WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR MOBILE PHONE DROPS IN WATER

Admin November 15, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

EASY STEPS TO TAKE WHEN YOUR MOBILE PHONE DROPS IN WATER

Do not switch on the phone or try to charge it as this will cause the phone to short circuit damaging the phone more than it was when you got it out of the water.
Remove all detachable parts from the phone i.e. the battery, sim card, SD card and more so the phone cover to ensure that you get rid of the moisture that might have accumulated in their compartments.
Dry the phone thoroughly preferably using a vacuum cleaner which sucks out the moisture as compared to a hair dryer which may force the moisture further into the smaller components of the phone.
Assemble back the phone once you’re certain there is no moisture in it.
Place the phone in a bag of dry rice and ensure it is completely covered by the rice to help draw out the rest of the moisture for roughly two to three days. Data recovery requires a lot of patience, so these three days are very important, relax and hope for the best.

NB: This may not work at all times but it can increase the chances of retrieving your phone and salvaging the data in it. You can also have peace of mind knowing that at least you tried.

Just in case the above steps don’t work contact the data recovery experts in Kenya and East Africa at large for a professional analysis. Contact East Africa Recovery Experts on 0716079961.

HOW TO PREVENT RANSOMWARE ATTACKS SUCH AS CRYPTOWALL

Admin November 4, 2016 1 Comment Data Recovery

Ransomware: Type of malware (malicious software) that locks your computer screen and prevents you from accessing your files and asks you to pay a certain fee (ransom) for you to get back and control over your computer.

These malware sometimes come in the form of a fake antivirus installer which when clicked into the computer then accesses your files and sends details to another server used by the criminals. It is also possible to download ransomware unknowingly by opening infected attachments in emails or unsecure websites.

HOW TO PREVENT ATTACKS FROM RANSOMWARE

Back up your data regularly : First and foremost the best on can do to avoid any data loss not only from ransomware attacks but any other form of attack is to back up your data regularly preferably using a backup plan such as the 3-2-1 plan which entails that you make 3 copies of the data, store it in 2 separate storage from where it is initially stored and 1 in a separate location.
Scrutinise emails and embedded links/attachments found in emails or unsecure websites before clicking on them to avoid any unnecessary installations into your computer that may be the ransomware itself.
Regularly update software, programs and applications as these updates tend to add an added layer of protection and also patching up backdoors that could be used by criminals and other online threats to gain access to your computer.
Disconnect computer from Wi-Fi or unplug from internet immediately you open an attachment and it starts installing unnecessarily being that it’s not an executable file or the website isn’t secure or the email comes from a source you don’t trust. If you act fast before the characteristic ransomware screen pops up, you can stop communication between the ransomware and the server used to send the encryption key to your computer. This might reduce the number of files that will be encrypted by the ransomware and also buy you some time to back up your data just in case you hadn’t done so.
Use system restore: which might help you restore your computer to a former known clean state. This however may not really work since the ransomware have newer versions which are able to delete ‘shadow files’ which are vital for the system restore but it’s worth a try.

NB: The most common ransomware today is one called CryptoLocker

The chances of data recovery in cases of ransomware attacks are very minimal thus we advise prevention of these attacks as there is no known solution for these attacks at the moment. The only known way is to pay the ransom which is the advisable also as the decryption key might not be sent to your computer to decrypt the files or it might not even work and the criminals might even try extort more money from you and it becomes a repeating cycle. Secondly it also encourages such criminal acts.

DATA RECOVERY PRICING

Admin November 4, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

DATA RECOVERY PRICING
Most clients ask this question; how much does it cost to recovery data from a hard drive? Since data recovery involves a complex process and it involves alot of factors, i will try to answer in the best way i can. It’s common for users in need of data recovery services to contact us with enquiries on how much it costs to perform data recovery. We do our best to indicate a price guideline based on the symptoms described but this may only be an estimate and not the actual price. It is not possible to quote for recovery until an assessment is done on the media; hence we request the user to bring the media to our offices for evaluation.

Just the same way your car might break down and you call a garage and request for a quote to repair it. Most times you may not know what may have caused it to break down hence you will give the mechanic very minimal information on the case. It would not be reasonable for them to give you a quote without knowing what the problem is and what may have caused it. Data recovery also works in the same manner.

When any user contacts us in regards to data recovery, we advise them to bring the media to our offices for an evaluation (Diagnosis as we call it). If the user cannot make it to bring the media to our offices personally, we advise them to use a reliable courier service to deliver the media instead. On arrival at our offices a diagnosis is done to evaluate the extent of damage to the media and from that we can actually derive an actual quote for that specific case.

The cases that come to our offices are never the same, therefore the quotes will always differ, some are more on the higher side than others. For PHYSICAL cases ie head damage we request for a percentage of the full amount as a commitment fee/service fee in order for us to cover the costs of the data recovery.

The rest of the amount is normally paid on completion and verification of the data recovered. For LOGICAL cases, the user approves the quotation and the recovery starts immediately and once it’s done the user comes to view the data and pays only if they’re satisfied by the data recovered. If the user does not approve the quotation, we return the media.
This does not necessarily mean that we are always 100% guaranteed of full recovery so before we even start the diagnosis; we offer the users the option of continuing on a non-guaranteed basis. It’s not always a Bright day when a quote is rejected so we try and be very realistic when setting the price guideline and also deriving the actual quote for a specific case.

Here are some factors that may determine the cost of data recovery;

Level of damage: ie whether it’s a logical(firmware issues etc) or physical issue(Head damage).
Size of hard drive: On physical cases, we would require to purchase an similar hard drive as the original one(donor) which we will use as spare part to repair the faulty disk. The cost of donor may vary based on the size.
Previous recovery attempt: any hard drive that’s opened physically will attract a higher fees.
How long the process will take: Emergency cases are charged higher than normal cases.

DATA RECOVERY IN EAST AFRICA

Admin August 29, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

DATA RECOVERY IN EAST AFRICA

Data loss can be very detrimental to any individual user or company especially in East Africa whereby companies are growing at a very promising rate. Companies tend to save all their data in raidserverswhich are no exception to failure. In event of failure of these servers whereby there are no backups of the data, these companies tend to lose a lot of business and it might lead to the uneventful death of the companies.

Even for individuals, data loss also causes a lot of agony to these individuals. If you ever find yourself in such a situation where your hard drive crashes, falls, starts making some clicking noises inside(a sign that your hard drive might crash at any time) or any other case whereby your data is inaccessible, avoid using the freely available data recovery software especially if you are no data recovery expert as they tend to cause more harm than good to your data and hard drive or any other storage media that you may be trying to recover the data from thus making it difficult to perform any data recovery on it.

Some of the storage devices that are recoverable include; Data Recovery on Hard Disks, Servers,Laptops, Mobile Phones, NAS, SAN, RAID, Memory Cards, SSD Drives,Flash Drives etc.

You may also try and disconnect the server from power to ensure or minimize the physical damage to the hard drives and for the removable media, disconnect it from the computer and contact data recovery experts who may help in RAID data recovery in servers and also hard drive or nay digital storage media data recovery.

Consult with a reliable and reputable recovery firm such as East Africa RecoveryExperts based in Nairobi Kenya. We provide professional data recovery services not only in Kenya but East Africa at large, so no matter where you may be;Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania don’t worry, we shall sort you out. Contact Us Today On 0716 079 961 for more information.

10 THINGS NOT TO DO TO A FAILING OR FAILED HARD DISK / HARD DRIVE

Admin August 23, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

10 THINGS NOT TO DO TO A FAILING OR FAILED HARD DISK DRIVE

When your hard drive fails or is about to fail, there are several things that come to one’s mind on how to try and salvage the data that was in the hard disk drive. Most of these things end up causing more damage to the drive such that any data recovery attempts are not productive. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, God forbid, contact data recovery experts immediately for professional advice and hard drive recovery. Most of the things that one should not do to a failing or failed hard drive include;

Leaving the drive powered on: Once you hear your hard drive making some clicking noises know that it’s about to fail, immediately disconnect it from power or from the computer it’s connected to. Once you leave it connected to power it causes more damage to the hard drive hence reducing the chances of data recovery.
Opening the drive: There’s a thought that comes to mind of how you can open the hard drive and try and fix it. Ignore that thought if you are no data recovery expert as it will cause more harm than good to the hard drive hence any data recovery attempt will fail.
Replacing the PCB(Printed Circuit Board): The PCB or ’ Motherboard ‘in layman’s language is very crucial to the hard drive as it contains all the information regarding that hard drive and any attempts to replace it will destroy the hard drive hence diminishing any chances of data recovery.
Running any disk tool or utility: There are several freely available disk tools that may seem helpful to recover the data all by yourself but truthfully speaking and out of experience, these tools do more harm than good to your hard drive.
Formatting the hard drive: When a hard drive fails, most of the times it brings a ‘format disk’ message such that you can’t access your data. In such a case contact data recovery experts who will be able to advice on what to do and if the drive is not severely damaged, retrieve your data. DO NOT FORMAT THE DRIVE as it will diminish any chances of data recovery.
Performing a system restore: Once you have performed a system restore to a failed drive you might lose your data in the process or even damage the hard drive.
Knocking, dropping or bumping the hard drive: A failed hard drive needs to be treated in a delicate manner hence it should not be knocked, dropped or bumped into anything as this might cause more damage to it than it was initially.
Putting the drive in the fridge: Most of the tech tips we get online suggest that if you put a faulty device in cool temperatures for some time they often rejuvenate. This may apply for laptop or phone batteries, though not given it will work, but as for hard drives it’s given that the drive will be physically damaged or even corrupt the data that even if it will be recoverable it will not work.
Writing data to the drive: When you hear some clicking noises from your hard drive, do not write any more data to it as it might crash while writing data from it. So whenever this happens to you contact data recovery experts.
Making rash decisions: Most of the above outlined points may be among the rash decisions but there are several cases where the anger and frustration brought about by the failing of a hard drive may cause you to destroy your hard drive or even the whole computer. In case your data is vital you need to relax and don’t let your anger get to you as the case might not be complex and the cost of recovering the data will be lower than it will be when you have angrily destroyed the disk.

In case you need any assistance in data recovery in Kenya or East Africa at large for any digital storage media, contact East Africa Recovery Experts on 0716079961

Signs that your Laptop is about to experience data loss

Admin August 19, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

SIGNS THAT YOUR LAPTOP IS LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE DATA LOSS

Losing very vital data is not fun at all, trust me, I have seen the face that many of the guys have when they come with a case of data loss and it’s heartbreaking. Fortunately there are several warning signs that may give you an indication that your hard drive is about to crash. These signs give you a bit of time to prepare for the worst by backing up your data and avoid incurring the hefty costs that come with data recovery. If you keep a keen eye for the following signs you stand a chance to avoid Datageddon (Data Armageddon).

Frequent cryptic error messages while performing typical tasks such as copying/ moving files or folders.
Long wait times to access folders and files.
Distorted data output from open folders and files or printouts.
Frequent crashes, especially during windows boot up.
Disappearing folders and files.
Distorted or changed folder/file names.
Unusual grinding/clicking sounds from the hard disk.
‘Blue screen of death’ is a sign that there’s a major issue with your laptop’s hard disk.

Clicking sounds coming from the hard disk is a great indicator of disk trouble. A normal working hard disk should not have any strange sounds, therefore if you hear any strange sounds coming from your hard disk that tend to get louder as you continue using the laptop, quickly opt to back up your data and be prepared to replace the drive.

Most of the times when a laptop hard disk is about to crash it becomes nearly impossible to copy/move files on/from your hard disk. If you encounter such a situation remove the hard disk from the laptop, buy an enclosure for it and use it as an external hard disk. This makes it easy to copy or move files from the hard disk. If in case you are not comfortable handling electronics, visit a computer techie who will assist you to remove the hard disk and install the external enclosure for you.

If you still can’t access your data, contact a data recovery expert for professional diagnosis on the disk and also advice on the next step to take for you to get back your data.

The key point to note here is that you need to perform regular backups on your data as you may not necessarily note the above in good time and the hard drive could crash at any time hence losing your data.

RAID DATA RECOVERY KENYA

Admin August 19, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

RAID SYSTEMS
RAID stands for Redundant Array OF Independent Discs, which is a data storage technology that combines multiple physical disk drives into a single logical unit for the purpose of data redundancy or even both.
TYPES OF RAID SYSTEMS
1) Software RAID: RAID system that doesn’t require a dedicated hardware RAID controller. The RAID compatibility depends on the operating system. It applies whereby there is a single disk with two partitions; one to boot from and the other for data storage.
2) Hardware/Physical RAID: RAID controllers are required in this setup. This controllers support different levels of RAID and also specify the kinds of disks to be used in the array; SSD, SATA OR SAS.
LEVELS OF RAID
RAID 0: Consists of stripping, without mirroring of parity. The capacity of this level of RAID is the sum of all the disks in the set. Failure of one disk in the set causes loss of the entire RAID and the chances of data recovery are minimized.
RAID 1: Consists of data mirroring, without parity or stripping. Data is written identically to two or more drives therefore producing a mirrored set of drives in the set.
RAID 2: Consists of bit-level stripping whereby data is stripped in a way that each sequential bit is on a different drive.
RAID 3: Consists of byte-level stripping whereby data is stripped in a way that each sequential byte is on a different drive.
RAID 4: Consists of block-level stripping with dedicated parity whereby the read/write operations do not spread across all data drives.
RAID 5: Consists of block-level stripping with distributed parity whereby the parity info is distributed among all drives requiring all drives but one to be present to operate. Upon failure of a single drive, subsequent reads can be calculated from the distributed parity such that no data is lost.
RAID 6: Consists of block-level stripping with double distributed parity. This provides fault tolerance of up to two failed drives.
Nested (Hybrid) RAID: Many controllers allow RAID levels to be nested. The elements of RAID may be individual drives or arrays by themselves.

Note: Attempting to recover a RAID without an unexperienced data recovery specialist can put your critical data at further risk. When hardware malfunction is a component of the problem, permanent destruction of data can occur with failed recovery attempts.

With alot of experience on Raid recovery and through our advanced and up to date technology.East Africa Recovery Experts has the capacity and technical expertise required to solve complex, technically challenging RAID recoveries.

Physical data recovery (Data Recovery Kenya)

WHY DATA RECOVERY IS SO IMPORTANT?

Admin April 13, 2016 No Comments Data Recovery

Why Data Recovery Is So Important?

Data Recovery typically refers to the Restoration of data to a desktops, laptop, server, or external Storage system from a backup. Because Data is the heart of the Enterprise, it’s crucial for you to protect it. And to protect your Organization’s Data, you need to implement a Data Recovery Plan. While it’s important to know the best tactics for data recovery, preventing the loss of data in the first place is vital. Backing up files can protect againstAccidental Loss of user Data, Database Corruption, Hardware Failures, and even Natural Disasters. All in all Consumers need to engage in some best practices to ensure their data is protected.

The DataRecovery process may vary, depending on the circumstances of the Data Loss, the data recovery software used to create the backup, and the backup target media. Data recovery is provided as service. Such services are typically used to retrieve important files that were not backed up and accidentally deleted from a computer’s file system but still remain on disk in fragments.

We live in the digital age where technology is supreme. From the individual household to multinational conglomerates, we rely heavily on our computers and machines for business, even leisure and simple day to day information needs. Critical to this all is the data storage that allows for it all to happen. So it is understandable that the loss of this data can be problematic in some cases and catastrophic in others. It is a result of this dependency that data storage mediums have been developed, which inadvertently opens up the niche in the market for Data Recovery Services. These are services that are becoming more and more important as the world’s reliance on stored data increases.

As the name implies, Data Recovery Services refer to the business of Salvaging Data from Storage Media that have been Damaged, Corrupted, have Failed or areInaccessible for a host of other reasons. The storage media that these data recovery services relate to, deal with a range of storage devices from CD’s, DVD’s, flash drives, hard drives to various other devices.

Data storage is for the most part important on a personal level. Storage Media is used to keep photos, notes and other personal effects in Data form. Some information can be Very Sensitive such as scanned images of ID Documents, Financial Records and so on. As a result of this, a hard drive crash or similar situation that results in theLoss of Data could be considered a Tragic Loss of Sentimental and Confidential Data Items. For many this is more than a good enough reason to seek out the sought-after help ofData RecoveryExperts. Others might have Lost Data relating to their work or business. In this case the loss could cause Financial Problems, issues with the receiver of Revenue and Stress related to the Waste of Work hours connected to the data.

On a more far reaching note, there is the Data Loss associated with Government orIntelligence Services, which influences not only the Organization but entire Communities or even Nations. Such Loss can have grim Consequences Economically, Managerially, in terms of Governance, Socially and even Politically.In some cases where the information is of a restricted level, there might not be comprehensive backups due to secrecy issues.

Although, depending on the scale of the failure or damage to the storage medium,Data Recovery is not guaranteed, in most cases the recovery services are successful. In spite of not being a flawless solution recovery executed by Data Recovery Expertscan produce results in the range of between 80% to 100% depending on the specific case and surrounding circumstances of the Data Loss or Inaccessibility

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN YOUR RAID 5 SYSTEM FAILS

Admin December 8, 2015 No Comments Data Recovery

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN YOUR RAID 5 SYSTEM FAILS

If you’re reading this then you probably know that there are different types of RAID systems and if not the following link will assist you to comprehend it better: With that issue out of the way,we will focus mainly on the RAID 5 system which is described as ‘fault resistant’, meaning that it can tolerate failure of a hard disk drive with the data on it still being available and readable. That being said the fault resistant part tolerates failure for only one hard drive and not more than that for RAID 5 whereas for RAID 6 the limit is increased to two drives. When it comes to RAID 5 there are three key points to note;

The array must consist of three or more hard drive elements.
The Reliable Availability of data stored can tolerate the failure of no more than one hard drive element.
A rebuild procedure will always fail unless all components (controller and all hard drive elements) are present.

In the case where you cannot access and/or backup all the data stored in your RAID 5, do not attempt to rebuild it, contact the data recovery experts immediately. However, if you can back it up, do it first and fast to avoid total data loss. Any failed rebuild attempts reduce the chances of successful data recovery.

THE DON’TS LIST

Do not use RAID 5 as a backup solution; it is essentially a scheme to increase data availability.
Do not opt for rebuilding a RAID 5 as the first data recovery solution since you can ideally read all the data and ensure all the data contained on the subsystem is backed up before rebuilding.
Do not continue with any corrective actions once you realize that more than one of the hard drive elements is faulty. Seek professional assistance from the data recovery experts immediately.
Do not ever ignore any RAID 5 subsystem fault warning or any behavioral inconsistency. Once one drive fails, perform a backup immediately as you are running on a downgraded RAIDS whereby the fault tolerance is lost and if any other drive malfunctions your data may be lost.
Do not remove more than one drive simultaneously from its initially installed position as you may lose track of the sequencing of the drives. It is thus advisable to label the drives matching them with their slot while removing them.
Do not allow the controller to execute write operations on any known working drive as it will overwrite the stripping data needed for reconstruction.
Do not use CHKDSK or any other disk utility tools but if they should be used, be used with caution. The rate of success when using these tools is very low so, do not risk using them.
Do not shuffle the physical arrangement of the drives since the controller might not detect these changes.
Do not insist on trying out numerous ‘experiments’ in efforts to bring an inaccessible drive back online. These attempts might increase the damage to the RAID, reduce the chances of data recovery and maybe increase the cost of the data recovery itself. It is therefore recommended you reach out to the data recovery experts sooner rather than later.
Perform regular backups on the RAID just like any other data storage media to be safe since you never know when disaster may strike

DATA RECOVERY TIPS

Admin November 8, 2015 No Comments Data Recovery

Have you Lost Data? Your Next Steps are very Crucial!

To avoid permanent data loss, follow these simple steps:

If your hard drive is making clicking, grinding or whirring sounds, shut down the drive or your computer immediately. These sounds could be the read/write heads hitting or scraping the hard disk platters. Severe or complete data loss could result.
If your data is important, make sure you choose a reputable recovery firm that can properly recover data from mechanically failed or physically damaged drives. Even the simplest recovery attempts could render your data unrecoverable.
Avoid “home remedies” you may have read about on the web such as placing a non-spinning hard drive in a freezer or hitting a drive on its side. Much of this information is inaccurate and while some may claim success, these suggestions may actually harm the device and could lead to permanent data loss. We recommend that you do not gamble with your irreplaceable data.
The first recovery attempt is always the best recovery attempt. At East Africa Recovery Experts, our engineers use the safest methods available to ensure your data is not lost from repeated recovery attempts.

Preventing Data Loss

Everyone should adopt strategies to ensure critical information is protected from corruption and loss.

Best Practices:

Never upgrade to a new version of an operating system without having a verified backup
Use up-to-date hardware and software utilities for data security, such as firewalls and virus protection
Scan all incoming data; such as emails, websites and downloads for viruses and malware
Connect computers to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect against power surges
Avoid static discharge when touching or handling any storage media, especially in excessively dry environments

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Author: Admin