Foremost vs Scalpel 2.0

Struggling to choose between Foremost and Scalpel 2.0? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Foremost is a Security & Privacy solution with tags like forensics, data-recovery, file-carving.

It boasts features such as Recovers files based on file headers and footers, Can recover JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, HTML, DOC, XLS images and documents, Can recover MP3, WAV, AVI and other multimedia files, Works on raw disk images, memory dumps, etc, Command line interface, Open source and free and pros including Free and open source, Easy to use command line interface, Recovers many common file types, Does not modify original evidence, Works on many file systems and raw data.

On the other hand, Scalpel 2.0 is a Security & Privacy product tagged with forensics, data-recovery, deleted-files.

Its standout features include Recovers files from unallocated space or raw data, Supports various file systems like NTFS, FAT, ext2/3, HFS+, Performs header/footer analysis to improve recovery, Supports recovery of JPEGs, Office documents, PDFs, archives and more, Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, Open source and free, and it shines with pros like Powerful data carving capabilities, Recovers a wide variety of file types, Free and open source, Cross-platform compatibility.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Foremost

Foremost

Foremost is an open source forensic data recovery tool used to recover files based on their headers and footers. It can recover image, video, audio, and document files from file systems or raw data copied from storage devices.

Categories:
forensics data-recovery file-carving

Foremost Features

  1. Recovers files based on file headers and footers
  2. Can recover JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, HTML, DOC, XLS images and documents
  3. Can recover MP3, WAV, AVI and other multimedia files
  4. Works on raw disk images, memory dumps, etc
  5. Command line interface
  6. Open source and free

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Easy to use command line interface

Recovers many common file types

Does not modify original evidence

Works on many file systems and raw data

Cons

Command line only, no GUI

Limited file type support compared to commercial tools

Slower than commercial alternatives

Requires some Linux/technical skill to use effectively


Scalpel 2.0

Scalpel 2.0

Scalpel 2.0 is an open-source program for recovering files from unallocated space or raw data in a drive image. It can extract images, documents, emails, and more that have been deleted but not overwritten.

Categories:
forensics data-recovery deleted-files

Scalpel 2.0 Features

  1. Recovers files from unallocated space or raw data
  2. Supports various file systems like NTFS, FAT, ext2/3, HFS+
  3. Performs header/footer analysis to improve recovery
  4. Supports recovery of JPEGs, Office documents, PDFs, archives and more
  5. Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows
  6. Open source and free

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Free

Pros

Powerful data carving capabilities

Recovers a wide variety of file types

Free and open source

Cross-platform compatibility

Cons

Command line only interface may not be user friendly

File recovery can be slow

May recover incomplete or corrupted files

Requires some technical knowledge to use effectively