UFS Explorer gets Compatible with Windows ® 7 and Windows ® 8 logos

Startig version 5.4 of UFS Explorer Standard, RAID and Professional Recovery  for Microsoft Windows ® have been tested to meet all of the technical requirements to be Compatible with Windows ® 7 and Windows ® 8 operating systems. This means the software have passed Microsoft-designed tests to help ensure they install readily every time and minimize the number of crashes, hangs, and restarts that you experience. This all helps ensure a compatible and reliable experience with any edition of Windows 7 and Windows 8, including 64-bit. List of supported operating systems is available on software web pages under "Specification" section.

NTFS encrypted files recovery process

Encrypted files on NTFS file system are stored in special format to handle transparent decryption of file data to whom who have access to these files. To handle transparent encryption the files on disk consist of two parts:

• file data itself in encrypted form;
• encryption metadata, required to decrypt the file.

File data is stored in usaul form, except file content is encrypted with strong encryption method. Encryption metadata is stored as so-called "utility stream" with special name "$EFS" and contains user identification data and copies of protected file encryption key. Only authenticated user from access list can decrypt an instance of file encryption key and thus access the data.

When file is lost, both encrypted data and encryption metadata are lost. The software recovers this information and restores association between these parts. On success, the software can use Windows API to restore encrypted file by supplying both encrypted data and encryption metadata. It does not decrypt file data so recovery operator still does not have access to sensitive user information.

Restored file can be only opened by a user from original file access control list (such as file owner).

In case file can not be restored in encrypted form because operating system does not support this (e.g. non-Windows OS or Windows NT4 OS) or target file system does not support encryption, the file will be restored in special format of encrypted file backup. This format is specified by Microsoft and contains both encrypted data and encryption metadata. These files can be restored by Windows EFS backup/restoration API. You may use free EFS Restoration Tool from UFS Explorer installation package to restore encrypted files from backup to encrypted files on NTFS.

Software update: version 5.4 released

The next regular update to UFS Explorer software (software version 5.4) is the usual, free update for users of version 5 software and is recommended for installation. Users of previous software versions (4 and below) may move to version 5.4 of the software according to terms and conditions of UFS Explorer software upgrade policy. The software is available for download from download section of UFS Explorer web site.

What's new in this update

It mostly introduces new features and enchantments to previous software versions. It also includes fixes for several stability and usability issues. The new key features include:

EFS support
Since version 5.4 all UFS Explorer software can recover also lost or deleted files with applied Windows File Encryption (or so-called Encrypted Files System - EFS). The software will not decrypt encrypted data, however it can restore encrypted file at safe target location. If operating system or target location do not support EFS, the software will save encrypted files in format of backup for later encrypted file restoration with free "EFS Restoration Tool" included into UFS Explorer for Windows pack.

Extension to RAID6
There are implemented more Reed-Solomon code based algorithms for data recovery after double storage failure in RAID6. Most RAID6 configuration are now supported, including Hewlett Packard ADG.

Legacy OS support
For outdated systems running Windows NT4, Windows 2000 or Windows XP before service pack it was introduced special software build marked as "Legacy OS". The software will run on any OS platform starting Windows NT4.0 with Service Pack 6 and later. Some minor (later OS specific) functions however will not work in this software build.

More accurate XFS recovery
In version 5.4 the software will recover files names and directory structure more accurately for better final result.