Kroll Ontrack, a data recovery company, is offering free digital image recovery to home PC users affected by computer water damage as a result of the recent New South Wales storms.
Kroll Ontrack, a data recovery company, is offering free digital image recovery to home PC users affected by computer water damage as a result of the recent New South Wales storms.
"While digital photos stored on CDs and DVDs are easily transportable before a storm arrives, the same cannot be said for photos stored on computer hard drives, where many treasured family photos often reside," the company said in a statement.
According to the Photo Marketing Association, of the 20 billion digital images taken globally in 2005, nearly 65 per cent, or 12 billion images, were stored solely in digital formats, including CDs, DVDs and hard drives.
Ontrack said the impact of data loss to home users couldn't be underestimated now that digital photography has become so pervasive.
"This fact is reinforced by the increase in the number of jobs Kroll Ontrack receives following a natural disaster such as the NSW storms," the company said.
The NSW storms have prompted over 9,000 insurance claims so far to a single insurer that has released its stats -- Insurance Australia Group (IAG), with claims estimated to hit $250million.
"Damage to personal property during severe weather can be devastating," said Adrian Briscoe, general manager for Kroll Ontrack Australia. "While most possessions can be replaced and are usually covered by insurance, the same cannot be said for family photos."
"Fortunately, the majority of digital photos can be recovered from water-damaged or power-affected drives with the help of data recovery software and or services," the company said.
"Kroll Ontrack is happy to offer the expertise of our 150 highly-trained engineers to recover treasured digital photos for affected residents at no charge," added Briscoe.
For more information on this offer, consumers can contact Kroll Ontrack on 1 800 872 259. The free offer will be available until the end of July.