Testing ShadowUser

[gergy]

Testing ShadowUser, I was especially interested in a feature missing in WinRollBack: Continue ShadowMode Session After Reboot.

This could allow working for a couple of days or weeks with this option, and be able to return to the original, clean system if something wrong happens.

After an easy and flawless installation, I first notice there is no way to protect ShadowUser with a password when running XP as administrator. Not such a big deal, though.

After setting SU to monitor only my system partition, and with the 'Continue ShadowMode Session After Reboot' selected, I start making a serie of tests: installing/removing softwares, modifying some registry keys. After each change, everything is looking fine and the changes are nicely retained upon reboot.

Now time to test a big change and return to the original, clean system. For this I just select Restart ShadowMode and Lose All Changes.

After reboot, I quickly check that the system is indeed back to its original state. Because my wife needs the PC, I make no further verification and leave the box into her hands. She works about one hour on it.

But she will never, ever, find any trace of her work on this PC.

Remember: only the system partition was monitored. But after the
'Restart ShadowMode and Lose All Changes' action, SU had changed the monitoring to include ALL drives ...

Anyone willing to explain my (now ex-) wife that I'm not what she thinks I am ?

I'm now back to WinRollBack. But I'm feeling lonely.

[controler]

I seem to like VMware now.

I have that on my laptop and Windows Shared Computer Toolkit on my desktop.

Shared toolkit only works good with etrust and Mc afee AV's for updates.

It does however allow all windows auto updates without intervention.

With VMware you are running another OS. You creat it as a guest, then quick make a snapshot. You run in the snapshot till something goes wrong then delet it and your back to your first install. I am running the new Vmware Beta 5.5

controler

[Vikorr]

Why didn't you setup excluded folders ?

Don't personally know much about the 'continue shadowmode after reboot' ability as I've never used it.

[tuatara]

That was indeed what had to be done, if drives or folders are excluded
this works fine.

I've been using this for a very long time, and i have 1 of the many logical drives completely
excluded and never had a problem with that.

But of course it is always, AFTER these things happen that you know why.

Didn't she make a backup on other media, because that also works of course.

[gergy]

Why should I have defined Excluded Folders on drives that were not supposed to be monitored in the first place ???

[tuatara]

-{ Quote: " Why should I have defined Excluded Folders on drives that were not supposed to be monitored in the first place" }-

Hi Gergy,
i just did not know that there was an other option or way,
to 'not monitor' certain drives.

Or did you just leave the configuration tab 'nr 1' volumes empty for that
logical drive?
Or was there only a red symbol in the checkbox?

Because the same thing could happen with my configuration ...

[gergy]

-{ Quote: "Hi Gergy,
i just did not know that there was an other option or way,
to 'not monitor' certain drives.

Or did you just leave the configuration tab 'nr 1' volumes empty for that
logical drive?
Or was there only a red symbol in the checkbox?

Because the same thing could happen with my configuration ..." }-

Unchecked drives should not be monitored. Unless something happens ...

[Chris12923]

I used SHadowUser for a while but it's been a bit. I can't remember if you can change the monitoring of drives while in shadowmode. If this is possible are you sure you didn't do that? Which of course would not effect the running session which means that it would not exclude the drive. I ask this only because you said there was no password which sounds like you thought their might be a security risk associated with that.

If this is not the case sorry it's been a while since I used it. Great program but many blue screens on my RAID 0.

Thanks,

Chris

[tuatara]

That is correct changes in shadowmode have no effect.

And the weakest part of ShadowUser, which makes it unsuitable
to use it in schools or cybercafe's is indeed the fact that there
is no REAL username/password protection.

You can use the user system of Windows XP but that is so weak,
that it is unusable.

So i think Gergy is totally right about that.
any schoolkid etc. can switch out of shadowmode into normal mode.

And this is very sad about this product.
And like i menationed in another thread, i am convinced that
this will be solved in the near future because it will prevent lots
of customers from bying it.