Case Studies

(a)Accidental deletion and Format

User may loss the data by performing deletion, formatting and Fdisk utility.

User can delete file (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, photographs, Email, database etc) and folders due to intentional or unintentional reason. When any file is deleted from removable media, the content of the file does not get destroyed immediately. The file link is broken from file record information but file still exists in disk drive and thus removable media data recovery software can be effectively used to get back lost data files and folders.

Format prepares a disk drive storage media for reading and writing. When disk drive is formatted, the operating system erases all stored information or content from disk drive. The disk drive needs to be formatted for several reasons like - eliminate OS (Operating System) corruption, Recover virus/worm infected data and System performance degraded.

Formatting performed using “Quick Format” option set up an empty file system on the disk and installs a boot sector.

The lost and deleted data due to all mentioned reasons can be recovered and acquired using removable media data recovery software.

(b)Recover Encrypted and Compressed Files

Encryption is transparent to the user who encrypted the file. This means that user does not need to manually decrypt the encrypted file before using it. User can open and change the file content as normally does.

Using encryption is similar to using permissions on files and folders. Both methods can be used to restrict access to data. An intruder who gains illegal physical access to encrypted files or folders will be prevented from reading them.

The intruder will receives an access denied message on trying to open or copy encrypted file and folder. Permissions on files and folders do not protect against illicit physical attacks.

Individual files and folders can be compressed without compressing its content.

Using removable media data recovery software, user can easily restore and retrieve lost encrypted and compressed files.

(c)Formatted Removable Media

Formatting prepares a storage medium or disk drive for reading and writing. When user format a disk, the operating system erases all recorded or stored information on the disk, tests the disk to marks bad sectors (scratched), and creates internal address tables that it later uses to locate information.

The user can format removable disk drive using “Quick Format” option that erases all the stored files, folders or other data. Then user can make use of removable media to store new data or content.

It should be noted that reformatting a disk does not erase the data on the disk but only the address tables. If user has accidentally reformatted a disk that has useful data, removable media data recovery software can be effectively used to recover all the files data back.

(d)Virus Infection

Viruses infect a file, application or system area. Virus modifies a reference to objects to take control and then multiply again and again to form new generations.

A logic bomb is an example of virus that deletes itself from the disk after a couple of runs as a copy protection scheme, a programmer might want to include some extra code to perform a malicious action on certain systems when the application is used.

Worms are network viruses that replicates on networks. Usually a worm will execute itself automatically on a remote machine without any extra help from a user. There are worms such as mailer or mass-mailer worms that do not always automatically execute themselves without the help of a user.

The removable media recovery software is fully capable of restoring and retrieving the data files or folders deleted or erased due to virus infection or attack.