Hi wily,
"will the CIH virus infect a non-boot disk, like a backup HDD? How about other
viruses?"
Yes. The virus itself is spread via executables. Chances are, if one part of your system is infected and you have a couple of extra physical volumes, they'll also get infected. And if the virus is activated, it will also destroy the first 2K clusters of that drive (MBR, FAT, etc.)
P.S.
I got an interesting email from PowerQuest earlier today regarding data recovery...especially for IS/IT Managers with the CIH virus problem (toasted drives). Something about a product called Search and rescue. I'll take a look now and post if it's interesting.
Edit:
Although it doesn't say very much, here's the info all the same:
The Chernobyl virus is spreading throughout the world and we feel there
is a great opportunity for data recovery products. In speaking with
Ken Roberts at Atlanta Data Recovery, the Chernobyl virus is causing a
flood of disks to come in from IT managers.
We will be adding a section on our web site about Search & Rescue and
how it will help recover data from viruses. I would also like to add
success stories of recovering data because of a virus. If any of you
have these types of success stories, please forward them onto me. In
addition, you can find part numbers and pricing at our distribution
partners for Search and Rescue to use in your business.
I have attached a recent article that may give you some idea of Search
and Rescue's capabilities.
Sincerely,
Samuel Newey
Strategic Channel Accounts Manager
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Amazing Software: What Once Was Lost, Now is Found
Lost. Gone. Missing.
Those are words that elicit feelings of fear and anxiety. When a child is lost, everyone gets involved in finding him. Activities are postponed. Special rescue teams are deployed to bring the lost child safely home. Every available resource is exhausted. No expense is spared.
For a business, losing critical data prompts the same level of attention. Projects are set aside. Highly trained specialists are put on the task of finding the lost information. Outside consultants may be brought in. Resources, including significant amounts of money, may have to be expended. The task is all consuming, but the data must be found!
PowerQuest to the Search & Rescue
Fortunately, Search & Rescue, the powerful corporate data recovery solution from PowerQuest Corporation, is here to help. Search & Rescue can restore data lost from accidents, disk crashes, power outages, and even intentional deletion - all without ruining a company's bottom line.
Randy Zisook of Triangle Finance found the value of PowerQuest's innovative technology when a disgruntled worker deleted 84 files before leaving the company. Recreating the information would take hundreds of hours, with strong potential for error. He tried everything he could think of, and still couldn't get the files back.
Fortunately, he came across PowerQuest. Using the technology in Search & Rescue, Zisook began the data recover process. “It was incredible,” he says. “I was able to recover everything. Every document and file I needed was there. Every single one of them! I just think of the money, time and energy I saved using this technology. It's the world's greatest product if you lose data.”
Y2K and Other Disasters
Search & Rescue is not just a remedy for the electronic vandalism of departing employees. Police departments are using Search & Rescue to recover evidence against suspected pedophiles, who thought they were hiding incriminating computer files by wiping the hard disk clean before the police arrived. In one case, Search & Rescue recovered enough deleted files to provide sufficient evidence to bring additional charges against the suspect.
Files accidentally deleted by well-meaning employees can also be recovered. Data lost through other disasters, such as hardware or software failure, viruses, system failures, software incompatibilities, and more can be recovered with Search & Rescue. In fact, as long as the disk is still spinning and the sectors haven't been written over, Search & Rescue can locate and recover almost any file, anywhere.
And with Y2K looming on the horizon, who knows what could happen to computer data when January 1 rolls around. Search & Rescue is an ideal tool to have on hand for data recovery of any kind. Because of the innovative approach PowerQuest took in developing Search & Rescue, it is also the safest product for data recovery.
Find the Files; Don't Mess With the Drive
Before Search & Rescue, the most reliable way to retrieve lost data required sending your disk or hard drive to a data recovery center. This process hits a company in two very sensitive areas of its anatomy: time and money. It may take several days to several weeks to restore the data, and costs can range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. You'd better hope you don't need the lost data right away!
Unlike many other data recovery software products, Search & Rescue does not alter, write to or attempt to repair critical sectors on the damaged disk. By focusing only on the files and data that need to be recovered, Search & Rescue increases the chances of successful data recovery. When other products attempt to repair the damaged disk, they often make it more difficult to get the data back once the disk is working properly. The bottom line is not about getting your disk back, it's about getting your data back.
You don't even need to have Search & Rescue loaded in advance to recover lost files. When you find out the data is missing and load Search & Rescue, it carefully locates every file and displays the likelihood of recovery for each file. You then choose which files you want to recover, and Search & Rescue goes to work, using a proprietary algorithm that achieves unprecedented performance to analyze, locate and retrieve files. It's almost like being able to buy fire insurance for your house after you've had a fire!
Total Protection Solutions
Search & Rescue is just one arrow to hold in your quiver against data loss and potential disasters, including the unknown potential of Y2K computer failures. PowerQuest's Drive Image™ creates an exact image of your hard drive for the perfect back up and recovery tool for your system. Because Drive Image uses SmartSector™ technology to make a sector-by-sector image, you can save an exact duplicate of your drive that will return your computer precisely to its original state.
PowerQuest recently introduced DataKeeper™, which provides a continuous backup of your data. Everyone who uses a computer knows they should back up their data. But whether we forget or just neglect to do it, most of us don't have a current backup in case something goes wrong. After completing an easy-to-use set of instructions, DataKeeper will continuously monitor all data and system files changed whenever you use your computer. The process is transparent to the user, but provides a reliable method for creating a backup and restoring data when needed.
PowerQuest solutions can help you avoid the anxiety caused when the words lost, gone, or missing are associated with your data. Whether providing a powerful imaging and restoration solution, a continuous backup tool, or the ability to restore lost data, PowerQuest has the technology you need to face any disaster, including Y2K.
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