Veritas Backup Exec  is a unified data backup and recovery solution for small to midsize businesses. The software enables organizations to protect critical data across multiple systems, and thanks to integrated cloud connectors for all major cloud vendors, Veritas has become an industry standard for establishing redundant backups and archives while maintaining compliance with security & privacy regulations.

However, over time, storage media changes and evolves. By migrating data from one medium to another (for instance, from data tape archives to the cloud), businesses can reduce the cost of key systems while improving data availability. Organizations may also need to upgrade from an earlier version of Veritas to enjoy enhanced performance and security.

Below, we’ll address some of the unique challenges of Veritas backup migration. For more guidance, contact Datarecovery.com at 1-800-237-4200 to discuss your organization’s needs.

All Veritas backup migration projects need an established scope.

With all forms of data migration, appropriate planning is critical. Most pain points can be preemptively addressed, but all too often, data migration is rolled into a larger project — or administrators have too much confidence in the capabilities of their database migration solutions.

Some tips to keep in mind:

Data migration requires time.

Even if you’re planning to complete the process in a single operation (the “big bang” approach to data migration), you’ll need enough runway to plan for unexpected events such as data conversion issues, damaged physical storage media, and the complex nature of unstructured data.

Veritas provides data migration tools to make the process easier — namely, Veritas Backup Exec Migration Assistant. Even so, automation has limitations. No software can repair a damaged tape set or instantly bring decades of archives into a new format.

Data migration requires logical sequencing.

For most organizations, the goal is to improve data availability. If your business needs to retain archives for compliance, migrating to a new solution will enable access to more powerful search tools — essential during eDiscovery and other legal processes — but if compliance requirements have expired or you have a large amount of redundant data, migrating every archive could be an unnecessary expense.

Additionally, most Veritas data migration projects will necessarily require some degree of prioritization. In general, a phase-based approach is better than a “big bang” migration. Even if your business completes the primary phase of data migration in a single operation, you’ll likely focus on highly usable data — archives might need to remain on legacy systems for some time.

Establishing your priorities will help you make logical decisions during the planning phase. Think logically about your migration project. What datasets are essential for avoiding downtime? What data provides the most value to the business?

Data migration requires robust benchmarking and backups.

Key stakeholders will expect to see the results of the Veritas backup migration project — after all, data migration is a major undertaking with significant expenses. If you’re not able to demonstrate improvements, you’ll have trouble making the case for future investments.

Accurate benchmarking is essential. Track the performance of your current systems (including legacy archival media) prior to the first phase of the project. While you may also run the old system in parallel with the new system, some processes completed during migration may affect the results.

Finally, remember that the most important steps in a successful data migration are backup and verification. Datarecovery.com frequently receives cases from enterprises that encountered errors during migration that resulted in data loss — potentially leading to data retention compliance violations.

Common sources of data loss during migration include:

• Data formats are inaccurately mapped from the old system to the new system
• Data is mistakenly marked as redundant or obsolete
• Archives include data in unexpected formats
• Physical media damage (for instance, to data tapes) prevents the migration of certain datasets
• Data security settings are not accurately translated, resulting in potential exposure to unauthorized users

No two data migration projects are identical, but in every case, security and integrity are extremely important considerations. Working with a third-party migration expert can help you avoid common mistakes.

Datarecovery.com can help your business manage Veritas Backup migration.

As leaders in eDiscovery, data migration, data recovery, and data loss prevention, Datarecovery.com offers expert services for Veritas backup migration. Regardless of the complexity of your project, we’re here to help.

Contact us at 1-800-237-4200 to learn more or click here to submit a request online.

The post Veritas Backup Migration: Challenges and Considerations appeared first on Datarecovery.com.

However, data recovery should be a last resort: With a solid backup strategy, you may never need to use our services. Below, we’ll look at a few of the most common data backup mistakes and provide some guidance for building a better plan.

1. Trusting a single backup with mission-critical data.

Redundancy is a critical component of a strong backup strategy. Every storage device eventually fails — yes, that applies to flash memory and solid-state drives, too — and some failure scenarios (such as natural disasters or ransomware attacks) may take out several of your devices at once.

We recommend maintaining at least three copies of important data, including at least one offsite copy. This isn’t as labor-intensive as it sounds: Invest in a backup hard drive and a cloud backup service, and you’ve built a better backup strategy than 95% of computer users.

2. Backing up your data inconsistently or infrequently.

If your computer failed today, would you be able to recover? Your backup might provide essential copies of important files, but chances are, it wouldn’t provide an up-to-date copy of every file on your computer.

One of our clients recently ran into this problem. She’s a writer, and she backs up her work every week; however, she writes every day. Her laptop failed towards the end of her backup schedule, and her work over that period was worth thousands of dollars.

Fortunately, our engineers were able to restore her data (and dozens of hours of lost work). The moral of the story: Rebuilding your work can take time. If you’d lose several days or weeks of work, consider whether you should backup more frequently.

3. Forgetting to back up data from a certain source.

You’re backing up data from your personal computer, but are you also backing up your laptop? What about your mobile devices? What about your office computer?

Every system that stores important data deserves redundant backup. Consider the worst-case scenario, then plan accordingly. Remember, any device can (and eventually will) fail.

4. Not checking your backups regularly.

If you don’t check your backups, they may not be helpful in an emergency. We frequently receive media from clients who say that they backed up regularly — but because they never tested their backups, they didn’t realize that they were backing up corrupt or unusable files.

This can be especially problematic if you use a cloud backup service. When files become unreadable, the errors within those files may be replicated to the copy in the cloud. Needless to say, this limits the usefulness of the backup.

Look for an online backup service that can restore data from different points in time. Think about utilizing a secondary backup device (such as an external hard drive or solid-state drive) to make sure your data is available when you need it. Get into the habit of checking your backups for important files — open them and make sure they operate as expected. If you’re backing up files for a business, run occasional recovery drills to make sure you’ve got an effective plan in place when a disaster occurs.

5. Not keeping an air-gapped “golden copy” backup.

This entry applies primarily to large enterprises (although there’s a lesson here for personal computer users, too).

The growing threat of ransomware has highlighted the importance of air-gapped backup. Air-gapped backups are not connected to a network — if the primary system becomes infected with malicious software, the air-gapped media will still be usable.

As ransomware has evolved, bad actors have used more inventive methods to bypass common backup strategies. Some ransomware variants wait for months after infection to activate in order to destroy all backup copies of the target data. Enterprises can limit this risk by keeping a “golden copy” of mission-critical data; while some amount of data loss will occur during an attack, the systems can still be restored to a usable condition while IT administrators explore their disaster recovery options.

If you’re backing up data on your personal computer, consider keeping one off-network copy of important data. By storing data on an external hard drive or optical disk, you can ensure that a ransomware attack won’t leave you in a precarious position.

6. Not backing up your data — period.

Today, consumers have excellent options for creating backup strategies — but if you’re not backing up at all, you’re not alone. According to one 2018 survey, 24% of adult computer owners in the United States never back up their data. Only 6% of respondents said that they backed up their data daily, and only 11% backed up on a weekly basis.

Don’t take risks with important files. If you’ve never backed up your data, today’s a great day to get started. Some important tips to keep in mind:

• Keep at least three copies of important files, including an offsite copy.
• Set up backups to run automatically.
• Choose a backup frequency that minimizes your chances of lost work.
• Backup all of your devices (not just your primary computer).
• Check your backups occasionally and make sure they’re usable.

If you’ve lost data, we’re here to help. Contact us at 1-800-237-4200 or click here to schedule a free evaluation at one of our facilities.

The post 6 Data Backup Mistakes That Increase Your Risk of Data Loss appeared first on Datarecovery.com.

“We receive several dozen tax-related cases every April,” said Ben Carmitchel, President of Datarecovery.com. “Data loss is always problematic, but it’s especially frustrating when our clients face tax penalties due to a hard drive issue or a RAID failure.”

Millions of people depend on electronic devices while preparing their taxes. According to the IRS, more than 122 million electronic returns were filed in 2013, up from 119 million in 2012. More than 80 percent of all tax returns were filed electronically last year.

However, without an appropriate data backup strategy, computer users can suddenly lose access to their returns when using tax preparation programs. Businesses can lose access to payroll information, W-2s, 1099s and various other financial documents. Some popular tax preparation programs are Quickbooks®, Quicken®, and TurboTax®.

Hard drive failures account for the majority of incidents during the tax season, but Carmitchel notes that any digital system can lose data. Even on protected web servers, issues like file corruption and user error can cause permanent losses.

Datarecovery.com recommends keeping at least three digital copies of all important files. Each copy should be on a separate physical device with appropriate encryption to protect against unauthorized users.

According to the IRS, small businesses should keep tax records for seven years and individuals should keep tax records for at least three years.

“Back up your data unless you can afford to lose it,” said Carmitchel. “We can recover most cases in less than a day, but we’d much rather help our clients avoid serious data loss in the first place.”

Datarecovery.com is a world leader in data recovery and computer forensics. With four fully-equipped laboratories in Arizona, California, Illinois, and Toronto, the company provides a variety of services to thousands of clients each year. Visit www.datarecovery.com for more information.

Contact Information

Datarecovery.com, Inc.
Ben Carmitchel
1-925-600-9800
www.datarecovery.com
Ph. 925-600-9801 ext. 269

The post Datarecovery.com Warns Computer Users to Back Up Tax Information appeared first on Datarecovery.com.

March 05, 2014 – Pleasanton, CA – Over the last several months, Bitcoin use has grown considerably, and DataRecovery.com recently began accepting bitcoins as a payment option. The digital currency is extremely secure, but some users misunderstand its technical limitations.

Bitcoins consist of specific private and public keys. The user holds the private key in a software “wallet,” but the actual currency – the bitcoin – is inaccessible until the private key is verified through a public ledger. Therefore, the user cannot access funds without the private keys, and a hard drive failure or other sudden event can completely eliminate the bitcoins.

“If you lose your private key, your bitcoins are completely inaccessible,” said Ben Carmitchel, President of DataRecovery.com. “At that point, the only option is to pay for professional data recovery or to cut your losses.”

The user’s private key resides in the wallet.dat file, which can be backed up to a hard drive, USB stick, or any other type of storage device. However, a single backup will not permanently protect the user from data loss in some circumstances.

“Because of the way that Bitcoin transactions work, users need to create regular backups of their wallets,” said Carmitchel. “Otherwise, some bitcoins could become permanently inaccessible, even if a user has an older backup. This is particularly important for people who use bitcoins on an everyday basis and for people who handle a lot of transactions.”

Carmitchel recommends regular encrypted backups to protect against data loss. Up-to-date encryption helps to prevent hacking, and DataRecovery.com can recover encrypted information without putting the data at risk.

“Data recovery should be a last resort, particularly for anyone who invests heavily in Bitcoin,” Carmitchel said. “There’s no substitute for a good backup strategy, but we’re always ready to help Bitcoin users when a server or a hard drive fails.”

Datarecovery.com is a world leader in data recovery and computer forensics. With four locations in California, Illinois, Arizona, and Toronto, the company provides a variety of services to thousands of clients each year. Visit www.datarecovery.com for more information.

Contact Information

Datarecovery.com, Inc.
Ben Carmitchel
1-925-600-9801
www.datarecovery.com
Ph. 925-600-9801 ext. 269

The post Back Up Bitcoin Wallets appeared first on Datarecovery.com.