A data recovery tool is something all computer junkies will need in some point of their lives. Need that old file that was deleted years ago? Data recovery software from CNET can bring back to life those files you thought lost.
Here we review three of the best data recovery software, all free to download from CNET. Our selections are based on functionality, device recovery options, speed to process and user reviews as well as CNET publisher reviews.
Take note these tools are all free to download, but require an upgrade if your recovery needs exceed a certain amount of data.
EaseUS Data Recovery Free Edition & Paid
This tool has many downloads with good ratings given by users, a perfect mix for a secure download. The free version is not bound by time usage but by amount of data to recover, up to 2GB. You can upgrade it for more features and so far no bad reviews of importance have come out from the paid version.
Pros
- The free EaseUS Data Recovery tool is effective and fast when used in both free and paid version.
- Negative reviews mostly come from free version users that expected to get a whole lot more from the tool without having to pay. Those who purchased the license seem happy with the service.
Cons
VirtualLab Data Recovery for Mac and Windows – #1 User Reviews
VirtualLab Data Recovery for Mac has the highest ratings from CNET users as a data recovery tool with 7.5 million downloads. It offers a free trial which expires in time, requires online registration and only recovers a limited amount of data. Also, this is a Mac and Windows version of the software, it will recover data from Mac computers, iPhones, iPods and Windows devices. A very complete software and an angel for Apple owners.
The software is fast to scan deleted files and does a good job finding them. The free trial works for most users and rarely fails.
Pros
- A perfect solution for Mac users (iPhone and iPod included.)
- Fast and reliable.
- Low quality ticket support for free trial users.
- Can be pricy for one time users.
Cons
How to use the VirtualLab Recovery Youtube tutorial:
“Data Recovery” – #1 Editor’s Choice in CNET
Data Recovery is the #1 editor’s choice data recovery software free to download from CNET, although it has mixed reviews between users the editors of CNET seem to have high regards for the product. For users this is either a 5 star or a 1 star and it’s hard to distinguished real reviews from fakes or even SEO SPAM reviews in the CNET website.
The decisive number has to be the number of downloads which just over 600k, not enough downloads to brand this as the best data recovery software free to download on CNET. But do not disregard the software, it is stable, secure and does its job both on free and paid versions.
The high rating score by the CNET team has to mean something positive.
Pros
- The software does it job, it recovers data. Either a specific file or a group of deleted data. Even bad reviews state all data was recovered successfully.
- The free license is very restrictive, as with everything that is free. It will only work on one computer and any upgrade or reboots to the system might require to purchase an upgrade.
- The software recovers data, but it takes a lot of time to do so. In fact, the software keeps searching and eating up resources even after finding the desired files.
- Most of the angry reviews are about horrible support. Don´t expect to find a friendly support staff member to guide inexperienced users on how to recover data. The big WTF are reviews from users who paid for the premium version and still experienced poor support.
Cons
In summary, Data Recovery is highly rated by CNET staff for its functionality, it does its job. It’s free to download and only recommended to use for a simple procedure. The first version was published in 2007 and has not been updated since, a bad sign in terms of bug fixing.