The Windows Media Creation Tool is used to create backup installation media for Microsoft Windows systems. It’s intended for use with flash drives and DVDs with at least five gigabytes (5 GB) of available space. Occasionally, Windows users will accidentally select the wrong storage device when using the Media Creation Tool — and if you’ve made that mistake, take a deep breath. While the Media Creation Tool overwrites some data, the chances of a successful data recovery are fairly high.  Before taking any additional steps, disconnect the affected device from your system. Leave it powered o ..read more

Solid-state drives (SSDs) have a number of advantages over hard disk drives (HDDs): They’re faster, they consume less electricity, and they’re a more practical option in a wide range of operating conditions. Recently, Microsoft reportedly pressured manufacturers to avoid using HDDs as boot media, citing the advantages (and potential performance improvements) of SSD.  With that said, SSDs aren’t perfect — like any storage medium, they’re susceptible to data loss. They may also have a much higher impact on the environment than traditional magnetic storage media. A recent study (PDF) from t ..read more

Nomad, a startup that allows users to trade cryptocurrency tokens between different blockchains, has acknowledged losses of nearly $200 million in crypto due to an apparent security vulnerability.  Crypto hacks certainly aren’t new, and blockchain bridges are frequent targets. In June, Harmony’s Horizon bridge lost approximately $100 million in various cryptocurrencies.  However, the Nomad hack is notable because of — ironically — its decentralization. Hundreds of people may have participated in the attack, which wasn’t coordinated or planned; new hackers simply copied the exploit of ..read more

Today, the vast majority of broadcast footage is shot with digital equipment — but that’s a relatively recent development.  For decades, analog formats like Betacam and U-Matic were standard, and even after the introduction of Digital Betacam (DigiBeta), many broadcasters maintained their video archives in legacy analog formats. Broadcast Video Formats: A Brief Timeline Professional broadcasters have archived content on videotapes for more than 70 years. Here’s a quick overview of major innovations. 1951-1956: Bing Crosby Introduces the First Videotape Recordings Yes, that Bing Crosby. Th ..read more

St. Louis, Missouri experienced historic rainfall this morning, with some areas receiving more rain than on any other day in over a century. From July 25th to July 26th, some St. Louis suburbs were pelted with more than nine inches of rain — about 25% of the average yearly rainfall, according to a report from Weather.com. Two people were rescued from this parking lot in Brentwood #StLouis Check out how high the water is on that stop sign pic.twitter.com/1RbyjL9bPY — Julia Avery (@JuliaAveryTV) July 26, 2022 Other facts about the floods: At least one person died in their car during the flood ..read more

You’ve got sensitive data that you want to destroy, and you want to be extremely thorough. You want to make sure that no one — not even Datarecovery.com’s engineering team — can restore the target files. What do you do? Physical media destruction is always an option, but if you’re not willing to disassemble your hard drive and drill holes through the platters, file deletion software (or “file shredders”) are the next-best option. They’re effective, easy to use, and much safer than the aforementioned drilling method (to be clear, we’d put down the drill, since hard drive platters can break into ..read more

Most ransomware attacks target desktop computers, servers, and high-value storage networks — but in recent years, a growing number of attacks have targeted smartphones and other mobile devices. Below, we’ll look at a few examples of how mobile ransomware works. We’ll also provide tips for preventing malware from endangering your data. Can ransomware infect an iPhone or Android phone? To date, all mobile ransomware has targeted Android devices.  iOS devices like iPhones are highly resistant to malware, but malicious users have exploited vulnerabilities to trick users into believing that th ..read more

You’re browsing Amazon or eBay, and you see a great deal: A 2-terabyte (TB) USB thumb drive for about $40. Is it a great bargain — or a dangerous scam? If you’ve read the headline of this article, you know the answer. However, we’ll make it as clear as possible: As of March 2022, most 2TB USB drives are scams. Currently, internet retailers are flooded with fake flash drives, and consumers need to take precautions when ordering storage media online. Are 1TB and 2TB flash drives real? Yes and no. While some reputable manufacturers offer USB flash drives with high capacities of 1TB or more, they ..read more

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of data breaches jumped 68 percent in 2021 — setting a new record with a total of 1,862 events. To IT security experts, the numbers aren’t surprising. Bad actors use extremely sophisticated methods to target sensitive data, and malicious attacks have become a prominent concern over the past several years for both government and private entities. In order to respond to a data leak, organizations should start with a careful assessment of the leaked data and the attack vectors that compromised your system. Here’s a quick guide. 1. Audit ..read more

Locky is the common name for a ransomware variant that first appeared in 2016. The first version of Locky was distributed by the Necurs botnet; subsequent versions have been introduced by Necurs and other distribution groups. Typically, the ransomware is activated when a victim opens a Microsoft Word document that appears to display gibberish. The user is instructed to “enable macro if data encoding is incorrect.” If the user enables macros, the ransomware is activated and encrypts files on the target computer, replacing their file extensions with the unusable “.locky” extension. The victim i ..read more