IT Links.
Useful places to start.

balenaEtcher

Flash operating system images to USB drives and SD cards with verification.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Flashing overwrites the selected device.

GParted Live

Resize, create, and inspect disk partitions in a bootable graphical environment.

• Bootable USB

Back up important data before changing partitions.

TestDisk

Recover lost partition structures and investigate damaged boot records.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Work from a disk image where possible to preserve the original device.

PhotoRec

Recover files by their signatures from damaged or reformatted storage.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Bundled with TestDisk; save recovered files onto a different drive.

smartmontools

Read SMART data and schedule storage health tests from the command line.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Use the official project download links or your OS package manager; hardware support varies.

nvme-cli

Inspect NVMe health logs, controllers, namespaces, and supported features.

• Linux

Install from your distribution; write and format commands can change drive data.

ncdu

Find large directories and investigate disk usage in a terminal interface.

• Linux
• macOS

Use your OS package manager or build the official source.

fio

Benchmark storage with configurable random and sequential I/O workloads.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Use test files on the intended test volume; raw device writes overwrite data.

BorgBackup

Create compressed, encrypted, deduplicated backups from the command line.

• Linux
• macOS

Native Windows backup is not supported.

Kopia

Create encrypted snapshots with deduplication through a GUI or command-line interface.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Remote storage fees are separate.

UrBackup

Back up client files to your own backup server and manage restores centrally.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Image backup is primarily for Windows clients; server setup and storage are required.

borgmatic

Automate BorgBackup schedules, retention, checks, and supported database dumps.

• Linux
• macOS

Requires BorgBackup.

Back In Time

Schedule local or SSH file snapshots using a graphical rsync-based backup tool.

• Linux

Install from your distribution package manager.

Pika Backup

Set up encrypted, scheduled desktop backups with a simple GNOME interface.

• Linux

Vorta

Manage BorgBackup archives, schedules, and restores using a desktop application.

• Linux
• macOS

BorgBase hosting is optional and separate from the free application.

Timeshift

Create Linux system snapshots to roll back system changes.

• Linux

System snapshots do not replace a separate backup of personal files.

Snapper

Manage filesystem snapshots and compare system changes on supported filesystems.

• Linux

Install from your distribution; requires supported filesystem and snapshot configuration.

FSArchiver

Save filesystem contents into compressed archives for backup and recovery.

• Linux

Restoring filesystems can overwrite existing target data.

GnuPG

Encrypt files, manage OpenPGP keys, and verify signed downloads from the terminal.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

For a Windows graphical installer, see the Gpg4win entry.

OpenSSL

Inspect TLS certificates, test TLS connections, and create cryptographic keys.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Official source releases; use a trusted OS package or build from source.

OpenBao

Run a self-hosted secrets service for credentials, tokens, and encryption operations.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Requires service deployment, secure initialization, and storage.

ClamAV

Scan files and mail attachments using an open-source antivirus engine.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Requires signature updates; platform features differ.

YARA

Identify file patterns with rules for malware research and incident response.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

A rule-matching engine, not a complete endpoint protection suite.

osquery

Query operating system information with SQL for inventory and endpoint investigation.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux