Travelers at major European airports including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin faced significant delays this weekend following what Collins Aerospace described as a “cyber-related incident.”
Collins Aerospace makes technology for airline check-in desks, so after the apparent cyberattack, airlines were forced to revert to manual check-ins, according to the Guardian. According to data from Flightradar24, more than 130 Heathrow flights had been delayed by 20 minutes or more as of 11am on Sunday morning, with 13 flights canceled on Saturday.
A post on the Heathrow social media account said, “Work continues to resolve and recover from Friday’s outage of a Collins Aerospace airline system that impacted check-in. We apologise to those who have faced delays, but by working together with airlines, the vast majority of flights have continued to operate.”
Heathrow, like other affected airports, has recommended that travelers arrive at least three hours before departure for long-haul flights, and at least two hours beforehand for short-haul flights.
Source link
#Hundreds #flights #delayed #Heathrow #airports #apparent #cyberattack #TechCrunch
Kouloglou told TechCrunch in a phone call that the deliberate compromise of his phone was “reckless.” One serving European lawmaker described the hacking of Kouloglou’s phone as a “direct attack on the rule of law,” and called on the European Commission to take concrete action by imposing strict limits on the use of spyware across the 27 member-state bloc.
While spyware attacks on lawmakers are rare, the timing and targeting of a committee investigator by way of the very spyware under his investigation suggests an intense focus on the committee’s inner workings ahead of a widely anticipated report detailing its findings. The hacks open fresh questions about how governments use spyware ostensibly needed for identifying serious crime, but then caught spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
Citizen Lab’s researchers did not attribute the phone hacking to a specific country, but said that the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address that was used in a previous campaign that hacked into the phones of journalists across Europe. The customer’s identity is not known, but the reuse of the same attacking email address implies that the customer had NSO Group’s authorization to use its Pegasus spyware to snoop on phones across multiple countries in Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. NSO Group also did not respond to a request for comment about the Citizen Lab report prior to publication.
In its report out Friday, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou was hacked in October 2022 and at least twice during March 2023 using an exploit that compromised a security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone software. This vulnerability had been patched but the fix was not yet installed on Kouloglou’s phone. The exploit was a “zero-click” bug, meaning the spyware broke in and stole his data without needing any interaction on his part.
The bug abused a previously discovered flaw in Apple’s smart home software used in iPhones. It allowed the spyware to grab private data from Kouloglou’s phone without his knowledge, such as his text messages and other correspondence, location data, and photos.
The timing of the October 2022 hack coincides with intense discussions over email and text message throughout October and November 2022, ahead of the delivery of a first draft describing spyware abuses focusing in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.
The hack also lines up at the exact time that Kouloglou was in the hospital at the time for a pre-scheduled surgery, which may have allowed the spyware operators to listen in to ambient audio discussing his healthcare or other conversations he had with visitors at the time.
Months later on March 6 and 7, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou’s phone was hacked again by the same Pegasus operator while Kouloglou traveled from Athens to Brussels, during a period of committee hearings and months prior to the committee finalizing and adopting their written draft report.
In a call, Kouloglou told TechCrunch that he didn’t know why he was specifically targeted but that he believes it was due to his work on the European Parliament’s committee investigating Pegasus abuses.
He described anger when he learned that his phone had been hacked.
“You realize that all of your personal data [was taken] — not all the professional exchanges or messages with ministers — but also the very private things, like the happy moments and the sad moments,” he told TechCrunch.
Kouloglou said he plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker. NSO remains largely banned from use in the United States following a Biden-era executive order that outlawed the government’s use of spyware that could violate people’s human rights.
Kouloglou told TechCrunch in a phone call that the deliberate compromise of his phone was “reckless.” One serving European lawmaker described the hacking of Kouloglou’s phone as a “direct attack on the rule of law,” and called on the European Commission to take concrete action by imposing strict limits on the use of spyware across the 27 member-state bloc.
While spyware attacks on lawmakers are rare, the timing and targeting of a committee investigator by way of the very spyware under his investigation suggests an intense focus on the committee’s inner workings ahead of a widely anticipated report detailing its findings. The hacks open fresh questions about how governments use spyware ostensibly needed for identifying serious crime, but then caught spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
Citizen Lab’s researchers did not attribute the phone hacking to a specific country, but said that the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address that was used in a previous campaign that hacked into the phones of journalists across Europe. The customer’s identity is not known, but the reuse of the same attacking email address implies that the customer had NSO Group’s authorization to use its Pegasus spyware to snoop on phones across multiple countries in Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. NSO Group also did not respond to a request for comment about the Citizen Lab report prior to publication.
In its report out Friday, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou was hacked in October 2022 and at least twice during March 2023 using an exploit that compromised a security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone software. This vulnerability had been patched but the fix was not yet installed on Kouloglou’s phone. The exploit was a “zero-click” bug, meaning the spyware broke in and stole his data without needing any interaction on his part.
The bug abused a previously discovered flaw in Apple’s smart home software used in iPhones. It allowed the spyware to grab private data from Kouloglou’s phone without his knowledge, such as his text messages and other correspondence, location data, and photos.
The timing of the October 2022 hack coincides with intense discussions over email and text message throughout October and November 2022, ahead of the delivery of a first draft describing spyware abuses focusing in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.
The hack also lines up at the exact time that Kouloglou was in the hospital at the time for a pre-scheduled surgery, which may have allowed the spyware operators to listen in to ambient audio discussing his healthcare or other conversations he had with visitors at the time.
Months later on March 6 and 7, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou’s phone was hacked again by the same Pegasus operator while Kouloglou traveled from Athens to Brussels, during a period of committee hearings and months prior to the committee finalizing and adopting their written draft report.
In a call, Kouloglou told TechCrunch that he didn’t know why he was specifically targeted but that he believes it was due to his work on the European Parliament’s committee investigating Pegasus abuses.
He described anger when he learned that his phone had been hacked.
“You realize that all of your personal data [was taken] — not all the professional exchanges or messages with ministers — but also the very private things, like the happy moments and the sad moments,” he told TechCrunch.
Kouloglou said he plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker. NSO remains largely banned from use in the United States following a Biden-era executive order that outlawed the government’s use of spyware that could violate people’s human rights.
Kouloglou said he was going public with his story “for democracy, human rights, and the fight against corruption.”
“Corruption concerns everybody,” he said.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
#Politician #investigated #spyware #abuses #phone #hacked #Pegasus #spyware #TechCrunchSpyware,Pegasus,cybersecurity,NSO Group">Politician who investigated spyware abuses had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware | TechCrunch
Security researchers have confirmed that a European politician had his phone hacked with the Pegasus spyware while serving on an investigatory committee probing abuses of the notorious surveillance tool. This has reigniting fresh controversy over governments abusing spyware to collect information about their critics.
The researchers at the University of Toronto’s digital rights unit The Citizen Lab say the confirmed phone hacking of Greek journalist and former politician Stelios Kouloglou during 2022 and 2023 marks the first time that a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, tasked with investigating phone spyware attacks by European governments, has been publicly identified as a victim of spyware.
Kouloglou told TechCrunch in a phone call that the deliberate compromise of his phone was “reckless.” One serving European lawmaker described the hacking of Kouloglou’s phone as a “direct attack on the rule of law,” and called on the European Commission to take concrete action by imposing strict limits on the use of spyware across the 27 member-state bloc.
While spyware attacks on lawmakers are rare, the timing and targeting of a committee investigator by way of the very spyware under his investigation suggests an intense focus on the committee’s inner workings ahead of a widely anticipated report detailing its findings. The hacks open fresh questions about how governments use spyware ostensibly needed for identifying serious crime, but then caught spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
Citizen Lab’s researchers did not attribute the phone hacking to a specific country, but said that the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address that was used in a previous campaign that hacked into the phones of journalists across Europe. The customer’s identity is not known, but the reuse of the same attacking email address implies that the customer had NSO Group’s authorization to use its Pegasus spyware to snoop on phones across multiple countries in Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. NSO Group also did not respond to a request for comment about the Citizen Lab report prior to publication.
In its report out Friday, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou was hacked in October 2022 and at least twice during March 2023 using an exploit that compromised a security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone software. This vulnerability had been patched but the fix was not yet installed on Kouloglou’s phone. The exploit was a “zero-click” bug, meaning the spyware broke in and stole his data without needing any interaction on his part.
The bug abused a previously discovered flaw in Apple’s smart home software used in iPhones. It allowed the spyware to grab private data from Kouloglou’s phone without his knowledge, such as his text messages and other correspondence, location data, and photos.
The timing of the October 2022 hack coincides with intense discussions over email and text message throughout October and November 2022, ahead of the delivery of a first draft describing spyware abuses focusing in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.
The hack also lines up at the exact time that Kouloglou was in the hospital at the time for a pre-scheduled surgery, which may have allowed the spyware operators to listen in to ambient audio discussing his healthcare or other conversations he had with visitors at the time.
Months later on March 6 and 7, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou’s phone was hacked again by the same Pegasus operator while Kouloglou traveled from Athens to Brussels, during a period of committee hearings and months prior to the committee finalizing and adopting their written draft report.
In a call, Kouloglou told TechCrunch that he didn’t know why he was specifically targeted but that he believes it was due to his work on the European Parliament’s committee investigating Pegasus abuses.
He described anger when he learned that his phone had been hacked.
“You realize that all of your personal data [was taken] — not all the professional exchanges or messages with ministers — but also the very private things, like the happy moments and the sad moments,” he told TechCrunch.
Kouloglou said he plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker. NSO remains largely banned from use in the United States following a Biden-era executive order that outlawed the government’s use of spyware that could violate people’s human rights.
Kouloglou said he was going public with his story “for democracy, human rights, and the fight against corruption.”
“Corruption concerns everybody,” he said.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
#Politician #investigated #spyware #abuses #phone #hacked #Pegasus #spyware #TechCrunchSpyware,Pegasus,cybersecurity,NSO Group
ScanPST. Since it ships with Outlook, it’s usually the first recommendation you’ll find. And to be fair, it does work in some situations. But a lot of times, it either simply refuses to repair the file, gets stuck midway through the process, or successfully repairs the mailbox only for important emails and folders to go missing afterward. That’s because the tool was made to fix minor errors, not to recover severely corrupted mailboxes. That’s why several third-party Outlook PST repair tools now exist that claim to mend Outlook for you. Before looking at these alternatives, though, it’s better to know why PST files become corrupted in the first place.
Why a PST File Gets Corrupted & Reasons
For the uninitiated, a PST file is essentially a database containing all your emails and important attachments. Whenever you ask POP3-configured Outlook for a particular document, it retrieves it from a local saved PST file, making it a fundamental component. Like any database, these files rely on their internal structure remaining intact. If that structure is damaged, Outlook cannot access your information, and there can be plenty of reasons for that.
Large PST files: Bigger Outlook data files are more likely to become corrupted, especially as they approach Microsoft’s recommended size limits.
Unexpected shutdowns: Power outages, system crashes, or force-closing Outlook while it’s saving data can damage the PST file.
Storage drive issues: Failing hard drives, bad sectors, or insufficient disk space can lead to file corruption.
Using network drives: Microsoft advises against storing PST files on network locations, as unstable connections can interrupt read/write operations.
Faulty add-ins or malware: Buggy Outlook add-ins, malware, or third-party utilities can also corrupt PST files over time.
Why ScanPST Fails to Restore PST Data?
The reasons are plenty, and that’s exactly why Microsoft bundles its own repair tool, ScanPST, with Outlook. In theory, it scans the internal structure and attempts to repair damaged indexes and references so Outlook can open the file again.
However, there is a problem. If ScanPST encounters mailbox items it can’t validate, it often removes them instead of rebuilding them.
How To Repair A Corrupt PST File Without ScanPST
Since we all would dearly love to get important files and attachments back, the first thing you should do is create a copy of the original PST file. Working directly on the only copy of your mailbox is risky because every repair attempt changes the database. So keep the original intact. Next, if you’re dealing with smaller PST files or working on managed office computers where software installation isn’t possible, an online PST repair service would be your best bet. One of the safer options is the Stellar Online PST Repair service. It works online, and Outlook itself doesn’t even need to be present on the system. It supports PST files from Outlook 2003 through Outlook 2024, including both ANSI and Unicode formats, and lets you preview mailbox folders and recovered item counts before downloading the repaired file.
Unlike ScanPST, the service’s main purpose is to repair and recover your files. And if your PST file is less than 500MB, you don’t even have to pay anything. The premium version increases that limit to 5GB. The only requirement is a stable connection, which shouldn’t be a problem in a corporate office.
Repair A Corrupt PST File Using Stellar Online PST Repair
Before we begin, it’s really important to back up your original PST file. No matter how great a tool is, Microsoft recommends keeping a copy before attempting any repair, as the recovery process modifies the mailbox structure. Once done:
Close Microsoft Outlook completely. Even if you’ve closed the Outlook window, it can continue running in the background, keeping the PST file locked.
Open Stellar Online PST Repair. Since the tool runs entirely in your browser, there’s nothing to install, and Outlook doesn’t even need to be present on your PC.
Upload your corrupt PST file. Select the mailbox you want to repair and upload it to the service.
Preview the recovered mailbox. Before downloading anything, browse through your recovered data. Check important folders like Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Archive, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and any custom folders you created.
Download the repaired PST file. Once you’re satisfied with the preview, download the repaired mailbox.
Open the repaired PST in Outlook. In Outlook, head to File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File, then select the repaired PST. Verify all information.
When to Use a Desktop PST Repair Tool Instead
As good as browser-based repair services are, they can only be used for quick fixes. Large mailboxes containing years’ worth of emails can take a long time to upload, and severe corruption is often beyond what an online service is designed to handle. In that case, the Stellar Repair for Outlook app makes much more sense. It has the same bells and whistles, like the ability to preview recoverable emails in detail, such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, and other important information, but processes everything locally, so your mailbox never leaves your computer.
It also doesn’t impose practical file-size limitations, supports encrypted and password-protected PST files, and allows recovered data to be saved not only as a new PST but also in formats like MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, and others. For businesses or IT administrators, the Technician edition can even export recovered mailboxes directly to Microsoft 365 or Exchange, making it easier to restore users without additional migration steps.
ScanPST vs Stellar Online PST Repair vs Desktop Recovery
Feature
ScanPST
Stellar Online PST Repair
Stellar Repair for Outlook (Desktop)
Installation required
No (Inbuilt)
No
Yes
Handles severe corruption
Limited
Moderate
Yes
Supports large PST files
Limited
Up to 5GB
Unlimited file size
Preview before recovery
No
Yes (Only folder structure)
Yes (Complete Mailbox data in details)
Recovery approach
Repairs the structure, may remove invalid items
Recovers mailbox
Recovers mailbox
Export options
None
PST
PST, MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, Microsoft 365, live Exchange
Processing location
Local
Cloud
Local
Conclusion
ScanPST remains a useful first step whenever Outlook reports a damaged PST file. It’s free, already installed alongside Outlook, and can often repair minor hiccups. However, it’s not the golden child. It fails to retain your precious files. If you don’t want that to happen, it makes sense to consider alternatives that focus on recovering mailbox data. An online repair service is often enough for smaller files and one-time repairs, while a dedicated desktop recovery tool offers more flexibility for larger or business-critical mailboxes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where is ScanPST.exe located?
The exact location depends on your Outlook version and installation method, but ScanPST is typically stored inside the Microsoft Office installation folder under Program Files.
Does ScanPST delete emails?
Yes. If ScanPST comes across mailbox items that it cannot validate during the repair process, those items may be removed from the repaired PST file.
Can ScanPST repair large PST files?
In theory, yes. But performance tends to decline as file sizes grow. Severe corruption or very large mailboxes often require more specialized recovery software.
How do I repair a PST file without losing data?
Always create a copy of the original PST before attempting repairs. If ScanPST doesn’t resolve the issue, using a recovery tool that rebuilds mailbox data rather than deleting damaged items is a safer approach.
Can I repair a PST file without installing software?
Absolutely. Browser-based repair services allow you to upload supported PST files, preview recoverable mailbox data, and download the repaired file without installing Outlook or additional software.
ScanPST. Since it ships with Outlook, it’s usually the first recommendation you’ll find. And to be fair, it does work in some situations. But a lot of times, it either simply refuses to repair the file, gets stuck midway through the process, or successfully repairs the mailbox only for important emails and folders to go missing afterward. That’s because the tool was made to fix minor errors, not to recover severely corrupted mailboxes. That’s why several third-party Outlook PST repair tools now exist that claim to mend Outlook for you. Before looking at these alternatives, though, it’s better to know why PST files become corrupted in the first place.
Why a PST File Gets Corrupted & Reasons
For the uninitiated, a PST file is essentially a database containing all your emails and important attachments. Whenever you ask POP3-configured Outlook for a particular document, it retrieves it from a local saved PST file, making it a fundamental component. Like any database, these files rely on their internal structure remaining intact. If that structure is damaged, Outlook cannot access your information, and there can be plenty of reasons for that.
Large PST files: Bigger Outlook data files are more likely to become corrupted, especially as they approach Microsoft’s recommended size limits.
Unexpected shutdowns: Power outages, system crashes, or force-closing Outlook while it’s saving data can damage the PST file.
Storage drive issues: Failing hard drives, bad sectors, or insufficient disk space can lead to file corruption.
Using network drives: Microsoft advises against storing PST files on network locations, as unstable connections can interrupt read/write operations.
Faulty add-ins or malware: Buggy Outlook add-ins, malware, or third-party utilities can also corrupt PST files over time.
Why ScanPST Fails to Restore PST Data?
The reasons are plenty, and that’s exactly why Microsoft bundles its own repair tool, ScanPST, with Outlook. In theory, it scans the internal structure and attempts to repair damaged indexes and references so Outlook can open the file again.
However, there is a problem. If ScanPST encounters mailbox items it can’t validate, it often removes them instead of rebuilding them.
How To Repair A Corrupt PST File Without ScanPST
Since we all would dearly love to get important files and attachments back, the first thing you should do is create a copy of the original PST file. Working directly on the only copy of your mailbox is risky because every repair attempt changes the database. So keep the original intact. Next, if you’re dealing with smaller PST files or working on managed office computers where software installation isn’t possible, an online PST repair service would be your best bet. One of the safer options is the Stellar Online PST Repair service. It works online, and Outlook itself doesn’t even need to be present on the system. It supports PST files from Outlook 2003 through Outlook 2024, including both ANSI and Unicode formats, and lets you preview mailbox folders and recovered item counts before downloading the repaired file.
Unlike ScanPST, the service’s main purpose is to repair and recover your files. And if your PST file is less than 500MB, you don’t even have to pay anything. The premium version increases that limit to 5GB. The only requirement is a stable connection, which shouldn’t be a problem in a corporate office.
Repair A Corrupt PST File Using Stellar Online PST Repair
Before we begin, it’s really important to back up your original PST file. No matter how great a tool is, Microsoft recommends keeping a copy before attempting any repair, as the recovery process modifies the mailbox structure. Once done:
Close Microsoft Outlook completely. Even if you’ve closed the Outlook window, it can continue running in the background, keeping the PST file locked.
Open Stellar Online PST Repair. Since the tool runs entirely in your browser, there’s nothing to install, and Outlook doesn’t even need to be present on your PC.
Upload your corrupt PST file. Select the mailbox you want to repair and upload it to the service.
Preview the recovered mailbox. Before downloading anything, browse through your recovered data. Check important folders like Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Archive, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and any custom folders you created.
Download the repaired PST file. Once you’re satisfied with the preview, download the repaired mailbox.
Open the repaired PST in Outlook. In Outlook, head to File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File, then select the repaired PST. Verify all information.
When to Use a Desktop PST Repair Tool Instead
As good as browser-based repair services are, they can only be used for quick fixes. Large mailboxes containing years’ worth of emails can take a long time to upload, and severe corruption is often beyond what an online service is designed to handle. In that case, the Stellar Repair for Outlook app makes much more sense. It has the same bells and whistles, like the ability to preview recoverable emails in detail, such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, and other important information, but processes everything locally, so your mailbox never leaves your computer.
It also doesn’t impose practical file-size limitations, supports encrypted and password-protected PST files, and allows recovered data to be saved not only as a new PST but also in formats like MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, and others. For businesses or IT administrators, the Technician edition can even export recovered mailboxes directly to Microsoft 365 or Exchange, making it easier to restore users without additional migration steps.
ScanPST vs Stellar Online PST Repair vs Desktop Recovery
Feature
ScanPST
Stellar Online PST Repair
Stellar Repair for Outlook (Desktop)
Installation required
No (Inbuilt)
No
Yes
Handles severe corruption
Limited
Moderate
Yes
Supports large PST files
Limited
Up to 5GB
Unlimited file size
Preview before recovery
No
Yes (Only folder structure)
Yes (Complete Mailbox data in details)
Recovery approach
Repairs the structure, may remove invalid items
Recovers mailbox
Recovers mailbox
Export options
None
PST
PST, MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, Microsoft 365, live Exchange
Processing location
Local
Cloud
Local
Conclusion
ScanPST remains a useful first step whenever Outlook reports a damaged PST file. It’s free, already installed alongside Outlook, and can often repair minor hiccups. However, it’s not the golden child. It fails to retain your precious files. If you don’t want that to happen, it makes sense to consider alternatives that focus on recovering mailbox data. An online repair service is often enough for smaller files and one-time repairs, while a dedicated desktop recovery tool offers more flexibility for larger or business-critical mailboxes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where is ScanPST.exe located?
The exact location depends on your Outlook version and installation method, but ScanPST is typically stored inside the Microsoft Office installation folder under Program Files.
Does ScanPST delete emails?
Yes. If ScanPST comes across mailbox items that it cannot validate during the repair process, those items may be removed from the repaired PST file.
Can ScanPST repair large PST files?
In theory, yes. But performance tends to decline as file sizes grow. Severe corruption or very large mailboxes often require more specialized recovery software.
How do I repair a PST file without losing data?
Always create a copy of the original PST before attempting repairs. If ScanPST doesn’t resolve the issue, using a recovery tool that rebuilds mailbox data rather than deleting damaged items is a safer approach.
Can I repair a PST file without installing software?
Absolutely. Browser-based repair services allow you to upload supported PST files, preview recoverable mailbox data, and download the repaired file without installing Outlook or additional software.
#ScanPST #Fails #Repair #Corrupt #PST #Files #AlternativesOutlook">Why ScanPST Fails to Repair Corrupt PST Files — and the Best Alternatives
Whether you like using it or not, Microsoft Outlook is the lifeblood of almost every corporation in 2026. And there’s a good chance your work emails, meetings, and attachments all live inside the email client. Sadly, as with many of Microsoft’s worsening services these days, Outlook can also run into trouble, with the most common problem being an error that says your data file can’t be accessed. This frustrating issue has been around for a long time, and yet Microsoft still hasn’t completely fixed it.
Instead, Microsoft offers its own Inbox Repair Tool, better known as ScanPST. Since it ships with Outlook, it’s usually the first recommendation you’ll find. And to be fair, it does work in some situations. But a lot of times, it either simply refuses to repair the file, gets stuck midway through the process, or successfully repairs the mailbox only for important emails and folders to go missing afterward. That’s because the tool was made to fix minor errors, not to recover severely corrupted mailboxes. That’s why several third-party Outlook PST repair tools now exist that claim to mend Outlook for you. Before looking at these alternatives, though, it’s better to know why PST files become corrupted in the first place.
Why a PST File Gets Corrupted & Reasons
For the uninitiated, a PST file is essentially a database containing all your emails and important attachments. Whenever you ask POP3-configured Outlook for a particular document, it retrieves it from a local saved PST file, making it a fundamental component. Like any database, these files rely on their internal structure remaining intact. If that structure is damaged, Outlook cannot access your information, and there can be plenty of reasons for that.
Large PST files: Bigger Outlook data files are more likely to become corrupted, especially as they approach Microsoft’s recommended size limits.
Unexpected shutdowns: Power outages, system crashes, or force-closing Outlook while it’s saving data can damage the PST file.
Storage drive issues: Failing hard drives, bad sectors, or insufficient disk space can lead to file corruption.
Using network drives: Microsoft advises against storing PST files on network locations, as unstable connections can interrupt read/write operations.
Faulty add-ins or malware: Buggy Outlook add-ins, malware, or third-party utilities can also corrupt PST files over time.
Why ScanPST Fails to Restore PST Data?
The reasons are plenty, and that’s exactly why Microsoft bundles its own repair tool, ScanPST, with Outlook. In theory, it scans the internal structure and attempts to repair damaged indexes and references so Outlook can open the file again.
However, there is a problem. If ScanPST encounters mailbox items it can’t validate, it often removes them instead of rebuilding them.
How To Repair A Corrupt PST File Without ScanPST
Since we all would dearly love to get important files and attachments back, the first thing you should do is create a copy of the original PST file. Working directly on the only copy of your mailbox is risky because every repair attempt changes the database. So keep the original intact. Next, if you’re dealing with smaller PST files or working on managed office computers where software installation isn’t possible, an online PST repair service would be your best bet. One of the safer options is the Stellar Online PST Repair service. It works online, and Outlook itself doesn’t even need to be present on the system. It supports PST files from Outlook 2003 through Outlook 2024, including both ANSI and Unicode formats, and lets you preview mailbox folders and recovered item counts before downloading the repaired file.
Unlike ScanPST, the service’s main purpose is to repair and recover your files. And if your PST file is less than 500MB, you don’t even have to pay anything. The premium version increases that limit to 5GB. The only requirement is a stable connection, which shouldn’t be a problem in a corporate office.
Repair A Corrupt PST File Using Stellar Online PST Repair
Before we begin, it’s really important to back up your original PST file. No matter how great a tool is, Microsoft recommends keeping a copy before attempting any repair, as the recovery process modifies the mailbox structure. Once done:
Close Microsoft Outlook completely. Even if you’ve closed the Outlook window, it can continue running in the background, keeping the PST file locked.
Open Stellar Online PST Repair. Since the tool runs entirely in your browser, there’s nothing to install, and Outlook doesn’t even need to be present on your PC.
Upload your corrupt PST file. Select the mailbox you want to repair and upload it to the service.
Preview the recovered mailbox. Before downloading anything, browse through your recovered data. Check important folders like Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Archive, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and any custom folders you created.
Download the repaired PST file. Once you’re satisfied with the preview, download the repaired mailbox.
Open the repaired PST in Outlook. In Outlook, head to File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File, then select the repaired PST. Verify all information.
When to Use a Desktop PST Repair Tool Instead
As good as browser-based repair services are, they can only be used for quick fixes. Large mailboxes containing years’ worth of emails can take a long time to upload, and severe corruption is often beyond what an online service is designed to handle. In that case, the Stellar Repair for Outlook app makes much more sense. It has the same bells and whistles, like the ability to preview recoverable emails in detail, such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, and other important information, but processes everything locally, so your mailbox never leaves your computer.
It also doesn’t impose practical file-size limitations, supports encrypted and password-protected PST files, and allows recovered data to be saved not only as a new PST but also in formats like MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, and others. For businesses or IT administrators, the Technician edition can even export recovered mailboxes directly to Microsoft 365 or Exchange, making it easier to restore users without additional migration steps.
ScanPST vs Stellar Online PST Repair vs Desktop Recovery
Feature
ScanPST
Stellar Online PST Repair
Stellar Repair for Outlook (Desktop)
Installation required
No (Inbuilt)
No
Yes
Handles severe corruption
Limited
Moderate
Yes
Supports large PST files
Limited
Up to 5GB
Unlimited file size
Preview before recovery
No
Yes (Only folder structure)
Yes (Complete Mailbox data in details)
Recovery approach
Repairs the structure, may remove invalid items
Recovers mailbox
Recovers mailbox
Export options
None
PST
PST, MSG, EML, HTML, PDF, Microsoft 365, live Exchange
Processing location
Local
Cloud
Local
Conclusion
ScanPST remains a useful first step whenever Outlook reports a damaged PST file. It’s free, already installed alongside Outlook, and can often repair minor hiccups. However, it’s not the golden child. It fails to retain your precious files. If you don’t want that to happen, it makes sense to consider alternatives that focus on recovering mailbox data. An online repair service is often enough for smaller files and one-time repairs, while a dedicated desktop recovery tool offers more flexibility for larger or business-critical mailboxes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where is ScanPST.exe located?
The exact location depends on your Outlook version and installation method, but ScanPST is typically stored inside the Microsoft Office installation folder under Program Files.
Does ScanPST delete emails?
Yes. If ScanPST comes across mailbox items that it cannot validate during the repair process, those items may be removed from the repaired PST file.
Can ScanPST repair large PST files?
In theory, yes. But performance tends to decline as file sizes grow. Severe corruption or very large mailboxes often require more specialized recovery software.
How do I repair a PST file without losing data?
Always create a copy of the original PST before attempting repairs. If ScanPST doesn’t resolve the issue, using a recovery tool that rebuilds mailbox data rather than deleting damaged items is a safer approach.
Can I repair a PST file without installing software?
Absolutely. Browser-based repair services allow you to upload supported PST files, preview recoverable mailbox data, and download the repaired file without installing Outlook or additional software.
is one of those movies you want to see again and again. Or, maybe, it’s a movie your kids are forcing you to see again and again. Either way, if you’ve already seen it and want a new experience, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie have you covered. io9 can exclusively reveal that Toy Story 5director Andrew Stanton has teamed up with the app TheaterEars to release a special, in-theater director’s commentary for the Disney Pixar hit, and it’ll be available on July 3.
“Toy Story is the franchise that made millions of us fall in love with the movies, so there’s no better film to bring the Director’s Experience into animation for the first time,” Dan Mangru, the CEO of TheaterEars, said in a press release. “Sitting in a theater and hearing Andrew Stanton walk through how the film was made, synced right to the screen, is exactly the kind of experience we built this for.”
This is the third such commentary to come to TheaterEars this year. The first one was by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Project Hail Mary (which comes to streaming this week), and the other was with Jon Favreau for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Toy Story 5 marks the company’s first animated feature.
“Every frame of Toy Story 5 holds a decision the audience never sees,” Stanton said. “Getting to talk through those choices while people are watching the movie in a theater, that’s a way of sharing the work I’ve never had before, and I think fans are going to love hearing where these moments came from.”
So how does it work? Well, it’s pretty simple. You download the TheaterEars app, you go see Toy Story 5, and you open the app. Here’s a fun graphic to further illustrate.
Oh, and if you’re like me and the first thing you thought is “What if I hit play at the wrong time?” Don’t worry. According to TheaterEars, “the app listens for the film’s audio to sync the commentary track to the exact moment on screen.” Oh, technology.
Usually, you have to wait until a film comes home to hear a director’s commentary, so it’s pretty awesome that these are starting to happen when a film is still in theaters. As long as you are discreet with using your phone and keep the commentary at a suitable volume, of course. Let’s be respectable about this.
Have you tried a TheaterEars director’s commentary yet? Let us know below.
is one of those movies you want to see again and again. Or, maybe, it’s a movie your kids are forcing you to see again and again. Either way, if you’ve already seen it and want a new experience, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie have you covered. io9 can exclusively reveal that Toy Story 5director Andrew Stanton has teamed up with the app TheaterEars to release a special, in-theater director’s commentary for the Disney Pixar hit, and it’ll be available on July 3.
“Toy Story is the franchise that made millions of us fall in love with the movies, so there’s no better film to bring the Director’s Experience into animation for the first time,” Dan Mangru, the CEO of TheaterEars, said in a press release. “Sitting in a theater and hearing Andrew Stanton walk through how the film was made, synced right to the screen, is exactly the kind of experience we built this for.”
This is the third such commentary to come to TheaterEars this year. The first one was by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Project Hail Mary (which comes to streaming this week), and the other was with Jon Favreau for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Toy Story 5 marks the company’s first animated feature.
“Every frame of Toy Story 5 holds a decision the audience never sees,” Stanton said. “Getting to talk through those choices while people are watching the movie in a theater, that’s a way of sharing the work I’ve never had before, and I think fans are going to love hearing where these moments came from.”
So how does it work? Well, it’s pretty simple. You download the TheaterEars app, you go see Toy Story 5, and you open the app. Here’s a fun graphic to further illustrate.
Oh, and if you’re like me and the first thing you thought is “What if I hit play at the wrong time?” Don’t worry. According to TheaterEars, “the app listens for the film’s audio to sync the commentary track to the exact moment on screen.” Oh, technology.
Usually, you have to wait until a film comes home to hear a director’s commentary, so it’s pretty awesome that these are starting to happen when a film is still in theaters. As long as you are discreet with using your phone and keep the commentary at a suitable volume, of course. Let’s be respectable about this.
Have you tried a TheaterEars director’s commentary yet? Let us know below.
#Toy #Story #InTheater #Directors #Commentary #Weekend #ExclusiveAndrew Stanton,TheaterEars,Toy Story 5">‘Toy Story 5’ Gets an In-Theater Director’s Commentary This Weekend (Exclusive)
Toy Story 5is one of those movies you want to see again and again. Or, maybe, it’s a movie your kids are forcing you to see again and again. Either way, if you’ve already seen it and want a new experience, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie have you covered. io9 can exclusively reveal that Toy Story 5director Andrew Stanton has teamed up with the app TheaterEars to release a special, in-theater director’s commentary for the Disney Pixar hit, and it’ll be available on July 3.
“Toy Story is the franchise that made millions of us fall in love with the movies, so there’s no better film to bring the Director’s Experience into animation for the first time,” Dan Mangru, the CEO of TheaterEars, said in a press release. “Sitting in a theater and hearing Andrew Stanton walk through how the film was made, synced right to the screen, is exactly the kind of experience we built this for.”
This is the third such commentary to come to TheaterEars this year. The first one was by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Project Hail Mary (which comes to streaming this week), and the other was with Jon Favreau for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Toy Story 5 marks the company’s first animated feature.
“Every frame of Toy Story 5 holds a decision the audience never sees,” Stanton said. “Getting to talk through those choices while people are watching the movie in a theater, that’s a way of sharing the work I’ve never had before, and I think fans are going to love hearing where these moments came from.”
So how does it work? Well, it’s pretty simple. You download the TheaterEars app, you go see Toy Story 5, and you open the app. Here’s a fun graphic to further illustrate.
Oh, and if you’re like me and the first thing you thought is “What if I hit play at the wrong time?” Don’t worry. According to TheaterEars, “the app listens for the film’s audio to sync the commentary track to the exact moment on screen.” Oh, technology.
Usually, you have to wait until a film comes home to hear a director’s commentary, so it’s pretty awesome that these are starting to happen when a film is still in theaters. As long as you are discreet with using your phone and keep the commentary at a suitable volume, of course. Let’s be respectable about this.
Have you tried a TheaterEars director’s commentary yet? Let us know below.
![Politician who investigated spyware abuses had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware | TechCrunch
Security researchers have confirmed that a European politician had his phone hacked with the Pegasus spyware while serving on an investigatory committee probing abuses of the notorious surveillance tool. This has reigniting fresh controversy over governments abusing spyware to collect information about their critics.
The researchers at the University of Toronto’s digital rights unit The Citizen Lab say the confirmed phone hacking of Greek journalist and former politician Stelios Kouloglou during 2022 and 2023 marks the first time that a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, tasked with investigating phone spyware attacks by European governments, has been publicly identified as a victim of spyware.
Kouloglou told TechCrunch in a phone call that the deliberate compromise of his phone was “reckless.” One serving European lawmaker described the hacking of Kouloglou’s phone as a “direct attack on the rule of law,” and called on the European Commission to take concrete action by imposing strict limits on the use of spyware across the 27 member-state bloc.
While spyware attacks on lawmakers are rare, the timing and targeting of a committee investigator by way of the very spyware under his investigation suggests an intense focus on the committee’s inner workings ahead of a widely anticipated report detailing its findings. The hacks open fresh questions about how governments use spyware ostensibly needed for identifying serious crime, but then caught spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
Citizen Lab’s researchers did not attribute the phone hacking to a specific country, but said that the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address that was used in a previous campaign that hacked into the phones of journalists across Europe. The customer’s identity is not known, but the reuse of the same attacking email address implies that the customer had NSO Group’s authorization to use its Pegasus spyware to snoop on phones across multiple countries in Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. NSO Group also did not respond to a request for comment about the Citizen Lab report prior to publication.
In its report out Friday, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou was hacked in October 2022 and at least twice during March 2023 using an exploit that compromised a security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone software. This vulnerability had been patched but the fix was not yet installed on Kouloglou’s phone. The exploit was a “zero-click” bug, meaning the spyware broke in and stole his data without needing any interaction on his part.
The bug abused a previously discovered flaw in Apple’s smart home software used in iPhones. It allowed the spyware to grab private data from Kouloglou’s phone without his knowledge, such as his text messages and other correspondence, location data, and photos.
The timing of the October 2022 hack coincides with intense discussions over email and text message throughout October and November 2022, ahead of the delivery of a first draft describing spyware abuses focusing in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.
The hack also lines up at the exact time that Kouloglou was in the hospital at the time for a pre-scheduled surgery, which may have allowed the spyware operators to listen in to ambient audio discussing his healthcare or other conversations he had with visitors at the time.
Months later on March 6 and 7, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou’s phone was hacked again by the same Pegasus operator while Kouloglou traveled from Athens to Brussels, during a period of committee hearings and months prior to the committee finalizing and adopting their written draft report.
In a call, Kouloglou told TechCrunch that he didn’t know why he was specifically targeted but that he believes it was due to his work on the European Parliament’s committee investigating Pegasus abuses.
He described anger when he learned that his phone had been hacked.
“You realize that all of your personal data [was taken] — not all the professional exchanges or messages with ministers — but also the very private things, like the happy moments and the sad moments,” he told TechCrunch.
Kouloglou said he plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker. NSO remains largely banned from use in the United States following a Biden-era executive order that outlawed the government’s use of spyware that could violate people’s human rights.
Last year, the spyware maker confirmed an unnamed American investment group funneled tens of millions of dollars into the company, likely as part of an effort to rehabilitate NSO’s beleaguered brand associated with enabling human rights abuses.
Kouloglou said he was going public with his story “for democracy, human rights, and the fight against corruption.”
“Corruption concerns everybody,” he said.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Politician #investigated #spyware #abuses #phone #hacked #Pegasus #spyware #TechCrunchSpyware,Pegasus,cybersecurity,NSO Group](https://i0.wp.com/techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stelios-1243041618.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 "Politician who investigated spyware abuses had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware | TechCrunch
Security researchers have confirmed that a European politician had his phone hacked with the Pegasus spyware while serving on an investigatory committee probing abuses of the notorious surveillance tool. This has reigniting fresh controversy over governments abusing spyware to collect information about their critics.
The researchers at the University of Toronto’s digital rights unit The Citizen Lab say the confirmed phone hacking of Greek journalist and former politician Stelios Kouloglou during 2022 and 2023 marks the first time that a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, tasked with investigating phone spyware attacks by European governments, has been publicly identified as a victim of spyware.
Kouloglou told TechCrunch in a phone call that the deliberate compromise of his phone was “reckless.” One serving European lawmaker described the hacking of Kouloglou’s phone as a “direct attack on the rule of law,” and called on the European Commission to take concrete action by imposing strict limits on the use of spyware across the 27 member-state bloc.
While spyware attacks on lawmakers are rare, the timing and targeting of a committee investigator by way of the very spyware under his investigation suggests an intense focus on the committee’s inner workings ahead of a widely anticipated report detailing its findings. The hacks open fresh questions about how governments use spyware ostensibly needed for identifying serious crime, but then caught spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
Citizen Lab’s researchers did not attribute the phone hacking to a specific country, but said that the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address that was used in a previous campaign that hacked into the phones of journalists across Europe. The customer’s identity is not known, but the reuse of the same attacking email address implies that the customer had NSO Group’s authorization to use its Pegasus spyware to snoop on phones across multiple countries in Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. NSO Group also did not respond to a request for comment about the Citizen Lab report prior to publication.
In its report out Friday, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou was hacked in October 2022 and at least twice during March 2023 using an exploit that compromised a security vulnerability in Apple’s iPhone software. This vulnerability had been patched but the fix was not yet installed on Kouloglou’s phone. The exploit was a “zero-click” bug, meaning the spyware broke in and stole his data without needing any interaction on his part.
The bug abused a previously discovered flaw in Apple’s smart home software used in iPhones. It allowed the spyware to grab private data from Kouloglou’s phone without his knowledge, such as his text messages and other correspondence, location data, and photos.
The timing of the October 2022 hack coincides with intense discussions over email and text message throughout October and November 2022, ahead of the delivery of a first draft describing spyware abuses focusing in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.
The hack also lines up at the exact time that Kouloglou was in the hospital at the time for a pre-scheduled surgery, which may have allowed the spyware operators to listen in to ambient audio discussing his healthcare or other conversations he had with visitors at the time.
Months later on March 6 and 7, Citizen Lab said Kouloglou’s phone was hacked again by the same Pegasus operator while Kouloglou traveled from Athens to Brussels, during a period of committee hearings and months prior to the committee finalizing and adopting their written draft report.
In a call, Kouloglou told TechCrunch that he didn’t know why he was specifically targeted but that he believes it was due to his work on the European Parliament’s committee investigating Pegasus abuses.
He described anger when he learned that his phone had been hacked.
“You realize that all of your personal data [was taken] — not all the professional exchanges or messages with ministers — but also the very private things, like the happy moments and the sad moments,” he told TechCrunch.
Kouloglou said he plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker. NSO remains largely banned from use in the United States following a Biden-era executive order that outlawed the government’s use of spyware that could violate people’s human rights.
Last year, the spyware maker confirmed an unnamed American investment group funneled tens of millions of dollars into the company, likely as part of an effort to rehabilitate NSO’s beleaguered brand associated with enabling human rights abuses.
Kouloglou said he was going public with his story “for democracy, human rights, and the fight against corruption.”
“Corruption concerns everybody,” he said.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Politician #investigated #spyware #abuses #phone #hacked #Pegasus #spyware #TechCrunchSpyware,Pegasus,cybersecurity,NSO Group")
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