File recovery is a process of retrieving your lost files back, be it using software or services. File recovery tools can be used to deal with various data loss situations such as logical hard drive corruption, accidental data deletion or formatting of hard drive volumes, USB or flash drive formatting and more. These free file recovery tools are available across all the popular platforms including Windows, Mac and Linux. We are going to discuss some of the most popular free recovery tools available for Windows 8 as well as its predecessors. You may find differences in terms of their capability and performance but most of them would be capable to detect and recover your important lost or deleted files. We’ll list recovery tools based on their performance scale (0 to 10).

Recuva – 7.2 out of 10

Rucuva is a popular recovery tool from Piriform that offers very easy and do it yourself interface to recover apparently lost, deleted or accidentally formatted files from range of storage medias. This tool delivers efficient scanning mechanism to memory cards or flash drive which becomes unresponsive or corrupt due to user error or logical corruption.

Recuva offers wizard based recovery steps to make the overall recovery process not only simpler but time efficient too. You can also find files you’re looking for in just a matter of time using the find option of this tool.

Test Disk Data Recovery 7.6 out of 10

TestDisk is an open source application and offers verity of techniques to resurrect corrupt or lost data and partitions. You can have or get access to unbootable PC using bootable disc and would able to locate all the existing partitions so you can restore your files with easy. TestDisk would also help you fix or repair corrupt partition table or rebuild boot sector, important to recover data from logically corrupt or inaccessible hard drive partitions. This tool is available across all the major platforms such as Windows, Mac and Linux.

Pandora Recovery  7.9 out of 10

Pandora recovery is yet another useful utility that brings back different type of file types from NTFS or FAT formatted volumes. This tool can handle all the popular internal as well as external storage media with almost any type of logical corruption or data deletion. Pandora recovery takes full control of your problem storage media and scans it efficiently. Once scanning is completed, you can successfully go through the list of scanned files and save them to your desired destination.  

Lazesoft Windows Data Recovery Free – 8.2 out of 10

Lazesoft provides stunning scan engine to get back your data from corrupt, reformatted or inaccessible hard drive partitions. The good side is, it provides better security to the delete content and ensure that its content isn’t altered and easily accessible as before.

This tool supports all the popularly Windows OS including the latest Windows 8/8.1, both 32-bit and 64-bit. It’s available in 3 popular editions based on your requirement: Home License, Home License (Advanced) and Business license. Where Business license can be freely used for all the commercial uses including academic as well as government bodies.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free – 9.2 out of 10 (Winner)

EaseUS Data recovery wizard free is among the most popular data recovery tools that you need to address almost any type of critical data loss circumstances. It provides powerful methods to efficiently scan the problem storage media in shortest possible time. Do-it-yourself based data recovery wizard to recover your lost files back in fractions of seconds. This tool is completely adaptable to even basic users and requires 3 simple steps to follow: select drive, start scanning and save data to your desired place.

Featured photo credit: EaseUS Data Recovery wizard via easeus.com

Whether at work or at school, people these days are under tremendous pressure to perform, perform and perform! Stress and pressure can have adverse affects on the well-being of a person, and need to be controlled.

Now, this doesn’t mean you make a dash to your nearest therapist. There are a number of wonderful and smart apps that you can use on your phone. These brain training apps have been scientifically designed to target specific areas of the human mind and control harmful emotions such as anxiety, as well as to improve memory and sharpness of the brain.

Here are 11 iPhone apps that you will not only enjoy but also find useful in keeping your mental health balanced at all times.

1. Lumosity

This app consists of games that focus on improving the user’s memory, problem-solving capability, attention span, and thinking. There are three games in each session, and they challenge the brain by changing every time. The user has to complete the games while playing against a clock.

Free of trial. $15 per month for the full version.

2. Fit Brains Trainer

This brain training app has 10 sets of games that work on different areas of the brain and improve memory as well as concentration. A user is required to finish a particular task from each category on a daily basis and the app tracks the progress by a color coded graph.

Free.

3. CogniFit Brain Fitness

Developed with the help of neuroscientists, this fun app improves a person’s cognitive abilities, which includes memory and concentration. The progress made by the user over a period of time can be tracked. Users can also play challenge rounds with their friends. The app also modifies the difficulty level to suit the profile of the user and provide recommendations based on the results. Spending 20–30 minutes a few times every week can give measurable improvement in the performance of a user.

First four games free, then $13 a month.

4. Brain Fitness Pro

The makers of this app claim that it can improve the IQ of a user, and improve intelligence and memory. The app is fun and is user friendly, and 30 minutes a day can fetch you results in less than three weeks.

Buy for $3.99.

5. Happify

If nothing else makes you happy in life, this app will. Well, this is what the developers claim at least. This app comes loaded with lots of quizzes, polls and gratitude journals, which work on the fundamentals of positive psychology. The app also helps to control stress and emotions to make you feel better.

Free to use.

6. Clockwork Brain

You will like the little gold robot that comes in every time to explain the next game you are going to play. While the games are not much different to those offered in apps such as Luminosity, the look and feel reminds me of a workshop from old times.

Free.

7. ReliefLink

Initially created as an app for suicide prevention, it has found its use as a great app for tracking the mood of the user by taking measure of all things relevant to the user’s mental health. In case the user experiences high emotional stress, the app has a coping mechanism that includes voice-recorded mindfulness, exercises and music for relaxation. There is also a map that informs the user of the nearest therapist and medical facilities for mental health treatment.

8. Eidetic

Eidetic is a memory enhancement app and uses a ‘spaced repetition’ technique to help users memorize information such as important phone numbers, words, credit card details or passwords. It also notifies you when it’s time to take a test to see what you remember, so that you retain information in your long-term memory.

9. Braingle

Braingle helps to maintain the sharpness of the brain and improve the reasoning ability of a person through riddles and optical illusions. It is different from other brain training apps that employ memory and reaction based tests. You can also compete with your friends and family members in figuring out the fun riddles.

Free.

10. Not The Hole Story

If you have a penchant for solving hard riddles, then this app is a must-have for you. Filled with exclusive riddles along with a simple-to-use interface, the app gives you riddles that you have to solve through a book. You will be given hints along the way, and when you give up, the answers will be revealed. This app will encourage you to broaden your thinking and put your mind to a challenging test.

Free.

11. Personal Zen

This fun brain training app follows the journey of two animated characters who travel through a field of grass. Personal Zen is a nice app meant for reducing anxiety and trains the brain to focus on the positive aspects. The developer’s advice is to use the app for 10 minutes a day to see the best results.

Free.

More to Boost Your Brain Power

• 8 Ways to Train Your Brain to Learn Faster and Remember More
• How to Train Your Brain to Think Fast and Think Smart
• How to Increase Brain Power, Boost Memory and Become 10X Smarter

Featured photo credit: NeONBRAND via unsplash.com