Category: Computer Tips

How Identity Thieves Gain From Data Loss

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Data loss is dangerous. It’s even more dangerous if the data loss consists of some very personal information. More often than not, they do. Pieces of information like your email address, date of birth, physical address, Social Security Number, passwords, and even family photos are just a few of the pieces of information that make up your personal data.  When you lose your personal data, those pieces of information go with them. That could be very dangerous.

Your personal data is very valuable. They’re valuable to huge companies that rely on consumer behavior for profit. That’s pretty much all of the companies that exist right now. These huge companies rely on data brokers to get all the information they need for marketing purposes, to say the least.

If you’re familiar with data brokers, this won’t come as a shock. But if you’re not already aware, data brokering is a multi-billion dollar industry made up of companies who collect consumer data and sell it to other companies, usually for marketing purposes.

(Via: https://www.webfx.com/blog/general/what-are-data-brokers-and-what-is-your-data-worth-infographic)

With data brokering becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry, …

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Data Recovery Cost: Is It Worth It?

Posted on Admin2Leave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Computing

Data recovery cost varies. In some cases, it can cost a lot. Not all data recovery issues are the same. For example, the cost of recovering data from a hard drive wouldn’t be the same as the cost of recovering data from another storage device. That said, it’s not that easy to put a flat rate on any kind of data recovery cost.

The first thing to note is that hard drive data recovery prices are variable. It is typically not one price to do every HDD recovery because as is often the case, the first answer is really ‘it depends…’!

(Via: https://www.thetechmentor.com/posts/how-much-for-hard-drive-recovery-the-costs)

Data recovery could also get quite costly, especially if it’s not done by professional technicians. Luckily, these days, there are reliable hard drive recovery experts who can get the job done well.

There are still ‘sharks’ who charge much more than what it costs them to recover your data, but in most cases the more damaged your hard drive and therefore the more difficult and time consuming the data recovery, the higher the cost. Good professionals

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Deleted Files: Where Do They Go?

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No one knows where broken hearts go. But do you know where deleted files go? Sure, your deleted files go to the recycle bin. Once you right click on a file and choose delete, it ends up there. However, that doesn’t mean the file is deleted because it’s not. It’s simply in a different folder location, one that’s labeled recycle bin. From there, you can easily restore the file anytime you want to.

Emptying out the recycle bin doesn’t necessarily mean that your files are permanently deleted. It might seem like it but that’s not exactly the case.

When a computer deletes a file or the Recycle Bin is emptied, it is removing the reference to the file on the hard drive. Once the file header, or reference, is removed, the computer can no longer see the file. The space the file took up is no longer reserved for that file, and any new file can be stored in that location.
What does this mean? The file is no longer readable by the computer. However, the file is still on

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Hard Drives: Two Critical Things You Should Know About Them

Posted on Admin2Leave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Hard Drive Technology

Hard drives. How much do you know about them? Well, here’s a little trivia for you. Decades ago, hard drive meant something else. For regular folks like you and me, hard drive was definitely not defined as an object. Back in the days, hard drive was far from being an object. In this day and age, it’s a lot different. Hard drive now refers to the hardware device found inside a computer. Hard drive or hard disk drive is where all the data are stored.

In many respects, the hard drive is your computer. It’s where all the data in your computer is stored for the long term — not just the things you save, but all the code required for your operating system, the framework browsers use to connect to the internet, drivers for your accessories, and everything else. When people talk about computer storage, they are talking about the hard drive.

(Via: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-a-hard-drive-your-guide-to-computer-storage)

A computer would definitely be useless without a hard drive. But that wasn’t the case in the early days. It’s quite interesting to know …

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The Best, If Not The Safest Way To Data Recovery

Posted on Admin2Leave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Hard Drive Technology

There’s nothing simple about data recovery.  This process of salvaging deleted data on a hard drive can easily scare anybody. If you have no IT background, you’re bound to panic, and quickly get above your head looking for a fix.  Imagine losing all your irreplaceable data and not knowing how to get them back can really send shivers down your spine. Who can blame you? After all, there are a lot of data stored in that hard drive of yours.

According to a study on second hand hard disk drives, it was found that more than half of them contained some very critical data.

A new study from technology firm Blancco Technology Group found that 78%— more than three quarters—of used, resold, or refurbished hard disk drives still contained personal or confidential information, despite supposedly being “wiped.”

In the first quarter of 2016, the group purchased a total of 200 used hard disk drives and solid state drives sold in the United States from eBay and Craigslist. Out of the 200, the Blancco’s digital forensics team was able to

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Should You Consider A Hard Drive Recovery Service?

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Consumers want convenience. That’s a fact. When it comes to convenience in this day and age, we, consumers, turn to software or apps. One good example is relying on a cloud-based software to back up our data.

Cloud backup is primarily used on an individual’s or organization’s data via an offsite and remote cloud storage platform. Cloud backup works when a cloud backup provider allocates cloud storage that is accessible globally over the Internet or backup software via a purpose-built user interface or vendor API. Cloud backup storage can be used to virtually store and back up all types of data or applications. Unlike traditional backup techniques, cloud backup is highly flexible and scalable in scaling up and down on run time.

(Via: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13587/cloud-backup)

If you think about, cloud backup is very convenient. With everything stored in the cloud, you don’t have to worry about capacity. You’ll probably just have to pay for it but you’ll be spared from worrying about it. You won’t have to put in so much effort in figuring out where to store data since …

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Surviving The Blue Screen Of Death

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I really thought it was nothing. A blue screen appeared on my computer and I thought it was just one of those minor issues. After all, it was just sad face on a blue screen. How bad could it be, right? Well, I was wrong. I waited for my computer to restart but it never happened. I used another computer to research about the blue screen I was seeing. That was when I learned about the blue screen of death or BSoD.

Blue screens are generally caused by problems with your computer’s hardware or issues with its hardware driver software. Sometimes, they can be caused by issues with low-level software running in the Windows kernel. Regular apps usually won’t be able to cause blue screens. If an app crashes, it will do so without taking the operating system out with it.

(Via: https://www.howtogeek.com/163452/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-blue-screen-of-death)

I tried troubleshooting the BSoD but I couldn’t do it myself. There were a lot of ways to troubleshoot it, based on the research I did online. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. Truth be …

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The Smartphone Era

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Enterprise Data Security

Everywhere you look, you’d likely see a person glued to the screen of their smartphone. Almost everyone owns a phone or two and they spend a great deal of their time using it for various reasons. Smartphones have evolved to become like mini computers. Almost everything you do on a computer can now be done using your smartphone. It’s a major plus that it is extremely handy and convenient to use. You can use your smartphone for communication, which is essentially its main purpose back in the days. Then, you also use it for different purposes like a camera, calculator, calendar, saving notes, storing songs, clock and alarms, navigation, etc. but since it readily connects to WiFi, you can access the web anytime you want.

Our current addiction to social media and various apps are undeniable. People do not hesitate to spend hundreds to thousands in cash to keep up with all the latest smartphone advancements. In India alone, Indians are big spenders when it comes to smartphone purchases and it is just one part of the world. Other countries …

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Is It Time To Make The Switch: Mac To Windows?

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If you make a survey of all the computer users in the world, the majority are undoubtedly Windows users. Only a handful of the general population uses Apple products because the price is the first hindrance to most people. Apple gadgets are generally expensive and the price difference between other brands is so wide that the public would prefer buying the lesser known brand since it essentially does the same thing as what an Apple device can offer. So, no matter how superior Apple computers and cellular phones are, it is not enough to entice the public to choose it over the competition.

Meanwhile, Apple has a loyal customer-base who only uses Apple products from computers to smartphones over the years. But there are still a few who eventually switch from an iOS device to a Windows one for a lot of reasons. It is uncommon for Apple users to make the switch but as the years go by, more and more of their customers have grown fond of the functionality and other notable features of Windows computers that rather …

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Failing Hard Drive

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Hard Drive Technology

Computers are a delight to many. They allow us to do a lot of things at the same time without even leaving our seats. Can you imagine living life without them? It has been decades since computers were still a rarity. Back then, things were still done manually and it had its pros and cons. Things were probably simpler. You don’t need to learn a lot of things at once but it took more time and effort in finishing up tasks. But with the advent of modern computing, things that will take ages to do and finish can now be done in a snap and the best thing about all these technological advancements is that we can now connect to the world at large with just a click of a button.

Things can be done in real time and it has opened up opportunities that never existed back then. You can even work from the comfort of your own homes and still earn more than the average worker out there. As wonderful as it may seem, technology has a major …

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Speed Up Your PC

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Operating System

If you have been using your computer for a while, you’ll notice that it starts to slow down after a while. It does not work as fast as it used to and it takes a while for files to load and open. You are not alone. This is something that many experiences especially when they are using an older computer model. Even those who are using the latest models will also experience this slowing down of their PC system with all the updates being released as of late. No matter how careful you are in using your device, you are bound to experience this mild discomfort especially once you start accumulating files on your device.

It helps if you make it a habit of clearing your files and transferring it to an external hard drive, for instance, or the cloud for convenience because the files no longer consume space on your device allowing it to run smoothly and without any more lags. A slow PC won’t just frustrate you but affect your efficiency and performance as well. These factors are …

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The Rise Of Pornography Through Digital Medium

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Humans have different sets of needs and want. Some of the ones crucial to life are food, sleep, water, and air. Then there are secondary necessities that we need but even if we don’t meet them does not necessarily mean it can lead to our demise. If you are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, you can see the progression of our needs from the most basic to self-fulfillment. Sexual needs are among these human needs that perhaps the majority needs but some who practice celibacy have learned to live without.

Along with the rise of technology is the growing popularity of pornography on the web. While most websites exercise prudence and refrain from posting any videos, images, or texts that suggest a sexual innuendo because they have a wider audience demographics, some sites focus on this alone and are visited by lots of people daily to satiate their carnal desires. The problem here now is that both the young and the old can access these websites. And if you dig deeper into the dark web, there is an even …

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Computer Education Is For Everyone

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It may seem that everyone is pretty savvy in using the computer seeing how it has invaded the planet. It is the case if you live in progressive countries or bustling cities like most people who are active online but unfortunately, these modern contrivances are still unheard of or just a dream in some part of the globe where food, water, shelter, and safety are of utmost importance and the only thing that matters to them. Kids grow up not knowing how a computer looks like or stay virtually clueless about the inner workings of the web. But we all know that we can’t stop technology from progressing. The rest of the world can do the impossible while these underprivileged people remain in the dark and stay rooted deep in poverty.

Meanwhile, it does not mean nothing can be done about it. If one or more people stand up and take actions about this continued ignorance and hopelessness, then these people may be able to change the course of their lives. Such is the case of a really creative and …

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The Burgeoning Smartphone Addiction Shows No Signs Of Stopping

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Telecom

Kids don’t stand a chance against the dangers of excessive technology use yet they are also too young to decide on their own what they can and can’t handle when it comes to modern digital living. They may be surrounded by technology and it seems normal for them to live and breathe with it but that’s not what nature designed humans to be – to be slaves to the modern trinkets that give them pure enjoyment but at a high cost. For starters, these devices are expensive and they end up badgering their parents to buy them the latest gadgets so they can keep up with their peers. Second, they can access the web with it. The Internet may be helpful a lot of times but there are hidden dangers. Their smartphones give them the freedom to navigate the web on their own, often without parental guidance and this can be a scary thing on a lot of levels.

Kids these days can usually be seen with a smartphone or a similar smart gadget on their hand most of the …

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Increasing Computer Literacy For The Young Ones

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We all acknowledge this widely-accepted truth that the youth is the hope of our nation, of any nation actually. They are the ones who will soon lead the world and shape the future. And seeing how highly global and digital the world is fast becoming, it makes perfect sense to educate the kids to the ins and outs of the computing world so they don’t have a hard time digesting all these facts as they grow up. It’s not even challenging to do that anymore as you can see their genuine interest in these modern contrivances on their own. More often than not, these youngsters know their way on the web than their parents.

This is a great indicator of the changing world we live in. It is very different from the environment most adults today grew up in. And knowing that this is the direction we are all taking, everyone should take computer literacy seriously and integrate this to the education system so manipulating these devices feels like second nature to the youth and they have the knowledge and …

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Should You Be Worried About The Blue Screen Of Death?

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Many of us love technology and it is easy to see why. It lets you do a lot of things all at the same time and it has essentially bridged gaps and distances and made the world one cohesive living space regardless of where you live in the world. Entertainment-wise, many tech gadgets are proving to be a hit to the majority and one gadget after the other has been selling like hot pancakes for over a decade. If you think about the amount of money you have spent on these tech gizmos, you probably have lost count by now. Middle-aged adults these days have likely gone through all the phases of mobile technology and have used big bulky handsets of the 90s to staples from Nokia until the modern delights of smart technology that we continue to enjoy until today.

While we love the comfort and convenience our smartphones offer us, we still can’t live without computers – as in actual computers. In reality, we are more dependent on it than ever as the world becomes more digital and …

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Mac Users Are No Longer Safe

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Not everyone can afford a Mac computer. It is a status symbol that speaks of wealth, class, and affluence. More often than not, only people from the higher echelons of society uses Mac computers since the very first time Apple released their own set of computers. And for the longest time, Mac users have felt secured thinking that their device is almost virtually safe from hackers and other virtual attacks that most Window users have to deal with far often than they want it to be. But it is proving to be such a big lie today as we continue to see one malware attack to the other directed at Apple computers. The premise here is this, hackers saw how big of a market the Windows PCs are and exploited it to their heart’s content. It was easy money for them and they can also target more victims at once.

However, they haven’t forgotten about Macs. It’s just that the Windows market is bigger, more vulnerable, and easier to access. Macs aren’t immune to outside attacks and we are seeing …

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Should You Be Worried Of Meltdown And Spectre?

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Server, Computer Tips

Computers are a crucial part of life now. A big part of society is highly dependent on these machines to do things for us and make things happen 24/7. It is hard to imagine how it is like to go back to our more primitive life a few decades back when computers were only used by a few industries and not many people are adept in using it in their day like today. Today, most homes have their own computers. They are just crucial to living normally in our modern world when the Internet of Things is so widespread throughout the globe it is but common sense to own a computer for your ease and convenience. However, life is not always a breeze for us tech users, especially once our gadget breaks down. First off, they’re often expensive and a repair isn’t always a guarantee for a fix. Second, you may lose a lot of your precious files or have them stolen by cyber crooks that frequent the web nowadays.

There are always bugs and problems that we should be …

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Unraveling The Mystery Of Data Recovery Pricing

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As much as we love technology, we also can’t deny how much of a headache it is once they no longer work as they should or that to get them back working again will take too much of our time, effort, and money. Yet unfortunately, you will experience it many times in your lifetime when you own one, two, or more gadgets.

Some may be able to pull off fixing their own gadgets; especially if they have the technical background required but not everyone is tech savvy when it comes to PC or gadget repair. Then, there is the even more stressful aspect of data recovery. It won’t be as painful for someone who has the common sense to save duplicate copies of their work and files to a secondary storage device or up to the cloud but sad to say that not even half of the population does that.

More often than not, hard drives would often need to be replaced and you are not guaranteed that you can still get your lost files back. Anyone would likely give …

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Computer Science Is The Key

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We live in a day and age where computers reign supreme. It is virtually all around you. From your home to your school or office, you can see lots of computers sprawling in every room and even in people’s bags. What’s more, we have long been navigating the web using the mini versions of these PCs and surfing the Internet, checking out social media, and doing just about everything with it using our handy yet just as efficient smartphones. And we all know technology has still a lot to improve because we’re not yet even riding on flying cars like what older movies like Back to the Future predicted people in 2017 will be doing, or rather, riding.

Definitely, computer science is the key to our continued progress. By continuously and tirelessly innovating and making existing technologies better, sleeker, and more efficient can we only achieve the impossible. You learn all sorts of things by studying the science and the fundamentals of computing. It also makes common sense to study this field now over other degrees because the demand for …

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Macs Are New Ransomware Targets

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The world has been recently swept by a malware bug that has crippled businesses and government organizations in different parts of the world. This ransom malware is known as WannaCry and has affected over 200,000 computers in supposedly 150 countries. Windows PCs are vulnerable to this ransomware especially the older operating systems like Windows XP and Windows 7 that don’t have up-to-date security updates. This vulnerability is related to the implementation of the Server Message Block (SMB) by Microsoft. Fortunately, it seems that Windows 10 wasn’t vulnerable to the attack.

The popularity of bitcoins has made ransom malware a favorite crime of hackers. It means they can monetize their attacks from dazed victims who badly want their data back. While the spread of the malware has significantly slowed down upon the discovery of the kill switch, it does not mean that the worst is over because Macs seem susceptible too now.

Give us your money, or else: Mac users and their computers aren’t immune from ransom-demanding malware after all, as a first so-called ransomware attack was detected by the security

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What Is All The Buzz With Apple’s New Ads

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Apple users have been complaining for a while about not seeing or hearing about any updates on Mac’s computer line considering how many changes can now be seen on new Window-powered computers that abound the market today. That’s because for quite some time, Apple focused on iPhones and their sales are primarily what kept the company afloat during the years when its computer sales were waning up until today.

Recently, the company aired their switch ads that show how easy it is to switch data from your phone (an Android one) to an iPhone and the obvious perks of using an Apple product are just some of the reasons why you should make the switch from an android phone to that of an iOS. The ads are so streamlined they can even work very well on certain social media platforms like Instagram without the need for spoken words too. The visuals speak for itself. It resembles old “I’m a Mac” ads that featured old pals, Hodgman and Long that were quite entertaining too.

The new spots, which appeared on YouTube

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Chips For Smartphones, Not As Food

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, Operating System

Technology is a wonderful thing. It has actually given a new/different meaning to lots of things we used to know. Apple is not just a fruit. Blackberry isn’t either and same with chips. Tech companies may have gotten the inspiration from food in creating these world-changing innovations and it has forever changed the meaning of these things especially with smartphones. Who does not own a smartphone these days, right? Aside from not being cool, you miss out on a lot of things with a low-tech lifestyle. Social media and messaging apps are among the most popular features of these smartphones aside from popular games that forever erases the word boredom in your dictionary.

Smartphones also fuel your love for self-photography a.k.a. the taking of “selfies”. The latest smartphones often have high pixels and allow you to upload photos directly to your various social networking sites or even share to friends on messaging apps. High-tech mobile chips make all these things happen. It’s such a tiny object that holds just as much importance as any computer out there.

The Galaxy S8

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Still In The Dark About Data Recovery Costs?

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Data is such a precious commodity. We hear it far more often than we’d like to admit these days. It is why both individuals and businesses alike go to extreme measures to ensure their data is safe and accessible at all times because they would lose their business without it. It is not always cheap but better to be safe than sorry. Once you lose your data, getting it back isn’t always that easy and you may have to shell out a lot of money in trying to retrieve it.

Fortunately, there are lots of companies that are into data recovery, so you can be sure to get your data back and save yourself from all the headaches. If there is one bad aspect of data recovery, though, it has to do with its pricing. The prices data recovery companies are asking can be a lot and businesses and individuals aren’t always so thrilled to find out how much they have to pay just to get their data back from oblivion.

There’s a lot that’s commonly misunderstood about the art

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External Hard Drives = Data Loss No More

Posted on adminLeave a commentPosted in Computer Tips, SSD Drives

Computer users know very well how frustrating it can be to deal with data loss. You can lose almost all the data saved on your PC in a snap. That means you have no choice but to say goodbye to all the photos stored in there; not to mention the videos, songs etc. you have painstakingly downloaded only to disappear without any trace. This data is a part of who you are, a virtual remembrance for the virtual life you have lived so far. But thanks to the many vulnerabilities of a regular computer, you can never tell when your hard drive will give up on you.

To save your data (and your memories as well as your sanity), make sure you have a backup plan in place in the form of an external hard drive to ensure no data is lost forever. Yes, you don’t need a genius solution to this age-old data loss dilemma. All you need is just a conventional technology and some common sense to foresee that such a disaster may strike (because your computer isn’t …

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