Disaster Recovery

The term "disaster recovery" brings images of fires and floods to mind, but in an IT context, these things are rarely the reasons recovery is needed. Instead, the disasters in question have to do with data loss. In most cases, data is not lost to the wrath of nature, but instead, due to computer failures, hacking, malware, and other things of this sort. Therefore, the methods you need to use to prevent the disasters are different, as are the means of recovery.

One of the most basic reasons for the loss or corruption of data is mechanical failure of computer components. Hard drive failure is one of the most common types of this kind of problem. Data that isn't kept in the cloud is stored on your hard drive, so if the drive stops working, you won't be able to get it back without some sort of recovery measure. These measures can get very expensive, and require extra expertise to do. However, there are companies that can recover data from almost any hard drive if you are willing to pay enough.

Obviously, it's better to prevent data loss from hard drive failure than it is to try to recover information that has become inaccessible. The best way to do this is almost always to make automatic backup copies that are stored in the cloud. Then, if your hard drive fails, you can download the data back to your computer after a new drive is installed.

Malware is one of the biggest software-based reasons for data loss. Sometimes, this is because the malware intentionally interferes with your access, as is the case with ransomware. At other times, the malware might overwrite key parts of your data or even your hard drive's master file table, not because its goal is to destroy data, but because the hacker doesn't care how badly his unwanted code reacts with your system.

In some cases, it doesn't take much to succeed at data recovery after a malware attack. A good anti virus software can remove common forms of these hack-programs, and once done, the computer may return to proper operation. However, this isn't always the case, so it's much better to use an anti virus to prevent malware infection instead of running it after the fact.

When malware is too severe to be removed by an anti virus cleaning, you will typically need a professional to do data recovery for you. If you go this route, be sure to use one that is a true expert. Big box "computer services" often just wipe the hard drive entirely, destroying your data along with the malware.