5 Free Data Recovery and Backup Projects to Donate to Via Kivach

Personal and institutional data online has become more valuable than ever in this digital era, but we don’t always take enough care of it. A cyberattack, a malfunctioning machine or software, a wrong option in the keyboard, or any other incident out of our control could erase years of memories and hard work. That’s why data recovery and backup programs were designed, and there are open-source versions you can use for free —either to back up your files or recover them after deletion.

Typically, deleted files are not immediately erased from the storage device but are marked as available space for new data. To recover deleted files, it's essential to act swiftly, avoiding further data writes to the affected storage medium to prevent overwriting the deleted data. Specialized data recovery software can scan the storage device, identify recoverable files based on file signatures, and facilitate their retrieval.

Meanwhile, backup apps can safeguard valuable data by creating automatic copies of files, ensuring protection against data loss due to accidental deletion, hardware failure, or other unforeseen events. We’ll check ahead some free and open-source projects that’ll let you protect your data, one way or the other.

If you find them useful, you can consider donating to their team via Kivach. This is a cascading donations platform in which any GitHub repository can receive some cryptocurrencies and then optionally distribute a part of them among other developers, always in a decentralized manner.

RecoverPy

This is a potent Python application that offers a user-friendly solution for retrieving lost or overwritten files on Linux systems. Developed with a focus on simplicity and effectiveness, it stands out for its ability to scan entire partitions thoroughly, even identifying strings within binary files.

Unlike other recovery utilities, it provides an intuitive terminal user interface (TUI) for streamlined operation. Released to address the complexities often associated with file recovery, this tool caters to users who may have accidentally deleted critical documents or files. Users only need to select the partition where the lost files were located, enter relevant search terms to locate the desired files, and then save them in another location.

RecoverPy was released by Pablo Lecolinet in 2021, and everyone is welcome to contribute via GitHub as a developer or just by sharing the software with others. You can also donate some coins to the project via Kivach, where it appears as pablolec/recoverpy.

TestDisk & PhotoRec

They’re complementary data recovery tools developed by Christophe Grenier and encompassed within the project CGSecurity, started by Grenier in 1998. TestDisk specializes in repairing partition tables, recovering deleted partitions, and fixing file system issues caused by various factors such as viruses or human error. Its features include support for a wide range of file systems, including FAT, NTFS, ext2/3/4, and more, making it a versatile solution for both novice and expert users seeking to recover lost data.

Meanwhile, PhotoRec focuses on recovering lost files, especially images, from a variety of storage media such as hard drives, CD-ROMs, and digital camera memory cards. Operating under a read-only mode to ensure the safety of the data being recovered, PhotoRec ignores file system structures and retrieves data based on file headers, making it effective even in cases of severe file system damage or formatting.

With support for numerous file formats and a broad range of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, SunOS, and others, PhotoRec and TestDisk provide a versatile and reliable solution for users in need of file recovery. It’s worth mentioning that Grenier is still the main developer, and this is a self-funding project. He accepts donations via PayPal, but Kivach could be a more decentralized and inexpensive option.

Duplicati

Originally developed by Kenneth Skovhede in 2008, Duplicati is an open-source backup client with a secure solution for storing encrypted, incremental, and compressed backups on various cloud storage services and remote file servers. Released under the MIT license, Duplicati is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms, catering to a wide range of users. Its extensive list of supported cloud storage services includes Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more, ensuring flexibility and accessibility for users seeking reliable backup solutions.

With features such as AES-256 encryption, incremental backups, and automated scheduling, Duplicati offers robust data protection and management capabilities. Its user-friendly interface and command-line tool provide users with versatile options for managing backups according to their preferences and requirements. Additionally, Duplicati's ability to handle locked files using Volume Snapshot Service (VSS) under Windows or Logical Volume Manager (LVM) under Linux ensures comprehensive backup coverage for critical data.

Its development history spans over a decade, with subsequent versions introducing significant improvements and enhancements. The ongoing development of Duplicati 2 focuses on a complete rewrite, incorporating a new storage engine for efficient, continuous backups and a web-based interface for seamless installation on headless systems. Its team accepts donations via OpenCollective, and they appear on Kivach as duplicati/duplicati.

BackupPC

BackupPC is a cross-platform disk-to-disk backup software suite with a user-friendly web-based frontend. Developed by Craig Barratt in 2001 and released under the GNU General Public License, it offers enterprise-grade backup capabilities for Linux, WinXX, and MacOS PCs and laptops to a server's disk. It supports various protocols such as SMB, rsync, and tar over ssh/rsh/nfs, providing flexibility and ease of use for backup administrators.

One of BackupPC's standout features is its efficient pooling scheme, which minimizes disk storage by storing identical files across multiple backups only once. This results in significant savings in disk space, making it a cost-effective backup solution for large-scale deployments. Additionally, its support for mobile environments, dynamic IP addresses, and flexible configuration parameters further enhances its usability and adaptability to diverse backup scenarios.

Currently, the program is in continuous development and has active community support that ensures reliability, performance, and compatibility with a wide range of systems. The project is self-funding, though, so you can consider donating via Kivach.

Borg

Borg (previously Attic), released in 2015 by The Borg Collective, is a deduplicating backup program. This means that it eliminates redundant data by storing only unique instances of identical content, thus reducing storage space requirements. Its primary goal is to provide space-efficient storage while ensuring data integrity through authenticated encryption.

One of its main features is its speed, achieved through C/Cython implementation of performance-critical code. Borg supports various compression algorithms like lz4, zstd, zlib, and lzma, offering flexibility in balancing compression ratio and speed. It also supports off-site backups via SSH, facilitating efficient remote backup storage compared to network filesystems.

The software is easy to use across multiple platforms, including Linux, macOS, and BSD. It offers single-file binaries that require no installation, allowing for straightforward setup and execution. Contributions and support, including monetary assistance, are welcome to further enhance and maintain the project's development. They accept funds via PayPal, Liberapay, OpenCollective, and GitHub Sponsors. Of course, a more practical alternative to donate cryptocurrencies is Kivach, where they appear as borgbackup/borg.

Claim donations in Kivach

First of all, even if the recipients don’t need to know from the very beginning about the donation, they’ll definitely need to know about it if they want to claim it. So, it’s important to tell them about it. To claim the tokens sent via Kivach, the recipients will have to install an Obyte wallet and perform a brief attestation via chatbot to verify their GitHub profile — to which the funds were sent.

Since Kivach is about cascading donations, it’s possible for the recipients to automatically redistribute their bounty across other GitHub repositories, only if they decide so. This flexibility encourages collaboration and supports the broader open-source community.

Now, if you want to discover other interesting projects to use for free and optionally donate to, please check our previous chapters in this series.

• Kivach Donations: 5 GitHub projects it has helped so far
• How You Can Support Key Open-Source Initiatives With Kivach
• 5 Open-source Projects You Can Support With Kivach — and Cryptocurrencies
• 5 Open-source Projects You Can Support with Kivach and Cryptos, Episode III
• 5 Open-Source Projects You Can Donate to via Kivach, Episode IV: Privacy Tools
• 5 Open-source Blogging and Writing Tools to Donate to via Kivach (Ep V)
• 5 Open-Source Tools You Can Donate to via Kivach, Episode VI: Decentralized Services
• 5 Open-Source Projects to Donate via Kivach, Episode VII: Games to Play for Free!
• 5 Cybersecurity Tools to Use for Free and Donate to Via Kivach