Jason Atchley: Kroll Ontrack expands DIY data recovery software

Kroll Ontrack expands DIY data recovery software to include data protection and destruction functionality

Ontrack EasyRecovery 11 empowers users to protect, recover and permanently destroy data, including virtual data

 17 September, 2013 – Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of data recovery, information management and e-disclosure products and services, today announced the availability ofOntrack® EasyRecovery™ version 11 software.  Ontrack EasyRecovery 11 is a comprehensive solution for do-it-yourself (DIY) data recovery, data protection and data destruction. It includes new S.M.A.R.T. scan technology to monitor the health of data storage media, the ability to permanently delete data at the file/folder level as well as powerful data recovery functionalities, including for virtual environments.

“Organisations as well as home users want cost-effective, DIY solutions to manage data across the information lifecycle,” said Phil Bridge, managing director, Kroll Ontrack UK. “Ontrack EasyRecovery 11 bolsters its data recovery functionality to also help users proactively protect against future data loss and conduct secure, permanent data deletion, even in virtual environments.  This is the all-in-one tool we think users will find pays for itself immediately.”

Ontrack EasyRecovery 11 software feature enhancements include:

• S.M.A.R.T. Scan: Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) Scan empowers IT professionals and home users to proactively monitor hard drive health to prevent downtime and data loss.  In seconds, S.M.A.R.T. Scan identifies the amount and type of data being used, the condition of sectors, and other critical hard drive metrics (read error rate, spin-up time, reallocated sector count, seek error rate, spin retry count and temperature), allowing users to make informed decisions about whether to repair or replace hardware, budget for new hardware to mitigate a data loss situation, or simply clean out hard drive space.

• Permanent Data Deletion: Unlike standard data deletion methods that often leave data still recoverable, Ontrack EasyRecovery permanently deletes data at the file and folder level or across an entire drive at a much lower cost than other permanent erasure solutions.  Whether retiring end-of-life computers or freeing up disk space, permanent data deletion mitigates the risk associated with lingering digital footprints.

• DIY Data Recovery and Permanent Deletion in Virtual Environments (Enterprise version only): To assist IT professionals with data recovery and deletion in virtual environments, Ontrack EasyRecovery supports the recovery of lost or deleted virtual data and offers permanent and secure deletion of virtual files and folders.

“IT administrators and developers are increasingly utilising virtual environments like VMware® Fusion® to run and toggle between multiple operating system platforms, consolidating an enormous volume of data,” said Bridge. “Ontrack EasyRecovery Enterprise is easy-to-use, and supports data recovery in such virtual environments, but also allows IT professionals to permanently delete virtual files and folders, protecting organisations from having critical data fall into the wrong hands.”

Installation of Ontrack EasyRecovery is fast, with most users recovering data in minutes.  The powerful scanning engine builds a file list of all recoverable files from local/external hard drives (HDD/SSD), optical and digital media, iPods, tablet devices and mobile phones that work as removable storage and disk image files. Recoverable files can be previewed and all recovery operations are secure.

Ontrack EasyRecovery is offered in three editions.  It is available via an annual, renewable license, which gives users the benefit of performing unlimited recoveries from local storage, and external media, and the tool works on all drive capacities.

• Ontrack EasyRecovery Enterprise: A network recovery support solution for companies that need to protect multiple workstations.  Key capabilities include: RAID recoverability for both hardware and software, VMware support for recovery and permanent data deletion, network support for recovering remote systems, and advanced features consisting of proprietary diagnostic utilities and tools.

• Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional: A business tool equipped with data protection, recovery and eraser tools, including a deep scanning utility suitable for all recovery situations as well as advanced configuration settings.

• Ontrack EasyRecovery Home: A comprehensive tool for home users who need a quick and easy-to-use tool to protect, recover or erase digital photos, movies, music and important documents.  The software allows for recovery from local hard drives, including emptied recycle bins and trash, and supports most media types: hard drives, optical and digital media.