Is Secure Data Recovery legit?

Data recovery services provide an important lifeline for individuals and businesses that experience data loss due to hardware failure, accidental deletion, malware, or other issues. With so much valuable information stored digitally, data recovery allows users to regain access to files that would otherwise be lost forever.

Secure Data Recovery is one of the many data recovery companies that offers to retrieve deleted or lost data from storage media. With testimonials on their website from satisfied customers, Secure Data Recovery markets themselves as a trusted solution for data recovery emergencies. However, with so many options for data recovery services, is Secure Data Recovery a legitimate and reputable company to trust with your valuable data?

What services does Secure Data Recovery offer?

Secure Data Recovery provides data recovery services for all types of storage devices and operating systems. This includes:

  • Hard drives (HDD, SSD)
  • USB flash drives
  • SD cards
  • Digital cameras
  • Mobile devices
  • RAID arrays
  • Virtual machine data recovery
  • Database and email recovery

For businesses, they also offer options like forensic data recovery, which follows strict procedures for legal compliance. Their services are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and other operating systems.

Secure Data Recovery has data recovery labs located across the United States. When you submit a case, you’ll ship your device to the nearest lab location. They will perform the recovery process by attempting to repair damaged hardware and extracting data using specialized tools. Once the recovery is complete, they will ship the storage device back along with recovered data on an external hard drive or USB flash drive.

What does Secure Data Recovery claim?

On their website, Secure Data Recovery states that they have over 15 years of experience recovering data from all types of storage devices. They tout a 96% success rate for logical recoveries and an 86% success rate for more complex physical recoveries involving hardware damage.

Secure Data Recovery promises an advanced 100 Class 100 cleanroom facility, meeting strict standards to protect delicate internal components during certain recovery procedures. They also claim to utilize powerful data recovery tools and techniques that are not available in the general consumer market.

Other claims and promises from Secure Data Recovery include:

  • Free evaluation of your storage device
  • Firm pricing quotes before starting recovery work
  • 24/7 support by data recovery experts
  • Fast turnaround time
  • Rush services available for urgent cases
  • RAID, virtual machine, and database recovery services
  • Strict confidentiality measures

Essentially, Secure Data Recovery presents their business as an established, professional provider of data recovery using state-of-the-art techniques, tools, and facilities.

What do customers say about Secure Data Recovery?

Secure Data Recovery has multiple positive customer reviews featured on their website. They also have a strong presence on third-party review sites like TrustPilot, where they maintain a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars across over 1100 reviews. Here is a sample of the positive feedback:

Reviewer Feedback
Harold S. “I was devastated when my hard drive crashed with years worth of photos and videos of my kids. Secure Data Recovery restored everything – I cried when I saw those memories again.”
Sarah D. “My USB stick somehow got corrupted and Secure Data Recovery got back all my work files. Their communication was great throughout the process.”
Peter M. “Lost some critical Quickbooks files after a Windows update caused issues. Secure Data Recovery saved my business by recovering everything quickly.”

Many reviews praise Secure Data Recovery for excellent communication, fast service, competitive prices, and professional handling of sensitive data. Customers describe friendly, knowledgeable experts who carefully evaluate storage devices, provide fair quotes, meet promised timelines, and deliver successful recovery results across various data loss scenarios.

Are there any negative reviews?

With over 1000 positive TrustPilot reviews, it’s hard to find much negative feedback about Secure Data Recovery. Here are a few of the critiques that do exist:

  • A few customers felt the evaluation and overall process took longer than expected.
  • Some mentioned the costs ended up higher than the initial quote.
  • In rare cases, Secure Data Recovery was unable to recover 100% of lost data from severely damaged hardware.
  • A couple reviewers said communication dropped off after shipping devices for recovery.

However, most of these complaints seem to involve exceptional circumstances rather than routine experiences. Secure Data Recovery responds to all negative feedback to address concerns and provide additional context when appropriate.

Are the negative reviews dealbreakers?

Overall, the few negative critiques of Secure Data Recovery do not raise major red flags. Data recovery is a complex process with many variables that can impact outcomes. The most common complaints stem from unrealistic expectations set by customers rather than negligence or incompetence on the company’s part.

Minor delays or cost changes can occur depending on case specifics. Hardware issues can occasionally prevent full recovery. Lacking feedback shows Secure Data Recovery has room to improve communication standards. But none of these criticisms indicate outright dishonesty, fraud, or deception, especially given their overwhelmingly positive reputation across thousands of customers.

Does Secure Data Recovery seem transparent?

Transparency helps build trust in a data recovery service. Based on the information Secure Data Recovery provides, they do appear to run a transparent operation:

  • Their website explains their entire recovery process in detail.
  • They offer a free evaluation to assess feasibility and provide quotes.
  • Customers are updated throughout the process by phone and email.
  • Pricing is disclosed upfront – $300 for basic logical recovery, $700+ for more complex physical recovery.
  • No data is ever recovered without authorization.
  • All storage devices are returned within days whether recovery is successful or not.

By clearly communicating their evaluation, pricing, timelines, capabilities, and limitations, Secure Data Recovery gives customers reasonable expectations. This transparency is reflected in many positive reviews. Customers describe positive experiences matching what the company promises.

Are there any concerns about transparency?

There are no obvious gaps in Secure Data Recovery’s explanations – they provide details on facilities, techniques, security protocols, and all stages of the recovery process. One area that could present an opportunity for improvement is sharing more specifics on employee background checks and qualifications. This would further strengthen trust in staff handling sensitive data.

What security measures does Secure Data Recovery claim to take?

Data privacy is critical when recovering personal or business information. Secure Data Recovery makes the following assurances about security:

  • Data encryption when recovering contents from storage devices and transferring to new media
  • Secure chain of custody protocols
  • Restricted employee access using keycards and biometric scanners
  • Background checks for all employees
  • Secure data destruction after recovery completes
  • Compliance with HIPAA regulations
  • No data is shared or sold to external parties

Their website also features trust badges from McAfee Secure, the Better Business Bureau, and TRUSTe. Secure Data Recovery clearly takes data protection seriously with both physical and technical security controls. Their facilities, tools, and staff supervision limit exposure of customers’ sensitive information throughout the process.

What do customers say about security?

Reviews often mention the professional, ethical handling of personal data. Many customers entrusted Secure Data Recovery with extremely sensitive materials like medical records, legal documents, proprietary business data, and photos. The lack of complaints about privacy issues or mismanaged data provides confidence in the company’s security practices.

How much does Secure Data Recovery charge compared to competitors?

Secure Data Recovery’s pricing structure is competitive within the data recovery industry. Here is a comparison of standard pricing for different services:

Secure Data Recovery Average Cost Range
Logical recovery from storage device $300 $250 – $350
Physical recovery from storage device $700+ $500 – $1100+
RAID recovery $1400+ $1000 – $2500+
Encrypted drive recovery $1000+ $750 – $1250+

While every case is different, Secure Data Recovery’s upfront estimates fall well within the typical rate scale for reputable data recovery firms. They are not the cheapest option, but also not the most expensive. Customers generally feel they offer competitive value for quality service based on reviews.

Are there any hidden fees?

All prices listed on Secure Data Recovery’s website indicate they are for estimation purposes only. After evaluating a device, they provide a firm quote for authorization before starting recovery work. As long as this process is followed, there should be no unexpected charges.

In rare, complex cases with extensive hardware damage, costs may exceed initial estimates once recovery work begins. But Secure Data Recovery always contacts the customer for approval first. While frustrations around changing quotes occasionally occur, this is an industry-wide reality when dealing with major data loss incidents.

What do customers say about pricing from Secure Data Recovery?

The vast majority of customer feedback on pricing is positive. Here are examples:

  • “I was relieved Secure Data Recovery gave me an affordable price quote upfront. Other places just wanted to take my drive without any cost estimate.”
  • “The final bill was about 15% higher than their estimate due to bad sectors. But they called me before increasing price, so I didn’t feel nickeled and dimed.”
  • “Expensive service but worth it – they restored all my photos from a crashed RAID array. Could’ve cost me ten times more to recreate that data.”

Reviews confirm Secure Data Recovery provides reasonable quotes before starting recovery work and contacts customers if costs need adjustment. While not the cheapest service, their prices reflect the specialized effort and skills required for data recovery.

Conclusion: Is Secure Data Recovery legit?

In summary, Secure Data Recovery exhibits all signs of running a professional, ethical, high-quality data recovery service. The overwhelming evidence includes:

  • 15+ years in business serving clients worldwide
  • Expert tools and engineers to handle complex cases
  • Transparent processes and pricing structure
  • Extensive security protocols to protect data
  • Over 1,100 online customer reviews with average 4.8/5 star rating
  • Positive feedback on pricing, responsiveness, and results

While no company is perfect, occasional issues are resolved promptly by Secure Data Recovery’s customer service team. All companies in this industry face unpredictable technical hurdles that can complicate recovery.

However, the overwhelming evidence supports Secure Data Recovery as a trusted provider of professional data recovery services. For individuals or businesses needing to rescue lost data from failed drives or devices, Secure Data Recovery appears to be a legitimate and recommended choice over less reputable options.