In the previous post we discussed why deleted files are recoverable from a drive? So lets look at how we can actually remove the file contents from the hard disk which may be needed if you have got confidential data. In any of the present filesystems, the OS doesn’t actually wipe the data contained in a file when it is deleted. But rather the metadata of the file is deleted. In order for a file to be unrecoverable it should be overwritten with some random data. To save processing and other system resources, the OS will simply delete it from corresponding indexes.

Peter Gutmann of Auckland University presented a paper that explained recovering data that has been overwritten by other data on a Magnetic storage media. Theoretically this could mean anybody can recover data aging back to any time from a drive, but practically this is very hard (forget about the any date part). Even recovering data with just a single pass overwrite is difficult.

The number of passes used during an overwrite of a file to render it unrecoverable doesn’t need to be given much importance for normal uses. A 4 pass would be sufficient if you have the time. If your disk fills up easily you may need to use just a single pass and save time.Here a pass means writing the file using pseudo random data in order to render it unusable.

If you have anything confidential on your harddisk, consider deleting it using a file shredder like Window Washer, sdelete, or using a degausser.

If you have accidentally deleted some files don’t panic follow these steps.
1. Do not read, write or access that Drive.
2. Use this to recover your file.

How can a permanently deleted file be recovered form any memory device. This is one thing all might be eager to know. The reason is simple. Every file system has got a MFT which has got the location of the files directories etc. Most of the time it includes the starting address, range of address etc and in rare cases MFT can actually hold the data of the file.

Master File Table is an upgraded version of a file allocation table (FAT). Instead of simply being a simple list of file addresses on a hard disc, the MFT contains the attributes of the file or directory itself. This information will include items such as name and address but also security details or permissions. If the file being tagged is small, the file data can actually be stored in the MFT entry, making the access of such data very fast.

So when we permanently delete the file, usually the data of file is not deleted but only the MFT entry is deleted. The space used by the file will be overwritten only when a new file is created or during de-fragmentation, formatting etc. A file recovery software will search for file headers and recover the lost files. If any part of the memory where the deleted file was stored had been over written by another file, you will get a partial recovery.

This overwriting can some times lead to fun. When I once recovered an MPG file the some part of the memory was already used by Windows to write some mp3 files. So when I played the file after recovery I was hearing music from several different songs instead of the Video.

Why does an Operating System not delete the contents of a file from the memory device? The answer is simple – to save time and resources. Normally if each byte of a file is written to an arbitrary value so that the file is unrecoverable the deleting process would take many minutes for a normal video. So to save time the OS will simply delete the entry from the tables and act as if the file never existed.

This is a free and portable (installation free) file recovery software from SoftPerfect. You can recover permanently deleted files from your Hard Disk using this software.

What I am talking about is Softperfect© File Recovery software, an extremely small frills free software that does its job really well. All the procedures are straight forward. Just download the file recovery software, Run it, select the drive and give the file extension (eg: *.jpg OR *.* for all file types) click SEARCH and you’ll be shown a list of files that the software found on that drive . You can copy the file to another drive. The time taken is based on file size and HDD transfer rate.

According to Softperfect
Key features

• Lightweight
• Supports FAT & NTFS
• Supports compressed and encrypted volumes
• Supports most storage media
• Easy to use, just run it

Pros :
It is really small at 247Kb, Requires no installation, Extremely simple user interface, Easy to use, Free ware, highly efficient, very low system use.

Cons :
Requires FAT (not the file system). Can’t be used on a drive with FAT destroyed.

Specifications
Mem. Usage (minimized) : 2.1Mb
During Restoring(700Mb file) : 21Mb + 50Mb virtual size

File formats supported : Almost All

Supported drives and File Systems :

FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and NTFS5 with compression and encryption, floppy disks, USB flash drives, CF and SD cards and other storage media

Price : Free

Download the free file recover software here.

You may also like to read about another Free Tool for Network Scanning from Softperfect

Viruses are a constant threat to any computer system. It is more to the Windows based PC don’t mean that viruses doesn’t exist for other operating systems. If something is coded by a human then a virus can be created for it by another one. It is a universal truth. I remember an an article in Digit magazine about a MAC server put up by someone and challenged the world to hack it. It was hacked within 8 hours. So no system is hacker proof actually. There are test viruses for Linux based phones also.

Why do Virus writers always prefer Windows.

For one it is the most popular Operating System. Another thing is that there are many virus creation tools for Windows. And there are many Windows users who don’t update Windows so an old hole will always be there that has not been mended. Add to this some foolish features in the name of User friendliness and you can easily figure out why there are so many Viruses for Windows.

Since Viruses are so widespread the next best thing to do is to safeguard your computer against infection. And that is exactly the reason I am writing this series of posts on Viruses. In this posts I will try to tell you how you can prevent an infection or recover your system after the infection. Please read all the posts in this series to get a full understanding. I will give you the list of Viruses that I have met with and will show you how to remove them and also how to prevent viruses from spreading.

Guess you all remember the free SoftPerfect file recovery software. Although it was lite and installation free, it had no hierarchical or folder tree representing the deleted files. also you wouldn’t be able to recover a deleted folder as it is. Perhaps these were the only drawbacks of the software.

Thats why the PCInspector file recovery software comes handy. The basic recovery ability of both the programs are same and the error rate is only dependent on frequency of read/write in the drive. The interface and advanced features make PCI file recovery more useful.

The interface is actually quiet boring with the ad straight on the right side. The file and folder selection menu shows all the deleted files under one Folder tree. And you can easily select which file or folder to recover. Recovery speed is actually dependent only on your HDD transfer rate.
Main features according to producers are :

» Finds partitions automatically, even if the boot sector or FAT has been erased or damaged» Recovers files with the original time and date stamp
» Supports the saving of recovered files on network drives
» Recovers files, even when a header entry is no longer available. Competition products cannot recover such files.

Pros :

Supports almost all file types and a verity of file systems, data recoverable even if FAT lost, Tree view available, other HDD info available.

Cons :

The only problem is the heavy image advertisement and the cluttered user interface, it will take time before you get familiar to this software

Specifications :

Memory usage (Normal) : 16.7Mb
Virtual Memory : 70.1Mb

Price : Free

Conclusion

If you need a basic file recovery software that does not need installation go for the Softperfect one. Else if you need a more advanced recovery software go for PCI. Both produces similar results also.

Direct download link : FTP download (5.83Mb) | HTTP download (5.83MB)

This is a continuation of the series of posts about Windows © Registry.

Before you edit your be sure to Back-up it because if you make wrong changes and Windows © gets currupted you have to undo the changes by reverting to your older Registry. Here are the detailed steps to Back-Ip your Registry.

You can backup your registry for the following the method. Select File >> Export

Select the location you want to save your registry then name it something like
“Registry backup DATE” and make sure you select the “All” radio button on the Export range so that the whole “Registry” is backed up.

Now that we have backed up the Registry, lets move to the size part : The registry file will be of .reg extension which will take almost 60MB on your hard disk This can be reduced to a very large extent by just using some achieving utility such as WinRAR or the default Windows ® Zip utility. (By “right clicking” on a File select the send to option and select Compressed folder)

Now you can see that the compressed file will occupy only about 2MB(using professional tools) of memory.You can always use your backup of the registry by double clicking on the saved version and selecting merge with Registry. But be careful because if your backup is before you installed some softwares, they may no longer work.

That is all you have to know before you start editing your registry.

Anyway I will not be responsible for any damage to you in person or your computer or the operating system that has been caused by editing your registry. You’ll be doing all the on your own risk. Still you can always contact me in case of your doubts; I’ll be here to offer you a helping hand in which ever case I know. Feel free to contact me.