December 7, 2018 | Security Alert, SamSam Ransomware:
Early this month VS19 was informed by the Department of Homeland Security of a major ransomware known as MSIL/SAMAS or SamSam. This ransomware has been especially heinous for businesses in the general infrastructure fields, as they know that they can't be down for long and can afford higher payouts. The most important factor to take away from this is HOW they are choosing to infect systems. They have found ways in through Remote Desktop ports that are harder to identify and can give them broader access to the network.
What this means for businesses moving forward is that security practices have to change around remote work and remote porting. If you or someone you know utilizes systems that allow remoting in to work, it is imperative that the security and ports be analyzed and properly re-ordered to make sure that threats like SamSam will have little to no impact or ability to enter. Use of a VPN should be set up to help secure your systems behind a business grade firewall. If you do not currently staff an IT person or company, please feel free to contact VS19 for assistance.
What does Ransomware do: Ransomware is an intelligent malware that will go throughout your computer, your network, and your databases and encrypt everything it can touch. "Encryption, I hear the computer people talk about that all that time! But it's a good thing, isn't it?" In this circumstance no, encryption is very bad. It is essentially like if someone broke into your home, changed out all of the locks and security codes, and than lived inside it and kept you out until you paid them...to let you back in to your home. Instead of locking you out of your house, this malware is locking your valuable data up and keeping it from you until you pay them in an untraceable manner. This form of cyber crime has been a long standing issue for both the DHS and the FBI, as it is usually outside of their reach and capability. When you get hit by ransomware in the 21st century's digitally driven business world, unless you have properly protected backups, you are SOL until you pay. Even with protected backups, you still may be up the creek without a paddle.
Stay up to date, stay informed, stay secure. Please contact VS19 for any questions at info@vs19.org
November 17, 2018 | The Office “Computer” Person:
Many small businesses who aren’t already IT managed by an IT company, or staff an actual IT educated person, tend to have the classic “Jane or Joe who knows enough about computers”. This person does their job, as well as doubles as the office computer whiz. While in some cases Jane or Joe actually do have a minor background in computer science or IT sciences, most of them do not. This generally has saved the small businesses a lot of money in the case of hiring a qualified computer technician, or it has saved them some money here and there from hiring an IT management company. While the former does come out to a big savings, (think yearly salary), the latter does not. In fact, it can end up costing a company big money later on down the road. It may be costing them money right now that they didn’t even know about.
See, while Jane or Joe knew enough to keep things running, they probably haven’t been brushing up on the latest updates in technology, software, firmware, or especially security. Keeping up with the changes in technology and software is a job within itself, and it can be daunting even for us IT companies. Everything is changing at a pace so rapid, that every day innovations or breaches are made to software and security. Now while Jane and Joe have been keeping the company running, they have done so likely without implementing best practices, which will leave your systems vulnerable. The systems themselves may also be running very inefficiently, or even improperly, costing you time and money. In the end, what you will have to pay someone to fix it and do it right could be a lot less then the money you lose from a detrimental breach, failure in the system, or long standing inefficiencies. If you are a business owner utilizing a current staff member as the go-to “computer" person, ask yourself these questions:
If my system failed today, would I lose all of my data? How long might it take Jane/Joe to get us back up and running again? What would Jane/Joe do if our main computer or server was breached maliciously? Does Jane/Joe know the most current security protocols for all of our systems? Does it seem like my computer/network/system gets in the way of company growth at times? What would I lose if I lost all of our data to system failure or malicious breach? Would my business survive a catastrophic data loss or system failure under Jane/Joe?
Ask yourself these questions and you might begin to feel a weight of severe realization that you are playing a dangerous game of chicken with your business from not utilizing a professional. There are many things that cannot be undone after the fact unless the proper systems were put in place. VS19, along with all other IT Management companies, are here to help you and your business run safely and smoothly, so don’t hesitate to call any of us!
August 2nd, 2018 | Computer Security:
Computer security can be a tricky monster to try and wrangle. There are many different ways to apply higher levels of security, but when doing so, you also increase time, effort, and risk of lockout in doing certain task. One common way of increasing computer security is to arrange a better system of passwords.
Many people often utilize passwords that would be far to easy to crack should they ever be targeted. Easy passwords generally include information that is easily obtainable through online perusing, or common word/number swap combinations. With more creative cracking programs and programmers these days, the passwords people thought were safe have been shown to be relatively easy to break.
Another common issue of todays world is overuse of passwords. People who utilize the same password, or variation of, for most or all of their logins and personal systems can find themselves in a massive panic if they are hacked under one system or site. Often the algorithm for logging into sites is pretty uniform: Username = Email. Password = X. Many phishing scams are designed to acquire all of the necessary details in one swoop. A lot of these attacks are also received through our most common information medium, email.
VS19 highly suggest a different style of password for todays computer threat. The best passwords when tested appear to be those that comprise of two or more random dictionary words with two numeric digits. If you really want to add in some difficulty, add a symbol. These are the types of passwords that begin to reach the required timeframe that most hackers would be unwilling to spend on such a task. Just be sure your words are unrelated to your social or personal life. Also, if you can utilize a variation of different passwords across your different systems/subscriptions, you will be much better off in the event that one of your passwords is discovered.
If you would like to know more information about best password and system protection practices, please contact Virtue Systems 19 any time!
July 25th, 2018 | Cloud Services:
Cloud opportunities are common in todays technologically driven world. Every major company offers a cloud solution of some sort, even Virtue Systems 19! Cloud options are great, but some consumers still don't understand how cloud options work. Let us explain!
Anything labeled as the "cloud" (Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, etc.) is actually just a big external hard drive array attached to the internet. Companies of course have these set up properly through server systems and behind big firewalls. This can be helpful when you want to keep your data in a location that is accessible anywhere, or keep an extra backup. You have to be aware of the plausible downsides though. We tend to reference common big cloud systems as Hotel Californias, as they are easy to get into, but very difficult to get out of. Take Apple's iCloud for example: On a lot of Apple products, it is programmed in a way that if you don't know what precisely you are doing, it will automatically set you up to utilize Apples iCloud for your photos, files, etc. Once these files begin being saved on the iCloud, the only way for you to get them off is if you download each file or photo individually. Now this might not seem too bad, but imagine having hundreds or even thousands of pictures or files saved in this manner. The task rapidly becomes daunting. Furthermore, once you go beyond your free amount of space, you have to pay monthly or annual fees to gain more space.
We suggest that anyone looking at utilizing a Cloud option get some facts and numbers down first; How much space do I need? How long will this amount of space last me? How much does it cost? How much will it cost to increase? How much time and effort would it take to leave? If you get these questions answered first before you leap into a cloud option, you will be in a much more comfortable position in the long run than if you hadn't. Answering these questions may even turn you off to what you thought was such a great option.
Virtue Systems 19 offers a cloud data storage and offsite backup solution to it's clients as well. Rates are fair compared to competitors, along with a high level of security and service. And if you should decide in the future that you no longer wish to store your data with us, no problem! You get all your data downloaded to your computer, or a external hard drive of your choosing. Not only do we offer solutions, we can also set up your own personal solution! Did you know that you can house your own personal Cloud at your house or business? They are awesome to use and easy to maintain. Virtue Systems 19 is also a partner with one of the nations leading companies of personal cloud solution hardware, so we can bring you a level of service you thought only existed in IT fairytales. Feel free to call or email us for more information!
July 5th, 2018 | Computer Security:
In today's Hollywood fueled society, we get a lot of our ideas about how things work from TV shows and movies. The downside to this is that it becomes hard to tell real science from Hollywood fiction. Thanks to TV shows like Mr. Robot, computer buzzwords tend to get shuffled around and fed to society without people really knowing what they are. Today's common computer security buzzword is VPN.
"I think I have a virus! Once I get rid of this, I'm getting a VPN."
"I think someone has the ability to remotely control my computer, so I'm going to set up a VPN to fix it."
"I have a bad feeling about this file, so I am going to start my VPN before I open it."
All of the above statements show a misunderstanding of what a VPN (Virtual Private Network) truly is. To put it in laymans terms, think of traversing the internet as walking from one point of an open field to another. You start in one place, and you stare at the place you are going to go to and you walk. Now obviously you aren't the only one in the field, because other people are going to other places, or even sometimes the same place. For the most part, everything is public to some degree. Now what if you had to carry a lot of sensitive items from one place to another and you didn't want other people to be able to see it at all, like a big chest full of gold. Well in that case, you would create a secure tunnel from your location to your destination underground. It's a tunnel meant only for you, and no one else can use it. This is essentially what a VPN is, an underground tunnel from point A to point B.
VPN's are most commonly used by people who wish to have secure access to company resources while being offsite. It is also used if you are on a public wifi that you don't trust the security of. But it will not stop viruses from getting on your computer if you still accept them (clicking on malware email links, going to bad webpages, etc) All it does is hide your traffic from the public internet. Depending on what types of attacks you are getting, it might not necessarily stop those either. What most people are better off utilizing for security purposes is a high grade firewall (hardware). VPN's are however a great tool for the traveling worker. Especially when traveling overseas, VPN's can help protect your sensitive data from prying eyes.
If you are interested in utilizing a VPN, or have questions, please feel free to contact Virtue Systems 19 any time!
June 20th, 2018 | Updates:
In todays ever changing technological society, we constantly are bombarded with updates to our software and our firmware for our devices. Many times, these new updates provide us with better features or faster ways of processing. Unfortunately, there are times also where these updates hinder us more than they help us. They can be full of 'bugs' that still have yet to be worked out, and might not be for many weeks, or even months.
VS19 usually recommends a conservative approach with updates and when to apply them. If it isn't considered system dire, we suggest you wait a few weeks before applying low level updates. As for larger wholesome updates (such as an entirely new iOS, fancy Mac name software, or a big jump in digits for the Windows [1709, 1803]) we suggest you wait for as long as 6 months before jumping into those updates to remain as comfortably functional as possible. Sometimes we don't have the option to wait either, or the company makes it increasingly annoying to stay at your current level using little tricks, or "encouragements".
Microsoft just implemented a change in their updating process for home users that only allows you to forgo the updating process in Windows 10 for a maximum of 35 days before you are forced to update. This has caused many IT professionals alike to groan at the upcoming slew of problems that this could potentially cause, but there are ways to deal with certain situations.
Although there may not always be something that you can do about some situations, we would like all of you to be aware of the updating process and how it may effect your devices in the future. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us anytime!
June 16th, 2018 | Network Dependency:
In today's connected world, we rely heavily on the ability to access and maintain access to the internet. Whether it's for our home personal use and devices, or it is feeding our small business operations to the community and back, we count on it working. That means that when the internet feed stops, so do our hearts and minds.
For many small businesses especially, losing internet connectivity can mean loss in workflow which turns into loss of revenue. We count heavily on ISP's (Internet Service Service Providers) such as Centurylink, Comcast, etc. to provide us with a uninterrupted connection. Unfortunately, life happens. Cable/ground wires get cut during construction, ISP modems go bad, a section of the grid goes down, and we are left feeling helpless.
While there isn't an easy fix or solution to this problem, there are ways to mitigate its effects and affects. For small businesses, this may look like coming up with a LOC (Loss of Connection) plan to understand what services will be lost and what may still be maintained through other efforts. For home/personal use, this may look like discussing what services you regularly use and what needs to be online vs what can be turned into an offline capability.
As we move into the future of the Internet of Things, it will be important to not hope that the internet stays up, but instead begin planning around what you can do when you lose it. Nothing in this world is flawless, and as Murphys 'Law' dictates, "If it can happen, it will happen."
June 10th, 2018 | Backups:
We have all heard it before, "Remember to backup!", but we still neglect to do so. Even us IT professionals are prone to our own failures to backup. We don't necessarily learn the lesson well enough until it finally happens, the big crash or somebody makes off with your laptop. We lose all of our hard work from the past days, weeks, months, or more.
We recently had a client experience hard drive failure first hand. Not just computer is down for a few hours failure, but full, non-responsive, unrecoverable hard drive failure. This client would have lost ALL work related material had VS19 not installed a centralized backup unit to do incremental backups of all office computers 3 weeks beforehand. This client went from the likely loss of all their data on this employees computer, to not losing a single change in work documents. It was quite literally a flip from worst case scenario to best case scenario. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, not everything is recoverable either. There are plenty of cases where the data will not be recoverable at all, even if you're willing to shell out big cash to a data recovery business. Solid State Drives are at higher risk for this because of the type of technology that they use. It was in fact a SSD hard drive that died on this clients computer.
The main point of this story is that regardless of your situation or who does your computer work, backing up is important. It will always be better to back up and not need it than not back up and wish you had. Catastrophic failure can happen to anyone!
Early this month VS19 was informed by the Department of Homeland Security of a major ransomware known as MSIL/SAMAS or SamSam. This ransomware has been especially heinous for businesses in the general infrastructure fields, as they know that they can't be down for long and can afford higher payouts. The most important factor to take away from this is HOW they are choosing to infect systems. They have found ways in through Remote Desktop ports that are harder to identify and can give them broader access to the network.
What this means for businesses moving forward is that security practices have to change around remote work and remote porting. If you or someone you know utilizes systems that allow remoting in to work, it is imperative that the security and ports be analyzed and properly re-ordered to make sure that threats like SamSam will have little to no impact or ability to enter. Use of a VPN should be set up to help secure your systems behind a business grade firewall. If you do not currently staff an IT person or company, please feel free to contact VS19 for assistance.
What does Ransomware do: Ransomware is an intelligent malware that will go throughout your computer, your network, and your databases and encrypt everything it can touch. "Encryption, I hear the computer people talk about that all that time! But it's a good thing, isn't it?" In this circumstance no, encryption is very bad. It is essentially like if someone broke into your home, changed out all of the locks and security codes, and than lived inside it and kept you out until you paid them...to let you back in to your home. Instead of locking you out of your house, this malware is locking your valuable data up and keeping it from you until you pay them in an untraceable manner. This form of cyber crime has been a long standing issue for both the DHS and the FBI, as it is usually outside of their reach and capability. When you get hit by ransomware in the 21st century's digitally driven business world, unless you have properly protected backups, you are SOL until you pay. Even with protected backups, you still may be up the creek without a paddle.
Stay up to date, stay informed, stay secure. Please contact VS19 for any questions at info@vs19.org
November 17, 2018 | The Office “Computer” Person:
Many small businesses who aren’t already IT managed by an IT company, or staff an actual IT educated person, tend to have the classic “Jane or Joe who knows enough about computers”. This person does their job, as well as doubles as the office computer whiz. While in some cases Jane or Joe actually do have a minor background in computer science or IT sciences, most of them do not. This generally has saved the small businesses a lot of money in the case of hiring a qualified computer technician, or it has saved them some money here and there from hiring an IT management company. While the former does come out to a big savings, (think yearly salary), the latter does not. In fact, it can end up costing a company big money later on down the road. It may be costing them money right now that they didn’t even know about.
See, while Jane or Joe knew enough to keep things running, they probably haven’t been brushing up on the latest updates in technology, software, firmware, or especially security. Keeping up with the changes in technology and software is a job within itself, and it can be daunting even for us IT companies. Everything is changing at a pace so rapid, that every day innovations or breaches are made to software and security. Now while Jane and Joe have been keeping the company running, they have done so likely without implementing best practices, which will leave your systems vulnerable. The systems themselves may also be running very inefficiently, or even improperly, costing you time and money. In the end, what you will have to pay someone to fix it and do it right could be a lot less then the money you lose from a detrimental breach, failure in the system, or long standing inefficiencies. If you are a business owner utilizing a current staff member as the go-to “computer" person, ask yourself these questions:
If my system failed today, would I lose all of my data? How long might it take Jane/Joe to get us back up and running again? What would Jane/Joe do if our main computer or server was breached maliciously? Does Jane/Joe know the most current security protocols for all of our systems? Does it seem like my computer/network/system gets in the way of company growth at times? What would I lose if I lost all of our data to system failure or malicious breach? Would my business survive a catastrophic data loss or system failure under Jane/Joe?
Ask yourself these questions and you might begin to feel a weight of severe realization that you are playing a dangerous game of chicken with your business from not utilizing a professional. There are many things that cannot be undone after the fact unless the proper systems were put in place. VS19, along with all other IT Management companies, are here to help you and your business run safely and smoothly, so don’t hesitate to call any of us!
August 2nd, 2018 | Computer Security:
Computer security can be a tricky monster to try and wrangle. There are many different ways to apply higher levels of security, but when doing so, you also increase time, effort, and risk of lockout in doing certain task. One common way of increasing computer security is to arrange a better system of passwords.
Many people often utilize passwords that would be far to easy to crack should they ever be targeted. Easy passwords generally include information that is easily obtainable through online perusing, or common word/number swap combinations. With more creative cracking programs and programmers these days, the passwords people thought were safe have been shown to be relatively easy to break.
Another common issue of todays world is overuse of passwords. People who utilize the same password, or variation of, for most or all of their logins and personal systems can find themselves in a massive panic if they are hacked under one system or site. Often the algorithm for logging into sites is pretty uniform: Username = Email. Password = X. Many phishing scams are designed to acquire all of the necessary details in one swoop. A lot of these attacks are also received through our most common information medium, email.
VS19 highly suggest a different style of password for todays computer threat. The best passwords when tested appear to be those that comprise of two or more random dictionary words with two numeric digits. If you really want to add in some difficulty, add a symbol. These are the types of passwords that begin to reach the required timeframe that most hackers would be unwilling to spend on such a task. Just be sure your words are unrelated to your social or personal life. Also, if you can utilize a variation of different passwords across your different systems/subscriptions, you will be much better off in the event that one of your passwords is discovered.
If you would like to know more information about best password and system protection practices, please contact Virtue Systems 19 any time!
July 25th, 2018 | Cloud Services:
Cloud opportunities are common in todays technologically driven world. Every major company offers a cloud solution of some sort, even Virtue Systems 19! Cloud options are great, but some consumers still don't understand how cloud options work. Let us explain!
Anything labeled as the "cloud" (Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, etc.) is actually just a big external hard drive array attached to the internet. Companies of course have these set up properly through server systems and behind big firewalls. This can be helpful when you want to keep your data in a location that is accessible anywhere, or keep an extra backup. You have to be aware of the plausible downsides though. We tend to reference common big cloud systems as Hotel Californias, as they are easy to get into, but very difficult to get out of. Take Apple's iCloud for example: On a lot of Apple products, it is programmed in a way that if you don't know what precisely you are doing, it will automatically set you up to utilize Apples iCloud for your photos, files, etc. Once these files begin being saved on the iCloud, the only way for you to get them off is if you download each file or photo individually. Now this might not seem too bad, but imagine having hundreds or even thousands of pictures or files saved in this manner. The task rapidly becomes daunting. Furthermore, once you go beyond your free amount of space, you have to pay monthly or annual fees to gain more space.
We suggest that anyone looking at utilizing a Cloud option get some facts and numbers down first; How much space do I need? How long will this amount of space last me? How much does it cost? How much will it cost to increase? How much time and effort would it take to leave? If you get these questions answered first before you leap into a cloud option, you will be in a much more comfortable position in the long run than if you hadn't. Answering these questions may even turn you off to what you thought was such a great option.
Virtue Systems 19 offers a cloud data storage and offsite backup solution to it's clients as well. Rates are fair compared to competitors, along with a high level of security and service. And if you should decide in the future that you no longer wish to store your data with us, no problem! You get all your data downloaded to your computer, or a external hard drive of your choosing. Not only do we offer solutions, we can also set up your own personal solution! Did you know that you can house your own personal Cloud at your house or business? They are awesome to use and easy to maintain. Virtue Systems 19 is also a partner with one of the nations leading companies of personal cloud solution hardware, so we can bring you a level of service you thought only existed in IT fairytales. Feel free to call or email us for more information!
July 5th, 2018 | Computer Security:
In today's Hollywood fueled society, we get a lot of our ideas about how things work from TV shows and movies. The downside to this is that it becomes hard to tell real science from Hollywood fiction. Thanks to TV shows like Mr. Robot, computer buzzwords tend to get shuffled around and fed to society without people really knowing what they are. Today's common computer security buzzword is VPN.
"I think I have a virus! Once I get rid of this, I'm getting a VPN."
"I think someone has the ability to remotely control my computer, so I'm going to set up a VPN to fix it."
"I have a bad feeling about this file, so I am going to start my VPN before I open it."
All of the above statements show a misunderstanding of what a VPN (Virtual Private Network) truly is. To put it in laymans terms, think of traversing the internet as walking from one point of an open field to another. You start in one place, and you stare at the place you are going to go to and you walk. Now obviously you aren't the only one in the field, because other people are going to other places, or even sometimes the same place. For the most part, everything is public to some degree. Now what if you had to carry a lot of sensitive items from one place to another and you didn't want other people to be able to see it at all, like a big chest full of gold. Well in that case, you would create a secure tunnel from your location to your destination underground. It's a tunnel meant only for you, and no one else can use it. This is essentially what a VPN is, an underground tunnel from point A to point B.
VPN's are most commonly used by people who wish to have secure access to company resources while being offsite. It is also used if you are on a public wifi that you don't trust the security of. But it will not stop viruses from getting on your computer if you still accept them (clicking on malware email links, going to bad webpages, etc) All it does is hide your traffic from the public internet. Depending on what types of attacks you are getting, it might not necessarily stop those either. What most people are better off utilizing for security purposes is a high grade firewall (hardware). VPN's are however a great tool for the traveling worker. Especially when traveling overseas, VPN's can help protect your sensitive data from prying eyes.
If you are interested in utilizing a VPN, or have questions, please feel free to contact Virtue Systems 19 any time!
June 20th, 2018 | Updates:
In todays ever changing technological society, we constantly are bombarded with updates to our software and our firmware for our devices. Many times, these new updates provide us with better features or faster ways of processing. Unfortunately, there are times also where these updates hinder us more than they help us. They can be full of 'bugs' that still have yet to be worked out, and might not be for many weeks, or even months.
VS19 usually recommends a conservative approach with updates and when to apply them. If it isn't considered system dire, we suggest you wait a few weeks before applying low level updates. As for larger wholesome updates (such as an entirely new iOS, fancy Mac name software, or a big jump in digits for the Windows [1709, 1803]) we suggest you wait for as long as 6 months before jumping into those updates to remain as comfortably functional as possible. Sometimes we don't have the option to wait either, or the company makes it increasingly annoying to stay at your current level using little tricks, or "encouragements".
Microsoft just implemented a change in their updating process for home users that only allows you to forgo the updating process in Windows 10 for a maximum of 35 days before you are forced to update. This has caused many IT professionals alike to groan at the upcoming slew of problems that this could potentially cause, but there are ways to deal with certain situations.
Although there may not always be something that you can do about some situations, we would like all of you to be aware of the updating process and how it may effect your devices in the future. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us anytime!
June 16th, 2018 | Network Dependency:
In today's connected world, we rely heavily on the ability to access and maintain access to the internet. Whether it's for our home personal use and devices, or it is feeding our small business operations to the community and back, we count on it working. That means that when the internet feed stops, so do our hearts and minds.
For many small businesses especially, losing internet connectivity can mean loss in workflow which turns into loss of revenue. We count heavily on ISP's (Internet Service Service Providers) such as Centurylink, Comcast, etc. to provide us with a uninterrupted connection. Unfortunately, life happens. Cable/ground wires get cut during construction, ISP modems go bad, a section of the grid goes down, and we are left feeling helpless.
While there isn't an easy fix or solution to this problem, there are ways to mitigate its effects and affects. For small businesses, this may look like coming up with a LOC (Loss of Connection) plan to understand what services will be lost and what may still be maintained through other efforts. For home/personal use, this may look like discussing what services you regularly use and what needs to be online vs what can be turned into an offline capability.
As we move into the future of the Internet of Things, it will be important to not hope that the internet stays up, but instead begin planning around what you can do when you lose it. Nothing in this world is flawless, and as Murphys 'Law' dictates, "If it can happen, it will happen."
June 10th, 2018 | Backups:
We have all heard it before, "Remember to backup!", but we still neglect to do so. Even us IT professionals are prone to our own failures to backup. We don't necessarily learn the lesson well enough until it finally happens, the big crash or somebody makes off with your laptop. We lose all of our hard work from the past days, weeks, months, or more.
We recently had a client experience hard drive failure first hand. Not just computer is down for a few hours failure, but full, non-responsive, unrecoverable hard drive failure. This client would have lost ALL work related material had VS19 not installed a centralized backup unit to do incremental backups of all office computers 3 weeks beforehand. This client went from the likely loss of all their data on this employees computer, to not losing a single change in work documents. It was quite literally a flip from worst case scenario to best case scenario. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, not everything is recoverable either. There are plenty of cases where the data will not be recoverable at all, even if you're willing to shell out big cash to a data recovery business. Solid State Drives are at higher risk for this because of the type of technology that they use. It was in fact a SSD hard drive that died on this clients computer.
The main point of this story is that regardless of your situation or who does your computer work, backing up is important. It will always be better to back up and not need it than not back up and wish you had. Catastrophic failure can happen to anyone!