Data loss can be a massive hiccup for any person, business or entity trying to conduct their affairs in the information rich landscape of the 21st century. The impermanence of electronic information can sometimes be enough to lead a computer user to pull their hair out or strive against the urge to stick their fist through their screen. Mercifully, the increase in computer technology and technical advancement has seen fit to develop data recovery software and hardware designed specifically to counteract these feelings of hopelessness which every computer user has experienced at some point in their lives.

Folks treasure the knowledge and information that they have. Without it, they would not be where they are today. As such, people have come to develop the means of information storage to make sure that they hold onto as much of this information as possible and continue to develop as a species.

The simplest way to protect against information loss is through the use of backup programs. Often very simple to use and relatively cheap, such solutions are very common these days. In fact, the latest versions of Windows come standard with basic level programs.

Housed within massive server blocks deep within the recesses of major online corporations, all this information whirrs around waiting to be called up and accessed at any time by the millions of internet users the world over. These companies spend millions on developing fail-safes and countermeasures to make sure that it is never lost or corrupted. Their livelihood depends on it.

Big corporations and even small businesses have developed systems and countermeasures in place to address the issue of losses. However these measures can often be time consuming, costly or technically difficult to set up for the everyday computer user. What can the layman do in order to protect themselves in this way?

This kind of recovery is often far more technically difficult as the problem often lies within the physical make-up of the hardware rather than with the software. There are many companies today which specialize in this kind of information recovery which can be time consuming or costly. This kind of recovery should probably only be attempted in the case of extreme circumstances.

The most common cause of such a loss is probably that of a cut in electricity, a problem that anyone can relate to. The best away around such a problem is through the purchase of an uninterruptable power supply or UPS. These devices plug into the main power supply of your home or office and charge while the electricity is on. As soon as the power cuts the UPS leaps into action and will keep your computer running long enough for you to save your work and wait for the power to come back on.

It may just be that the days of locally held hard disk drives and storage media are coming to an end and data recovery software is able to do the job just as well. High speed internet and the availability of large chunks of online storage space have made it possible for data to be uploaded and stored on the fly. Information has never been easier to save and access than right now. Maybe it's time all people got their heads in the clouds.