Hard disk drives (HDDs) can function in a fairly wide range of conditions, but high operating temperatures can lead to mechanical issues.  Generally, manufacturers recommend that hard drives operate within a range of 77-133 degrees Fahrenheit (25-45 degrees Celsius). Your...

Imagine that you’re sitting at your work computer when you receive an email:“Hey, it’s Bill — I’m the new guy in IT. I need your password so that I can set you up on the new sales system.”  You...

At Datarecovery.com, we’ve implemented controls at each of our laboratories to prevent electrostatic damage (ESD) from affecting hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), and other devices with exposed printed circuit boards.  When handling storage media, our staff wears electrostatic grounding straps....

Solid-state drives (SSD) generally read and write data much faster than conventional hard disk drives (HDDs). After all, that’s one of the major advantages of the technology.  Hard drives must move their read/write heads to different portions of the platters...

Hard drive capacities continue to improve thanks to new technologies like heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and shingled magnetic recording (SMR). But areal densities remain limited by the physics of magnetic storage — and while 120-terabyte hard drives may exist...

The terms ransomware and social engineering are sometimes used interchangeably, particularly in news articles about major ransomware attacks.  The confusion is understandable: Many bad actors use social engineering techniques to distribute malicious software. However, social engineering is an attack vector,...

The TRIM command is an operation that enables solid-state drives (SSD) to efficiently manage garbage collection. In another article, we explain in detail how the TRIM command improves performance reliability for SSDs. SSDs generally support the TRIM command. Some...

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) software plays an essential role in many IT departments. With appropriate controls, an RMM solution enables teams to proactively monitor their systems, resolve issues, and handle other tasks — but RMMs can also introduce significant...

MGM Resorts International was allegedly victimized by a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group on September 11, 2023, leading to the temporary shutdown of operations at numerous hotels and resorts. pic.twitter.com/nxIweGInsB — MGM Resorts (@MGMResortsIntl) September 11, 2023“MGM Resorts recently identified a...

Several standards exist for secure data/media sanitization, but the most commonly cited standards are NIST SP 800-88.  Published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), SP 800-88 defines processes for destroying data on hard disk drives (HDDs) and...