Blog — Data Recovery and Cybersecurity

Data loss: the right moves in the first 24 hours

After a data loss, there is no single right move, there is the right move for your problem. This guide helps you recognise which case you are in and act correctly in the first hours. One reflex applies to all: switch the device off quickly (phone, drive, NAS, RAID) and do not tinker with anything before having it analysed. Some situations keep getting worse and require acting fast: water, extinguisher powder and chemicals, which eat away at the hardware even when powered off, as well as ransomware, TRIM on SSD and updates, which run as long as the machine is on. Others, mechanical failure, short circuit, formatting or deleted files, freeze once switched off and can wait. You will also discover the two pitfalls that doom your data: repeatedly restarting a drive and launching a RAID rebuild after an earlier failure.

Lightning and Power Surges: the Electronics Die, but Your Data Often Survives

A lightning strike or a power surge does not destroy your data: it burns out the electronics that let you access it. On a hard drive, it is almost always the circuit board or the power supply that takes the hit, while the platters remain intact. In the vast majority of cases, replacing the board and transferring the ROM is enough to recover the content. This article explains where the voltage spike comes from (mishandling, distant lightning, flooding), what burns out depending on the device (hard drive, SSD, USB stick, server or NAS), and why the outlook often remains good. Two reflexes are essential: do not keep trying to power on a device that has suffered a surge, and be wary of any burnt smell. On the prevention side, a UPS protects critical hardware, a surge protector the rest, and a backup remains indispensable.

How to Choose a Data Recovery Laboratory: The Criteria That Really Matter

How do you choose a data recovery laboratory without making a mistake? This guide details the four criteria that really matter: a genuine cleanroom, ideally a laminar flow hood, essential for opening a drive and changing the read heads; data processing that is actually carried out on site, because a Swiss laboratory does not guarantee processing in Switzerland and many are only intermediaries that ship abroad; transparent pricing with a free analysis and quote, a firm price announced in advance and only a small amount in case of failure; and the absence of hidden subcontracting, with its consequences for confidentiality, the Swiss Data Protection Act and the court with jurisdiction in the event of a dispute. You will also learn which false signals to ignore, reviews that are too perfect and spectacular success rates, along with the five direct questions that are enough to unmask a dubious provider before you entrust your device to it.

How Much Does Data Recovery Cost? The Honest Guide to Prices and Pitfalls

How much does data recovery really cost in Switzerland? This straight-talking guide separates the two amounts on an honest bill: a diagnostic fee of around 350 Swiss francs for a hard drive, payable even if the recovery fails, and a much higher success-based fee that is only due if your data is actually extracted and usable. You will learn why the price has nothing to do with the value of the device, how the upfront analysis works (free of charge at reputable labs), and above all how to see through the market's pitfalls: the myth of a 95 percent success rate promised before any analysis, the loss-leader price that swells along the way, and the shop that is four times cheaper but may destroy your data for good. Finally, a reflex almost no one has: your household or liability insurance may cut the bill, sometimes to zero.

SOS Data Recovery Expands its Partner Network Throughout Switzerland

Over 200 partners throughout Switzerland!

From 40 partners in 2009 to over 200 in 2011, this clearly demonstrates the ever-increasing popularity of SOS Data Recovery, a data recovery service offered by Tesweb sa. Furthermore, with now more than 50 partners in German-speaking Switzerland, the company is developing on a national scale.

SOS Data Recovery Mobile Application

A brand new, free SOS Data Recovery mobile application is now available on the Android Market Store.

Developed by SOS Data Recovery to meet the demands of modern society, this mobile application has many features.

Software Failure? Hardware Failure?

One day, your hard drive stops working.

Not being a computer scientist by trade, you rush to said computer expert to find out what's happening to your hard drive. They examine the precious storage of your years of photography, music, documents, and other photos. The verdict is final: your hard drive has failed.

It is then that you turn to a data recovery company - such as SOS Data Recovery - which informs you of the two possible types of failure: software or hardware.

Not having become a computer scientist in the meantime, you remain silent, not knowing what it's all about.