How to find lost data…and lost computers!

by Miriam Brent

As electronic musicians, probably the most important part of our setup is the computer. Despite this, it’s all too easy to take it for granted…

Data recovery

It’s an inescapable fact that most people working with computers on a regular basis will at some point find themselves with a hard drive death on their hands – all the more painful if the said hard drive happens to hold the only copy of your potential chart-topping masterpiece. So is there anything you can actually do to rectify the situation when it happens?

Unless you’ve worked for the FBI or are an experienced hacker, you’ll probably have to call a data recovery specialist to stand any chance of getting your work back. These services have been around for a while, but most are aimed at business users and tend to take advantage of their client’s desperation by charging exorbitant rates… which is why we we're so keen to tell you about Discount Data Recovery.

The online company takes what it describes as a ‘no frills’ approach to data recovery, working on a no-data no-fee principle (in other words if they can’t find it, you don’t pay). All you have to do is package up your drive and send it off to the company’s HQ in Birmingham, safe in the knowledge that all you’ll be charged if the engineer successfully recovers your work is a flat fee of £249.99 plus VAT.  Bookmark www.discountdatarecovery.co.uk and hope, like us, that you only need to check it when referring them to a less-fortunate friend.

Anti-theft service

Of course, if someone walks off with your computer you’ll need to recover more than just the contents of your hard drive. In the past, if someone stole your computer you had to content yourself with sitting at home making voodoo dolls of the thief, but thanks to a new service from Orbicule you can now increase the chances of actually getting your machine back.

Undercover from Orbicule is like a pro-active insurance company-meets-private detective for the Mac community, and stops at virtually nothing to ensure the safe return of your computer – providing you’ve paid the $39 sign-up fee. Aside from the obvious technique of using the transmitted network information to locate your computer’s whereabouts, the service offers a host of far more ingenious ways to track down the culprit.

Amongst the other methods used, screenshots of your computer are taken at regular intervals and should eventually reveal the identity of your thief through emails and online purchases etc. Taking things a step further, if your Mac is equipped with iSight it will actually take snaps of the user and their surroundings every six minutes and send them back to the crew at Orbicule.

It’s always nice to feel like you’ve got your own back on the thief as well, so Undercover duly obliges by enforcing a hardware failure so the screen becomes black almost immediately. If the Mac is subsequently taken to an authorised reseller for repair, a message appears on-screen informing them that the laptop is stolen and to contact Orbicule.

For many, $39 is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of losing a computer, and as it gets refunded if Undercover fails to recover your stolen laptop there really is no excuse for not signing up – even if it does sound a little gimmicky.

If you’re a student or ever have to leave your laptop unattended, you may also want to check out Orbicule’s other product for MacBooks, TheftSensor. Simply activate the software by pressing Play on your the Apple Remote and anyone moving the laptop or closing the screen will automatically set off an alarm that can only be deactivated with the remote. Just don’t forget to turn it off again when you return!

TheftSensor is available as a free public beta now. Go to www.orbicule.com for more on both Undercover and TheftSensor.