the documents you had open so you can see and select the one you want.

(Via: http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac-software/how-use-mac-best-macos-tips-3616306/)

This is the beauty of the web. You get all sort of information for virtually every topic there is. This is good news for Mac users who are learning to navigate their new device. After all, it won’t hurt to get a little help now and then.

Mac Tips

Mac users, these tips are for you! There are quite a few features that Mac computers offer and knowing these things can help you improve how you use your Mac:

  • When you buy something online, no need to print the confirmation page! Instead, choose Print, and from the PDF pop-up menu, choose “Save PDF to Web Receipts Folder.” This will give you a PDF copy saved in a folder called Web Receipts in your Documents.

  • Put an icon into the Trash just by highlighting the icon then press Command-Delete. From the trash, if you right click the deleted item and select “Put Back” it will restore the item to its original location.

  • Anything you print, you can turn into a PDF document. Chose the Print command, but instead of choosing Print, click the PDF pop-up menu and choose “Save as PDF.”

  • You can view most documents without opening a program to do it. At the desktop, highlight the icon and then tap the Space bar. This is a fantastic way to preview photos, but also great for Office documents, PDF files, movies, sounds, etc.

(Via: http://prescottenews.com/index.php/business/business-intelligence-reports/item/29891-tips-to-use-your-computer-better)

No matter how long you have been using computers, you’d always be surprised to learn something new about it years later. And honestly, many of these tricks have actually made our lives easier, so how come we weren’t aware of them from the very beginning beats me. Your Mac computer is an amazing piece of gadget yet a bit mysterious too at times. Its software is expertly designed and capable of hardcore multitasking that will amaze you every single time.

Many times these unknown Mac features vary depending on the MacOS your iMac is running on. But of course, you should keep in mind to always update your OS to the latest version to make the most of these cool and functional features as soon as you can.

No matter how careful you are, you may encounter issues now and then because life isn’t perfect and you’d get stressed no matter what you do. If your problem involves data loss, ask for the professional help of http://www.harddriverecovery.org/mac-data-recovery/ because it is always better if an expert work on issues like this one or risk losing your data forever. They can also help you with RAID data recovery if you happen to be stuck with this older data storage. Check out this link http://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid-data-recovery.html to get an idea how they can help you with it.

The blog article Useful Mac Tips You Don’t Know Yet is available on www.harddriverecovery.org



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/useful-mac-tips-you-dont-know-yet/
0 Comments

Cant You Still Bring A Computer On A Plane?

6/8/2017

0 Comments

 

The world's economy has become increasingly global. It no longer matters which continent you live in because the Internet has bridged the gap albeit not the distance. And along with this ease of access to the web, we have grown a thirst to travel the world and see the places we see online for real. The popularity of backpacking has also introduced a new breed of travelers – backpackers. These travelers are low on budget but find ways to save in absolutely everything they can during their travels.

But if there’s one thing all travelers share, it’s their love for their smart gadgets (and sometimes old ones, as well!). Aside from their mobile phones, many travelers actually bring their computers with them. It affords them a longer travel time if they can also work at the same time as they go around from one place to the next. Meanwhile, there are bloggers who get paid to travel and in return, they recount all aspects of their travel to give their readers an idea of a certain place’s tourist spots, culture, and many others. Hence, they need to bring their entire tech arsenal with them since they may stay in a certain place for an extended period of time.

US authorities are considering banning carry-on computers on European flights to the United States, widening the security measure introduced for flights from eight countries in March, an official said on Tuesday.

The Department of Homeland Security is close to making a decision on a wider ban as the busy summer transatlantic travel season looms, department spokesman David Lapan said.

Airlines flying to the United States from European airports that would be involved in implementing the policy have been given a warning that it is under consideration, he told journalists.

(Via: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-may-extend-laptop-computer-ban-on-flights-from-europe/story-gDvpj03ESm602tF6ZcRhJK.html)

The threat of terrorists is what drives governments to issue this computer ban on airline travels or force passengers to put their computers inside their checked-in luggage. However, most travelers aren’t at ease in checking in these pricey investments because of the fear of losing it or getting it broken during airport handling.

The Transportation Security Administration told CBS News in a statement, “We have not made any decisions on expanding the electronics ban; however, we are continuously assessing security directives based on intelligence and will make changes when necessary to keep travelers safe.

Former top TSA officials indicate to CBS News that a laptop ban has been at least discussed for well over a year dating back to an attack on a Somali airliner. The sense then was a total or widespread ban was impractical and would lead to outcry from business travelers who may elect not to travel if they can’t work on board.

Further issues include the amount of sensitive personal and professional information stored on laptops and tablets that would be suddenly forced into checked bags and the steep increase in the number of lithium-ion batteries in the cargo hold, which presents its own danger.

(Via: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/05/08/europe-u-k-flight-electronics-ban/)

While these computer bans aren’t permanent, we’d likely hear about them more often especially that terrorist attacks are increasing and the threat of World War 3 is spreading on the web. If possible, it’s better to leave your laptops at home to save yourself from all the hassle especially if you are traveling to the nations specified by the ban. But if not, you have to take lots of precautions to protect your belonging from damage or loss.

If you have to bring a device, make sure you at least set up a passcode or fingerprint lock and enable remote wipe in case it is stolen. Do a full backup before leaving for the airport. Experts recommend shutting the computer down completely, not just putting it into a sleep mode.

It is possible to bypass a simple passcode lock. A more secure option is to wipe a laptop or tablet clean before traveling. Koivunen recommends deleting most locally stored data as well as authentication tokens, cookies and certificates.

Since it's difficult to wipe all traces of your data from a machine, consider switching to a "burner" laptop — an inexpensive device that doesn't have sensitive information on it.

If you need to access your work or personal files at your destination, there are a couple options. You can upload it all to the cloud, but double check to make sure copies aren't also saved on your hard drive.

"While storing data in the cloud presents its own set of security concerns, it does allow for convenient remote access from nearly any computing device, even smartphones which are allowed by the recent aviation security enhancements," said Joe Levy, CTO at security firm Sophos. .

If you keep data on the device, encrypt it. Most operating systems offer built-in options for full-disk encryption.

(Via: http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/21/technology/laptop-ban-safety/)

We have little say as to what policies the government issues because it is for the common good. It may be inconvenient on our side if we are affected by these policies but we have to sacrifice a little for the good of the many. If you love to travel and the places listed on the ban happened to be a part of your itinerary, weigh your options first. Do you really need to bring your laptop with you? If you answered yes, be ready to part with your pricey laptop but first make sure you got all grounds covered so as not to lose anything on that flight or end up with a broken gadget that won’t serve its purpose anymore.

In the event that something untoward happens and you suddenly lose your data, http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/data-recovery-tools/ can help you overcome this stressful scenario and make sure you get your lost data back as soon as possible. Data loss is inevitable. Whether you are using your computer or smart gadget, you are bound to lose data at some point in your life. It can also be due to a hard drive failure which is again inevitable if you own an older gadget. Ask for the help of http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/how-to-choose-a-hard-drive-recovery-service/ to provide the repair that your device need without the fear of being scammed. You’d be surprised at what others are capable of doing for money’s sake. So, keep your mind at ease with our expert assistance from start to finish.

Can’t You Still Bring A Computer On A Plane? Find more on: HDRG Blog



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/cant-you-still-bring-a-computer-on-a-plane/
0 Comments

Servers Arent Safe From Hackers Anymore

6/5/2017

0 Comments

 

The world is becoming smaller and smaller by the day. Thanks to technology, we are now able to achieve so much by doing so little – sounds confusing, right? Technology has become so advanced it has overcome many of the limitations we faced back then. Computer servers have a big role in making all these things happen. They have grown so big and far important in our daily life without us really knowing.

Technically, servers respond to requests issued by another computer program known as the client. While most of us concern ourselves with the mundane issues of life and the occasional computer glitches, cyber hackers all over the world worry about stealing precious data by hacking the computer servers themselves or use it to harass certain people for money. They often target the computer’s software first to be able to access the server and wreak havoc. The crimes can be petty but some can be huge and affect a great number of people.

With the arrest of two people, Delhi Police have cracked a case wherein computer servers were allegedly hacked during the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), held to admit students into postgraduate medical courses in December, 2016. Raids are also being held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Bihar and other cities to nab the rest of the accused, which include some doctors, police said. Police said the arrested persons have been identified as Abhishek Singh, a native of Varanasi, and Atul Vats, a native of Patna.

“Police received information on January 20 that some people cracked the online medical entrance examination, held between December 5 and December 13, after hacking the servers. With the help of technical surveillance, police identified the accused and teams were formed to unearth the conspiracy,” police sources said, adding that a case has been registered following a complaint by Inspector Ashish Kumar, who was the leading the investigation team before Inspector Lokendra Chauhan took over.

(Via: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/neet-medical-entrance-server-was-hacked-two-held-say-cops-4632611/)

Criminals would go to great lengths to make a living even at the expense of others. Nothing can stop them no matter how advanced the data security that is in place because they’ll get past it no matter what. Hacking attacks have been far too common nowadays and they not only target individual victims but even big servers as well.

The exploits target a variety of Windows servers and Windows operating systems, including Windows 7 and Windows 8. Hickey was able to test out exploits in his UK firm's lab and confirmed they "work just as they are described."

The Shadow Brokers is a group of anonymous hackers that published hacking tools used by the NSA last year. Last Saturday, the group returned and published a batch of NSA exploits it had previously tried, and failed, to sell. This Friday's release contains more serious exploits. The releases are published with strange and misspelled blog posts, and recent posts have been critical of the Trump administration. The group complained about the lack of media coverage of its release last Saturday.

(Via: http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/14/technology/windows-exploits-shadow-brokers/)

Both the government and private organizations are at risk and getting servers hacked is no laughing matter either. Issues of espionage, terrorism, destabilization, and many others are just some of the reasons for this terrible crime. It may seem harmless to you but the repercussions are disastrous when these cyber criminals are not stopped.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at modernizing and improving the nation's computer networks.

Trump's homeland security adviser Tom Bossert says the order will help keep the U.S. safer from cybersecurity risks. Among the new requirements is that agency heads must be accountable for implementing risk management measures.

(Via: http://www.whio.com/news/national-govt--politics/trump-signs-executive-order-prevent-computer-hacking/LvMLPMEYesFyjYgsFAK72K/)

Since cyber security is such a pressing and sensitive issue, the US government has decided to intervene and are now taking this initiative for the safety and security of everyone on land. I’m sure you are all aware of the terrorist threats all over the globe. And they’re not just empty threats because they have committed unspeakable crimes that deserve no mercy. Considering that there are different servers out there, different solutions are also needed to fix specific issues. Check this link to learn more about Dell RAID server data recovery http://www.harddriverecovery.org/raidcenter/dell_poweredge_data_recovery.html, of course, with our expert assistance. For HP Proliant Server Recovery, this link comes in handy http://www.harddriverecovery.org/raidcenter/hp-proliant-data-recovery.html including our helping hand.

Servers Aren’t Safe From Hackers Anymore is available on http://www.harddriverecovery.org



via http://www.harddriverecovery.org/blog/servers-arent-safe-from-hackers-anymore/
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    About us

    Affordably priced Irvine, CA area data recovery services provider. Specializing in Macs, Dell, HP and IBM RAID recovery and damaged hard drive recovery services. Also offers Mac and laptop data recovery, as well as all forms of physical and logical data recovery.

    Official Site
    MyBusiness Site
    Google Site

    Archives

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.