2025-05-17

How To Completely Clean Data From Your Hard Drives And SSDs? (Part II)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM18 mins

Seagate (including Maxtor)

SeaTools for DOS
Use Full Erase to zero-fill your hard disk.

Seatools for Dos

Western Digital

Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
Use Write Zeros to drive to zero-fill your hard disk

Data Lifeguard Diagnostics

1. Determine the brand and model of hard disk you want to overwrite.
2. Download a CD ISO image or a floppy disk image (depending upon your equipment) and use the image to create bootable media. The floppy disk image is self-contained: run it, insert a blank floppy disk when prompted, and the image is created on the disk. You will need to use a CD burning program that works with ISO images to convert the ISO image into a bootable CD.
3. Restart your computer with the bootable media you created in Step 2.
4. Select the hard disk to zero-fill when prompted.
5. Choose the option to zero-fill the hard disk.

Clean Data

6. When the program is finished, follow the on-screen instructions to shut down or restart your computer.
7. Remove the wiped hard disk; you can now reuse or recycle the hard disk.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk

Secure wiping goes beyond zero-fill operations, and provides an extra level of security. Most secure wiping programs are designed to meet DoD 5220 standards, which require three passes of overwriting with a special numeric pattern and verification. More information about this and other secure standards are available from the DataErasure website.

(Note that the 2007 revision of the Defense Security Service, Updated DSS Clearing and Sanitization Matrix (June 28, 2007) (PDF) now recommends degaussing or drive destruction for maximum protection.

Clean Data

Stanford University’s Disk and Data Sanitization Policy and Guidelines, a must-read for understanding data wiping issues, recommends Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) for secure hard disk wiping.

Secure Wiping a Hard Disk with DBAN

Time Needed: several hours (varies with size and speed of drive)
Software: Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN);
Available from http://www.dban.org/
Media: blank CD (all versions) or floppy disk (version 1.0.7 and older versions)

1. Download the DBAN boot image ZIP file (we used version 1.0.7 and beta version 2.0 for this article); we downloaded the ISO image for CD burning, but a floppy disk builder is also available
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Burn the ISO image file extracted in Step 2 to CD; or use the built-in ISO CD image burning support in Windows 7. If you downloaded the floppy image builder, run the program to create a bootable floppy disk.
4. Restart the computer using the CD or floppy disk created in Step 3.
5. Press Enter to run DBAN in interactive mode.
6. Use up and down arrow keys to highlight the drive to wipe.
7. Press the space bar to select the drive.
8. Press M to select the wiping method.
9. Press F10 to begin the wipe process.

Wipe Data

10. At the end of the process, shut down the system. You can reuse or recycle the wiped hard disk.

Note: if DBAN is unable to recognize your SATA hard disks, configure your system BIOS to use IDE mode rather than AHCI mode.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards and USB Drives

Programs such as DBAN or vendor-supplied hard disk utilities are limited in the devices they support: they are designed to work with internal ATA/IDE or SATA hard disks only. Programs that work with flash memory cards and USB flash drives often support hard disks as well, enabling you to use a single program for all disk wiping processes. Roadkil’s DataWipe can be used with any hard disk, floppy disk, or flash drive that has a drive letter.

Wiping Flash Memory Cards with Roadkil’s DiskWipe

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer
Software: Roadkil’s DiskWipe
Available from http://www.roadkil.net
Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download Roadkil’s DiskWipe.
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Open DiskWipe. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click the program icon and select Run as Administrator.
4. Select the drive to wipe.
5. Select the type of wipe to perform; DiskWipe can zero-fill the disk or write random data.
6. Enter the number of passes.
7. Click Erase to start the process.

DiskWipe

8. At the end of the process, close the program. You can reuse the wiped disk.

Wiping SSDs

To solve write performance problems on drives that don’t support TRIM (check with your drive vendor for firmware upgrades) is to use wiper.exe (included with some SSDs) or to run the Secure Erase feature supported in most recent ATA/IDE and SATA drives. The Secure Erase feature can be activated on many systems by running Secure Erase 4.0 (HDDerase.exe), available from http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml. Version 4.0 works with most recent ATA/IDE and SATA hard disks and SSDs, but if you use an Intel X-25M, X-25E, or X-18M SSD, follow this link to download Secure Erase 3.3 http://www.iishacks.com/index.php/2009/06/30/how-to-secure-erase-reset-an-intel-solid-state-drive-ssd/ . Note that it is no longer being developed, and we were unable to use it on a system running an AMD 690 chipset.

Wipe SSD

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How To Completely Clean Data From Your Hard Drives And SSDs? (Part III)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM17 mins

Wiping Drives and Free Space with SDelete

SDelete is a free program from Microsoft’s TechNet Sysinternals collection. It runs from the command line, and can be used to wipe drives, wipe files, or wipe free space.

Time Needed: Varies; from a few minutes to several hours, depending upon size and speed of drive and computer
Software: TechNet Sysinternal’s SDelete
Available from http://technet.microsoft.com

Media: Can be run from Windows desktop

1. Download SDelete.
2. Extract the contents of the compressed file.
3. Copy sdelete.exe to c:\windows\system32\ (this will enable you to run it from any location)
4. Open a command prompt session with Administrator rights.
5. To wipe all files on drive X: and its subdirectories and to wipe free space, enter Sdelete -p 2 –s -z X:\*.* (to see all command-line switches, enter Sdelete with no options)
6. Wait; the program displays status messages as it runs. When the program is finished, you can reuse or dispose of the drive.

Clean Data

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Disk Wiping Programs

We used demo versions of two popular data recovery programs to evaluate some of the disk wiping programs discussed in this article. To determine whether a typical data recovery program could recover files on a SD card wipe with Roadkil’s DiskWipe, we first of all formatted the card using a card reader. Ontrack’s EasyRecovery Data Recovery (available from http://www.ontrack.com) had no difficulty finding folders and files to retrieve.

EasyRecovery

However, when we used DiskWipe to wipe the drive using a one-pass blank disk (zero fill) operation, EasyRecovery DataRecovery was unable to find the file system, let alone any files or folders.

After reformatting the card, taking a few photos, and deleting the photos, EasyRecovery Data Recovery was able to find the new photos, but the contents of the card before running WipeDisk were unrecoverable.

Easy Recovery

To evaluate SDelete, we used SDelete to wipe all of the files on a hard disk, but omitted the –z switch; when –z is not used, SDelete deletes files and renames them, but does not clear free space. To determine what might be visible, we used a demo version of Disk Doctors NTFS Data Recovery software, available from http://www.diskdoctors.net.

Disk Doctors were able to locate the deleted folder and Outlook Express message folders, but SDelete had renamed them from their original names and DBX extensions (Outlook Express message folders). If you use SDelete, it’s very important that you take time to use the –z switch to clear free space on the disk (once a file is deleted, the space it occupies is free space).

Disk Doctor

We also used Disk Doctors to evaluate the effectiveness of a freeware program called Eraser, which can delete and overwrite files and folders from the right-click menu. We created a documents folder with a subfolder called Figures and used Eraser to overwrite the folder and subfolder using its default settings.

Disk Doctors was able to locate the folders, but the contents are files with garbage names and are zero bytes in size – except for leftover word processing temporary files (files that begin with $). These filenames were not changed, which could enable a snooper to figure out the names of the files in the folder – although the files themselves were destroyed. By using more overwrites or different methods available with Eraser, a more thorough wiping may be possible.

Disk Doctor

Conclusion

We’ve highlighted a variety of free ways to protect data on castoff drives from being retrieved. As you can see, your best bet is to overwrite data directly, but you also might want to consider using a program such as SDelete to scramble filenames first and then use a disk wiper such as Eraser or WipeDisk to finish the job.

Use demo versions of data recovery programs such as Ontrack Easy Recovery Data Recovery, Disk Doctors Data Recovery (various editions for NTFS, FAT, and flash media), and others to evaluate the effectiveness of your data wiping procedures. Remember, the full versions of these and other data recovery programs can save your data if you accidentally format or partition a disk because, until the data is overwritten, it’s still there.

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WD Introduces 2.5-inch SATA Hard Drives for AV/DVR and Surveillance Markets

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM05 mins

WD 2.5 Inch Sata Hard Drive For AV/DVR As demand has increased for digital video storage, including high-definition (HD) video, and as the variety of video-systems configurations increases, WD® expanded its line of hard drives for AV/DVR and surveillance applications to include small form factor, 2.5-inch SATA hard drives. WD AV-25 hard drives provide high reliability with a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 1 million hours and are engineered specifically for demanding, always-on multimedia streaming applications, while running at cool and quiet temperatures.

In addition to high reliability, WD AV-25 hard drives meet the demanding requirements of the AV/DVR and surveillance markets by offering customers universal compatibility, low power consumption and the ability to simultaneously record multiple audio and/or high-definition video streams. The new WD AV-25 hard drive is ideal for applications such as DVRs (digital video recorders), digital video surveillance and other small form factor environments where power consumption and 24×7 reliability are critical.

“Customers that market audio and video recording applications, such as DVRs, media centers and mainstream surveillance systems, often require 24×7 operation from hard drives, WD AV-25 hard drives are designed to withstand these demanding environments and offer consumers a small form factor solution that consumes less power, generates less heat, and operates quietly and, most importantly, reliably.”

– said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups.

Features of the WD AV-25 hard drive include:

  • 24×7 reliability – Designed to last in always-on streaming digital audio/video environments such as DVR/PVR, digital video surveillance and other demanding multimedia applications.
  • Advanced Format technology – Leading edge technology that delivers improved video quality and AV performance through enhanced error correction capability.
  • SilkStream™ technology – Optimized for smooth, continuous digital video playback of up to five simultaneous HD streams. SilkStream is compatible with the ATA streaming command set so AV customers can use standard streaming management and error recovery options.
  • Ultra-cool operation – A cool drive is a more reliable drive. WD continues to develop new and innovative ways to keep drives cool while they are operating.
  • Quiet – Noise levels have been minimized to less than one sone1 – virtually below the threshold of human hearing.
  • Low power consumption – The drive draws less than 2 Watts while operating and a mere 4.75 Watts during spin up.
  • 1 million hours MTTF (MTBF) – Best-in-class reliability for small form factor AV storage.2
  • Preemptive Wear Leveling (PWL) – The drive arm frequently sweeps across the disk to reduce uneven wear on the drive surface common to audio video streaming applications.

Price and Availability

The WD AV-25 hard drive is offered in capacities of 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB and 500 GB and has a 3-year limited warranty. The WD AV-25 160 GB, 250 GB and 320 GB hard drives are available now from select e-tailers and distributors. The WD AV-25 500 GB hard drive will be available next month. MSRP for the WD AV-25 hard drives range from $50.00 USD to $80.00 USD depending on capacity. More information about WD AV-25 drives may be found on the company’s Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=810

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Top 20 Most Popular USB Hard Drives on Amazon.com

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM15 mins

Definition: USB flash drives are compact file storage devices to save your information externally. Flash drives are about the size of a disposable lighter and can be conveniently worn around your neck or attached to your keychain.

The end of the flash drive is inserted into the USB port on the computer. Once attached to the computer, they operate in much the same way as floppy drives, but have capacities currently in the range of up to 2 gigabytes.

Also Known As: USB memory stick, jump drive

From: http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/uvw/g/usb_flash.htm

A small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a computer’ USB port and functions as a portable hard drive. USB flash drives are touted as being easy-to-use as they are small enough to be carried in a pocket and can plug into any computer with a USB drive. USB flash drives have less storage capacity than an external hard drive, but they are smaller and more durable because they do not contain any internal moving parts.

USB flash drives also are called thumb drives, jump drives, pen drives, key drives, tokens, or simply USB drives.

From: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/USB_flash_drive.html

A USB flash drive consists of flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 1.1 or 2.0 interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, much smaller than a floppy disk, and most weigh less than 30 g (1 oz). Storage capacities in 2010 can be as large as 256 GB with steady improvements in size and price per capacity. Some allow 1 million write or erase cycles and have a 10-year data retention cycle.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive

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Top 20 Most Popular External Hard Drives on Amazon.com

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM06 mins

External Hard Drives External hard drives are ideal for backing up your hard drive or storing additional media separately from your main hard drive. Photos, videos, and digital music have all become so popular in recent years that people need a place to put it all. CDs and DVDs do not have the capacity to hold PC backups and are not all that convenient. However, the prices of external hard drives have come down so much that they are perfect for backing up your important data.

The two most common interfaces for hooking up external drives to your computer are USB and FireWire with eSata now becoming popular also. USB has been around for years and are standard on just about all computers today while FireWire ports are newer and if you use a digital video camera with your computer you probably already have one. In terms of access speeds the latest eSata standard offers the fastest connection however that comes with a price. USB 2.0 and Firewire can cover most of your general needs without having to upgrade your system with a new eSata card. Any of the interfaces will do the job however be sure to purchase an external hard drive with the same type of port that your computer has.

WD Elements 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $149.99 Price on Amazon.com: $98.92)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $139.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.00)

Iomega Prestige 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $172.99 Price on Amazon.com: $99.99)

Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $93.99 Price on Amazon.com: $82.44)

WD Elements 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $169.99 Price on Amazon.com: $117.82)

Toshiba 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $99.99 Price on Amazon.com: $60.00)

WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $129.99 Price on Amazon.com: $97.95)

WD My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $199.99 Price on Amazon.com: $149.00)

WD My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $159.99 Price on Amazon.com: $129.00)

LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk 1 TB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $164.99 Price on Amazon.com: $154.99)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $139.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.00)

Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $79.99)

Iomega eGo Mac Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $140.99 Price on Amazon.com: $125.99)

Iomega Prestige 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $147.99 Price on Amazon.com: $119.99)

Seagate Expansion 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.99)

Iomega Prestige 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $79.30)

Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

        (Price: $82.99 Price on Amazon.com: $74.44)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $89.99 Price on Amazon.com: $59.82)

Seagate Expansion 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

        (Price: $75.99 Price on Amazon.com: $58.99)

WD Elements 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

      (Price: $129.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.99)

Note: Your backup drive should have a capacity at least as big as your computer’s largest hard drive. That will leave you with plenty of room to back up your important files or mirror/clone your current drive. You can also buy an external hard drive case and mount an internal hard drive inside it. This method will give you a choice of brands and models, and if anything goes wrong with your internal hard drive, you can simply install the external one inside your computer to replace it.

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WD My Passport AV 320 GB Portable External Media Drive

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM16 mins

WD My Passport AV 320G Portable External Media Drive WD® introduced its new My Passport™ AV portable media drives. Designed specifically for video storage and playback, the new My Passport AV portable media drives deliver a plug-and-play experience for digital media enthusiasts. Available now at select retailers and WD’s online store, the My Passport AV portable media drive is offered with 320 GB of capacity.

A large and increasing number of game consoles, camcorders, TVs, DVRs, Blu-ray players and media players, including the WD TV® Media Player family, allow consumers to connect a USB drive and play the multimedia content from the drive on an HD TV. The My Passport AV portable media drive is designed to meet the requirements of this demanding video streaming environment. It delivers the formatting and low-power consumption that assures out-of-the-box compatibility with many leading CE (consumer electronics) devices.

WD worked to ensure that the My Passport AV portable media drives operate seamlessly with the Direct Copy feature offered in Sony’s new Handycam® video recorders. Direct Copy lets Handycam users offload and archive HD video directly to a My Passport AV portable media drive without a computer, creating room to shoot more HD videos when their Handycam hard drive becomes full.

Consumers can then play back their stored videos using Sony’s latest Blu-ray players or any of the WD TV media players by just connecting the My Passport AV portable media drive via the USB port on these players. Specific Handycam and Blu-ray model compatibility information is available on the WD Web site.

With its small footprint, the My Passport AV portable media drives are designed to fit neatly in a home entertainment center. The included stand and extra long cable makes it easy to position the drive neatly in entertainment centers, maximizing the airflow and minimizing heat around the drive.

“With more and more devices capable of generating and playing back HD video – camcorders, Blu-ray players, game consoles – portable hard drives are the best solution for this 8 GB-per-hour capacity-intensive content. The My Passport AV portable media drive is optimized for a better digital video experience with a growing list of consumer electronics, starting with Sony’s latest camcorders and Blu-ray players,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

Price and Availability
The New My Passport AV portable media drives feature a 2-year limited warranty and are available now at select retail stores and WD’s online store. MSRP for the My Passport AV portable media drive with 320 GB is $109.99 USD.

This item has not yet been released on amazon.com. You may pre-order it now (at a low price of $79.99) and they will deliver it to you when it arrives.

My Passport AV Compatibility
My Passport AV portable media drives are formatted FAT321 and are compatible with Windows® XP, Windows Vista™, Windows 7, Mac® OS X® and Apple’s Tiger®, Leopard®, and Snow Leopard®. My Passport AV portable media drives utilize the same drive technology found in WD AV drives inside leading cable and satellite set-top boxes and DVRs (digital video recorders) around the world.

The My Passport AV portable media drives are compatible with the following devices:

* WD TV family of media players;
* 2010 and later Sony camcorders with Direct Copy functionality;
* Sony 2010 Blu-ray Disc Players including BDP-S370, BDP-S470, BDP-S570;
* Sony 2010 Blu-ray Disc Home Theater Systems including BDV-E370, BDV-E570;
* JVC LT-32P689 television;
* Samsung® LN32A550 television;
* Phillips® 42PFLA332D television;
* Microsoft Xbox 360® (compatible with the USB media playback feature); and,
* Sony PlayStation®3.

For a complete list of devices compatible with the My Passport AV portable media drives, please visit the WD Web site. A product specification sheet and photos of My Passport AV drives are available on the company’s Web site at http://www.westerndigital.com/MyPassportAV.

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My Book World Edition II 4 TB

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM04 mins

My Book World Edition II 4 TB Brand: Western Digital
Elements Model: WDH2NC40000N
Port RJ-45: 1 x 10/100/1000M
HDD Interface: 2 x SATA
Operating System: Windows XP/Vista/Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard
Form Factor: Desktop
Capacity: 4 TB
RAID: Raid 1
Dimensions: 6.5″ x 6.3″ x 3.9″
Weight: 5.51 lbs.
Temperature: 5°C – 35 °C
Manufacturer Warranty:
Parts: 5 year limited
Labor: 5 year limited

Simplified set up and best-in-class performance make the My Book World Edition network drive the perfect choice for centralizing and backing up data on all the computers in your home.

Features:

· Automatic and continuous backup for all the computers on your network – Now you can easily back up data from all your networked computers with the included continuous backup software. Set it and forget it; every time you save something it’s instantly and automatically backed up.

· The double-safe place for your data – Using RAID mirroring technology, this system automatically and continuously maintains a second copy of your data for extra safe data protection. If one drive in this two-drive system ever fails, the system continues to run and your data is safe. How’s that for peace of mind?

· Centralized storage to share and stream all your family’s digital content – Built-in media server for streaming music, photos and movies to any PC, Mac or DLNA certified multimedia device such as Playstation 3, Xbox 360, wireless digital picture frames, and connected audio receivers. DLNA 1.5 & UPnP certified. Centralize your music collection and play from Macs or Windows PCs using iTunes software.

· Remote access – Access your files anywhere, anytime using MioNet remote access technology from WD.

· iTunes server support – Centralize your music collection and stream to a Mac or Windows PC using iTunes software.

· Simple file recovery – Restore lost, damaged or older files back to their original location with a couple of clicks. Backup files are stored in the same file structure that you originally saved them, so it’s easy and intuitive to find files.

· Share your personal content – MioNet remote access technology makes it easy for you to securely share photos and documents with friends and family.

· USB 2.0 utility port – Turn any USB drive into an instant network drive or extra capacity for your World Edition II.

· Cooler, quieter, eco-friendlier – Equipped with WD drives using WD GreenPower Technology, this system consumes significantly less power and delivers performance on par with power hungry externals using 7200 RPM hard drives.

Price: $599.99

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WD Elements 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM02 mins

WD Elements 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive Brand: Western Digital Series
Elements Model: WDBAAR6400ABK-NESN
Color: Midnight Black
Interface: USB 2.0
Capacity: 640GB
Form Factor: 2.5″
Dimensions: 5.00″ x 3.10″ x 0.60″
Weight: 0.44 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty:
Parts: 1 year limited
Labor: 1 year limited

Easily portable. Designed with the same commitment to quality that made WD external drives the number one selling drives in the world, Western Digital’s WD Elements™ USB 2.0 portable hard drive is simple, easy-to-use, light and easy to carry. No need to carry a bulky power adapter; this drive get its power from the USB cable. Just plug it in to any USB port and start saving your photos, music, video, and files. Simply affordable; Easy to use; USB powered; Kit contents: USB 2.0 portable hard drive; USB cable; Quick Install Guide.

Features:

  • USB powered – These drives require no power adapter; they are powered directly through the USB cable.
  • Compact design – Weighing in at only a few ounces, these small drives fit easily into a pocket or purse.
  • Preformatted for PCs – Designed for use with Windows-based computers. Can be easily reformatted for use with Macs.

System Requirements:
Available USB port
Windows 7 / Vista / XP
Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard

List Price: $149.99

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Backup Software: Symantec Norton Ghost 15.0

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM05 mins

Backup Software: Symantec Norton Ghost 15.0 Norton Ghost 15.0 protects your applications, settings, folders, files and everything else on your PC with professional grade backup and recovery. So you can quickly restore your PC and recover lost or damaged files.

Key Benefits:

  • Creates full system and file backups — Safeguards your system, settings, applications, and files with flexible, comprehensive backup protection.
  • Restores from system failures — Recovers your system and data even when you can’t restart your computer.
  • Enables convenient, secure offsite backups — Saves recovery points to an FTP site for easier offsite management and even backs up your data to network-attached storage devices.
  • Backs up on schedules and events — Lets you decide what is backed up and when so you can customize backups based on how you use your computer.

Features:

  • NEW! Cold Imaging lets you back up files without installing Ghost.
  • NEW! Blu-ray Disc allows you to back up large amounts of data to high-capacity Blu-ray Disc — up to 25 GB per disc (50 GB dual-layer).
  • NEW! Windows® 7 support including support for Bitlocker™ provides enhanced data protection through drive encryption and integrity checking.
  • NEW! Symantec ThreatCon integration leverages intelligence from Symantec’s industry-leading security research organization to automatically backup files whenever ThreatCon reaches a specified threat level.
  • Full system (disk image) backup lets you easily backup everything on a hard drive or partition.
  • File and folder backup lets you back up only the files and folders you choose, rather than backing up and entire disk.
  • File backup search finds and backs up only the types of files you choose, such as photos, MP3 files, and documents.
  • Incremental backup copies only files that have changed for fewer, faster backups.
  • Customizable, event-based backup triggers backups based on key events, such as when you install a new program or when there are sudden increases in data storage.
  • Offsite backup copies recovery points to a FTP site for easier offsite backup management.
  • NAS backup gives you the option of backing up your files to network-attached storage devices.
  • Advanced compression automatically compresses files so you can store more files in less space.
  • Advanced encryption helps keep your sensitive documents safe from prying eyes.
  • System protection lets you easily restore your system, applications and files even when you can’t restart the operating system.
  • Google Desktop™ integration makes data recovery even faster with searchable backup indexes.
  • LightsOut Restore lets you quickly restore your system without needing a bootable CD.
  • Remote management lets you remotely control other Norton Ghost installations (12.0 and higher) on your local area network.
  • Scheduled P2V allows you to automatically create a virtual disk from your most recent backup.
  • Version support lets you restore older disk images made with Ghost 10, 12 and 14.
  • Multiple storage options let you back up to almost any media, including Blu-ray Disc®, CDR/RW and DVD+-R/RW drives, USB and FireWire® (IEEE 1394) devices, network drives, and Iomega® Zip® and Jaz® drives.

Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7

Price: $69.99

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Windows Forensics: The Field Guide for Corporate Computer Investigations

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM02 mins

Windows Forensics The evidence is in–to solve Windows crime, you need Windows tools.

An arcane pursuit a decade ago, forensic science today is a household term. And while the computer forensic analyst may not lead as exciting a life as TV’s CSIs do, he or she relies just as heavily on scientific principles and just as surely solves crime.

Whether you are contemplating a career in this growing field or are already an analyst in a Unix/Linux environment, this book prepares you to combat computer crime in the Windows world. Here are the tools to help you recover sabotaged files, track down the source of threatening e-mails, investigate industrial espionage, and expose computer criminals.

  • Identify evidence of fraud, electronic theft, and employee Internet abuse
  • Investigate crime related to instant messaging, Lotus Notes(r), and increasingly popular browsers such as Firefox(r)
  • Learn what it takes to become a computer forensics analyst
  • Take advantage of sample forms and layouts as well as case studies
  • Protect the integrity of evidence
  • Compile a forensic response toolkit
  • Assess and analyze damage from computer crime and process the crime scene
  • Develop a structure for effectively conducting investigations
  • Discover how to locate evidence in the Windows Registry
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