shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

CGSecurity (TestDisk & PhotoRec) Review

Worth it

Should I use CGSecurity (TestDisk & PhotoRec)?

TestDisk and PhotoRec are free and open source data recovery software tools designed to recover lost partition, unerase deleted files, carve lost files. - cgsecurity.org

· 1 month ago

Use it if you're technical and need serious partition or file recovery for $0 — it's the category's best-regarded free option. Skip it if you want a polished GUI or vendor support; get Recuva or Disk Drill instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 24 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, vendor forums, GitHub, and company-data sites.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

TestDisk & PhotoRec

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Sysadmins and IT pros
  • Photographers recovering memory cards
  • Partition-repair emergencies
  • Zero-budget data recovery

Not for

  • Non-technical users wanting point-and-click recovery
  • Businesses needing vendor support or SLAs
  • Anyone unwilling to read step-by-step docs

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

PhotoRec carving often loses original filenames and folder structure

medium

No paid support path if a critical recovery goes wrong

low

Recovery outcomes vary by failure type; some cases simply fail

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under GPL
  • Recovers lost partitions, undeletes files, carves lost photos
  • Rated 4.3/5 on G2 across 12 reviews
  • Widely trusted and recommended by sysadmins on Reddit

Cons

  • Guess: Text-mode interface has a steep learning curve
  • Support is community forums only; no paid support or SLA
  • Tiny operation: 4 employees, ~$440K revenue, no funding
  • Small review base — only 12 G2 reviews

Sources & method

- 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x2review x7security x2news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Completely free, full features, no upsells
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Guess: text-mode interface, no GUI wizard
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Partition repair, undelete, file carving all included
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community forums only, no paid support
  • Security posture: 4/5. Open source, bug bounty, Best Practices badge passing
  • 4.3/5 G2 rating 12 reviews
  • $0 Starting price Open source, donations optional
  • Yes Free tier Fully free under GPL
  • 4 employees Team size ~$440K revenue, no disclosed funding

Pricing

TestDisk & PhotoRec

$0

  • All recovery features included
  • Open source under GPL
  • Optional donation supported

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Users overwhelmingly praise the tools as powerful and completely free, especially for partition repair and photo recovery.

“amazing free file recovery tool”
Reddit, r/datarecovery
“Best recovery software I've ever used by far.”
7DataRecovery review
“Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy.”
G2 review

Alternatives

Compare CGSecurity (TestDisk & PhotoRec) with each alternative.

Full analysis

Based on 24 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, vendor forums, GitHub, and company-data sites.

Free, powerful open-source recovery loved by IT pros — but text-based tools that overwhelm casual users.

Methodology

Based on 24 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, vendor forums, GitHub, and company-data sites.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. PhotoRec, Digital Picture and File Recovery - CGSecuritycgsecurity.org
    official
  2. TestDisk Download - CGSecuritycgsecurity.org
    official
  3. CGSecurity Products | G2 Reviewsg2.com
    review
  4. TestDisk Reviews on G2g2.com
    review
  5. CGSecurity on Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  6. Anyone familiar with TestDisk? - r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  7. Thanku PhotoRec - amazing free file recovery tool - r/datarecoveryreddit.com
    review
  8. TestDisk Review – Strengths, Limitations & When to Use Itratings.7datarecovery.com
    review
  9. TestDisk Review – Can This Repair Tool Recover Lost Files?handyrecovery.com
    review
  10. CGSecurityOrg Bug Bounty Programopenbugbounty.org
    security
  11. TestDisk & PhotoRec - Best Practices Badgebestpractices.dev
    security
  12. CGSecurity company profile - GetLatkagetlatka.com
    news

Add this review to your site

CGSecurity (TestDisk & PhotoRec) earned a Worth it check.

Put the badge on your site, pricing page, or docs.

Visitors see an independent review.

The link points here, and search engines follow it.

This is the badge visitors see on your site.

Worth it CGSecurity (TestDisk & PhotoRec) Independent review on Should I Use It

Paste one snippet. Keep the link as it is. A nofollow tag stops search engines from following it.

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.