The Details

The Survivor Stealth USB 3.0 is compatible with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 technology. USB 3.0 gives the drive additional speed, and is four times faster than traditional USB 2.0 drives. The drive has a max read speed of 85 MB per second and max write of 70 MB per second. Those speeds are a bit slower than drives specifically engineered for high speeds, but are still more than serviceable for such a rugged drive.

In addition to being fast as lighting, the Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth is rugged. Its aircraft-grade aluminum housing is waterproof up to 200 meters thanks to the use of an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) waterproof seal. A molded shock damping collar makes the Survivor vibration proof and shock resistant.

In addition to the 64 GB storage size, Corsair offers the Survivor Stealth in 16, 32, and 128 and 256 GB. The drive weighs 1.3 ounces and is a bit bulky, as can be expected from a rugged drive. It has a hole to hook on to your key ring, but the hole is on the drive itself, not the cap. It unscrews in two halves, so you need to be careful not to lose the cap.

The Survivor Stealth USB 3.0 is available from Amazon for around $45.

Another Option

The LaCie XtremKey is another rugged USB drive with USB 2.0 and 3.0 capability. It can withstand ten tons of pressure thanks to its metal alloy exterior. The XtremKey also holds up well against heat and water.

The XtremKey outpaces the Corsair Survivor Stealth in speed tests. A Maximum PC test found that it performed key reads at an impressive 213MB/s, taking just 3 minutes 34 seconds to write an 11GB file-copy test. The XtremKey is even bulkier than the Survivor, so it is not great for portability.

The LaCie XtremKey is available from Amazon for around $83.

The post The Best Waterproof and Shockproof USB Drive appeared first on Reactual.

We’ve researched websites such as V3.co.uk, PC World, Recovery-Review.com, Computeractive, Download.com, About.com, CNET, and PC Magazine. Here is the top rated data recovery software for USB drives:

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition (Free)

Pros:

• Effective USB drive data recovery
• Ability to perform Windows hard drive data recovery

Cons:

• 1GB limit on recovered data

Top Review Sources:

• V3.co.uk: 4.0/5.0 “An ideal solution for those seeking to recover lost data on all forms of removable media”
• PC World: “EaseUs Data Recovery Wizard Free actually works and it’s not a glorified undelete program like some you’ll encounter”
• Recovery-Review.com: “The program has proven to be a reliable, stable and fast tool”

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition is a full-featured undelete program with options for USB flash drive data restoration. No matter how you lost the files—accidental deletion, software crash, damage from malware, or even reformatting—Data Recovery Wizard will almost certainly be able to help. This program has advanced capabilities such as sector scanning and file name restoration. The only catch is that the Free Edition only allows you to recover 1GB of data. You’ll be able to scan for and see all the data that EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard finds and can restore, but without spending $70 for the paid edition, you can’t recover more than a gigabyte. With USB flash drive capacities commonly well above 1GB, it is likely you will need the paid edition. However, you may not, and even if you do, there isn’t any investment required to try out this solid performer.

Visit the publisher’s site to download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition, as well as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard ($70).

BadCopy Pro ($40)

Pros:

• Dedicated removable media recovery
• Fast

Cons:

• Only recognizes FAT file systems

Top Review Sources:

• PC World: “If you’ve ever inserted a CD, floppy, Zip disk, or thumb drive only to have Windows cough up an error message telling you it isn’t there, isn’t formatted, or some such, you’ll appreciate BadCopy Pro”
• Computeractive: “If you need to recover a file, it’s definitely worth giving BadCopy a try”
• Dowload.com User Reviews: 3.0/5.0 (35+ reviews)

BadCopy Pro is a dedicated removable media recovery program. USB flash drives commonly use the FAT32 file system. FAT32 allows data to be written and read between Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems, so it is useful to have removable media formatted with FAT32. However, it is possible to format a USB drive with another popular file system, such as NTFS (used by modern Windows operating systems). If you don’t work with FAT32, look elsewhere for your USB flash drive data recovery software. However, if you are using FAT32, BadCopy Pro is worth a close look. BadCopy Pro is built to restore data on USB drives and other removable media. It works in a few simple steps to scan for deleted or corrupted files, and its interface is clean and simple. If you download the free trial version of BadCopy Pro, you’ll be able to preview the files it finds but not save them. If you are happy with the results, you can purchase the paid version in order to restore your data.

Jufsoft’s Bad Copy Pro is available for download as a free evaluation version, or as the paid, full-featured edition.

Recuva (Free)

Pros:

• Great performance
• Helpful interface
• Free

Cons:

• Some paid programs offer more features

Top Review Sources:

• About.com: 5.0/5.0 “Contains a simple wizard and advanced options – perfect for everyone”
• CNET: 4.5/5.0 “An excellent choice for anyone in need of reliable file recovery”
• PC Magazine: 4.0/5.0 “An attractive interface that you can navigate easily even when you’re distracted by the fear that you’ve lost precious data for ever”

Piriform’s Recuva is a well-known and respected name in the data recovery game. Its main draw is its ability to save data from hard drives, but it also has the capability to rescue USB drive data. Recuva’s friendly wizard guides you through the process in a step-by-step fashion. You will be able to preview your results before saving. In tests, Recuva performs very well in finding and saving lost data. Advanced options included a deep scanning mode, sector-based recovery, and secure file deletion.

Download Recuva for free on Piriform’s website.

The post The Top Rated Data Recovery Software For USB Drives appeared first on Reactual.

By surveying reviews on sites such as Macworld, Mac|Life, CNET, MacWorld UK, ExpertReviews.co.uk, MacNation.org, and MacUpdate, we’ve created this list of the top rated data recovery software for Macs:

Data Rescue 3 ($85)

Pros:

• Excellent results
• Slick interface

Cons:

• Will not recover original file names

Top Review Sources:

• Macworld: 4.0/5.0 “Data Rescue 3 is a program that every Mac user should at least know about, if not own outright”
• Mac|Life: 4.0/5.0 “We easily recovered deleted files, and were even able to recover the contents of files that we deliberately made unreadable”
• CNET: 4.5/5.0 “Friendly interface, good documentation, and impressive recovery capabilities”

Prosoft’s Data Rescue 3 offers a slick interface and effective data restoration. For an immediate idea of the type of problems you are facing, Data Rescue 3 is able to perform a quick diagnostic test. But for the real work—deeply scanning and attempting to recover files—Data Rescue 3 will probably need a few hours. This isn’t unusual in data recovery, but worth noting nonetheless. The wait typically pays off, however, because Drive Rescue 3 does a great job finding and restoring deleted files. The program recognizes a remarkable number of file types and even has the ability to learn previously unknown file types. Two things to keep in mind: you’ll need to connect a second drive (external or internal hard drive, USB flash drive, etc.) for Data Rescue 3 to use for data caching purposes, and you’ll probably be spending a while manually sorting through the results of a scan, as Data Rescue 3 will not recover original file names. Data Rescue’s user interface is modern, functional, and blends in with the Mac aesthetic.

You’ll find Data Rescue 3 for sale on Amazon.

FileSalvage 7 ($90)

Pros:

• Great results
• Can also scan external drives, memory cards, and optical discs

Cons:

• Scans can take hours

Top Review Sources:

• MacWorld UK: 4.0/5.0 “FileSalvage is part of a range of recovery tools and is the most comprehensive consumer offering of the lot”
• ExpertReviews.co.uk: 4.0/5.0 “In the end…it’s the results that count, and FileSalvage did what it claimed to do”
• MacNation.org: 4.0/5.0 “A very promising piece of software and the support department is top-notch”

SubRosaSoft’s FileSalvage 7 is the most recent version of the company’s Macintosh data recovery software. FileSalvage recognizes an impressive number of file types and provides options for narrowing your search in cases when you have good idea what you are looking for or where it may be. Like other data recovery software, FileSalvage uses a separate volume to save recovered files. After an easy installation, you’ll be presented with the main window, where you can choose to Recover Deleted Files, Salvage All Files, or Explore A Drive. Recover Deleted Files examines the free space of your drive for recently removed information. Salvage All Files is a more extensive operation to be used on faulty or corrupted disks. It attempts to copy all useable data from the disk to another volume. Explore A Drive allows you to initiate precise search and rescue operations rather than attempt to recover all the data on a disk. In Explore A Drive mode, you can teach the program to recognize file types it doesn’t currently know. In all three modes, you’ll be able to preview your results before undeleting. Be prepared for extensive scans to take hours, and know that FileSalvage won’t typically be able to recover file names along with the data.

You can purchase and download SubRosaSoft’s FileSalvage 7 on the official website.

Disk Drill Pro ($90)

Pros:

• Recovers data on HFS/HFS+, FAT, and NTFS drives
• S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring
• Recovery Vault enhances data recovery

Cons:

• Scanning is free, but recovery requires upgrade

Top Review Sources:

• CNET: 4.0/5.0 “A good option for getting [data] back, especially for less technically inclined users”
• MacUpdate User Reviews: 4.0/5.0 (20+ reviews)
• MacWorld UK: 4.0/5.0 “Disk Drill’s interface is bright and bold and helps you through every stage of the recovery process”

Disk Drill Pro by Cleverfiles is a powerful utility for do-it-yourself undeletion. There is a free edition of Disk Drill, but it only performs lost data scans; to recover deleted files, you’ll need to purchase the Pro edition. With the Pro edition, you get a user-friendly interface and helpful documentation, making it one of the best data recovery programs for those unsure about the process. For the tentative, it is worth downloading the free edition for a thorough test-drive, then upgrading if you are happy with what you see. In the Pro edition, you’ll find flexible scanning and recovery options, as well as a long list of known file types. Disk Drill’s innovative Recovery Vault acts a bridge between backup and recovery; turn it on and Disk Drill starts monitoring and preserving deleted files, making it quick and easy to get them back if you need to. Recovery Vault-restored files will have their file names preserved, a rare accomplishment in the world of Mac data recovery software. Recovering erased files not protected by Recovery Vault takes longer and won’t restore your file names, but the results are still excellent. S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring is included, meaning Disk Drill Pro will be scrutinizing the health of your hard drive and alerting you to overheating and other impending calamities.

Cleverfiles’ Disk Drill Pro is for sale on the official website.

The post The Best Data Recovery Software For Macs appeared first on Reactual.