IsoBuster

{{Short description|Data recovery software}}

{{Infobox software

| name = IsoBuster

| logo =

| screenshot = IsoBuster.5.3.png

| caption = IsoBuster 5.3

| developer = Smart Projects

| latest release version = 5.6

| latest release date = {{release date|2025|05|12|df=y}}

| operating system = Microsoft Windows

| platform =

| language count = 34

| language footnote = {{Cite web |url=https://www.isobuster.com/translations.php |title=IsoBuster language dll download page |website=isobuster.com |publisher=Smart Projects |access-date=12 October 2017}}

| language = English, Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

| genre = Data recovery, Computer Forensics

| license = Shareware

| website = {{URL|https://www.isobuster.com/}}

}}

IsoBuster is a data recovery computer program by Smart Projects, a Belgian company founded in 1995 by Peter Van Hove.{{Cite web |url=https://www.isobuster.com/about.php |title=About Smart Projects and Peter Van Hove |website=isobuster.com |publisher=Smart Projects |access-date=11 October 2017}} As of version 3.0,{{Cite web |url=https://www.isobuster.com/news/isobuster_3.0_release_notes |title=IsoBuster 3.0 Released! - Top Choice File & Data Recovery Software |last=Van Hove |first=Peter |date=28 March 2012 |website=IsoBuster.com |publisher=Smart Projects}} it can recover data from damaged file systems or physically damaged disks including optical discs,{{Cite web |url=https://archive.nyu.edu/bitstream/2451/43876/2/Appendix%20A:%20Disc%20imaging%20and%20copying.pdf |title=An Optical Media Preservation Strategy |website=archive.nyu.edu |publisher=NYU}} hard disk drives, USB flash drives and solid-state disks.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/457248/review-isobuster-recovers-files-from-just-about-anything.html |title=IsoBuster recovers files from just about anything |website=pcworld.com |publisher=pcworld}} It has the ability to access "deleted" data on multisession optical discs,{{cite book |doi=10.1117/12.886118 |bibcode=2011SPIE.8063E..1DI |chapter=Possibilities of forensic investigation of CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc |title=Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing, Security, and Applications 2011 |date=2011 |editor-last1=Agaian |editor-first1=Sos S. |last1=Irmler |first1=Frank |last2=Creutzburg |first2=Reiner |journal=Mobile Multimedia/Image Processing |volume=8063 |pages=80631D |editor-first2=Sabah A. |editor-first3=Yingzi |editor-last2=Jassim |editor-last3=Du }} and allows users to access disc images{{cite book |doi=10.4324/9781003034865-17 |chapter=Disk Imaging as a Backup Tool for Digital Objects |title=Conservation of Time-Based Media Art |date=2022 |last1=Colloton |first1=Eddy |last2=Farbowitz |first2=Jonathan |last3=Rodríguez |first3=Caroline Gil |pages=204–222 |isbn=978-1-003-03486-5 }} (including ISO, BIN and NRG) and to extract files in the same way that they would from a ZIP archive. IsoBuster is also often used by law enforcement and data forensics experts.{{Cite web |url=https://www.forensicmag.com/product-release/2008/12/software-imaging-analysis-tools-and-hardware-devices-part-3 |title=Software Imaging/Analysis Tools and Hardware Devices: Part 3 |last=Barbara |first=John J. |date=1 December 2008 |website=Forensic Magazine |publisher=Advantage Business Media |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012095820/https://www.forensicmag.com/product-release/2008/12/software-imaging-analysis-tools-and-hardware-devices-part-3 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://computer-forensics.sans.org/community/papers/gcfa/validation-isobuster-v10_18 |title=Validation of IsoBuster v1.0 |last=Dietz |first=Steven D. |date=15 September 2002 |website=digital-forensics.sans.org |publisher=SANS Institute |format=PDF}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.isobuster.com/forensics.php#law_enforcement_customers |title=Computer Forensics Investigations |website=IsoBuster.com |publisher=Smart Projects |at=A selection of Smart Projects' clients in law enforcement |access-date=12 October 2017}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=isobuster+forensics&tbm=bks |title=IsoBuster mentioned in books on Computer Forensics |website=Google.com}}{{better source|should cite specific page of specific book and not search results|date=January 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Wardwell |first1=James |last2=Smith |first2=G. Stevenson |title=Recovering erased digital evidence from CD-RW discs in a child exploitation investigation |journal=Digital Investigation |date=September 2008 |volume=5 |issue=1–2 |pages=6–9 |doi=10.1016/j.diin.2008.06.002 }}