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A Blog from CBL Data Recovery
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Categories
business | case studies | data loss prevention | data recovery | events | helpful hints | success stories
#1s and 0s
Have You Seen My Data?
19 March 2013
This is more like ‘lost devices’, not quite the kind of data loss we deal with, but at CBL we feel concerned customers’ pain every day in recovery inquiries like these.
We Spy Data Loss in the Wild 007
9 November 2012
We couldn’t help but ‘spy’ data loss in the wild. The new James Bond film is arriving in theaters and we noticed this in the trailer. Hard drive gone missing, Mr. Bond?
Data Loss Toy Story - Crisis at Pixar Averted
14 May 2012
This starts off sounding like every customer phone call we get every day. Pixar Animation Studio’s brush with a data loss disaster during the making of their film Toy Story 2.
Click through to watch this great video!
Data Disaster Impacts felt across Asia, Recovery confidence not that high [Infographic]
8 May 2012
As the amount of data the world is producing and needing to store continues to multiply, its value to corporate business operations is also increasing. In the Asia-Pacific regions, with economic growth and turbulence all the same, the importance of minimizing disruption and maximizing business continuity prospects when problems occur remains.
EMC released the results of a survey on the topic today. Check out the various areas where data loss and the lack of confidence in recovery affects business in AsiaPac regions.
Critical Business Data Remains Vulnerable to Attack, Natural Disaster
3 April 2012
It’s Spring! Time to review & renew your business continuity plan. According to a recent survey of small and medium business owners and IT decision makers, businesses are leaving themselves increasingly vulnerable to the loss of data and the potential for a privacy breach.
The revelations come from a recent survey commissioned by Primus Business Services, which shows nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of participating small and medium businesses invest less than 10 per cent of their budgets in data security…
Depending on Data: Downtime and the Domino Effect
12 May 2011
Depending on data is a part of business life in the 21st Century. Our dependency comes from the fact that it is often key to the successful operation of business. When data loss incidents and outages occur, they start a chain of consequences that occur one after another, like a sequence of dominos falling – aptly described as the domino effect of data loss.
Data is Resilient: Severe Weather Storm Tips for Your Hard Drive
28 April 2011
In severe weather and storms, when it comes to data on digital devices – all may not be lost. Here are some of our best tips and recommendations for when the clean-up begins to save storm-damaged computers and get data recovered.
Hate Doing Your Taxes? Avoid Electronic Tax Data Headaches
11 April 2011
North Americans hate to pay taxes and more and more of us try to alleviate the nuisance by filing our income tax returns electronically. Submitting tax returns electronically, or ‘e-filing’ is more popular every year. As the deadlines to prepare and file income tax returns approach, you do not want to increase your stress with extra electronic headaches.
Disaster Recovery: More Planning, Less Downtime
6 July 2009
Symantec recently released their 4th annual report on disaster recovery and the news is good, mostly. More organizations are planning and awareness is growing.
Financial Markets, Cars and Computers
30 June 2009
Q) What do financial markets, cars and computers have in common?
A) They crash.
When the markets crash, people suffer real financial losses.
When automobiles crash, people suffer serious injuries.
When computers crash, people lose their data.
Data Recovery: What Not to Do
22 June 2009
Data recovery typically occurs in an emotional climate of great distress. Keeping this in mind, it is important to refrain from certain impulses…
Avoid Looking for "Quick" Fixes to Data Loss Problems
19 June 2009
A data loss crisis can erode an organization’s self-confidence. Organizations can mitigate the threat of data loss by taking these three steps
Data Recovery vs Data Restoration
10 June 2009
Data recovery is frequently confused with data restoration. In data restoration, data is brought back from backup media sources. In data recovery, there is no data backup.
Recovery in the Recession
8 June 2009
It was noted on itbusiness.ca that “Recent Gartner survey data of 475 IT decision makers in global enterprises with 1,000 or more employees found that more companies are actually postponing or scaling back computing projects rather than canceling them outright.”
“That might be so,” states Kalle Almer, Director of Business...
Backup Computers Before School's Out
4 June 2009
Summer is almost here. School will be out. The kids will be home and looking for things to do. There’s a good chance you will find them sitting in front of a computer(s).
Bits, Bytes and Blush
15 May 2009
Can data live to see another day after a laptop crashes to the ground?
March Madness - Rebounding Fouled or Blocked Drives
20 March 2009
The best defense against data loss is to regularly back up your PC or laptop. However, you can’t bury your head in the silicon. The unexpected can and will happen. It’s not a matter of if data loss disaster will strike; it’s simply a matter of when. One day you will lose data.
Hate to pay taxes, but love to file income tax returns electronically?
13 March 2009
North Americans hate to pay taxes, but more and more of us love to file our income tax returns electronically.
CBL Data Recovery reminds North Americans who will file their returns electronically to backup their computers.
Keep a Lid on IT
5 February 2009
...resist the temptation to tamper with or hand over the drive to anyone but a professional data recovery specialist…
Saving Bits Can Earn You Bucks
2 February 2009
If you now find yourself back on the job market, here is an opportunity to earn money while you continue your search for a new job —The “CBL Data Recovery Advantage Partner Program”
IT Resellers: Lost Data Is Found Revenue
16 January 2009
So what does a reseller of IT goods and services do to generate a profit in these challenging economic times?
While it currently may be a challenge to sell a new IT solution to replace a company’s existing infrastructure, there are ongoing opportunities which emerge from customers who keep their older systems: it’s not a matter IF data loss will happen; it’s simply a matter of WHEN.
Can you afford to be without your data?
14 January 2009
Hard drives don’t discriminate. Whether the economy is in a recession or a boom, no one is immune to data loss. It’s never a matter of IF data loss will happen; it’s simply a matter of WHEN.
SITEX 2008 in the bag
10 December 2008
Hopefully (if you were in Singapore) you made your way to SITEX 2008 and the CBL booth. This year had more of everything, including visitors.
Holiday Travelers Beware: Tips for travelers who put critical information at risk during the holidays
9 December 2008
Will you be heading home with your notebook for the holidays later this month? Will you be staying home and continue to commute and compute with your laptop daily? Regardless, be vigilant and protect your data.
Humpty Couldn't, But Your Data Can Survive A Crash
20 November 2008
If Humpty Dumpty had been working on his laptop while he was sitting on the wall when he had his great fall, we know that all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. But what about data on his laptop? Could...
Holiday Gift Idea for the Tech Savvy Person on Your List
13 November 2008
Looking for a unique gift for the geek or nerd in your family?
At a loss as to what to buy a tech savvy friend this holiday season? You know the guy or gal who owns a couple of computers and is always being called upon to take...
The Day His Infallible RAID Array Failed
7 November 2008
Have you ever asked yourself, “What would I do if I lost everything that I’ve stored on my computer for the last 15 years?” Well, one CBL Data Recovery customer did.
Save Data. Dispel Data Recovery Myths.
29 October 2008
Data recovery is not simple or straightforward. Data loss can occur for numerous reasons. Just as numerous are misconceptions about the data recovery process.
Aftermath of Hurricane Ike - Data on Storm-Damaged Computers May Be Recoverable
15 September 2008
As residents of the Greater Houston Area begin the cleanup after Hurricane Ike’s devastation, consumers and business owners alike who discover storm- and water-damaged computers in their homes and offices should follow this advice.
If you have family or friends in the Houston area, let them know they can...
Does Your Computer Vendor's "Service Recovery" Include Your Data?
12 September 2008
Have you ever had the occasion to call a vendor to express your dissatisfaction with its product or service that you purchased? What reaction did you get from the staff? Did they pay you lip service and simply ignore your complaints? Did the vendor live up...
A Day Without Data is Like a Day Without Sunshine
22 August 2008
Floridians would agree that Fay’s departure is long overdue. Her visit to the Sunshine State has been accompanied by horrific gale-force winds and record rainfall. In fact, Bloomberg News reported in an article that Fay has dumped almost 30 inches (76 centimeters) of...
Data Loss Disasters Strike at Any Time. Do You Have an Emergency Data Recovery Plan?
21 August 2008
In the early hours of August 10, 2008, a horrific propane explosion occurred at a Sunrise Propane facility in the Toronto neighborhood of Downsview. Thousands of people evacuated the area. The majority of residents have since returned to their homes and the clean up and rebuilding of lives continues.
Back to School Advice for Parents (and Students with Laptops, too)
20 August 2008
In today’s world of e-gadgets, a new or used laptop or personal computer may also be on the Back-to-School shopping list.
Here’s some advice for parents.
The Computer Mechanics talk Backup and Data Loss
13 August 2008
You Can’t Use it if you Lose It: A prequel episode of The Computer Mechanics where they talk data backup and data loss
Goodbye Dolly; Hello CBL
25 July 2008
As business owners and individuals in Southern Texas bid Hurricane Dolly farewell and good riddance, many will discover flood-damaged computers and cameras.
If you find yourself in such a predicament,
- do not assume that the files on your computer or memory card are lost;
- do not attempt to use...
Strange Recoveries: Ant Attraction
15 May 2008
Occasionally CBL gets interesting projects. If you live in the Houston, TX area you may have heard the news of the unique ant problem some residents have been experiencing. It is believed that a species of ants usually found in the Caribbean and South America arrived...
Data Loss is No Joke
25 March 2008
Data loss is no joke. While best practices can prevent the loss of data, many individuals fail to backup their data.
Consider these individuals. If computers had been around in their day, could you imagine the predicaments that they would have been in?
- George Washington to Martha: I cannot...
5 Steps to Rapid Recovery When Your 5x9 RAID Fails
6 March 2008
RAIDs. Whether you call it a Redundant Array of Independent or Inexpensive Disks, one thing is for certain. Your organization is very dependent on your RAID and the data that is stored on its hard drives.
While hardware vendors or VARs sell customers on a RAID’s fault tolerance...
Compute While You Commute
7 February 2008
Laptops continue to populate our IT-landscape in growing numbers. The convenience that laptops afford us, the choice of applications available, and declining price are compelling reasons individuals and organizations are embracing laptops rather than their more sedimentary PC cousins. And, we cannot dismiss the growing trend of the...
Heads and Tales: CBL Rescues and Preserves Data for Environmentalists Committed to the Rescue and Preservation of the Costa Rican Rainforest.
31 January 2008
CBL Rescues and Preserves Data for Environmentalists Committed to the Rescue and Preservation of the Costa Rican Rainforest.
For individuals who have had the good fortune of traveling to one of the most bio-diverse and less explored regions which still remains on the planet, the Durika Biological Reserve of Costa...
The Need For Data Recovery
24 January 2008
Data recovery is one of those services you will always need. It is one of those services that, despite any preventative measures you take, you will require at some point. You can make countless backups, you can have several UPS power supplies, even have every security software available...
Dangers of DIY Data Recovery
11 January 2008
Sometimes a little bit of knowledge can lead to bad things. Often we get calls from IT professionals who require data recovery services. As they explain the symptoms of the failure they proceed to explain what they have already attempted. This is when a $500 recovery can turn into...
Yes, Virginia, Your Holiday Photos can be Rescued
13 December 2007
Don’t let data loss ruin your holidays.
Forty years ago, beaming mothers queued up at local drug or department stores to have their children, dressed in their finest clothing, photographed on Santa Claus’ knee, a memory forever captured on glossy paper and displayed once a year on the coffee table or...
Heads and Tales: When he lost data, Kardinal Offishall did the right thing.
6 December 2007
When Kardinal Offishall, the Juno Award winner and Canada’s “hip-hop ambassador”, discovered that he could no longer access files required for an imminent recording session at an US studio later the same week, he did the right thing. He called CBL Data Recovery.
CBL technicians...
Heads and Tales: For 24 hours, CBL is THE Hub
6 December 2007
For 24 hours, CBL is THE Hub.
Canada’s data recovery specialist comes to hubcanada.com’s rescue.
For small business owners, the end of the business day rarely finishes at five o’clock. In fact, taking work home to complete or review at the end of the day or on the weekend has...
When a backup drive is not a "backup"
28 November 2007
Many times we get customers who bring in their external drives just after a crash. Often the external drive is referred to as their “backup”.
“I copied all of my data to my backup and it failed …”
Well, what about your original data? You mean this was your only copy?...
Heads and Tales: Out of the Ashes
5 November 2007
Rare Music Files Rescued from Severely Damaged Hard Drive
In June 2007, vintage music store, M.C. Productions Vintage Recordings, in the City of Penticton in British Columbia’s beautiful Okanagan Valley was destroyed in a fire. Owner Mickey Clark lost all of the CDs he had compiled from his massive...
Attention California Residents and CBL Customers
24 October 2007
As wildfires continue to ravage Southern California, CBL Data Recovery’s San Diego County laboratory remains open. CBL reminds computer users throughout the country that data can often be recovered successfully from fire-damaged storage media.
Doug Owens, Managing Director of CBL’s laboratory in El Cajon...
You can weather the storm, but can you weather data loss?
17 August 2007
You may know them as Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin or Flossie. No, they’re not the finalists on the popular television programs “So You Think You Can Dance” or “American Idol”. They are the tropical storms that have or are threatening to make land fall during the
The Ten Commandments of Data Loss Prevention
17 August 2007
In the August 16, 2007 edition of The Globe and Mail, columnist Jack Kapica brings to his readers’ attention some interesting research results from California-based Strategic Research Corp. in his article, What if your backup needs backup?
Three main causes of data loss...
Attention Students: Don't put your data at risk
9 August 2007
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company stated in a July 23, 2007 press release that “according to recent surveys of college students 97% own a computer, 94% a cell phone and 56% an MP3 player. Moreover, a recent Alloy College Explorer Study found...
Be Prepared.
2 August 2007
Organizations of any size can and do experience data loss on a daily basis which can severely impact business continuity. Hence, all organizations should include data recovery as part of their disaster recovery plans.
Security Matters, a magazine for small to medium-sized businesses, features a number of articles which address...
Heads and Tales: Data Loss Demystified for JargonMaster - Part 1
23 July 2007
One Friday afternoon, Simon Sharwood got a lesson in karma.
“I nipped away from my computer to check the cricket score on television,” says the freelance journalist and copywriter and owner of JargonMaster Corporate, a Sydney, Australia-based writing business.
“When I came back, my PC had reverted to DOS mode...
Heads and Tales: When Data Loss Disaster Strikes, Don't Shutter.
20 July 2007
When Malcolm Rose’s digital camera stopped detecting the SD Card containing the photographs he had taken, he was worried the memories of the family vacation to Paris were lost forever. Upon his return home to Ottawa, one of Mr. Rose’s first priorities was to investigate whether someone could salvage...
Heads and Tales: PR Firm Turns to CBL to Retrieve Data
19 July 2007
“The day it happened couldn’t have been worse from a timing perspective,” said David Bosworth, a senior public relations consultant with C2E Consulting describing the experience of losing access to all the files on his desktop PC when his four-year-old, 120GB hard drive crashed.
“It was one of the busiest times...
Giving Back to the Community and Giving Back Data
10 July 2007
Faith-based organizations often rely on volunteers for their IT needs, so when a system crashes and access to important files such as membership lists, financial records or e-mail newsletters on a hard drive is denied, the good intentions of staff and volunteers can have serious results.
While we recommend to organizations...
Will the Summer of 2007 Damage Your Data?
29 June 2007
Residents of some cities are already hearing and reading pleas from municipal officials restrict water consumption and to reduce their power consumption and the summer of 2007 is only one week old. Blackouts and brownouts have already occurred as air conditioners and fans are working overtime to keep workers...
Data: Resilient and Recoverable
26 June 2007
In a press release issued in February 2007, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association reported that “Government figures suggest nearly one in five businesses suffers a major disruption every year. Further research suggests 80% of businesses affected by a major incident close down within 18 months, and 90% of those who...
Business Continuity = Data
6 June 2007
Many businesses and government agencies have implemented business continuity plans that include data backup to minimize downtime during a disaster or other unforeseen disruptions, but many organizations don’t realize data loss can occur despite having backup technology.
In May 2007, A&T came out with some key finding in its
Heads and Tales: CBL Found the File No Other Company Could
10 May 2007
Marianne Richmond, owner of Marianne Richmond Studios in Minneapolis, had almost given up on data recovery specialists when her personal computer’s hard drive failed last year. Nobody could find the only file she desperately wanted — her personal journal for the past 10 years.
Her 500-page journal was crammed...
Data Recovery Firms Come and Go
8 May 2007
If you’re shopping for a data recovery firm, you have discovered it is a highly competitive market. A search for “ data recovery services “ on google.com returned approximately 77,900,000 results.
So how do you make sense of it all??
To start, ask yourself some simple questions:
1)...
Heads and Tales: The Digital Journal and the Data Recovery Journey
5 May 2007
Whether your journal is a personal diary, like the one CBL Data Recovery rescued for Marianne Richmond, mother and business owner, when all other companies’ attempts failed, or a popular social-networking site like DigitalJournal.com, data loss can cripple an organization.
Digital Journal shared with its members the ups and...
