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Vista to have inbuilt undelete

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Dan Warne28 July 2006, 2:20 AM

Hey! It looks like you're shredding a letter! Would you like me to undelete that for your boss?

Vista has an inbuilt undelete system based on Windows Server 2003's versioning file system, Microsoft has revealed.

The technology, which is automatically switched on in Vista, will be a boon for anyone who has accidentally overwritten their PhD thesis with a BPAY receipt.

However, it will also no doubt play a part in plenty of future court cases revolving around files that people thought they had deleted.

The technology used to preserve the files is called "volume shadow copy". In Vista, the user sees it as "previous versions".

It keeps backups of older versions of files when you save a new version -- sort of like how old versions of Word used to save "bak" files (though this technology is actually useful because it provides an interface for restoring versions reliably).

With shadow copy, if you accidentally erase some key paragraphs of a Word document and then manage to save over the top of the complete file, Vista will preserve the old version and you can restore it later.

But Microsoft says the feature can also be used in the case of accidental deletions.

"In the event of an inadvertent change or deletion of a file or folder, Previous Versions allows you to revert the file or folder to any previous version, restore a previous version from a backup (made with Windows Backup), or make a copy of a previous version."

Previous Versions is automatically switched on in Vista, but can be disabled via the System Protection tab on the System Properties control panel.

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Rich:

Isnt this a big security risk.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

nosredna ekim:

umm yeah.. if you want to delete something and you forget get to turn this "feature" off does that mean you have your old document saved somewhere?

if so.... *shudders*

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

slackdaemon:

Yet another example of why micro$oft doesn't "get it".

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Me:

Umm.. Don't you understand which enormous resource this may prove to be for the users? As stated, it won't be any problems turning this FEATURE off! For us useres with some computerskills this is great! Think about it.. Symantec has apps doing the same thing (GoBack) which costs a great deal of money, and to think we in the future get it integrated into the system? BTW, is this included in all the Vista versions? Or perhaps just Buisness and Ultimate for instance?

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Cheekybabe:

A serious breach of privacy, the right to make mistakes and remove the error. The right to be human! not a machine. A basic human right to learn from mistakes. The current old version already in msXP is enough.. or am I a robot too?

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

xertnevnI:

It isn't such a big security risk.. it is possible already in XP, by installing GoBack or PC Inspector File Recovery or other file recovery programs.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Stephen:

Last I checked, Microsoft isn't forcing you to use this feature. If you don't like, turn it off and quit complaining about it. In the business world this will be useful, because if you're being a jerk-off at work and rightfully deserve to get canned, you won't be able to sue the company for unrightful dismissal because of the resumes to other companies you've saved on your computer and then deleted.

Point of the matter is, they aren't forcing you to use it, so quit complaining.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Dan Warne:

I definitely agree that it's a feature that will be enormously useful to many people.

HOWEVER, there is a big impact of shipping a feature switched "on" by default in an operating system as pervasive as Windows.

I'm not saying in the story that it's a necessarily bad thing -- it's obviously not.

What I am pointing out, though, is that there are going to be a hell of a lot of people who are unaware that that system exists and are going to get caught out when it is discovered that the files they thought they deleted were not.

The argument that anyone can switch it off easily is easily debunked by looking at the history of Windows. Remember all the problems we had with Windows when it shipped with a lot of services automatically switched on? One of the biggest selling points for Windows Server 2003 was that upon installation, most things were switched off by default.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

nosredna ekim:

exactly my point.... its not a BAD feature necesarily (nothing is bad unless its used for the wrong purpose) Also, Won't this also clog disk space not actually deleting anything? on Linux, I believe everything is actually DELETED when you DELETE it *gasp.* I would rather have it that way than the Windows way where some personal document may not be deleted. Sure, the feature CAN be turned off... but wasn't Microsoft WGA the same way?

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Piranha:

I think it might be a little different using deleted > recycle bin, SHIFT + DELETE, or writing over a document. If the feature is just turned on if you accidentally write over something, I can understand. If you SHIFT + DELETE and are an idiot, no sympathy! =)

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

FreqMod:

When you delete a file on linux(ext2/3) you only remove the inode. The file is still on the drive and may be recovered (at least peaces of it quite easily if you know a (somewhat) unique byte sequence each 4 kb)
I.e you could use a printout of an older version of the document and search for a sentence.

You could use http://lde.sourceforge.net/ or the debug tools for your operating system to search for interesting blocks and look at recently deleted inodes.

Of course this is requires some computer knowledge, but shows that a file is not deleted if it is not overwritten and not gone before the disk is destroyed.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Dot Matt:

Will antivirus/antispyware/antimalware software automatically work around this feature to ensure complete deletions? Is this enabled across an entire filesystem, or can be enabled per file/folder? Will my Windows DLLs be versioned as new versions are written by patches? Could this be used to roll back a security patch in a multi-tier attack?

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Kim:

It would probably not be a problem with disk space. It will probably run in the background and automatically reuse the oldest deleted files when disk space is low

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Rick Winslow:

What about viruses? Or malicious macros? Wouldn't be a bummer to get several of these backed up?

Oh that's right. Vista won't get viruses.

But then, yes, you can turn it off.

What if the virus or macro disables the way you can turn off the backup feature?

Oh that's right. Vista won't get viruses.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

steve:

everyone forgets... if people want your files, then it makes no difference whether shadow copy is on or not. There's always a way.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

TimStone:

Wow, some people need to grow up quite a bit on here.

Instead of putting down Windows and Microsoft everyday with every paragraph you write, maybe you should try something more productive in your lives.

Because this crap isn't working for anyone. It's very poor and it shows that you really don't have a mind of your own.

I wish I could turn off some of these kids on here like I could turn off this feature.

I guess I have to speak in a language that they can understand. Linux iz l33t!

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

steve:

Sun Microsystems has a superior file version implementation in Solaris using ZFS snapshots.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

hanumizzle:

> Instead of putting down Windows and Microsoft everyday with every paragraph you write, maybe you should try something more productive in your lives.

If the shoe fits, they (MS) should wear it. Their security record has been nothing less than a joke for the past decade and then some. How much has their complete failure to get their shit together cost in total? Millions? Billions?

> I wish I could turn off some of these kids on here like I could turn off this feature.

It shouldn't exist as part of a filesystem. If I want that, I use Emacs or Vim. Or, if I really want to go all out, I use Subversion.

VMS had support for the same thing though. Another Microsoft innovation...

> I guess I have to speak in a language that they can understand. Linux iz l33t!

I understand Perl, Python, Ruby, C, some German, and a little of an unusual Tai-Dam language called Isan. For the record, I do not use 'l337 sp33k' habitually.

Who said anyone criticizing MS in this thread is a Linux user anyway? You just *assumed* it.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

RMD:

Is the Trash Can or the Recycle Bin a "serious breach of privacy" because it keeps deleted files there until you empty it?

If you don't like the feature, turn it off.

Furthermore, if you're saving your "private" files in your documents folder, it will be protected by file system security anyway.

If you're really worried, why don't you use bitlocker file encryption. Another great new feature in Vista.

I know everybody is just dying to have Microsoft fail and to find every reason they can to bash them, but Vista is a great OS.

29 February 2008, 8:29 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

DonkeyMaster:

Can the user choose which folders are "protected" this way? I'm ok with having 5 gigs of superfluous data on my hard disk to keep the versions of "My Documents", for instance, but I'm not ok with it keeping all programs I have uninstalled, or the Internet Explorer Cache, or "C:\Windows\Temp", or even "C:\Windows\" alltogether. I'm very fond of the System Restore, but find it sometimes isn't aggressive enough (like, I restore, then unrestore, then end up with the same folder copied 3 times).

Anyway, I think this is a good feature, and you have to stop being paranoid. I mean, you can undelete your old files, so what? If it's important, you're prolly an advanced enough user to manage it.

Also, I already have this on XP, for free. CVS anyone? It's overkill, but it works.

29 February 2008, 8:29 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

lynn:

Does this inbuilt undelete feature also work when I have accidentally overwritten photo's with another photo with the same file name? If it does have this ability then I think it will be fantastic - if not then its something they seriously need to look at including.

29 February 2008, 8:29 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Dan Warne:

I believe so, yes...

29 February 2008, 8:37 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Jackson Capper:

I didn't know I had that safety measure. The worst things have happened to me in the past accidentally overwriting files. That's excellent. Now I can stress less.

Anyone who complains about this feature is just a typical negative dork who posts negative comments on everything they possibly can.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Brandon:

Wow, i dont think you guys fully understnad the significance of this feature. I didnt know that it was aactually on my computer, but when i found myself with a virus, that lagged my computer unbelievably, so slow, it took a couple minutes to open IE. I went to system recovery at the startup, and pow, right there were 4 other saved versions of my computer, so i clicked on the one that was a couple days earlier, to make sure i got rid of the virus, and it worked. i was surprised, but very happy. Now earlier tonight, i found myself staring at a screen that just said SECURITY: TROJAN. HIGH LVL SECURITY RISK... I just wanted to watch a video, and i downloaded a trojan... I couldnt do 1 thing without 14 security windows popping up. So once again, i used the back up feature, and now im trojan-less.

P.S. WTF DOES IT MATTER IF YOU CAN GET OLD FILES AFTER YOU DELETE THEM, just let me ask you: ARE YOUR FILES ILLEGAL? ARE THOSE FILES SO IMPORTANT YOU LOSE ALL OF YOUR SAVINGS/BUSINESS/LIFE? WILL THOSE FILES AFFECT YOUR PERSONAL LIFE? if you answered yes to any of those, you have problems...

29 February 2008, 8:47 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

BoBo:

Just So everyone knows this is going to help save a lot of headachs with alot of people who delete all there personal family photos. How would you feel if you lost all that data and you could not get it back? Beside i have a program that i bought legally that can recovery your data even after doing a format of the hard drive so if you are worried about your personal data then when you are done with your hard drive i recommend taking it apart and destroying it as best you can then go and bury it in your back yard.
The only defence agaist this would be to encrypt your entire hard drive and that can even be broken with enough time and patience

29 February 2008, 8:48 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend