We are living in a digital age, this also means that our valuable data is stored digitally. Unknown to many Australians, our sensitive data is being attacked on multiple fronts. It is vulnerable to many attacks and loss, and this is a serious problem not just for businesses, but for everyday consumers.
Most Australians assume that data loss occurs due to some computer hacker lurking in dark rooms in a far away overseas country. Although this can be one of the many reasons, users tend to lose data accidentally often with just one simple click.
From customer login credentials to credit card information to personal records to confidential business records, today, consumers should be savvy about data security and take steps to protect their own information before its too late. While mistakenly deleted files and data can be backed up, not all data can be fully recovered in its proper form and requires highly advanced methods of recovery.
With considerable knowledge about the threats that may cause serious computer security issues, you can save your valuable time and money that goes in recovering or restoring data loss.
Let us now explain the most common reasons for data loss and how you should approach the problem.
Human Errors
Its natural for human beings to make mistakes, when it comes to computers and laptops, lack of experience and knowledge about certain processes also can be the main culprit for data loss. Human errors accounts for 30% of all user data loss.
The most common mistake that leads to data loss includes accidentally deleting files, unplugging hardware without shutting down the computer device, or shutting down systems incorrectly.
Accidental File Deletion
When deleting a file or folder (for Microsoft Windows or Apple MacOs) get in to a habit of using the Recycle Bin. Because this will provide you with an option to recover incorrectly deleted items as it is a 2-step process to delete files entirely.
Get in to the habit of not using shortcut keys such as (Shift + Delete) to delete anything as this method will bypass the Recycle Bin and the data will be gone.
Hard Drives — Formatting Disk Partition Cloning
When you decide to format a hard drive or partition one in to smaller chunks, its important to make a backup of the disk contents before beginning this task.
As a computer technician this can happen when cloning one drive of the same size to another hard drive, you must make sure that you have the correct drives to be cloned.
If you want to use Microsoft Disk Management Tools, keep in mind that there are usually better tools for managing disk drives.
Overwriting Files
Most software be they document, video or image programs give the user the ability to modify or change data contained within a file. Once you click the save button the file will be overwritten with the new data, however, once you exit the program, you will not be able to recover the old file contents as it will be updated with new data.
Data Recovery is Not a DIY Project
Most users often panic and rush to try to recover the lost data themselves, without slowing down and thinking about the issue to find the best way forward.
Depending on the criticalness of data contents, it would be best to consult with a computer repairs professional for advice regarding recovery of the lost data. Because, if the user does not know what they are doing, this could cause irreversible damage and loss of data. There are tools available on the market that will allow the user to recover a formatted hard drive with least effort.
Hardware Malfunction Usually Equals Data Loss
According to surveys on data loss causes, it has been revealed that more than 40% of data is lost due to Computer Hardware Malfunctioning. Causes can include: electrical failure, disk head crash, controller failure, or, software functioning incorrectly which can become compromised without anyone ever realising until the loss of data is discovered.
In any computer or laptop system, there are certain components that will fail over time, causing data loss.
- Hard disk Drive (HDD)
- Solid State Drive (SSD)
- Power supply (PSU)
- Central Processing unit (CPU)
- Memory (RAM)
- Motherboard
Most of the computer parts as mentioned above will not cause a catastrophic loss of data, and if taken to the correct computer repair business, you will find the loss of data as minimal and often recovered 100%
The hard drive or solid state drive is where the data is stored so this is the main component in your laptop or computer and failure here can be a costly repair.
A lot of people try to recover data themselves in the hope of saving money, this is OK if the data is not as important, however, if the data is critical and must be recovered, then the device should be turned off and taken to a data recovery expert.
Computer Viruses and Malware
Protecting yourself from the growing multitude and sophistication of digital threats is becoming an increasingly difficult task – it is critically important that you take your digital security issues seriously.
Viruses and other malicious software (“malware”) can infect your system and lead to several issues that may range from minor annoyances to major threats (e.g. Cryptolocker virus) where the data is encrypted and becomes unavailable.
Viruses are commonly spread through email attachments, file transfer, or through files downloaded through file-sharing services like torrent sites.
Quick Tips
- Regularly backup your data
- Use anti virus and malware software and keep them updated
- Setup your anti virus to run regular scans
- Scan all email attachments and files before opening them
Hard Drive Failure
Hard drive malfunctions are the most common cause of data loss as the hard drive is the most fragile device in your system. Your hard drive is a mechanical device that does a lot of work, this device is susceptible to wear and tear as it ages.
Hard drive failures are caused by other factors such as electronic faults, human error, overheating, power failures, fire or just mechanical failure.
Quick Tips
- Regularly back up your hard drive.
- Look at replacing older hard drives with the newer Solid State Drives (SSD) as these tend to be more reliable and also faster.
Living in a digital era does provide great benefits, with just few mouse clicks we can store documents and even work through our laptop computer. It is always wise to be prepared in case the data we store is lost. We hope that the insights above has provided insights for you to avoid or at least be prepared for Data Loss. And if you are living in Brisbane Australia, and require data to be recovered, contact The Electronic Fix for friendly advice and affordable computer and laptop repair service.
The Electronic Fix in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs offering laptop computer repairs, upgrades and part replacement as well as fixes game consoles. To learn more visit: Alderley, Arana Hills, Ashgrove, Aspley, Enoggera, Everton Hills, Everton Park, Ascot Brisbane, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Clayfield and Services section.
