Free Data Recovery Software

Recovering from a crashed hard drive will eventually happen to everyone using a computer.  It is only a matter of time since hard drives are mechanical devices with a life span of less than 5 years.  I have been running computer labs for many years now and have seen some new drives last only a few weeks.  But once you pass the 30 day mark drives usually last several years before failing.  So planning for a hard drive failure is a must to assure safe recoverable data.  But in the of event of a crashed drive it is sometimes possible to use free data recovery software tools to retrieve data.  Tools,such as,Recuva have become very popular for quick and easy recovery from a hard drive that can still be accessed.  Otherwise expensive recovery centers that charge from $200 to $2000 and more might be necessary for recovery important data.

Tape backup has been used for many years now for backing up data.  However tape can stretch and wear out,but is still used by many large organizations.  For smaller organizations and home users a flashdrive or external drive could be used.  Also a RAID system could be used to mirror drives.  But you should always perform external backups and store important data offsite to prevent loss of data from natural causes.

I have found the biggest problem for home users is Windows.  Windows will eventually corrupt itself and die from natural causes which prevents users from accessing their files and data.  Malware can be another problem resulting in lost data.  Since this can be a frequently occurring problem for some users I recommend storing your important data on a second partition or drive outside of Windows.  This will allow you to easily access your files using a rescue CD that can boot your computer and transfer your files to an external drive.

Since managing computer labs I have found imaging to be an important tool for keeping large numbers of computers running and fully operational.  I restore most of my lab computers on a daily basis to keep them running at optimal performance.  It doesn’t take long for Windows to begin to slow and begin to freeze up.  Partimage and CloneZilla are both excellent free programs that have helped save lots of time from having to troubleshoot,recover data,and re-install Windows.  But you might also want to checkout Recuva which is an excellent free data recovery software program.

The Free Malware Protection website also has additional information that you might find useful.

February 19th,2012 | Tags:,,,,,,, | Category:Free Data Recovery Software | Leave a comment

Best Free Antivirus Software

There are some great choices available for the Best Free Antivirus Software program.  I personally have tried most of them and have come back to AVG free for personal use.  AVG has a good optimization,good scanning engine,and auto daily updating.  AVG also has the fewest pop-up ads and other ad annoyances.  The top antivirus program reviews include Avira,Avast,AVG,and Microsoft Security Essentials.  Malwarebytes,BitDefender,Kaspersky,Ad-Adware,Comodo,and Panda are a few more highly rated programs that deserve mention.  Malwarebytes has become very popular and has a great scan engine,but the free version requires manual updating and therefore is not my top choice.  Since new viruses and malware come out almost daily,it is important that your software is updated with the latest virus signatures.

Malware is a newer term that is short for malicious software.  This includes all types of harmful software,including viruses, ad-ware,spyware,data-mining, Trojans, root-kits,and any other software designed to annoy,steal,redirect,or harm your computer.  It’s amazing that this process of creating new malware has not slowed over the years.  Now cyber warfare seems to be on the rise.  Iran’s nuclear program has become a target and effectively slowed or stopped because of malware infections in their computer controlled nuclear fuel processors.  Also many of our national computer networks have become targets of foreign operatives trying to steal classified information,credit card information,or other information to be used for stealing personal identities.

Most malware infections include the installation of down-loaders and key-loggers.  The down-loaders and not detected as infections and will download the malware after it’s been removed.  That is often the reason for re-infections.  The key-loggers are sometimes missed and they can be used to steal account log-on ids and passwords.  It takes time to completely remove all malware once infected and somethings can be missed.

Imaging has become popular because you can quickly restore a system to a known good configuration.  However,images need to be updated and maintained to be useful.  In my lab and at home I update my images monthly with the latest security updates and program revisions to stay current with any changes.  This helps to avoid the time consuming problem of getting back to a useful and safe configuration.  The restore images that come with new computers are almost useless since they are out of date and do not include important programs that users need.

CloneZilla is one of the best free imaging software programs available and can be used with a Restore CD to re-image a system quickly.  Today’s PC based Windows systems require users to become PC techs to keep their computers running safe and operating at their peak performance.  I have often recommend MACs as good alternative to users who do that have the time or desire to become PC Techs.  I have used and maintained MACs over the years,but because of the smaller software market for MACs I am primarily a PC guy.

The CNET download site is a good resource for finding the latest and best free antivirus software programs.  The user ratings and feedback are very valuable to find out what the users think and what might be good alternatives.

The Free Malware Protection website has additional information that you might find useful.

November 27th,2011 | Tags:,,,,,,, | Category:Best Free Antivirus Software | Leave a comment

Free Computer Protection

Computers are at risk everyday primarily from malware infections from the Internet.  You need some form of protection that can scan,block,and remove malware to keep your computer operating.  Without protection your computer will become slower and slower until it no longer functions.  A little research on the Internet will lead you to many top rated anti malware software companies.  Most of the top rated software will do an adequate job,but you might be surprised to find free computer protection software available from some the the top companies.  Many of these free for personal use products use the same scanning engine that the commercial products use.  Also some of these free versions provide automatic daily updating of new malware signatures and are better optimized than some of the top popular commercial products.

If you do a search on the Internet you will find BitDefender,Malwarebytes,Kaspersky,Ad-Aware,and a few others rated very high.  However,if you look at CNET download you will find AVG to be the top downloaded software.  Further research should lead you to Avast and Avira.  All three of these top rated programs have free versions for personal use with good scan engines,automatic daily updating,and optimized for speed with minimal resource impact.

Malwarebytes is a new leader in anti malware and is highly rated.  However,the free version does not provide auto daily updating,which is a huge drawback.  Many of the these companies also provide free Rescue Disks which allow you to start and operate your computer to scan and remove malware even when your computer will not start or run.  One of these disks can be very valuable when the need arises.

Since malware only attacks the active operating system,your data and files are usually not affected.  I would suggest you store important information outside the operating system partition.  You can use either a second partition on the primary drive or a second internal or external drive.  Also USB flash drives and CDs could be used to store files.  Most businesses store important data on tapes and off site.  If the data is very valuable it might even be kept in a safety deposit box at a bank.  Tape usually has the longest storage life and CDs the shortest.  Hard drives usually last 3 to 5 years.  Everything is subject to loss or failure so a second or third copy is important for valuable data.  At one of my businesses I use to keep 5 full backups of customer and system data after needing to do a complete data restore and found my first backup was bad.

You should checkout some of the free computer protection offerings.  Free Open Source software is another avenue to explore.  I have found some of the best programs are free.

The Free Malware Protection website has additional information that you might find useful.

November 23rd,2011 | Tags:,,,,,,, | Category:Free Computer Protection | Leave a comment
 
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