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Paragon Software Review

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Should I use Paragon Software?

Disk management, backup, and cross-platform file system tools (site tagline is only a cookie notice) - paragon-software.com

· 1 month ago

Buy a specific Paragon utility only when you need exactly that job — NTFS on Mac, HFS+ on Windows, or enterprise disk imaging — and no built-in option works. Skip it if you want set-and-forget software: 2025 CVEs and souring Mac-user reviews demand active patching.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources. Several distinct companies are named 'Paragon' (German disk-software vendor, UK routing firm, Israeli spyware maker); spyware coverage was excluded as a different company.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo direct support evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Backup & Recovery Community Edition

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Paid utilities (NTFS for Mac, HFS+ for Windows)Paid — price not published in sources

Best for

  • Mixed Mac/Windows households
  • IT admins imaging Windows machines
  • Cross-platform external drive access

Not for

  • Mac users wanting zero-maintenance NTFS — recent sentiment is negative
  • Security-sensitive orgs that can't patch backup tools immediately
  • Anyone counting on the free backup edition long-term — its status is questioned
  • Buyers expecting published, transparent pricing

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Patch immediately: 2025 RCE affects Backup & Recovery deployments

medium

Backup & Recovery Community Edition's continued availability questioned by users

medium

Mac installs may require lowering Gatekeeper to 'Reduced Security'

medium

Licensing confusion reported by new buyers right after install

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Selling disk and file-system software since 1994
  • Free Backup & Recovery Community Edition available
  • Covers NTFS, HFS+, and Linux file systems across Mac and Windows
  • Named enterprise users: Boise State University, Juniper Systems

Cons

  • 2025 remote-code-execution CVE in Backup & Recovery
  • CERT/CC alert on a Hard Disk Manager vulnerability
  • Long-time users say NTFS for Mac has gone downhill
  • extFS for Mac reportedly missing advertised features
  • Users report confusion after install; some advise against

Sources & method

- 10 sources - Active 2025 CVEs in Backup & Recovery and Hard Disk Manager — patch before deploying.

official x3review x5security x2
  • CVE-2025-0286: Remote code execution in Paragon Backup & Recovery, RCE vulnerability disclosed January 2025.
  • CVE-2025-0289, Paragon product vulnerability rated 7.8 on the CVSS scale.
  • VU#726882 (CERT/CC), Alert on Paragon Hard Disk Manager product vulnerability, February 2025.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Users cite declining value and licensing confusion
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Install confusion repeatedly reported by users
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Deep toolkit spanning Mac, Windows, Linux
  • Support quality. No direct support evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2025 RCE CVE plus CERT/CC alert
  • 45 G2 reviews across Paragon Software Group products
  • 1994 Founded German vendor, Paragon Software GmbH
  • Yes Free tier Backup & Recovery Community Edition
  • 3 2025 CVEs incl. RCE in Backup & Recovery

Pricing

Backup & Recovery Community Edition

Free

  • Disk backup and recovery
  • Reviewed as free edition, Feb 2025

Paid utilities (NTFS for Mac, HFS+ for Windows)

Paid — price not published in sources

  • Cross-platform file system access
  • Exact cost unconfirmed in evidence

Security

Active 2025 CVEs in Backup & Recovery and Hard Disk Manager — patch before deploying.

  • CVE-2025-0286: Remote code execution in Paragon Backup & RecoveryRCE vulnerability disclosed January 2025.⁶
  • CVE-2025-0289Paragon product vulnerability rated 7.8 on the CVSS scale.
  • VU#726882 (CERT/CC)Alert on Paragon Hard Disk Manager product vulnerability, February 2025.⁷

What users say

Recent Reddit sentiment on the Mac utilities skews negative — perceived decline, missing features, and doubts about the free tier — while the disk toolkit retains enterprise users.

“Paragon Software - NTFS for Mac - Gone' Downhill”
Reddit, r/macapps
“Is Paragon Backup free version dead?”
Reddit, r/Backup
“Are Paragon NTFS or Tuxera NTFS reliable for the long- ...”
Reddit, r/MacOS

Companies that use it

  • Boise State University10
  • Juniper Systems
Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources. Several distinct companies are named 'Paragon' (German disk-software vendor, UK routing firm, Israeli spyware maker); spyware coverage was excluded as a different company.

Disk utilities since 1994; works, but 2025 CVEs and souring Mac-user reviews. Buy for a specific job, patch fast.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources. Several distinct companies are named 'Paragon' (German disk-software vendor, UK routing firm, Israeli spyware maker); spyware coverage was excluded as a different company.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Paragon Software Group Reviews (Trustpilot)trustpilot.com
    review
  2. Paragon Software Group Products — G2 (45 reviews)g2.com
    review
  3. Paragon Backup & Recovery Review (Community Edition)bestbackupreviews.com
    review
  4. Paragon NTFS for Mac — Gone Downhill (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  5. Is Paragon Backup free version dead? (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  6. CVE-2025-0286: Paragon Backup & Recovery RCEsentinelone.com
    security
  7. VU#726882 — Paragon Hard Disk Manager vulnerabilitykb.cert.org
    security
  8. Paragon Software Group — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    official
  9. Paragon Software Group — All Productsparagon-software.com
    official
  10. Boise State University case studyparagon-software.com
    official

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