When it comes to data storage, viruses can be divided into two basic categories:
- Viruses that delete data.
- Viruses that corrupt data.
Viruses That Delete Data will tell the Operating System (such as Windows) to flag files as being deleted. The data itself becomes unavailable but it still exists on the platters until it's overwritten. This data is recoverable using 3rd-party utilities designed to perform data recovery which will scan the platters and mark recognizable files as not deleted, effectively restoring them to the directory structure.
Viruses that corrupt data are the most dangerous because they overwrite files with garbage data and then possibly flag them as deleted. This makes the data unrecoverable.
In either case, it is very important to have Antivirus software running on any machine whether it's connected to the internet or not (viruses can be propagated from CDs, floppies, and other storage mediums) and keep a backup of any critical data on a removable storage device which will help prevent viruses from propagating to your backup.
There are so many free and subscription based antivirus available, and more over if you are a Genuine Windows User, then there is something for you to cheer as you can use Windows Security Essential for ever for free.
Microsoft Security Essentials is the name of Microsoft's latest Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware software for Windows operating system. Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want.
Note: bench3 does not support nor endorse any specific 3rd-party Antivirus software. To find a suitable Antivirus utility, use keywords "Antivirus Software" or "Antivirus" with your favorite search engine to find a suitable product.
There are several hard drive backup solutions. An alternative (and more time consuming) option is to back up data to CD-R/W or DVD-R/W media.
Different Types Of Backup | Full | Incremental | Differential A full backup is simply backing up every file in the system or target directories, regardless of the previous backup time or changes since the last backup. A full backup is what most nonadministrators think of when they think of backups. Read More: http://www.bench3.com/2010/01/different-types-of-backup-full.html
