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Live Linux system recovery app aims for April release

Homer's picture

RestoreIT Screenshot

FarStone Technology will introduce what it claims is the first-ever live system and data recovery application available for desktop Linux in mid-April. RestoreIT will restore a user's data -- or an entire system -- that has been damaged or lost due to computer errors, viruses, or other common mishaps, spokesman Bob Menzies told DesktopLinux.com on Wednesday.

The company will demo RestoreIT for Linux at the Desktop Linux Summit in San Diego, and plans to have a downloadable version available for sale at the same time, Menzies added.

The software keeps track of all changes to a user's hard drive on a separate hidden disk partition as incremental backup points, the company said. In the event of a disaster, a user can restore the system and data that they have lost, as well as choose how far back they would like to go -- an hour, two hours, etc., it added.

The company is specifically targeting desktop Linux users with this "safety net" product. "To date, Linux has managed to avoid becoming a target of hackers and viruses," executive vice president Tom Fedro said, in a statement. "However, it is likely with the growing adoption of desktop Linux that it too will become the focus of malicious activities. Furthermore, as more new users jump on to the Linux platform, everyday human errors are bound to increase."

The company cited a recent Parks Associates survey finding that nine out of 10 consumers do not back up their computers on a regular basis or they never back up their data at all.

"No matter what type of operating system is implemented, it is critical for users to employ good methods for data protection and recovery," IDC storage research manager Rhoda Phillips added.