5 Ways to Recover Your Lost Data on Any Device

5 ways to recover your lost data on any device

5 Ways to Recover Your Lost Data on Any Device

There’s nothing quite like realizing you’ve just lost all your essential files to throw you into a frenzied panic. However, losing data does not have to be the reason you start breathing into a paper bag just yet.

“Well then, how can I retrieve my lost data?” You may be wondering, “Will it be lost forever?” Usually? No.

Just keep your fingers crossed that your files aren’t lost in cyberspace.

Data loss can happen for several reasons, such as accidental deletion, failed hard drive, malware attack, or even human error (e.g., accidentally formatting a vital file). Whatever the reason may be, there are some steps that you can take to prevent data loss before it happens.

 

Ways to Restore Lost Data

Luckily, there are many ways to ensure you don’t lose your data when your computer crashes.

 

1.    Don’t Panic

The first thing you need to do is stay calm. Panic will not help you solve this problem, so try to relax and think clearly about what happened. If you know precisely when the data was last accessed and where it went missing, that’s even better!

If you can’t find any clues about what happened, try searching for them online — chances are someone else may have experienced similar problems with their devices or software in the past and already asked Google about it.

 

2.    Back-Up and Restore

Imagine that your computer crashes, and you lose all the files on your hard drive. How many hours will it take to get your data back? It’s not an easy question to answer.

If you have a good backup, the answer is “not long at all.” If you don’t have a good backup, it could take days or weeks to get everything back.

The most important thing you can do for your computer is back up your data. Backing up means making copies of important files and storing them somewhere other than on the computer where they were created. This protects against loss due to hardware failure, software problems, or human error.

You can back up your files by copying them onto an external hard drive or flash drive or by saving them in the cloud (e.g., DropBox). Here’s how to do both:

  • Backup Your Files with an External Hard Drive – This is the most common type of backup because it’s easy to set up and use and works even if your computer breaks down completely. Just plug the external hard drive into your computer’s USB ports, then copy all your important files onto it using Windows Explorer or any other file manager app (like Total Commander). You can also back up any external hard drives using this method!
  • Back-Up with Cloud storage: Cloud storage means storing files on remote servers instead of local ones. It’s a great way to back up important documents because they’ll always be accessible from any device with an internet connection, even if something happens to your computer or mobile device. Services like Dropbox and Box offer free versions with limited storage space.

 

3.    Try Recovery Software

Recovery software is one of the most effective ways to recover lost data from your device.

It is a type of data recovery software that allows users to recover their data from any device, such as smartphones, laptops, or computers. The primary purpose of this software is to find and recover lost files from the storage drives of your computer system. This software can also recover photos and videos from memory cards, internal storage devices, and hard drives.

To recover lost data from your device, you must download this software first. You can do so by visiting their website or by searching for it online. Once you are on their website, you can choose the product that best suits your needs and install it on your computer or device.

Once the installation process is complete, launch the program and follow the steps listed to recover your lost data.

 

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4.    Restore Recycle Bin

When you delete a file or folder from your hard disc, it does not simply vanish. All deleted objects in Windows are saved in the Recycle Bin, which serves as a backup in case you unintentionally remove something important. To recover a deleted item from the Recycle Bin, open it and look for the thing you want. The item will be restored to its original location if you right-click it and select Restore.

This option is available in every version of Windows, including Windows 10 and 8.1. To restore your deleted data from the recycle bin, open it up by right-clicking on your desktop or going to Start > Recycle Bin.

In the window that opens up, click on the recycle bin icon at the top left corner of the window. Now select all files and folders that you want to restore, and then click on Restore from the main menu bar at the top of this window.

 

5.    Restoring Data from Crashed Hardware

If your hard drive fails, immediately shut down your computer and unplug it from power. If it’s possible to remove the hard drive without turning on the computer, do so right away. Once it’s released, don’t touch it — static electricity can damage its contents.

Next, open up your desktop tower or laptop (depending on what kind of computer you have). If there’s more than one hard drive inside your machine, ensure that the other drives aren’t damaged before touching anything else. It may be necessary to turn off the power completely before opening up some devices; check their owners’ manuals for instructions on how to do this safely.

 

Final Words

Data loss can be stressful, but you can get through it by following our tips and preparing for the inevitable. There are a variety of methods for recovering data from a device. Creating a backup is most often the more effective approach to ensure that you can restore your data. Data recovery software packages can also assist you if you have lost data. You can even visit a data recovery specialist with your hard drive.

Even if you have a data recovery plan, unexpected issues can pop up and render your data irretrievable. You’ll need to turn to a data recovery professional for assistance in these cases. Protected Harbor Data Recovery services have the tools and experience to get your data back if it has been corrupted or deleted. They also have the know-how to keep your data safe from future mishaps by recommending ways to improve your data security. If you are in the process of hiring a data recovery service, make sure they have experience with your specific type of data. The last thing you want is to hire a service that is unfamiliar with your data and then struggles to get your data back.

Our Protected Harbor team is expert at recovering data from all devices, including smartphones, desktops, laptop computers, servers, and tablets. They can also securely dispose of your old devices to prevent data leaks.

Contact us today to get a loss-proof data backup and recovery solution.

How do I Recover Lost Data?

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How do I Recover Lost Data?

Despite the apparent stability of modern computers, businesses and consumers continue to lose critical data. Even the most costly, high-quality hardware and trustworthy software can’t ensure that your PC or laptop will never fail. Data loss is the inability to access data at its regular location via a standard program due to software/hardware failures or user errors.

For organizations of all sizes, data loss is a significant issue— losing files means losing time and money trying to restore or recover critical information for your operation. Data loss occurs when data is accidentally destroyed or tampered with. People and software can make data illegible owing to infections, physical damage, or formatting issues. The loss of documents and files can have a long-term financial impact on your company.

 

Common Causes of Data Loss

Computer users have a wide range of options for storing their data. However, the more convenient a choice is, the more likely it is that you could lose your data. Here are some of the most common reasons why data is lost.

1. Human Failure

Human error is a leading cause of data loss, especially when backing up your data. Many people forget to back up their data or don’t know how to do it properly — and then wonder why they lose it all.

2. Hard Drive Failures

There are several reasons why hard drives fail or crash. One of the most common is age – as hard drives get older, they become less reliable and more likely to crash or fail. Another reason could be a power surge during a storm or other natural disaster that damages your computer and files. Any important documents stored on your computer could be permanently damaged beyond repair if this happens.

3. Malware Infection

When malware infects your computer, it can cause damage to your files as well as those belonging to your business organization. The most common type of malware is ransomware (such as Locky), which encrypts all files on your computer, making them inaccessible until you pay a ransom to the hackers who infected them in the first place!

4. Software Corruption

This is the most common cause of data loss. Software corruption can be due to a virus, a power surge, or even an incorrect installation. Sometimes, it’s simply because you’ve been using your computer for too long, and it’s time for an upgrade.

5. Theft

Whether it’s theft by a person or the server, it can quickly be taken away from you if your data is not protected. You might think this is unlikely to happen to you, but the truth is that if someone wanted your files bad enough, they would find a way to get them. This cause is on the rise. In 2020, there were 1001 data breaches in the United States. Meanwhile, over 155.8 million people were affected by data exposures in the same year, defined as the unintentional disclosure of sensitive information owing to inadequate information security.

6. Computer Viruses

Computer viruses are explicitly designed to destroy valuable information and render computers useless. If a virus gets into your system undetected and isn’t removed quickly enough (or at all), it can wreak havoc on your hard drive and destroy your files without warning!

7. Natural Disasters

Natural disasters can also cause data loss if your computer isn’t protected against them by a reliable backup service. A fire or flood could destroy your computer equipment and damage any hard drives stored inside it, causing you to lose your precious data forever if you haven’t backed up recently.

 

How-do-i-recover-lost-data-26-oct-middle-imageRecovering Lost Data

If you’ve ever lost your data for any reason, you know how frustrating it can be, and it’s even more frustrating when it’s something you’ve been working on for days, weeks, or even months. Thankfully, deleting a file isn’t necessarily the end of the world. Here are some ways through which you can recover your lost data.

●  Recover Deleted Files from the Recycle Bin

If you’ve accidentally erased something, you should first check the Windows Recycle Bin. Windows do not attempt to delete a file when you select it and press the Delete key (or right-click and choose the Delete option from the menu).

It instead sends it to the Recycle Bin, which has its desktop icon. Double-clicking on the desktop icon to view the contents, then right-clicking on the file and selecting Restore from the menu makes restoring a file from the Recycle Bin a breeze.

●  Retrieve Deleted Files with any Third Party Software

If you deleted files and later realized that you needed them, then use third-party software to retrieve deleted files. Much free software is available online to help you with this task. But they will not be able to recover all types of files. Some only work for images, music, videos, and other multimedia files, while others can recover documents, emails, and much more.

●  Recovering Data from a failing SSD or Hard Drive

After debunking the fallacy that deleted and corrupted files are lost forever, we now focus on the problem every PC user fears: hard disc failure. This might appear in various ways, but in general, Windows will refuse to start, even in Safe Mode, and turning on your computer may result in unwanted clicking noises. As a result, you risk losing not just a handful of your most important data but the entire contents of the drive.

Hard discs are frequently suggested to be repaired by placing them in the freezer. While this has been known to work in the past, bringing the drive back to life long enough to extract the most crucial files, it only works for particular faults.

●  Using Backups to Restore

Backups are an excellent safeguard for your important files and will come in handy if you experience data loss. You may be able to restore your lost files by utilizing backup media if you follow best practices and make frequent backups of your data. This means that backups are created between when the files are first loaded onto your computer and when they are deleted.

 

Final Words

The truth is that it is possible to restore deleted data. However, the success of recovering deleted files will depend on many factors. The first factor is how recently the files were deleted. Another factor affecting restoring your data is whether the file system was formatted before or after deletion. And yet another factor to keep in mind is whether the hard drive has been overwritten with new data.

If you need help with data backup, recovery, and management, or you need assistance putting procedures in place to protect your data and maintain business continuity. Call in the experts. Call Protected Harbor. Our enterprise-grade isolated backup and data recovery services are unparalleled in the industry. We understand the importance of data and have helped numerous companies retrieve their data. Not only recovering data but making it secure is also our main focus so that you never have to think about your data.

Protected Harbor can assist you by providing skilled specialists who can design and implement your desired solutions. We test your infrastructure for the leak points with pen-testing and vulnerability testing, ensuring regular backups and restore services. Want to know how we do it? Book a free IT Audit today.

12 Common Reasons Why Your Data Gets Lost

12 reasons why your data gets lost

12 Common Reasons Why Your Data Gets Lost

Have you accidentally deleted an important work file or maybe even lost your precious vacation pictures from this past year with your family? These unfortunate events can be devastating, and we have all experienced the feeling of dread that comes along with losing a file. The loss of data is not usually the result of external attacks. All it takes is one negligent employee’s activity or a simple technical failure to wipe out all your essential data.

To choose a recovery method, you must understand how and why data is lost.

Common Reasons for Data Loss

Here are some common reasons for data loss.

  1. Hardware Failure
    Hardware failures can lead to data loss in many ways. A hard drive crash is the most common type of hardware failure, but other types can also result in data loss. For example, a power surge or lightning strike could damage your computer’s motherboard or circuit board. If your computer doesn’t have a surge protector, it could be damaged by a power outage or brownout (a voltage drop). It’s also possible that a virus or other malware could damage your computer’s operating system or corrupt files on any attached storage devices, such as USB drives.
  2. Software Corruption
    The operating system’s or applications’ corruption can cause file system damage and lost data. This is often a result of bugs or viruses that corrupt your data files. These bugs are typically found in software programs or drivers used to run your computer’s hardware.
  3. User Error
    User error is another prevalent type of data loss, especially among home users who don’t understand computers very well. Education and training are the best ways to prevent this data loss. If you have a friend who doesn’t know much about computers but wants to learn, get involved in backing up their important files so they understand why it is essential for them to do so.
  4. Malicious Action
    If you have sensitive company or personal information stored on your computer, you must ensure that no one else has access to your machine. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. If you’re not careful, someone could hack into your device and delete files without you knowing about it until it’s too late. This is especially true if you use public Wi-Fi hotspots and don’t protect yourself with a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A hacker could quickly gain access to your computer and steal any sensitive information.
  5. Overwriting Data
    For the computer to store information, it needs a way to write on the hard drive and keep track of where everything is located so it knows where to find it later. When you delete files, they aren’t erased from the disk until you overwrite them with new data. If you don’t overwrite them with new data, they remain on the disk until they’re overwritten by something else — which could be years later! If someone gets their hands on your computer when there’s still old data on the disk waiting to be overwritten, they could recover that old information in some instances.
  6. Accidental Deletion
    Accidentally deletion occurs when people try to remove files from their computers but delete them by mistake. This often happens when trying to remove malware or other unwanted programs that have infected their computer systems. Even if they think they’ve deleted all traces of the infection, they might be mistaken; certain types of malware are designed to hide until they cause further damage to your system.
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  7. Hacker Attacks and Data Theft
    Data thieves use sophisticated techniques to get their hands on information they can sell or use themselves. This includes using malware to infiltrate your system, stealing passwords and other login credentials, or gaining access by posing as an employee or contractor. These attacks can cause significant damage, so you must take steps to secure your data and protect against them as much as possible.
  8. Viruses and Malware
    Viruses and other malicious software (malware) can completely corrupt or delete your files. Viruses can also infect your computer’s operating system, leading to other problems. Contact a professional immediately if you suspect your device has been infected with a virus or other malicious software.
    Protected Harbor
    can protect your business from infection from ransomware, viruses, useless subscriptions, phishing attacks, and end-user problems, making your IT as strong as Protected Harbor does your business.
  9. Accidents Involving Fires and Explosions
    Explosions are uncommon, but fire will almost certainly utterly destroy your computer and any data stored on it. The backups kept in the same residence are likewise at risk from fire. For example, having weekly backups on an external hard drive held in the same building won’t assist much if the building burns down. The computer and the backup disc will be destroyed in this instance, and all data will be lost. Making regular backups and keeping them in other (different) locations is the safest strategy against fire.
  10.   Power Failures
    A sudden power outage could cause your computer to lose data if it was writing an update when the power went out. This can be especially problematic if you’re storing all your data on one drive because there will be no duplicate copies stored elsewhere. Other causes include faulty batteries or power surges that cause damage to hardware components.
  11.   Memory Corruption
    A bug in your code causes an unexpected result that might corrupt memory, leading to problems with reading or writing data stored in memory.
  12.   Liquid Damage
    Water or any other liquid getting into your computer or digital device can cause permanent damage and make it impossible for you to re-access your files. For example, most hard drives will not be able to read the information on a damaged platter, even if the rest of the campaign is still working fine. If you spill water on your laptop while it’s running, there’s a good chance you’ll lose all of your data because moisture can cause corrosion inside your laptop’s internal components.

Final Words

As it turns out, data loss can happen in several ways, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chance of this happening to you. It’s always important to make regular backups of your information—never keep all your eggs in one basket. Also, remember to secure sensitive information correctly especially if you’re dealing with sensitive data.

Protected Harbor enables you to store data in multiple locations and ensure that your data is safe in case any location is affected by a critical disaster. It also keeps your data protected by monitoring and securing it from viruses and other malicious software. This solution also enables you to set up a disaster recovery plan so that your business does not incur any loss of data.

Above, we have listed the most common reasons as to how and why you can lose your data; you need to be proactive and take the proper measures to secure your data. Consider partnering with a data expert like Protected Harbor. We understand that data is important; that’s why we help you keep it safe.

Get free data penetration testing, including hardware check, and Protected Harbor today.

5 Emergency Hard Drive Recovery Solutions

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5 Emergency Hard Drive Recovery Solutions

 

We’ve all used them, and we’ve all had problems with them. Of course, we’re referring to hard drives, which are just as crucial in our personal and professional life as the computers on which they run.

The most significant drawback of hard drives (both HDDs and SSDs) is their low reliability. According to Backblaze, cloud storage and data backup firm, the Annualized Hard Drive Failure Rate (AFR) for 2022 is expected to be approximately 1.45%, which indicates that more than one out of every 100 hard drives will fail over a year.

Hard drive failure can strike at any time and without warning. When it does, it can be devastating, mainly if the drive contains essential data that has not been backed up. Fortunately, several emergency hard drive recovery solutions can be used to salvage data from a failing drive. If you’re worried that your current cloud storage provider won’t be around if your data is lost, or you are concerned that your data may be at risk due to a natural disaster or another unforeseen event, then you’ve come to the right place.

 

What is a Hard Drive Recovery Solution?

A hard drive recovery solution is a process of retrieving data from a damaged or inaccessible hard drive. Data loss has many potential causes, including physical damage, logical damage, virus attacks, and software corruption. In most cases, data can be recovered using specialized software and techniques. Among the different recovery solutions available, the best one for you will depend on the damage to your hard drive and the amount of data you need to recover.

 

Emergency Hard Drive Recovery Solutions

Emergency hard drives recovery solutions are crucial when recovering data from a failed or damaged hard drive. Here are five of the most effective methods:

 

1. Disk Imaging

Hard drive failure can be devastating, especially if critical data is lost. To avoid further damage and preserve as much data as possible, disk imaging should be performed. Disk imaging involves creating an exact copy of the damaged hard drive. This copy can then be used for recovery purposes. Hard drive recovery solutions can be used to recover data from the image, or the image can be used to create a new hard drive. Either way, disk imaging is an essential step in hard drive recovery.

 

2. Data Carving

Data carving may be a successful solution even when other methods have failed. Data carving involves scanning the hard drive for known file types and extracting them. This method can be successful because it does not rely on the file system to locate the files. Instead, it looks for specific patterns that are known to be associated with certain file types. As a result, data carving can effectively recover lost files from a damaged hard drive. Hard drive recovery solutions can be complex, but data carving is a simple and effective method that anyone can use.

 

Emergency-Hard-Drive-Recovery-Solutions middle3. Firmware Updates

In some cases, updating the firmware on a hard drive can enable it to be recognized by the computer and allow data to be recovered. The manufacturer usually updates the firmware, but sometimes it can be done by the user. Firmware updates can be found on the manufacturer’s website or on a CD that comes with the hard drive.

Instructions on updating the firmware can also be found on the manufacturer’s website. In most cases, it is best to leave the firmware update to be done by the manufacturer. However, if the user feels comfortable doing it, they can follow the instructions with the update. Once the firmware has been updated, it is essential to run a test to ensure that the data can be recovered from the hard drive. If not, there may be something wrong with the hard drive, and a professional should be consulted.

 

4. Consult with a Specialist

While many do-it-yourself data recovery solutions are available, these are often ineffective and can even cause further damage to your hard drive. A data recovery specialist like Protected Harbor will have the tools and knowledge necessary to safely and effectively recover your lost data. In addition, they will be able to advise you on the best way to prevent data loss in the future. As such, consulting with a professional data recovery specialist is the best way to ensure that your lost data is recovered and that you are prepared for future data loss.

 

5. Reformatting

You may be considering reformatting as a last resort option. This process will erase all data on the drive, but it can sometimes enable the drive to be used again. Before reformatting, you should always back up any important files you don’t want to lose. Once you’ve backed up your data, reformatting is a relatively simple process. However, it’s important to note that reformatting will not fix any underlying problems with the hard drive.

If the drive fails due to physical damage, reformatting will not repair the damage. In some cases, reformatting can even make physical damage worse. As a result, reformatting should only be attempted if all other options have failed and you’re willing to accept the risk of losing all data on the hard drive.

 

Final Words

In the event of a hard drive crash, there are several solutions to consider to try and recover your data. While some solutions may be more successful, it is essential to try various methods to increase your chances of recovering as much data as possible. If you have experienced a hard drive failure, don’t panic – start by trying one or more of these emergency hard drive recovery solutions. In most cases, data can be recovered using specialized software and techniques.

However, in some cases, data may be permanently lost due to severe physical damage or corrupt file system structures. If you have lost essential data from your hard drive, it is crucial to seek professional help from reputable providers like Protected Harbor as soon as possible. Their qualified data recovery solutions will be able to assess the extent of the damage and recommend the best course of action. In many cases, data can be successfully recovered even if the hard drive is severely damaged. A data backup and disaster recovery plan are also essential to prevent such situations from happening again. Our experts also suggest a regular restore functionality check.

If you are a business with a critical need for data continuity and considering buying a stand-alone device for data backup in an emergency, there is a better option. You can get an enterprise-grade external hard drive or a cloud solution from Protected Harbor and set it up as a data recovery vault. This way, you’ll have it ready to go in case of emergency, and you won’t have to worry about the possibility of data loss.

Want to know how our isolated backup and disaster recovery is one of the best in the industry? Contact our experts who are available to assist you 24×7, and you get a free IT audit as well.

What’s a fully managed backup and data recovery service

whats a fully managed backup and data recovery service

 

What’s a fully managed backup and data recovery service

 

fully managed backupData backups are the core of the online business. Through data backup and recovery, you can create and store copies of your business data that you can use to protect your organization against data loss. Data backup aims to recover the lost data due to a primary data failure caused by a malicious attack, hardware or software failure, data corruption, or accidental deletion of data.

You often hear about major data breaches and incidents that render your data unusable and inaccessible. These can cause downtime to your business and other critical issues. Whether you lose data due to a malicious attack, an human error, or a system failure, you should have a data recovery plan.

Protected Harbor data backup and recovery is a fully managed service and a comprehensive solution to restore and backup data. We help you face your security challenges by providing a secure backup solution to recover data loss, whether on-premise, cloud, or hybrid. Our on-premise services save data directly to your BDR appliance, and we use additional offsite backups for protecting cloud services.

Our services not only recover your business from downtime but also keep it running continuously through every disaster, from human errors to malicious attacks. Protected Harbor’s fully managed services will combine data backup and recovery into a single comprehensive plan if you want to cover all of your bases.

 

On-premise backup and disaster recovery solution

It is essential to understand that backup and disaster recovery are crucial to minimizing the outcomes of unexpected downtime on your business. Organizations can lose revenue due to data loss caused by natural disasters, security breaches, human error, and ransomware attacks. Any rest in the industry can hinder customer interaction, reduce employee productivity, halt business processes, and destroy data.

There is a need to understand the importance of backup and disaster recovery. For this, you have to differentiate between both. Backup is a process of creating extra copies of data, while disaster recovery refers to the quick restore access to IT resources, applications, and data after an outage.

On-premise backup and disaster recovery processes can help you restore data rapidly. Keeping sensitive data on-premise may seem appealing while complying with strict privacy and data regulations. Disaster recovery from an on-premise environment can be challenging because your entire data center would be impacted if a power outage or natural disaster hit.

Protected Harbor backup and disaster recovery services offer a comprehensive, fully managed solution to handle on-premise backup. BDR framework is a dynamic process that helps organizations prepare for uncontrollable events. Our IT professionals make strategic plans to store and backup data securely and eliminate risks.

 

Cloud-based BDR service

There is no way to analyze and predict the future. Due to the rise in cyber-attacks, hardware and software malfunction, natural disasters, and data breaches have become essential to back up and recover data to prevent downtime in your business. Gone are the days when companies used manual recovery methods. Now, BDR solutions provide fast, secure, monitored, and rapid data backup and recovery through a cloud-based architecture.

Protected Harbor guarantees you can access applications and data anywhere, even during a major disaster. Today’s businesses need to be always available. That’s why acquainted BDR solutions are not enough to meet their needs. We offer backup and disaster recovery solutions for all platforms.

Cybercrimes are more common these days. Our backup encryption can help you protect your data from malicious and ransomware attacks. Protected Harbor backup and disaster recovery services avoid the fear of ransom scenarios and data loss. Our application-level monitoring helps you prevent unauthorized software and applications from corrupting backups.

Cloud-based BDR solution provides data protection reliability, speed, and continuous uptime. Not all businesses have the exact requirements for saving and restoring corporate data. Cloud-based backup and disaster recovery solutions provide scalable, flexible, and budget-friendly data protection services.

 

incident response plan

Data backup and recovery plan testing

Data recovery plans are designed to protect organizations against disasters, but sometimes it’s not enough. You can’t determine that a running process or disaster recovery plan will never fail after a disaster. Many incidents occur when organizations discover that nothing was backed up after and while data gets lost.

The purpose of disaster recovery testing is to find the flaws in your recovery plan. So you can solve the issue before any permanent damage. For managed service providers, it’s essential to provide disaster recovery testing.  Perform regular testing to ensure that your data recovery system is restoring data efficiently.

Protected Harbor performs disaster recovery testing by following compliance standards. We do regular testing because scarcely backup testing can put your organization at data failure risk during breaches and disasters. Putting off testing can prove devastating, especially if your company is going through a major disaster.

 

Protecting Your Data

Companies are increasingly relying on technology to manage their day-to-day operations. As a result, data loss prevention has become a top priority for businesses of all sizes. One effective way to ensure business continuity and protect against data loss is to use cloud backups.

Cloud backups provide a secure, reliable, and cost-effective way to store business data, and they can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes them an ideal solution for businesses with remote or mobile workforces.

In addition to cloud backups, businesses should also consider using data recovery software or data recovery companies to help them recover lost data in case of a system failure or data corruption. These services can help businesses minimize downtime and return to normal operations quickly.

When choosing a cloud backup or data recovery service, it’s important to consider factors such as service level agreements, pricing models, and the level of support provided. For example, some services offer 24/7 support and guaranteed response times, while others may only offer support during regular business hours.

Another important consideration is the type of storage media used for backups. While SD cards and other physical storage devices can be useful for some applications, they are not always the most reliable or secure option. Cloud backups offer a more secure and scalable solution and can be easily integrated into existing IT infrastructure.

 

Final words

Off-site storage and backup processing are only part of disaster recovery planning. Organizations should also create written, comprehensive disaster recovery plans that encompass all of the company’s core activities and functions. The plan should include processes that have been recorded and tested and that, if implemented, will assure the continuous availability of vital resources and the continuity of operations.

We provide backup and disaster recovery services by simplifying the process and storing all your data in cloud storage and secure remote servers. Protected Harbor maintains your backup schedule and provides 24/7 monitoring and expert-level support. Avoid operational and financial impacts of data loss by having a strategic plan for data recovery.

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?

what is a disaster recovery plan

 

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?

 

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is also known as a disaster recovery implementation plan or an IT disaster recovery plan. It is a documented policy and process that helps an organization execute recovery processes in an unfortunate event to protect a business IT infrastructure and, more broadly, promote recovery.

DRP is crucial for any business. It identifies the purpose and objective of the plan and the people responsible for its implementation. It is essential to have a plan in case of an emergency. This article will explain the importance of having a disaster recovery system in place for your business.

 

Disaster Recovery Plan Goals

A disaster recovery plan’s goal is a series of steps that must be taken before, during, and after a natural or man-made disaster so that everyone on the team can follow them. A disaster recovery plan should address both purposeful and unintentional man-made disasters, such as the consequences of terrorism or hacking, as well as accidental disasters, such as equipment failure.

Your disaster recovery plan should contain goals for RTO (recovery time objective) and RPO (recovery point objective).

  • RTO is the amount of time a business can be down in a disaster. It should be as short as possible – for example, four hours is the maximum acceptable downtime. The RTO is determined by how much the interruption disrupts regular operations and how much income is lost per unit hour due to the disaster. These characteristics, in turn, are dependent on the equipment and application in question (s). The length of an RTO is expressed in seconds, minutes, hours, or days. It’s crucial to include in a catastrophe recovery plan (DRP).
  • The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the amount of time that passes during a disruption before the amount of data lost exceeds the Business Continuity Plan’s maximum permitted threshold or “tolerance. For example, if the last available good copy of data is from 18 hours ago and the RPO for this firm is 20 hours, we are still inside the maximum allowable threshold. In other words, it answers the question, “Up to what point in time might the business process be recovered given the volume of data lost during that interval?”

DR plan goal covers the procedures for contacting support and escalating issues. It should also include insurance coverage to protect you from any legal or financial problems that may arise. The disaster recovery plan should have a prioritized list of contacts within the disaster recovery team. You should hire a professional or a recovery solutions provider to help you create your plan. If you do not have a disaster recovery plan, your data will be unavailable to anyone without it.

disaster recovery

What are the elements of a DRP?

A disaster recovery plan should have several elements:

  • It must define what applications, documents, and resources are critical to the business.
  • You should also identify offsite storage and backup procedures.
  • A good plan will address the risks and threats associated with any emergency.
  • Your DRP should also address the recovery of physical systems. If a disaster strikes, your organization will be ready to handle the crisis.
  • This will ensure the continuity of your business.

 

Measures for Disaster Recovery Plan

Your plan will be broken down into two main parts: preventative measures and corrective measures.

Preventative measures focus on preventing disasters and restoring systems before they occur. In general, avoiding disaster is always the best option. When you’re thinking about preventative measures, you’re thinking about all of the factors that could lead to a disaster. Whether you have daisy-chained power lines or no door lock in your server room, this proactive approach to potential problems can save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.

The corrective measure focuses on repairing and restoring systems after a disaster occurs. Policies and procedures for a wide range of situations should be included in corrective actions. They should also assist you in determining recovery responsibilities for leaders and managers throughout your firm. Always see your BDR strategy as a collaborative effort inside your company.

 

What is a Disaster Recovery Checklist?

A disaster recovery checklist is an essential document for any organization. It helps minimize the damage caused by unplanned outages. Even a single lost file can significantly disrupt a company’s operations. Because documents are so hard to recover, companies need to ensure they’re properly backed up and stored in a remote location.

The first step in any disaster recovery plan is to identify the specific risk associated with the incident. A business may be at various risks, including natural catastrophes. While these events are rare, they can damage an organization’s reputation and profits. A disaster recovery plan will help minimize the damages while ensuring long-term business operation.

  • Many studies have shown that one in four businesses will fail to recover from a disaster, and this statistic is primarily due to a lack of a DRP.
  • 93 percent of organizations that lose data access for 10 days or more due to a disaster file for bankruptcy within a year, according to the National Archives & Records Administration in Washington.

A DRP is like a trekker’s contingency plan, with a comprehensive checklist that outlines the steps to take in case of a crisis.

 

What should be included in a Disaster Recovery Checklist

Disaster recovery plans often include a detailed checklist. Typical items on a DR checklist include recovery objectives, incident reporting, action response, and recovery procedures. The DR plan should consider your unique business needs and system vulnerabilities. It should be thorough and comprehensive to ensure your success.

As a result, you should employ a disaster recovery checklist that lays out the procedures you’ll need to do to cope with the crisis effectively.

The following items should be included in the disaster recovery plan checklist:

  • Perform a risk assessment as well as a business impact analysis.
  • Determine your rehabilitation goals.
  • Assign roles and tasks to members of a disaster recovery team.
  • Make a disaster recovery site.
  • Be ready for a setback.
  • Keep important documents in a secure area.
  • Determine your equipment requirements.
  • Make communication channels available.
  • Procedures for dealing with disasters in detail
  • Notify all relevant parties about the event.
  • A disaster recovery plan should be tested and updated regularly.
  • Choose the best disaster recovery plan depending on your requirements.

 

Plan your disaster recovery strategy

A successful disaster recovery plan follows a rigid procedure to rebuild systems that have experienced significant damage or are just too challenging to repair. The same strategy should be used to help define the checklists that give employees the instructions they need to rebuild critical systems in case of a catastrophe.’

You have two options: do-it-yourself disaster recovery (a less expensive but more error-prone approach) or partner with a backup and recovery service provider (reliable and effective option). To evaluate what will work best for you and your team, Protected Harbor considers every facet of your organization (e.g., the number of employees, the size of your IT infrastructure, the available budget, risk issues, and so on).

This leads right back to Protected Harbor’s four-point quick checklist. Are you experiencing slowdowns in connectivity? (If so, you may need more bandwidth.) Are you losing applications or entire systems? (If so, you may need more redundant assets.) Have you ever been breached? (If so, you probably need additional firewalls.) How often do you experience power outages? (If your answer is “too often,” you may need more backup power and generators.) These questions are just the start; Protected Harbor can help determine the answers to these and other questions –– putting you in the best possible position for avoiding disasters. Plan your disaster recovery strategy with us; contact us now.

How to Save your Business Through Backup and Disaster Recovery

how to save your business through backup and disaster recovery

 

How to Save your Business Through Backup and Disaster Recovery

 

data recovery

The world is increasingly evolving and becoming connected globally. Ever since the inception of the internet, people and businesses have shared and stored their data online. This only means one thing, we have more to lose than ever before. It does not matter what type of business you operate, but your data and protection are vital for your business operations. Before you think that you do not need a data backup or a recovery plan, we would like to clarify a few points that are essential for your business survival:

  1. People make mistakes
  2. Software or hardware failure may result in the failure of primary data.
  3. accidental deletion of data and malicious ransomware attacks may halt your business.

Hence several things are out of our control, and it is essential to have a recovery plan to avoid losing critical business data.

What You Can Do to Save Your Business from Losing Critical Data

  1. Have a Disaster Recovery Plan (DR)

A disaster recovery plan is a set of rules and SOPs (standard operating procedure) on a formal document created by the organization. It entails all the details on tackling situations like cyber-attacks, power outages, any act of God, and other disruptive and unexpected events. Having a DR is vital for your business as it ensures that your business operations resume back to normal after an accident has caused an interruption. Without a DR, your company can suffer heavy financial losses, loss of reputation, and unhappy customers. A DR can help in the following ways.

  • Control damage and financial loss
  • Your employees become trained to tackle unexpected cyber security situations.
  • There is a streamlined restoration process and the guidelines to restore and bring business on track.

2. Backup Validation

Backup validation is an integral part of the Disaster Recovery Plan, which allows you to test your backup protocols’ consistency and recoverability. Every data block retrieved from the backup is given a checksum via validation. The sole exception is file-level backups stored in cloud storage, which must be validated. The consistency of the metadata recorded in the backup is checked to ensure validity.

Validation is a time-consuming procedure, even for a tiny incremental or differential backup. This is because the operation verifies the data physically present in the backup and all of the information that can be recovered by selecting the backup. This necessitates access to backups that have already been produced. While successful validation indicates a high likelihood of recovery, it does not examine all elements that affect the recovery process.

It is vital to test backups and restore processes to check if they work. There is a chance that some backup archives are corrupt or damaged, which will hamper the restoration process. You must test the restore process; it helps learn about data recovery from backups should there be a disaster. The testing can also help you learn about real-life risks without losing the actual data.

3. Use Air-Gapped Backups to Isolate the data

An air gapping technique is one of the most popular backup strategies. At any given time, all your business’ critical data shall have a copy stored offline, which will be disconnected and inaccessible via the internet. Air gapping isolates data from unsecured networks or production environments, and they can be stored off-site.

4. In-house Data Recovery Solutions

Your business will greatly benefit from a data backup solution all in-house. It can be a physical server on or off-site. If data backups are on the cloud (online backup), they will take an ample amount of time to get restored, costing you time and money. Some IT companies deploy 10Gb pipe to hosts allowing them great flexibility, and they are never limited to their network. They are cost-effective for small size businesses. The data is also accessible without the internet, which is excellent as it allows access to data 24/7.

Choose your IT management partner carefully.

You must have an excellent IT management partner who can be available for your business 24/7. These IT partners must have the proper skill set, which is an essential first step to ensure your data remains safe and uncompromised. The responsibility to protect crucial business data is vast, and you must work with companies that provide you with excellent customer support. You never know when your data is attacked or compromised.

If you want to ensure your company has the necessary IT infrastructure in place to continue operating during and after a disaster, it’s crucial to partner with a reputable and reliable IT provider. Protected Harbor ensures your data is backed up and is continuously being monitored to ensure its integrity so that we’d be able to restore your data should it ever get lost or corrupted. By working with Protected Harbor, you can have peace of mind knowing that your business is protected, no matter what happens.

Above all, it is vital to have a backup plan. The strategies outlined in this article will help you to achieve that. Armed with the knowledge of how to recover your business after a disaster, you can be confident that your investors and employees will thank you. With Protected Harbor by your side, you will be better prepared for any eventuality, and in this case, that’s going to count for a lot. Contact us now.