Top 5 Ways to Avoid Hard Drive Corruption

Computers have become such an important part of our daily lives, and with some much time invested in your files they’re certainly worth protecting. Hard drive corruption is something we all want to avoid so here are a few handy tips to keep your hard drive fit and healthy.

1.    Always shut it down properly.
Whether you have an internal or external hard drive, you should always use your computer’s procedures to completely shut down the hard drive before disconnecting it. Every hard drive contains a series of directory files that indicate where on the drive data is stored. System crashes, blackouts, sudden disconnections and other rough use can corrupt these critical catalogues, preventing a computer from locating your files.
To avoid corrupting these files on internal hard drives, make sure you shut down the computer using the on-screen controls before unplugging the computer from the power or turning off the computer’s power switch.
For external drives, ensure you disconnect the drive using the USB devices control in the Windows taskbar or by using the eject button in the Finder on Mac OS X. Wait for the computer to shut down its connections to the device before disconnecting the hard drive’s USB or Firewire cable.
2.    Keep the viruses away.
Computer viruses can cause your hard drives data loss. They have the ability to corrupt your disk formatting, erase files and fragment data. It’s important to avoid suspicious websites and not to open email attachments from unknown senders. Keeping a reliable and up-to-date anti-virus program running on your computer at all times will detect risks that come in from the internet, emails and CDs and block them before they have a chance to get their way into your HDD. If a virus does get in and crash your hard drive, then a professional data recovery service can often help.
3.    Defragment your hard drive every few months.
As you use your computer, the data that is contained in a file can spread out all over the hard drive disk. This fragmentation forces the drive head to increase its movement across the drive as it tries to access your data. By defragmenting your disk you will minimise the drive head’s movement, increase the life of the drive and speed up your computer.  It’s a win for you and your hard drive! Defragmentation tools can be found in System Tools on Microsoft Windows.
4.    Watch out for magnetic items near your computer.
Modern hard drives store data on a magnetic surface which can be easily corrupted by outside magnets or strong magnetic fields. If you use anything around your computer with a strong magnetic field it’s best to keep them well away from your hard drive to avoid accidental corruption and data loss.Keep this in mind when using a laptop as well.
5.    Use a surge protector.
Surge protectors are an easy an affordable way to prevent damage to your hard drives and computer from unexpected power spikes. Power surges are often caused by lightning and can damage the delicate components within a computer. Surge protectors are available from your local electronics store and will stop a surge before it reaches your computer.
Sometimes data corruption is unavoidable, and if it happens to you a professional data recovery service will often be able to rebuild and recover your files.

Why You Need to Erase Your Data

What is data erasing   
Data erasing, opposite to data retrieving, is the process when people positively want their data to be erased. Data erasure removes all information while leaving the disk operable, preserving IT assets and the environment.
Why erase your data

1. Theft of sensitive data: Leaving the sensitive information on your storage device might put your organization at risk for data theft.                                                                                               
2. Poor control of internal data accessibility: To limit access to sensitive information, an erasure product or services should be used to an employee’s computer when he leaves the company and before that computer is given to another employee. 
3. Regulatory compliance violations: Data erasure software or hardware will help your organization better meet regulations of data privacy and retention.
4. Simply deleting data from a hard drive does not mean that the data is gone forever.

When you need to wipe your hard drive

1. When disposing used PCs and hard drives
2. When transferring a PC from one user to another
3. When customer data must be removed to meet government regulations

How Ontrack Eraser software helps you
Although the spectrum of products that erase data varies, our data eraser software is an easy-to-use, highly flexible data erasure tool that erases all traces of data stored on a targeted media - ensuring that sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands. Ontrack will:

1. Completely removes all data on targeted storage devices using proven, customisable overwriting procedures
2. Includes flexible reporting features to help you guarantee that all data have been erased and when
3. Can be used in both Linux and Windows environments
4. Runs over servers or on individual PCs 
5. Offers flexible licensing models, fast installation and simple configuration

Perhaps the best testament to Ontrack Eraser’s ability to permanently remove data is that even the Ontrack Data Recovery team cannot recover data that have been removed by Ontrack Eraser!

Top 5 Primary Threats and Tips of Data Loss

Data recovery, put simply, is the process of retrieving computer data from damaged, crashed or inaccessible secondary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. Here are top 5 primary threats and tips of data loss that you need to consider:

1. Hardware or System Problems.

Hardware failure, such as a head crash in a hard disk, is the most common causes of data loss according to the findings of Ontrack Data Recovery – Develop good computer habits and take simple steps to keep your computer running well and keep your data as safe as it can be.

2. Human Error.

Findings also indicate that 26% of data loss results from Human Error – Take advantage of safeguards included in your word processor such as versioning features and tracked changes while keeping hardcopies of your documents.

3. Software Corruption or Program Problems.

While software crash or freeze result in data not being saved, software bugs or poor usability such as not confirming a file delete command would increase the possibility of accidentally delete the documents - Some diagnostic programs, such as Check Disk and others can cause problems in retrieving lost data so be careful when running diagnostic programs.

4. Computer Viruses

Computer Viruses damages – Maintain antivirus protection and network firewalls and beware of email attachments.

5. Natural Disasters

 Natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, tornado, etc. may cause data loss as well - Again, Back up important files on a regular basis.

These five main threats of data lost would have significant impact on your business in terms of financial cost and business operation. To know more about data loss and recovery, Ontrack Data Recovery would like to provide you with the complete, safe, fast and cost-efficient data recovery services.

Costs of Data Loss
With no data and no access to your system, lost data is a financial disaster. Our data recovery specialists determine the best data recovery solution to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. The chart below outlines the costs associated with computer downtime and lost data for businesses.
Industry Sector Revenue Per Hour	Lost Revenue Per Hour
Energy	$2.8 million
Telecommunications	$2.0 million
Manufacturing	$1.6 million
Financial Institutions	$1.4 million
Information Technology	$1.3 million
Insurance	$1.2 million
Retail	$1.1 million
Pharmaceuticals	$1.0 million
Banking	$996,000
Source: IT Performance Engineering & Measurement Strategies: Quantifying Performance Loss, Meta Group, October 2000.

When time is crucial and data is mission-critical, data recovery may be the most practical option available. Data recovery professionals recover data from the damaged media itself, providing several advantages over alternative methods of data retrieval.

1) Complete - Data recovery professionals can safely enter the system or media to achieve a comprehensive data recovery.
2) Current - Although many people revert to backups following a data loss, those backups typically contain outdated information or could be corrupt themselves. Data recovery can help you access the most recent version of the lost data.
3) Fast - Every second that passes following a data disaster means time and money lost to your company. Data recovery reduces this downtime by quickly recovering and returning your data.
4) Cost-effective - The expense in time, money, and effort of rebuilding or re-keying lost data can be overwhelming to your company. Data recovery can provide the quickest and most complete data recovery possible.

5 Ways to Prevent Data from USB Flash Memory

Data is everywhere. No longer confined to desktop computers, data is always with us – at the gym in the form of an iPod®, in the car via your cell phone, and of course surrounding you at work – notebooks, desktops, servers, etc. With the increased portability of data comes the increased risk for data to be lost, misplaced, damaged or destroyed.
An Ontrack Data Recovery survey conducted among 400 professionals worldwide revealed that 65% of professionals own at least one USB stick. The compact size leads many people to store their sticks incorrectly – in suit pockets or in bags – leaving valuable confidential data at risk.
To help protect mobile devices from data loss, Ontrack Data Recovery has put together some simple preventative steps that will help create good habits for the use of USB sticks and hopefully prevent any data disasters.

1. Minimize misplacement – Try to prevent ‘wandering’ USB sticks. The device is easily lost when you don’t exactly know where it is kept. A dedicated USB spot prevents loss of data from a portable storage device.
2. Carry with care – Make sure your USB is stored safely when traveling to minimize the risk of losing data.
3. No backups, please – A USB stick is too vulnerable to store precious information. These sticks should therefore never be used as a backup device.
4. Put a lid on it – if not in use ensure that the connector of your USB is protected. By using the protective cap, provided with any USB stick, a possible data disaster can be averted
5. Unplug before you leave – Before you embark on a journey that requires a laptop and a USB stick, make sure the devices are separated. This way, both the laptop and the USB stick will run less risk of damage

Top 5 Chinese Business Customs You Should Know

Corporate travellers should research the business customs of their destinations in order to avoid potential embarrassment or offence, and ensure that communication is as effective as possible. Here are 5 business customs tips you should aware of if you ever have to work in China, one of the hottest corporate travel destinations in today’s global economy.

1. Initial greetings are formal, with the oldest person greeted first. Shake hands and look towards the ground. Address people by their honorific title and surname until advised otherwise; present your business card in both hands and examine their business card before putting it away
2. During meetings, be particularly wary of your body language. The Chinese interpret how you feel by your facial expressions and posture. For example, if you frown when concentrating, try not to do this as your Chinese clients will interpret this as a sign of disagreement
3. When dining, always try everything offered to you and place your chopsticks on the resting tray after every few bites or when drinking or speaking. Never eat the last piece on a serving tray
4. If you’re giving gifts, do not give knives or similar utensils as they indicate a severing of relationships. Flowers, clocks and handkerchiefs are associated with funerals. Do not wrap gifts in blue, white or black paper as these colours are associated with death. Four is unlucky so do not give four of anything, eight is the luckiest number. Always present gifts with two hands. Gifts are not opened when received
5. For meetings, wear conservative business attire and always arrive on time or earlier as arriving late is considered an insult. Wait to be escorted to your designated seat. Behave in a formal manner and concentrate on building relationships before making the deal. The Chinese prefer face-to-face meetings but don’t ever discuss business matters during meals or at social events.

If you have more custom business tips you want to share, please drop us the comment.

BCD Travel Australia launches a partnership with Climate Friendly

BCD Travel, business travel management in Australia, have recently launched a partnership with Climate Friendly, an Australian carbon management company dedicated to making it simple for businesses and individuals to take effective action on climate change. Some of Climate Friendly’s current clients include Qantas, Westpac, The Body Shop and leading environment group WWF.
With the use of the FlightPortal tool, companies can offset their measured greenhouse emissions by purchasing the equivalent amount of quality carbon credits. Carbon credits are used for projects such as wind farms in Europe, South America, Asia and the Pacific that reduce global greenhouse emissions.
The FlightPortal system is a simple and automated offsetting solution for business travel emissions. Offsetting flights is a cost effective way to address your global warming impacts and embed sustainability into the core of company operations. Climate Friendly provides businesses with a diverse selection of offset projects to support, certificates and carbon reports at preferred intervals, and a dedicated Climate Friendly account manager.
If you would like to discuss what Climate Friendly could do for your business, please contact your BCD Travel Business Manager who will arrange a meeting with a Climate Friendly representative.

10 Tips You Should Not Do to Your Server When Data Disasters Occur

Data disasters will happen. Accepting that reality is the first step in preparing a comprehensive disaster plan. Time is always against an IT team when a disaster strikes, therefore the details of a disaster plan are critical for success.
Here are some suggestions from Ontrack Data Recovery engineers of what not to do when data disasters occur:

1. In a disaster recovery, never restore data to the server that has lost the data - always restore to a separate server or location.
2. In Microsoft Exchange or SQL failures, never try to repair the original Information Store or database files - work on a copy.
3. In a deleted data situation, turn off the machine immediately. Do not shut down Windows - this will prevent the risk of overwritten data.
4. Use a volume defragmenter regularly.
5. If a drive fails on RAID systems, never replace the failed drive with a drive that was part of a previous RAID system - always zero out the replacement drive before using.
6. If a drive is making unusual mechanical noises, turn it off immediately and get assistance.
7. Have a valid backup before making hardware or software changes.
8. Label the drives with their position in a RAID array.
9. Do not run volume repair and defragmenter utilities on suspected bad drives.
10. In a power loss situation with a RAID array, if the file system looks suspicious, or is unmountable, or the data is inaccessible after power is restored, do not run volume repair utilities.

Put simply, data recovery is the process of retrieving computer data that, for any number of reasons, has become inaccessible using normal methods. Ontrack has the right tools and experience if you ever need to recover your data loss problems.

Kroll Ontrack Launches New ANZ Data Recovery Certified Partner Program

Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of information management, data recovery, and legal technologies products and services, launched an Australia and New Zealand Ontrack® Data Recovery Certified Partner Program on 12 May 2011, offering qualified industry providers of IT equipment and services training and informational materials to enhance their ability to service their customer’s data loss situations. 

"Our resellers will now be equipped with the proper steps to effectively manage a customer's data loss situation," said Adrian Briscoe, general manager, Asia Pacific, Kroll Ontrack. "This certification program provides partners with access to a proven data recovery methodology, helping them to improve the quality of services they provide and stay aware of the latest technological developments."

The certification process consists of a series of online training courses, available for free as podcasts, to qualified as well as existing partners who include information technology providers, resellers and consultants. To become certified, partners must register and complete at minimum four of the following five courses: 

• The Basics of Data Recovery - How data recovery offers value to customers.
• How to Present and Sell Data Recovery as a Service - Properly communicating the importance of your data recovery services.
• Data Recovery in Virtual Environments - How data loss occurs in virtual environments.
• Data Management Solutions for Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint Recovery - How Ontrack® PowerControls™ software can help recover, search, restore and migrate data from a Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Office SharePoint server.
• Secure & Reliable Data Destruction - Understanding the essentials of IT security.

Upon completion of the program, newly certified organisations receive access to the Kroll Ontrack Partner Resource Centre as well as a welcome package featuring a certificate of completion and point-of-sale collateral. In addition, by referring or reselling data recovery services as a certified partner, organisations can receive special promotions on data recovery services, as well as discounts on customer software solutions.  Certified partners will also obtain special promotions and discounts on Ontrack® Eraser software and certain recoveries.

 “We’re delighted that Kroll Ontrack has introduced partner certification in Australia and New Zealand,” said Nick Roche, national director, Computer Troubleshooters.  “It will ensure that that any certified partner is at the forefront of using the best data recovery solutions in the market and will enable our own company to deliver service excellence to businesses and individuals at their moment of need. Customers count on us to recover their data and by working with a certified partner they can assured that they are working with companies and individuals who can bring additional value and peace of mind.” 

Through its Ontrack Data Recovery products and services, Kroll Ontrack is the largest, most experienced and technologically advanced provider of data recovery products and services worldwide. Using its hundreds of proprietary tools and techniques, Ontrack Data Recovery solutions help businesses and consumers recover lost or corrupted data from numerous types of operating systems and media and storage devices through its do-it-yourself, remote and in-lab capabilities. Kroll Ontrack offers a free initial consultation for customers experiencing a data loss.