FarStone Addresses Inevitable Security Breaches for PC Users with Personal Disaster Recovery Tool; Powerful Recovery Software Enables Continuous Data Protection.

IRVINE, Calif. -- Recent surveys show that as many as 40 percent of PC users have had a serious virus infection even though they were protected by antivirus and firewall software. So what happens when a system is infected by a virus, or Windows(R) will not boot or the user simply makes an error that causes data to be lost?

In the event of a total system crash, some restore programs will work as long as Windows can be accessed, but if Windows will not start, users can lose all their data and may be stuck reinstalling all of their applications and Operating System (OS). Conversely, users with a comprehensive, system recovery software solution that provides continuous data protection (CDP) can restore their entire system as if the problem had never occurred.

"Many consumers, home office workers, and individuals working in small businesses have their important data stored in laptops and desktop PCs, but much of this data remains unprotected," said Michelle Zou, research analyst at IDC. "If the system crashes or data is corrupted, these individuals often lack the skills, tools, and resources necessary to restore their systems and recover their data. FarStone RestoreIT(R) is addressing this problem by backing up data automatically and enabling individuals to recover their systems and data easily without outside assistance."

Developed to meet the needs of individuals, small office/home office (SOHO) and small-to-medium sized business (SMB) users, RestoreIT, from FarStone Technology Inc., is a Personal Disaster Recovery(TM) tool that, among other things, prevents data loss due to PC malfunctions or user error. By keeping ongoing, complete system backups the software delivers a unique portfolio of features in a single package that is so easy to use it only takes two key strokes for PC users to instantly roll their systems back to a point before a virus attack or other disaster.

RestoreIT creates backups to a hidden protected partition on the hard drive. The RestoreIT partition does not require Windows(R) to run. After the partition is created, RestoreIT stores a complete backup image (a compressed archive) of an entire system as well as incremental backups that record any changes made on the PC. Users can also create a bootable Recover CD to store a duplicate copy of the complete backup on a CD or DVD. When the PC is infected by a virus, Windows will not boot, or the user loses data through some other unforeseen event, RestoreIT allows users to quickly restore their PC. In addition, if a hard drive becomes physically damaged, the system can be recreated on a new hard drive when restoring from the bootable backup CD/DVD.

RestoreIT removes the lost productivity associated with accidental deletions, overwrites, virus attacks and Windows crashes by instantly restoring lost files. Users simply access RestoreIT, either through Windows or by pressing the space bar during startup (if Windows is inoperable), and systems are restored to an incremental backup point made prior to the data loss or system failure.

"Thankfully, RestoreIT was one of a few software inclusions when I bought my system because it ended up saving me so many hours of grief and aggravation," said Stan Cohen, Cohen Dental and Implant Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. "RestoreIT's powerful capabilities became perfectly clear when I installed an update to my dental practice management software that turned out to be flawed. In minutes my entire directory had been overwritten wiping out all my data and replacing it with default files. I was looking at having to uninstall the update, re-install the old CD and then obtain a download of my most recent back-up from my off-site service. I tried the restore function for the first time on RestoreIT and within just a few minutes, everything was back in its original place and working."

The latest version of RestoreIT provides migration to a Linux Graphical User Interface (GUI) for unprecedented compatibility with a majority of CD/DVD writers as well as USB drives. RestoreIT features and benefits include:

--Complete (static) Backup -- Back up a PC's entire hard drive

--Incremental Restore -- Restore from a virus attack, Windows crash, program interoperability, or user error

--File-Level Restore -- Retrieve lost, overwritten, or deleted files and folders

--Advanced Security Options -- Password protection to launch RestoreIT and password protection to restore a PC

--Advanced Scheduling Options -- Set the frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, etc.) of incremental restore points and set the frequency for automatic restore commands

--Real-mode user interface

--Enable/disable file-level backup

--Online help via a flash-based user tutorial, which can be launched directly from the program

--An advanced installation wizard determines whether a PC needs defragmentation before installing the software, which provides for smooth installation and automatic configuration

Pricing and Availability

RestoreIT 6.5 is currently available at an MSRP of $39.99 for single-user or $169.99 for five users at the FarStone Online Store accessible at the following link: http://www.farstone.com/home/ensite/products/product.shtml or on the RestoreIT 6.5 Web site at http://www.farstone.com/home/ensite/products/rit.shtml.

RestoreIT Network is also offered for SMB and large enterprise organizations. More information can be found at: http://www.farstone.com/home/ensite/products/ritn.shtml.

About FarStone

Founded in 1993, FarStone Technology is a leading developer of PC and network-based system recovery solutions and a provider of digital content security, replication and management utilities. FarStone is an ISO 9001-certified software publisher holding multiple technology patents. With headquarters in Irvine, the company licenses its software to corporations, small businesses, educational institutions and consumers worldwide. FarStone's global technology partners include Intel, NEC, Phoenix Technologies and Toshiba.