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CASEScontact - solutions, tools & skills against latest security, cybercrime, hacking & malware threats
Just the facts
     
Title   Data Recovery 101 - PART I - 'That's hot!' - Paris Hilton's recommendations from the World Economic Forum Davos - Risk Workshop
Description   CDs, DVDs & memory sticks are very durable but data may become inaccessible. We provide you with the tricks & necessary tools for recovering SMS, music files, movies & digital images (ps. hard-disk, Word & Excel data recovery are addressed in Part 2 and 3 of this series)
CyTRAP LABs ID   CT210015
Date   2006-01-17
Systems affected  
  • Windows/2000/NT/XP etc.
  • Mac, and
  • Linux
Select language  
Version number   1.0
ISSN   1603-9866
Verify tip   http://casescontact.org/tips/210015
Risk assessment   Moderate
Impact/Severity   High
Audio/Podcast files   CyTRAP PodCast show - Protecting our digital assets - Tuesday, January 17, 2006
 

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What's up?
     
   
Real life scenario Internet & PC scenario
What is the threat or vulnerability?    
In case one of our favorite tools no longer works properly, you will first try to get it repaired and if that fails, you will put it in the recycle or trash bin (e.g., backpack, shoes, MP3 player).

However, if the damaged item was something of emotional value, such as our grand father's pocket watch, we will try our utmost to get the item repaired and keep it.

Because we back up all our files and pictures it is usually easy to recover a file that we deleted accidentally.

But just in case things went wrong, we present you with some tricks on how you might still be able to recover these precious music files, or the wonderful pictures you took last weekend when spending some time at the beach with your buddies.

Most importantly, we provide you with Paris Hilton's "That's hot!" freeware tools for recovering these files.
 
 

Problem & Solution
     
Admin  

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What does it mean to me? Am I vulnerable?  
So why should you care about data recovery on CDs, DVDs and digital cameras? Because: With little effort you can recover your favorite music tracks and pictures.

  1. The Threat May come in a variety of forms, including manufacturing errors and mistakes you make such as erasing all pictures on your digital camera before saving them onto your PCs hard-drive.

  2. Vulnerability Is that such mishaps can happen to all of us and it is necessary to be prepared for when it happens.

  3. Impact Is severe if the digital images lost are important mementos of your wedding or child's birth.
==> So you want to avoid experiencing such or other mishaps? A little preparedness for the possible disaster goes a long way - read on and get a few hands-on tips on how to reduce your risks regarding loosing your favorite music files, SMS messages or video clips of your favorite TV soap.
     
If I fix the problem - will it help me?
How		  
Please remember, a deleted file or picture is essentially an area on a disk or memory stick designated as free and ready to accept data (such as contents of some other file or picture). Luckily, unless the area has already been overwritten, it still holds the contents of the deleted file. Due to this fact it is possible to undelete files or images. For helping yourself by repairing & recovering file(s) successfully from a variety of storage devices, follow these steps:
  1. stop whatever you are doing with the device, such as taking new pictures or trying to save another track onto the CD from which you want to recover data,
  2. begin the recovery process immediately by using another USB flash drive as download and install destination for any one of the programs you might require to recover your files, images or data with the tools we recommend below,
  3. after installation launch the recovery program,
  4. recover your data, files or images.
Please read on, it is better to know what is needed when you must recover a lost file then trying to scramble to find the solution when it is an emergency. Keep this tip handy just in case... Paris Hilton lost a few images she would have liked to put into her archive, unfortunately she was not prepared to recover those files. But with this tip and the tools it recommends, she will avoid another disaster.
     
How can one describe the solution?  
Sometimes cleaning the CD does the trick. If not, rescue software is available for more seriously damaged discs, say those that Windows will not even read.

The software programs generally work the same. Once installed, the rescue software attempts to pull any file and file fragments off the CD. Then, it will save the files on the computer's hard disk for later retrieval.

The software will recover just about anything saved on a CD including programs, documents, and digital images. This means you can also use the software with digital camera media such as CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards. The program's success depends on the amount of damage and where the damaged file is located on the CD.

     
Does Microsoft offer me a solution?  
Stay tuned until next month because Paris Hilton will provide you with "That's hot!" Freeware program recommendations regarding Word, Windows XP and so on in Part II of this series.
     
Where can I get more help?  
You've heard the buzz, now check out for yourself what tools Paris Hilton uses for data recovery with this internet-only version of that too-good-for-newspaper tip.

Read on and watch out for Parts II and III coming your way within a couple of months or so. More cool tips from Paris Hilton for recovering your corrupted Word, Excel & Outlook files, as well as other images stored on your hard-disk and elsewhere. Stay tuned.

 


What is the solution to this problem ?
     
Tip 1   By accident, Paris Hilton deleted some of her great snapshots from her digital camera. But with this tool she was able to recover her digital images about her most recent party antics in Davos:
  • Free tool - pictures lost on memory card or USB stick - utility for digital camera recovery    
    •      
    Tip 2   Paris also recorded some backstage footage during the taping of her famous Carl's Jr. commercial. Unfortunately, she saved it on a DVD that was damaged (e.g., due to manufacturing error), while it did not replay correctly. So when she decided to tape the sled event at the World Economic Forum in Davos she wanted to check for errors on the CD & DVD before storing this footage onto these. As you can check yourself, the tool really works:
  • Free tool - CD image handling tool for scanning for corruption,extracting & repairing found errors in CD-ROM or DVD files on the hard drive  
    •      
    Tip 3   As founder of Heiress Records, a label which will release her debut album this year, she began to listen to some tunes, while driving. However, these CDs get sometimes damaged and, therefore, she was on the look out for a freeware tool and she found:
  • Free tool - fixing CD/DVD data reading errors    
    •  


    Take another 2 minutes - More tricks to safeguard your information better
         
    Tidbit 1   The media reported that Paris Hilton's T-Mobile Sidekick II was hacked. However, the content was stolen from T-Mobile's servers and not from the device itself. Nonetheless, because so many people wanted 'Paris Hilton's telefoonnummers en foto's' she and her friends changed their numbers. Unfortunately, in the process of changing their SIM cards, they deleted some interesting SMS messages from their old GSM SIM card(s). Recovery of these deleted messages was easy by using:
    1. Free tool - forensic - CyTRAP's Choice - how Paris Hilton recovers deleted SMS messages from her friends' GSM SIM card
    2. Free tool - forensics - CyTRAP's choice - Paris Hilton smoothly recovering deleted data from her GSM SIM card    
    Tidbit 2   Her grandfather Barron Hilton gave Paris a floppy disk that appeared damaged, she recovered the file by using:    
    Tidbit 3  

    In the upcoming movie - National Lampoon's Pledge This! starring Paris Hilton, Simon Rex, Alexis Thorpe, Holly Valance - Paris also has some scenes where she uses a Windows Mobile-based Smartphone. Fortunately, damaged data for the most part can be quickly recovered from her PC.

    Cell phones, smartphones and RIM BlackBerry? She recovers SMS messages, pictures, emails, ring-tones and so-on - for data recovery using the free tools presented in Tips 1, 2 and Tidbit 1 above.
       

    Watch out   At the World Economic Forum Davos participants also discussed Information security and government institutions? Are we facing a deepening ‘trust deficit’?. Business leaders participating in Davos would be lost without their cellular phones or RIM Blackberry devices. However, rushing from one session to the next, including parties and photo opportunities a few images, files and SMS messages will again be inadvertently deleted. Applying the data recovery tools outlined in this tip does help in not further deepening the 'trust deficit.' Being prepared for the worst is the best insurance one can get to keep your data and images of Davos, otherwise you may need a HARDtalk one-on-one by CASEScontact staff :-)   
     


    CYTRAP resources - check it out - because it will help you better protect yourself
         
    Related tips  
    Alerts  
    Glossary   Please either sign in by clicking on 'Login as a guest' to get the definition, no registration required or else get a free registration to get access, its worth it.

    DEUTSCH
    Additional risk minimization  

    Paris Hilton has downloaded her "That's hot!" Freeware program recommendations for data recovery, just in case she will require them to recover the pictures she took at this year's World Economic Forum Davos.

    Because Paris Hilton is in the process of getting rid of her old PC where she stored some of her pictures, she has also accessed CASEScontact.org tip - shredding files forever - doing it the better and easier way so her nosy neighbor will not be able to sell those pictures to a tabloid newspaper.

    Finally, whenever an employee has just left the firm and returned his or her equipment (e.g., notebook or smarthpone) it is necessary to archive and backup this information to avoid legal problems (CASEScontact.org tip - shredding files forever - doing it the better and easier way


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    Author   Urs E. Gattiker - CyTRAP Labs
         
    Revisions  
  • 1.0 - 2006-01-17 - First Version
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