How To Recover Lost Data

In most of the cases the lost data due to formatting, accidental deletion,
files corruption and hard disk failure is completely recoverable if you use right
recovery techniques and tools. Damage to the data can be occurred due to the physical
failure of the hard disk, hard disk crash, Windows corruption, accidental deletion,
formatting, files corruption and physical damage to your computer due to the natural disasters.
Data lost is a very troublesome and awkward situation and it can lead to the waste of time and
financial loss for an organization. The best solution to avoid this situation is to take
regular backups of your critical data on another system, on CDs/DVDs and on another system
on the remote location. If you are novice computer user and don’t much about the recovery
methodologies and techniques, the best advice for you is to immediately call a data recovery
specialist in your area. The data recovery specialists are the specialized persons in
recovering the lost data due to any reason. Explain the situation to the recovery specialist
that how you lost your data. They have expertise, specialized tools and resources to get
the lost data back safely and securely even if you don’t know the real cause of the data lost. Preventive measure can be taken to avoid the critical conditions and further loss of your data.

Preventive Techniques

* Do not install any software on the same drive from where your data has been deleted or lost.
* Do not attempt data recovery techniques if you are not expert at it.
* Use your computer as little as possible unless your problem is solved.
* Do not unplug the hard disk. Leave all the recovery tasks to the specialists.
* Regularly take backup of your critical data.
* Use surge protectors and UPS to avoid the data loss and media crash due to power failure.
* Make sure that your computer is fully protected with the antivirus, anti
spyware and firewall software to avoid the data loss due to the spyware,
adware and virus attack.
* Do not over burden your computer with the unnecessary software.
* Do not frequently Add/Remove software on your hard disk, it may
lead to the bad sectors on the disks.

Data Recovery Tips

* In case of data lost, your first choice should be to use the recovery
services in your area. Call the specialists and explain them the cause
of the problem.
* If you are an experienced computer professional, use Data Recovery Software
that will help you to diagnose the cause of data lost and recover it in its full
entirety. Using the recovery software without any technical knowledge may result
in the permanent loss of your data.
* Do not run Scandisk utility of Windows.
* Do not defragment the hard drives.
* Do not try to open the hard disk.
* Do not shake the hard disk.
* Turn off your computer if hear buzzing sounds.
Do not restart your computer.

How File Are Deleted

When a file is deleted from your computer it is not really deleted. It is simply removed from the directory of files in the folder. Even though you can no longer see the file in the folder, its contents still exist 100% intact at this point.If you're using Windows and you deleted the file using Windows Explorer, the file will have beenmoved to the Recycle Bin. If you're a Mac user, it's moved to the Trash. If you use Linux KDE, it's the Wastebin. Whatever the bucket shaped object is called, as long as a file remains there it can easily be restored in its entirety, with no problem at all. So the first thing to do when you want to recover a deleted file is look in the Recycle Bin / Trash / Wastebin.If you emptied the bin, used Shift Delete to get rid of the file, deleted it from within an application or used some other method of removing it that bypassed the bin, then it is still almost certainly recoverable. When you empty the Recycle Bin or delete a file using another method, the file is still not really deleted. The file no longer exists as far as the operating system is concerned and the space it occupied becomes available for re-use by other files. But the disk space does not get re-used straight away, so the data contained in the deleted file will stay on your hard drive for some time to come.

Chances Of Recovery

Because the operating system doesn't immediately re-use space from deleted files, a file can be recovered or undeleted right after it has gone, and for a considerable time afterwards. But the chances of a perfect undelete decrease the longer you leave it, because eventually some or all of that space will be re-used.The chances of recovery also depend on how full your computer's hard drive is. Windows tries to avoid re-using disk space that has recently been freed, to give deleted file recovery software a better chance of working. But the fuller a drive is, the sooner the free space is going to be used by other files.If you have defragmented the hard drive since the file was deleted, then this will severely harm the chances of a successful recovery. Current files will have been moved into the free space left by deleted files in order to reduce fragmentation, making it much less likely that undelete software will be able to find anything useful.

Recovering Deleted Files

Tools that can help you undelete files are not provided as standard in any operating system. So you will need to use undelete software from a third party.Undelete software understands the internals of the system used to store files on a disk (the file system) and uses this knowledge to locate the disk space that was occupied by a deleted file. Because another file may have used some or all of this disk space, there is no guarantee that a deleted file can be recovered. But because the space isn't re-used straight away, there is a very good chance that you will succeed. In fact, users of our recommended Windows undelete software Uneraser have often been amazed to find that it recovers files that were deleted months or even years ago. The best undelete programs give you an indication of the chances of recovering a file intact, and even provide file viewers so you can check the contents before recovery.

How to Virus Protect Your Computer in Real Time

Instructions

Step 1 : Purchase an antivirus program. There are a number of choices available, the most popular being eScan ,Symantec, Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus and McAffe Antivirus. Purchase an antivirus with the real-time protection feature and in an up-to-date version. Buy your antivirus program from a reputable vendor or retailer. Otherwise you run the risk of purchasing a virus or trojan disguised as antivirus software

Step 2 : Install the antivirus program. The installation process should be straightforward; the directions are usually presented by the installer on a series of screens. You'll need an Internet connection available when installing the software.

Step 3 : Update the antivirus program and download updated virus definitions. This should be automatic during the install process, but if for some reason it is not, do this manually.

Step 4 : Configure automatic updates. These updates should be performed automatically each week. If updates are not performed automatically and you forget to do them manually, new viruses will slip though. Every few weeks, check that the virus updates occur as expected. An ineffective virus protection program can be more dangerous than not having protection.

Step 5 : Enable the protection according to the specifications of your particular software. Once protection is enabled, all incoming and outgoing files and email messages will be scanned for viruses. If one is found, the transfer will be stopped and you will be notified of the problem.

Step 6 : Protect yourself by practicing responsible Internet usage. Though real-time protection will catch most viruses, new, mutating or polymorphic viruses may still get through. Responsible Internet usage is just another secure layer a virus has to pass through before it has a chance to infect your computer. Do not download anything from sites you don't know or whose integrity you can't verify. Don't open unexpected email attachments or email attachments from people you don't know. You should also scan all expected email attachments before opening them.

Step 7 : Schedule regular scans. Real-time protection is not perfect, if a virus is downloaded before an updated virus definition can detect it, the real-time protection won't catch it. Regular virus scans can catch viruses that slipped through the real-time protection.

Top Viruses

1. NakedWife => A new virus by the name "NakedWife" is making rounds across corporations. The virus arrives as an e-mail attachment by the name "NakedWife.EXE" and if opened, deletes several essential Operating Syste

2. Prolin/Shockwave => The fast spreading Creative Worm acts like the standard Melissa Virus & sends itself as an executable file (CREATIVE.EXE). It spreads by sending itself automatically to all the email addresses from yo

3. Christmas.exe => Political worm disguised as holiday greeting

4. Yaha.K => Yaha.K is a worm virus that spreads through e-mail attachments.

5. I.Worm.Lentin => I.Worm.Lentin is a worm virus that spreads through e-mail attachments.

Microsoft sets Windows 7 launch for Oct. 22

Microsoft will put Windows 7 on store shelves and computer makers will have systems ready to sell with Vista's successor on Oct. 22, the company confirmed today.Microsoft will also offer discounted or free upgrades to Windows 7 to users who buy PCs in the months leading up to the operating system's launch in a
program dubbed "Windows Upgrade Option," a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. Although the name is new, the program had been reported as early as January, when a usually-reliable Web site leaked information about the deal, including its July 1 kick-off.Until today, Microsoft had been coy about naming a release date for Windows 7, although it edged toward a timetable last month. Both Bill Veghte, the senior vice president who runs the Windows Business unit, and Steven Sinofsky, the senior vice president of the Windows engineering group,
said then that Windows 7 was on track for the holiday selling season, and would make the final milestone --
called "release to manufacturing," or RTM -- in mid-August. Today, however, other company spokespersons
said Microsoft is shooting for RTM by the end of July.Details on the Windows Upgrade Option were not immediately available, but analysts have assumed that it would resemble Vista Express Upgrade, a program that gave people who purchased Windows XP PCs between Oct. 26, 2006, and March 15, 2007, free or inexpensive upgrades to Vista.Vendors were allowed to set the price, if any, of the XP-to-Vista upgrades, and it's believed that they will have the same flexibility for Windows 7.This isn't the first time that October has been named as the likely ship date for Microsoft's new OS. In an interview last month, an Acer executive based in the U.K. said "October 23 is the date that Windows 7 will be available." The executive, Bobby Watkins, the managing director of Acer's U.K. operations, also confirmed that customers who bought a Vista-powered computer from the company in the 30 days leading up to Oct. 23 would receive a free upgrade to Windows 7.Also last month, Computerworld used Sinofsky's mid-August RTM date to predict that Windows 7 would go on sale sometimebetween Oct. 11 and Nov. 4, based
on the actual timetables of Windows XP and Vista, respectively.

How to speed up your computer

Free up disk space

By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:

•	Remove temporary Internet files.
•	Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
•	Empty the Recycle Bin.
•	Remove Windows temporary files.
•	Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.
•	Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

To use Disk Cleanup

1.	Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.
2.	In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. Choose the files that you want to delete.
3.	Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.
4.	When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click Yes.

After a few minutes, the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes, leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.

Speed up access to data

Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.

Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

When to run Disk Defragmenter
In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals—monthly is optimal—there are other times you should run it too, such as when:

•	You add a large number of files.
•	Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
•	You install new programs or a new version of Windows.

To use Disk Defragmenter:

1.	Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter. Click Analyze to start the Disk Defragmenter.
2.	In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Analyze button. After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether you should defragment the analyzed drives. Tip: You should analyze a volume before defragmenting it to get an estimate of how long the defragmentation process will take.
3.	To defragment the selected drive or drives, click the Defragment button. Note: In Windows Vista, there is no graphical user interface to demonstrate the progress—but your hard drive is still being defragmented. After the defragmentation is complete, Disk Defragmenter displays the results.
4.	To display detailed information about the defragmented disk or partition, click View Report.
5.	To close the View Report dialog box, click Close.
6.	To close the Disk Defragmenter utility, click the Close button on the title bar of the window.

Detect and repair disk errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

To run the Error Checking utility:

1.	Close all open files.
2.	Click Start, and then click My Computer.
3.	In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.
4.	In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.
5.	Click the Check Now button.
6.	In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
7.	If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the "Automatically fix file system errors" check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

Protect your computer against spyware

Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the Web sites you visit to usernames and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using Microsoft Windows Defender, which is included in Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2. Alternatively, there are other free anti-spyware software programs available.

Yahoo's CEO ready for a Microsoft deal

Yahoo's CEO said Wednesday she was open to discussing a Microsoft acquisition, provided the deal were sweet.

During an onstage interview at the All Things D conference in Carlsbad, California, Carol Bartz said she'd consider the right offer from Microsoft. "If there's boatloads of money and the right technology involved, we'd do a deal, sure," she was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal. "It's that simple."

Microsoft's February 2008 US$45 billion offer was priced at $31 per share and was later raised to $33. Yahoo shares [YHOO] closed Wednesday at $14.94.

Yahoo and Microsoft have both scrambled to keep pace with Google, which dominates the Internet search advertising market. Microsoft is expected to relaunch its Live Search product, reportedly under the new name Bing, at the conference on Thursday.

Bartz took over as Yahoo's chief executive after company founder Jerry Yang came under fire for his handling of Microsoft's attempted takeover.

When she was hired in January, analysts said it was unlikely that Bartz, formerly chairman and CEO of AutoDesk, would have taken the job had it meant simply selling off the company to Microsoft.

IT gets ready for the recovery

Don't just sit there -- now's the time to position your IT department to own the economic upturn when it comes around.

Top ten tips for maintaining PC Health

1. Use antivirus and firewall protection:
           Hackers who break into your PC can wreak havoc on your system - and,
           even worse, steal personal information stored on your computer.
           Hackers use sophisticated tools to search the Internet looking for any live connection.
           Whatever your means of access, anyone connected to the Internet should install antivirus
           software and a personal firewall to stop hackers.

2. Check the integrity of your hard drive:
           If you're experiencing frequent crashes, it could be because you have problems with your disk directories.
           Even routine use of software can cause irregularities within the disk directory structure - which manages
           the filing system within your computer - and those irregularities cause most hard drive crashes.
           Run a utility program that scans your hard disk for errors.
           A good utility will check the physical structure of the hard drive, and it will repair and optimize your disk
           directory. Run a scheduled scan of your system at least once a week.

3. Defrag your hard drive:
           Run a utility program to 'defragment' your hard drive. The utility will place your files in contiguous cluster
           and will optimise your hard drive, placing your most frequently used files up front for faster access.
           This will improve performance over time. You should run your defrag utility frequently to minimize the
            time required to complete the task. If possible, run the defrag utility once a week, or at a minimum,
             once a month.

4. Remove unnecessary Web clutter:
             Internet history files that accumulate when you surf can take up an incredible amount of space on
             your hard drive. Cookies, cache, and history files may also contain personal information that you don't
             want to share with others who use your computer - or worse, a hacker.
              Use a Web cleanup feature or program to help you remove Web delivered files from your hard drive
               A good clean-up program can help you get rid of dangerous and unnecessary Web-related information
               while allowing you to keep helpful Internet files such as cookies from sites you frequent.

5. Prevent spam accumulation:
               Use spam-filtering or spam-blocking software, such as eScan Internet security Suite,
               which includes Spam Alert. This will reduce the amount of email clutter that accumulates from
               unsolicited emails.

6. Find and fix problems:
              eScan continuously monitors your system to keep it free of problems and running at
              peak efficiency. It can alert you when conditions require attention, and fix many problems automatically
               without affecting your work.

7. Make sure your software is up to date:
             Running out-of-date drivers or software can interfere with your computer's performance.
             Stay current with your Windows updates and keep any hardware or software that you have
             installed up-to-date as well. Manufacturers regularly issue updates that increase the functionality
             and security of your PC, so it's to your advantage to run the latest versions.

8. Back up your hard drive:
             In the event you do experience problems, make sure your data and important files are safe.
             Back up frequently, to CD-R, zip disk, or directly to a second hard drive.
             There are also programs available that make it easy for you to back up your system - some products
              back up the entire contents of the hard drive, and some just the files you select. Backing up is well
              worth the effort. If you contract a virus or your hard drive fails, your system backup could save
              you a lot more than time.

9. Be prepared:
             GoBack, a utility included with Norton SystemWorks, is a system recovery tool that records all
              changes to your hard disk. Any time your system experiences a problem due to a bad installation
              or system crash, GoBack can revert your computer to a stable state, allowing you to continue
              with your work.

10. Remember, prevention is the best defence:
            The best way to keep your PC running smoothly is to prevent problems before they occur.
            For a complete set of problem-solving utilities, try Norton SystemWorks™. This all-in-one solution
             includes Norton AntiVirus, plus powerful utilities software to help you defrag and optimise
             your hard drive, and manage Web clutter. It even comes with programs that help you back up your
             system and recover from disasters, even if you're not sure what went wrong.

Apple Boosts Employee Count By 48 Per Cent
Apple Inc has increased the number of workers on its payroll by 48 per cent in the 2008 fiscal year. As per Indiatimes, in a Securities and Exchange filing, the company has said that it had employed 32,000 full-time workers and 3,100 temporary employees and contractors as of Sept 27. In fiscal 2007, Apple claimed 21,600 full-time employees and 2,100 temporary and contract workers.

Infosys to hire 1,000 in US

Indian software firm Infosys plans to hire about 1,000 people in the US in the next 12 to 18 months amid a gloomy job market.

In an interview with the local media, Infosys chief executive Kris Gopalakrishnan, who is currently in Seattle for Microsoft's CEO Summit this week, said that the company plans to add more than 100 new employees as part of a big US expansion in anticipation of growth resuming in 2010.

Altogether, Infosys plans to hire about 1,000 people across the US over the next 12 to 18 months, he said. Already, 14,000 of the company's 1,04,000 employees are based in the US.

"We believe business will be there if we add capabilities, more services and solutions to our portfolio and increase the business volume with the existing customers -- that's how we see growth coming to our business," Gopalakrishnan said.

Regarding the recovery in the Indian economy, he said that it is in, "Very early stages."

India better placed than US to tide over economic crisis Gopalakrishna said, "I hope it is sustained and picks up. The difference with the US is in the US it has gone from 2-3 per cent in GDP growth to approximately zero, about a 3 per cent decline.

"India has also declined 3 per cent -- it's gone from 8 to 9 per cent growth to 5 per cent to 6 per cent. On the positive side it's still 5 to 6 per cent growth, but the decline is similar, actually."

Hoping the gathered executives will have insights into what fundamental changes will result from the downturn, so they can distinguish between the greed that marked the financial meltdown and innovations that were happening, he said.

If you look at the Internet boom, everybody jumped in, many of those companies got funded, lots of money was poured in," he said.

"Of course many of those companies failed, lots of money was lost but some good things happened -- some companies emerged very strong, became the leaders in that space..."

Gopalakrishnan clearly sees the dangers in industry consolidation and in changes in the nature of outsourcing, with more businesses taking the same tack as they have with their internal IT organisations by looking at business process applicability rather than discrete technical capability.

Infosys seems well-oriented to adapt to this new world since Gopalakrishnan identifies their value proposition as a stron

After a long silence since the last CTP (Community Technology Preview), Microsoft released the Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 that comes with the new .Net Framework 4.0. This new release will bring new promising features that empower parallel programming using the supported languages.

HP REVENUE DROPS IN TOUGH CLIMATE
Computer industry bellwether Hewlett-Packard reported a 3% drop in revenue as its major lines of business continued to be hammered by the global recession.

Microsoft to patch PowerPoint zero-day bug on Tuesday