Software : In Depth: Best free recovery software: 10 top programs to get your deleted files back

In Depth: Best free recovery software: 10 top programs to get your deleted files back
How a small business can use Twitter
Free Facebook Messenger VoIP calls land on UK Android app, report claims
Google adding info cards to Play movies
Twitter on track to earn nearly $1B next year on ad revenue alone

In Depth: Best free recovery software: 10 top programs to get your deleted files back

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You know where to find the most important files on your PC - the documents, the pictures, the music - and they're always available when you need them. So it's easy to assume that's the way it will always be.

The reality can be very different, though. Maybe you're not paying attention for a moment and delete something accidentally, perhaps there's a software bug, or something happens to corrupt your hard drive: whatever it is, the end result is that you've lost files, folders, maybe even an entire partition of valuable data.

Don't panic, though - there's a good chance that your files are still intact, somewhere on the disc. And if you act quickly then you may be able to recover everything. All you'll need is reliable free undelete software to run a scan, and we've found ten free tools which can help.

1. Recuva Free

Conveniently available in a portable version, Recuva Free is very easy to use. A wizard asks you what type of files you're looking for, and where to search, then scans your system at speed (FAT, exFAT and NTFS file systems are supported).

Any files found are listed (with previews for images), and you can restore anything you need in a couple of clicks.

Recuva

Running the program in Advanced Mode provides more options, though, like a Deep Scan (much slower, but recovers more files), the ability to locate files containing particular text, and even an option to securely wipe files containing sensitive information, ensuring that no-one else will be able to undelete them.

Whatever mode you're using, Recuva is an excellent recovery tool, effective and very easy to use.

2. Undelete 360

Undelete 360 is the free version of a commercial product, and so leaves out some useful features (file filtering, previews and so on). These still appear in the interface, though, and suggest you upgrade if you ever click on them, which can be annoying.

Undelete 360

There are no restrictions on the amount or size of the files you can recover, though, and otherwise the program is very simple to use: point it at a drive, it'll scan for deleted files, then you can view particular file types (JPGs, PDFs, videos and more) by choosing them from a tree.

Scanning speed isn't great, but Undelete 360 can recover files that other programs miss , and so it's definitely worth considering.

3. MiniTool Partition Recovery

Standard undelete programs are perfect for recovering a few files, but if you've lost an entire partition then you'll probably benefit from a specialist application like MiniTool Partition Recovery.

The free (for personal use) program has a wizard-based interface which makes it very straightforward to use.

MiniTool Partition Recovery

Point MiniTool Partition Recovery at the problem drive, specify the area to be searched, and it'll scan for the missing partition.

A report will let you know what the program has found, and you can recover the partition in a few seconds.

You don't get a bootable recovery disc here, so if your system partition is damaged then MiniTool Partition Recovery won't help you very much.

Otherwise, though, it provides a quick and easy way to locate and restore lost partitions.

4. Wise Data Recovery

It's hard to imagine how any undelete tool could be simpler than Wise Data Recovery.

There are no menus, no complicated options or dialog boxes: all you do is choose a drive, click Scan, and wait as the program locates any deleted files.

Select what you need, click Recover, and that's just about it.

Wise Data Recovery

Wise Data Recovery doesn't seem to work with FAT-based drives, though, recovering nothing from our test USB drive. It's only free for personal use, too. But if you just need something quick and easy to recover files from NTFS drives then it should probably be on your shortlist.

5. PhotoRec

PhotoRec is an extremely powerful undelete tool with very few restrictions.

It's free for everyone, runs almost everywhere (DOS, Windows, Linux, OS X, more), works with most file systems and device types, uses in-depth knowledge of more than 200 file formats to help recover your data, and the bundled TestDisk can even recover a deleted partition.

PhotoRec

There is a complication, though: PhotoRec has an extremely basic DOS-like interface which is sure to intimidate many.

This doesn't make the program complicated - it walks you through every step - but the focus here is mostly on functionality, so if you're more interested in ease of use then we'd look elsewhere.

6. FreeUndelete

FreeUndelete is aging, slow, free for personal use only, and didn't manage to retrieve anything from our FAT drive - not a good start.

Point the program at an NTFS drive, though, and the story is much different, with FreeUndelete locating all our missing files.

FreeUndelete

They're presented in a folder structure rather than a single list, making it easy to locate whatever you need, and they can then be restored in a click or two.

So while there are better undelete tools, you might want to keep a copy of FreeUndelete around, just in case your first choice doesn't recover something.

7. Paragon Rescue Kit Free

If your PC has been trashed so badly that it won't boot at all, then any undelete tools you've installed previously will be useless. But Paragon Rescue Kit Free is different. It comes on an image which you burn to CD, and if disaster strikes then you just boot from the disc and go to work.

Paragon Rescue Kit Free

The program can recover a lost or deleted partition, for instance. The Boot Corrector can fix common boot problems and may be able to get your working again. But if not, Paragon's File Transfer Wizard helps transfer key files to another local drive, or burn them to CD or DVD. Overall it's a useful tool: grab a copy now, just in case.

8. Glary Undelete

Another no-frills package, Glary Undelete takes a fairly basic approach to data recovery. There's really nothing to do beyond choosing a drive to scan, clicking Search, and waiting for the program to finish (although that might take a while, as it's slower than most).

Glary Undelete

The program does do a good job of recovering data, though, on both FAT and NTFS drives. And any files it finds are presented in both a single list and by folders, while you can also filter them by file type or name, making it generally easy to find what you need.

So while there's little in the way of extras here, Glary Undelete scores well on the fundamentals.

9. Pandora Recovery

Unlike some of the competition, Pandora Recovery doesn't just present the files it finds in a single list.

You can also browse them in an Explorer-like folder view, or use an excellent search tool to filter them by file name, size, creation or "last modified" dates (so you could search for everything altered yesterday, for instance). Images can be previewed, too.

Pandora Recovery

Unfortunately file detection isn't always so reliable, particularly on FAT drives, and the program's quick scan didn't recover anything for us.

The more thorough Surface Scan mode did retrieve everything, though, so on balance we'd say Pandora Recovery is still worth a try.

10. PC Inspector File Recovery

PC Inspector File Recovery did well in our tests, correctly locating the full set of missing files on both FAT and NTFS drives. These are clearly presented in a simple folder view, there's also a simple search dialog to help you locate files by name, and the program can then restore them to local or network drives.

Getting to this point may take a while, though, as the interface is a confusing mess of tabs (we'd recommend you experiment on a USB key or some other spare drive until you've figured it out).

PC Inspector File Recovery

It's a little odd that the program can preview files as text or a hex dump, but won't preview JPEGs. PC Inspector File Recovery deserves a look for its core engine, then, but you'll need some patience to take full advantage of it.

How a small business can use Twitter

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Twitter, which allows users to publish 'tweets' of up to 140 characters, is best known as a platform for celebrities to speak directly to the public, and vice versa.

It can make Twitter look daunting for smaller businesses, but if used with a little thought, it is arguably the easiest social media service to exploit with limited time and expertise.

Twitter can be used through pretty much any computer, tablet or mobile device, either through the service's website, software such as Tweetdeck or mobile and tablet apps.

As messages have to be short, they can be written quickly – although they should always be written with care – and the fact that users publicly follow others allows businesses to know who their potential customers are.

Twitter can be used like selling from a market stall to an interested crowd, with the rest of the world passing by.

Personality

Rather like market traders, experienced business tweeters inject some personality into tweets; respond to questions and comments (directed by using @ then the target account's name); and use visual aids, in Twitter's case by attaching pictures.

A bit of banter goes a long way, although should be used with care – people have faced severe legal consequences over tweets. Tweets can be deleted, but may have already been read and copied by the time you do this; best not to say anything stupid in the first place.

Some businesses have made Twitter a key part of their marketing. One is BrewDog, a craft brewer and bar owner based in Ellon in Aberdeenshire. Its 'master gunner' Sarah Warman – more conventionally, she handles digital marketing and events – spends a couple of hours a day on Twitter. She has backup from other staff when she's ill or on holiday, but says she tends to monitor Twitter most of the time: "I'm never off the clock, really."

"You can't provide someone with a taster of beer on the internet," says Warman, so instead she focuses on telling the account's 25,000 followers what the firm is doing, whether that involves new beers, new stock or other news. She also uses it to answer tweets from followers (those including @brewdog).

"As far as possible, we try to answer every question," she says. If things are quiet, she will also respond to those simply mentioning the firm in a tweet as well.

Followers appear particularly interested in how the beers are made.

"They ask a lot of questions about the equipment, what things are for, the science behind it," Warman says. She encourages this through using pictures: "We post an image from the brewery every day."

Hashtag factor

One option with Twitter is to monitor popular hashtags, codes helping users to search for tweets of interest, and use them in marketing tweets; but Warman prefers to use her own. On Friday afternoons she looks for those using the hashtag #deskbrew, for those having a beer in the office. While it isn't possible to keep this for BrewDog's use, it has become associated with the firm.

BrewDog runs 10 bars, with more in the pipeline, and each has its own Twitter account – such as Glasgow's with 2,400 followers. These are monitored by someone working in the bar, whenever it is open, with the idea of it being equivalent to talking to bar staff (although without being able to order a drink).

"If they get a question about what's in store, they can have a look and answer those questions immediately," says Warman.

The firm opens an account for a new bar before it opens, to allow a following to build. Warman also asks where followers would like to see new bars open, and pays £1,000 bounty for any suggestions that led to an opening.

She compiles a monthly report based on feedback she receives from social media channels on trends and themes. "If people are looking for a specific style of beer, and we can tell there's a market for it, it's worth us trying that," she says.

The firm also uses Google Analytics to track sales from its online shop that result from tweets, although it's harder to do this for the bars.

Overall, she advises anyone using Twitter to ensure that everything they tweet is "relevant, entertaining and informative – those are things that will make it viral content, worth sharing".

Patrick Neale is co-owner of a smaller business: Jaffe and Neale Bookshop in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. He reckons he spends "not enough, five or ten minutes a day" on the shop's account.

It is in his own name: "For a small business, your personality is part of the business," he says. "It gives a warm feeling."

Neale uses his account partly to stay in touch with authors and publicists. It is much easier than writing an email, and can make a writer more amenable to attending an event.

"Not a lot of energy has been expended," he says.

Picture tweets

Neale, also president of the Booksellers' Association, says some booksellers use Twitter to drum up customers by offering a discount to the next five people who walk in if things are quiet. He prefers to use the account to build the shop's brand, such as by tweeting pictures of events.

"Even if people don't come to the events, they love to know we're doing them," he says. "It shows we're a vibrant and energetic place."

He adds that, even if someone uses an account mainly to talk to business contacts, it's important to remember that customers are always able to read tweets. He recalls being reprimanded over a slightly risqué tweet about a parody of adult fiction using the hashtag #50ShedsofGrey.

The shop occasionally gets customer service queries through Twitter, although mostly about events and the shop's café rather than books. The account's background design includes all its contact details, as well as the various goods and services it offers, in the form of Penguin book spines – another way of spreading its message.

Neale says he has concerns over social media – "I have a fundamental concern that it is eating into the amount of time people are reading books" – but thinks a small business can use Twitter without spending too much time.

"It's allowed me to completely ignore Facebook," he says.

Free Facebook Messenger VoIP calls land on UK Android app, report claims

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Facebook has started to roll out an update for UK users of its Android Messenger app to enable free voice calls to friends, reports late on Wednesday claimed.

The Next Web blog has received word from Brit-based Facebook Messenger users who're starting to see the feature, which was only bestowed upon the iPhone version of the app on Monday this week.

The free, IM-centric Messenger app, which stands alone from the main Facebook hub, will showcase an 'i' icon within the chat window once the update has been installed

Hitting that button will provide the opportunity to make the Free Call over both Wi-Fi and 3G.

Free long distance calls

The UK is the third country to receive the feature, following successful roll outs in Canada and the United States.

Check out Samsung's Your Mobile Life to discover loads more about the infinite possibilities of the GALAXY Note II

The major advantage is the ability to make transatlantic calls free of charge when they spot a friend online and will come in handy when an IM chat creates the need for a longer, more vocal conversation.

The extension of the feature to Android phones remains unconfirmed at the time of writing, so we'll update this article if the Facebook drops official word.

Google adding info cards to Play movies

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"What's his name? You know, he's the guy from that show about the place. The one with the horse."

Every had a conversation while watching a movie that went like this? Google is hoping to put an end to these cinema frustrations with new info card pop-ups in movies watched through its Play Movies Android app.

The new feature will display actor information when movies are paused in Play, similar to the info seen when a celebrity is search for through the standard Google website.

Movies need to be updated to have info card data inserted, and so far Google only have about 200 movies ready with the feature.

Adverts in disguise

Of course, this is just advertising disguised as useful information, with the actor's filmography linking to rental pages for the movies in the Play Store. Amazon does a similar thing with Kindle Fire tablets and its X-Ray feature.

Amazon launched its metadata mining tool at the end of last year and now has versions of X-Ray on the Kindle Fire tablet, Kindle Paperwhite e-reader and in its iOS app for iPhones and iPads.

Google's info cards feature is rolling out now to Android tablets in the U.S. only, and even then to a random group of testers. But, as with all Google services, expect to see it spread across the world once the search giant is positive it works.

Twitter on track to earn nearly $1B next year on ad revenue alone

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With the emergence of smartphones as the go-to mobile device of choice, more and more people have taken to using social networking sites like Twitter on the go.

Twitter is already seeing some large improvements in its ad revenue, but the new mobile dynamic could change the game for the site quite drastically.

Though the company's overall ad revenue wasn't impacted much at all by mobile ads in 2011, there was a tremendous spike over the past year.

Now, not only is Twitter expected to rake in major dollars from advertising, but mobile ads are estimated to account for 53 percent of all ad revenue.

Yahuui Blog

Thursday, March 28, 2013