ShadowUser ?

[hollywoodpc]

Some people have sort of pushed Shadowuser as something special . I have read about it and have seen the price . Is this a joke ? My question is this : How much difference is there between ShadowUser and BufferZone ( formerly AntiMalware ) ? I know BZ is still kind of a beta but , it works great ! Not that free is all that important to me but , $69.95 compared to free . And they seem to be comparable products . Any info would be appreciated .
thanks in advance .

[Notok]

ShadowUser sandboxes the entire OS, where BufferZone just sandboxes a few apps of your choice. AM also doesn't have the ability to "commit" changes, although you can selectively move files in and out of the BufferZone.. not quite the same, though. So in theory, you could tell SU to "commit" the new bookmarks you just made, then clear the sandbox, and have those bookmarks available inside and outside of the sandbox. With BufferZone, you would have to navigate into the virtual folder and make a copy of the bookmarks file, then release that copy from the BufferZone each time. From what I understand, SU will show you the changes when you exit Shadow Mode, giving you an option to commit or trash.. where BZ has to be "cleaned" manually. I've not really used SU, though, so I'm mainly going on what I've seen around here vs my experience with BZ. Maybe someone like Spy1 can give you a more experienced comparison.

Keep in mind, too, that BZ is going to be $50 after it's out of beta.. $20 isn't that great of a difference for what it does, and I'm sure you can find deals around somewhere.

[hollywoodpc]

Thank you Notok .
I knew how BZ worked . Just could not figure the difference . And BZ WILL be $ 50 out of beta ? Ok . Hmmmm . Actually , SU can be had for that now . Instant $ 20 off . I think that will ALWAYS be the case though . I will be surprised if they sell it for $ 69 . 95 all the time .
I really like BZ . I have for quite some time . I think I will stay right where I am and not even test SU at this point . Thank you again

[BufferZone]

First, we are considering how to leverage the usability of the BufferZone clean mechanism (e.g. cleaning only certain extensions or paths). You are welcome to post suggestions in the community(http://www.trustware.com/forum)

Second, Beta testers group members of the BZ community will keep on getting the prereleased and released versions free...so you can join this group.

Have a nice day,

Tal

[Rasheed187]

Hi,

I´ve recently installed Sandboxie and I really like the ability to test apps without actually installing them on my real system. However, not all apps will work because they are restricted in the sandbox of course. So I wonder what´s the best solution? At first I thought that Bufferzone, VELite might be a possible solution, but they will also not allow to install any software I guess? So is ShadowUser the best solution, for someone who wants to test software? :)

[Acadia]

In my opinion, any of the Instant Recovery programs such as GoBack, RestoreIt, Rollback RX, or FirstDefense-ISR will suit you perfectly, plus give you their many other benefits. Whatever you choose, good luck.

Acadia

[ErikAlbert]

I don't know about the others, but ShadowUser requires only a simple reboot to recover your system.

[nicM]

-{ Quote: " My question is this : How much difference is there between ShadowUser and BufferZone ( formerly AntiMalware ) ? " }-

As Notok said there's a difference in how theses two programs handle virtualization, the whole computer files for one (SU, with the ability to exclude files however), "untrusted" apps and files separated from the rest of the system in "real time", without reboot to change its mode for BufferZone.

I've not played too much with that feature, but I think it's making BufferZone more close to SU: you can run BufferZone in "Desktop mode", meaning that all processes are going "untrusted"; then you can go back later by leaving desktop mode, and all files created during this session mode can be deleted with a Bufferzone cleaning: that's still different, but comparable to SU on this point.

One substantial difference yet: BufferZone does have dedicated protection features, upon its main virtualization layer, something we don't find in SU: http://trustware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38



Cheers,
nicM

[Acadia]

At least two of the programs, GoBack and FirstDefense, require only a simple reboot; don't know about the others but I suspect that they would be the same: they don't call them Instant Recovery for nothing. 8)

Acadia

[Peter2150]

Not familiar with Buffer Zone, but a couple quick differences between shadow users and FDISR.

Shadow User you reboot to enter and reboot to exit and your system is back like it was, with changes commited if so desired.

First Defense you also have to reboots with a copy in between.

From talking with a Shadow User user, the 2nd reboot takes longer as it has to clean up, so the time difference isn't that great.


First Defense offers the ability to work in two different snapshots and leave them both the way the are when you leave them, and return and continue. I don't believe once you leave Shadow Mode in SU there is anyway to return to the state it was in when you left.


Finally there is a tech support issue. I live in the US so phone is an option. I can call Raxco and talk with FDISR techsupport with ease. Tried that with SU and couldn't get past an answering machine that takes a message and has them call. They never called.

Pete

[Rasheed187]

I think I will buy ShadowUser, I need it mainly to test new software, I´m not going to use it as a real security tool, and from what I´ve read so far it looks impressive to me. :)

[controler]

The only program I know of that lets you try anything including kernel & drivers is VMware but with this program you are using another operating system in the virtual world, weather it be linux, windows 98 or what have you. Then again VMware is not cheap.

This would be the big difference between go back programs wich use your current OS as the guinne pig.

VMware is really not that tough to install and use.
Way easier then some great firewalls.
For the freebie users here I would recommend Microsofts Shared Toolkit which is FREE

con

[ILikeLemonPie]

You might try ShadowSurfer first, it's very much like ShadowUser. Here's an aincentive - It's free right now. go to http://www.shadowstor.com/download.html It will be the free trial. Then they email you your validation key. Great deal on this program! $30.00 value.

[PeterVO]

Hello,

I tried to "buy" ShadowSurfer but you've still to enter your credit card details for a free product. That's a bid strange, isn't it?
Or is there another way to acquire it?

Kind regards,

PeterVO:wacko:

[starfish_001]

-{ Quote: "Hello,

I tried to "buy" ShadowSurfer but you've still to enter your credit card details for a free product. That's a bid strange, isn't it?
Or is there another way to acquire it?

Kind regards,

PeterVO:wacko:" }-

When I tried it you did not have to enter your cc details

- there is a coupon code on the web page that makes the sum payable zero from memory -

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Hello,

I tried to "buy" ShadowSurfer but you've still to enter your credit card details for a free product. That's a bid strange, isn't it?
Or is there another way to acquire it?

Kind regards,

PeterVO:wacko:" }-
This isn't really strange.
ShadowStor has an application that is designed for PAID software and is trying to use the same application for FREE software and the coupon is used as a trick to neutralize the payment and makes the total zero.
That's why you also have to enter your credit card data, because the application is designed for PAID softwares.

[Notok]

On the last page I just had to enter the coupon code in the "Purchase Order" field (not the Coupon field) and it gave me the reciept and emailed me the code :) (did not have to enter a card number)

Thanks for posting the link, awesome freebie :)

[Peter2150]

Hi Notok

How quickly did you receive a key. I tried it both with the card, and like you did. Wasn't charged, but haven't received a key.

Pete

[SpikeyB]

See this post on how to get the freebie (it worked for me): http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=639194&postcount=29

[Peter2150]

-{ Quote: "See this post on how to get the freebie (it worked for me): http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=639194&postcount=29" }-

What did they do. I tried two other options to no avail. I've kind of lost interest anyway,

Thanks for responding.

[nicM]

hmm :blink: , I did try to get it too, few weeks ago, and the methd explained in the link didn't work, I finally ended with an order for 29 $ but without cc, just a phone number...

Shadowstor support was incredibly fast :o , and friendly, to cancel my order, and explained me there was a bug in their order process, and that I had to re-order a second time.

But I didn't try a second time, because all was showing like at the first order, on the last page before to submit the order :wacko: ...

Their offer is great, but IF you manage to resolve the order enigma. I gave up :-\

Cheers,
nic

[beetlejuice69]

I just got it for free also. The coupon code is "SURFER" in case anyone wants it.

[WonderBread]

ShadowSurfer is really cool. When you try it, and while in ShadowMode, wipe out some files off the c: drive. copy files to the c: drive that don't normally go there. That kind of thing. then..........
Reboot ----------it's all gone! Very cool.
Very nice addition to the arsenal and simple as pie to use. Can't beat the price. (free) :)

[Peter2150]

How did you guys get the key. I went thru the order process twice once with CC, and once telling it I had a coupon. Same result came to the last page, where you get the download. Never got an email with the key. How quick did the key come?

Pete

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "How did you guys get the key. I went thru the order process twice once with CC, and once telling it I had a coupon. Same result came to the last page, where you get the download." }-Pete,

What do you mean by same result? You received a page which had a download link, correct?

-{ Quote: "Never got an email with the key. How quick did the key come?

Pete" }-The key should be received within minutes.

Blue

[nicM]

-{ Quote: "
The key should be received within minutes.
" }-

...hm :shifty: , I did try a second time, following Notok's instructions: that simply doesn't work >:( (received an order confirmation for 29 $, but no serial in the mail). Or their order process looks like a labyrinth, or its working irrational :wacko: .

Cheers,
nic

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "...hm :shifty: , I did try a second time, following Notok's instructions: that simply doesn't work >:( (received an order confirmation for 29 $, but no serial in the mail). Or their order process looks like a labyrinth, or its working irrational :wacko: .

Cheers,
nic" }-There do appear to be some minor logic problems in the process, but they're of an understandable origin.

Personally, to get the process to work, I resorted to the call me option (as already mentioned in a post above).

An attempt to use a credit card process yielded a disallowed charge of $0.00, they obviously flag for amounts greater than zero (which is good, don't want to be randomly offering credits without some clear checks and balances). If you entered the coupon code early on in the process, it will reject a second attempt to enter it at the final transaction screen ($0.00 balance shown, this check probably guards against cascading price reductions). Selecting the Call Me option does work. You are presented with, as I recall, an invoice like screen with a download button in the lower section of the screen. At least when I did this, the e-mails for the key and "order confirmation" were received before the download finished.

Blue

[nicM]

-{ Quote: " Selecting the Call Me option does work. You are presented with, as I recall, an invoice like screen with a download button in the lower section of the screen. At least when I did this, the e-mails for the key and "order confirmation" were received before the download finished.

Blue" }-

Hi Blue,

Thanks for your confirmation about the way to proceed :)

That's what I did the first time, when it didn't work (what support confirmed in emails, after I asked them to cancel my order of 29 $ instead of 0; they said there was a problem at that time, it was fixed later), now I've tried a second time, and will probably have to ask them a second time to cancel an order :-[ . Well, now I really give up.

The problem is you have to create an account to do, and you can't "reinitialize" it later after an unsuccessful attemps, what means to create several accounts if you want to try again. Now I've two, I just don't want to bother them more for a free product ;) .

Cheers,
nicM

[Peter2150]

Holy Catfish Andy

I did what Blue suggested, created a new account, and did it by phone with a different email, and it worked. I wonder if it's this difficult to actually give them money.

Pete

[Danky]

-{ Quote: "How did you guys get the key. I went thru the order process twice once with CC, and once telling it I had a coupon. Same result came to the last page, where you get the download. Never got an email with the key. How quick did the key come?

Pete" }-

what the heck is the place wheres bufferzone located what is thsi
http://www.bufferxone.com/

[securityx]

-{ Quote: "what the heck is the place wheres bufferzone located what is thsi
http://www.bufferxone.com/" }-

?????
I'm confused. What does this have to do with Shadowuser/Surfer?

[Rasheed187]

I had the same problem, it said my coupon code wasn´t valid or something, but I will try again. :shifty:

[PaSSingPhaSe]

Thanks for the link. Shadowsurfer is too cool. I have been using it for the past several hours and it does everything it says it does. I started with a clean system from an image, installed Shadowsurfer and waded into the abyss. I visited warez sites, let loose a trojan or two from some of my test files, all in all messed up the system with spyware, a virus or two and had it totally infected. I then rebooted the PC and it returned in the exact same configurations as when I began my malware assaults. I compared the image with my system snapshot and they were identical. Shadowsurfer dumped everything and returned my ssytem to a perfect state. I cannot believe this was FREE! I almost bought it a year ago for $50. It would have been worth it.

I use C drive only for OS and programs. All programs point to files on another drive and/or partiton, so I have no worry about saving and then losing files on the C drive.

Thanks again to whoever posted the link. It took me a few times to figure out the process, but following the 'coupon code' and 'call me' directions I was able to download and the validation key was sent immediately to my email.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Thanks for the link. Shadowsurfer is too cool. I have been using it for the past several hours and it does everything it says it does. I started with a clean system from an image, installed Shadowsurfer and waded into the abyss. I visited warez sites, let loose a trojan or two from some of my test files, all in all messed up the system with spyware, a virus or two and had it totally infected. I then rebooted the PC and it returned in the exact same configurations as when I began my malware assaults. I compared the image with my system snapshot and they were identical. Shadowsurfer dumped everything and returned my ssytem to a perfect state. I cannot believe this was FREE! I almost bought it a year ago for $50. It would have been worth it.

I use C drive only for OS and programs. All programs point to files on another drive and/or partiton, so I have no worry about saving and then losing files on the C drive.

Thanks again to whoever posted the link. It took me a few times to figure out the process, but following the 'coupon code' and 'call me' directions I was able to download and the validation key was sent immediately to my email." }-
I'm glad to hear it works and it will work for undiscovered and brandnew threats as well.

[nicM]

I did try - AGAIN :ouch: - with the coupon and "call me" option, and this time, that worked!! :D

nicM

[Rasheed187]

I did get the serialkey after I mailed them, but anyway, what I don´t like about ShadowSurfer (and I assume this is the same in ShadowUser) is that you have to reboot to get into ShadowMode, with Sandboxie this isn´t the case, I mean I don´t want to reboot every time I´m testing new software. ::)

[Atomas31]

-{ Quote: "I did get the serialkey after I mailed them, but anyway, what I don´t like about ShadowSurfer (and I assume this is the same in ShadowUser) is that you have to reboot to get into ShadowMode, with Sandboxie this isn´t the case, I mean I don´t want to reboot every time I´m testing new software. ::)" }-

I totally agree! I am testing Shadowuser and everytime I want to go on or off shadowmode I have to reboot.... I hope they can find a way to go on and off of shadowmode without having to reboot each and every time?

Also, is there a way, when in shadowmode, to see what changes and/or what files and folders have been changes? If so, is there a way to also choose the files and folder changes from that list and tell shadowuser to save those changes in to the original files and folders so that way we won't lose those changes at the next normal (not shadowmode) reboot????

Thanks,

[aigle]

See my post if you still fail to get it.

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=119758

No need to give CC details at all.
I agree tht reboot again and again is big trouble. I have one question about Shadow User. When you install a new software in Shadow Mode to try the software, some software after install will ask you to reboot before you could actually use it. Now if you reboot, the software will be lost due to ShadowUser and if you reboot with system safe, it,s useless as you have not yet actually run the software in Shadow Mode to see whether it is safe or not. What is the solution for this?

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "See my post if you still fail to get it.

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=119758

No need to give CC details at all.
I agree tht reboot again and again is big trouble. I have one question about Shadow User. When you install a new software in Shadow Mode to try the software, some software after install will ask you to reboot before you could actually use it. Now if you reboot, the software will be lost due to ShadowUser and if you reboot with system safe, it,s useless as you have not yet actually run the software in Shadow Mode to see whether it is safe or not. What is the solution for this?" }-aigle,

If you are using ShadowUser (the paid application), you can continue a shadow session across reboots without committing the changes, so this works fine for the scenario you pose. If you are using ShadowSurfer (the one available for free at the moment), you cannot span reboots in shadow mode.

Blue

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "aigle,

If you are using ShadowUser (the paid application), you can continue a shadow session across reboots without committing the changes, so this works fine for the scenario you pose. If you are using ShadowSurfer (the one available for free at the moment), you cannot span reboots in shadow mode.

Blue" }-

It is not the case as i am using the trialversion of shadow user, for reboot you have 6 options as follows:

1- Reboot,disable shadow mode and loose all changes.
2- Reboot,disable shadow mode with file save only
3- Reboot,disable shadow mode and full system save

4- Reboot,continue shadow mode and loose all changes
5- Reboot,continue shadow mode with file save only
6- Reboot,continue shadow mode and full system save

So obviously you can understand that once you reboot saving any changes( whether you continue in shadow mode or not),the changes become permanant( I mean shadow user can,t discard these changes now). So here you loose your purpose as you want to try the new software under cover of shadow user but after saving the changes the uninstallation of software already goes out of scope of shadow user,although it can still monitor the actions done by the new software if you continue in shadoe mode.

Infact as you know one of the first problemens countered with any software is that once you install it, it might not be easy to uninstal it. So the programmes who prompt us to reboot immediately after installation can,t be uninstalled(erased 0 by shadow user.

I hope I could clear my point thoufg it,s a bit confusing talk.

I will say this Reboo Requirement by shadow user is the only bug so far I could find,but it,s not small.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "

Also, is there a way, when in shadowmode, to see what changes and/or what files and folders have been changes? If so, is there a way to also choose the files and folder changes from that list and tell shadowuser to save those changes in to the original files and folders so that way we won't lose those changes at the next normal (not shadowmode) reboot????

Thanks," }-

you don,t need to see,if you feel your system is Ok,you can ask for full system save and reboot( in shadow mode again or in norm boot ---- but this option is not present in shadow surfer, only in shadow user.

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "It is not the case as i am using the trialversion of shadow user, for reboot you have 6 options as follows:

1- Reboot,disable shadow mode and loose all changes.
2- Reboot,disable shadow mode with file save only
3- Reboot,disable shadow mode and full system save

4- Reboot,continue shadow mode and loose all changes
5- Reboot,continue shadow mode with file save only
6- Reboot,continue shadow mode and full system save

So obviously you can understand that once you reboot saving any changes( whether you continue in shadow mode or not),the changes become permanant( I mean shadow user can,t discard these changes now). So here you loose your purpose as you want to try the new software under cover of shadow user but after saving the changes the uninstallation of software already goes out of scope of shadow user,although it can still monitor the actions done by the new software if you continue in shadoe mode.

Infact as you know one of the first problemens countered with any software is that once you install it, it might not be easy to uninstal it. So the programmes who prompt us to reboot immediately after installation can,t be uninstalled(erased 0 by shadow user.

I hope I could clear my point thoufg it,s a bit confusing talk.

I will say this Reboo Requirement by shadow user is the only bug so far I could find,but it,s not small." }-aigle,

I've not used the trial version, but I assume the same basic structure as the commercial package.

When you are outside of shadow mode, the Options selection of the main menu bar is available (it is not while in shadow mode). If you select this, under the General tab, you can toggle the program to allow Persistence. By default, Persistence is disabled. If you toggle Persistence on, sessions will continue across reboots (which are handled as a normal reboot, don't go to the Mode menu, just allow the system to work as normal). On a quick look at the documentation, they really don't even mention this, but as far as I know, this is what you want to do. Then, on exit from ShadowMode, you will be able to commit or clear any changes made.

Blue

[aigle]

Option is there, I will try and and tell you the results.

[bigc73542]

Just a little note on shadowmode. While I was in Kansas two days ago a friend ask me to network his computers so he could have them both on line. After they were online my friend thought he might should run his AOL disc again in case networking did something. i suggested against it but he ran the disc and it screwed the internet connection by corrupting the Winsock. But not a problem since he was running Shadowmode and was enabled and set to restore the system to the same configuration at every reboot. So he rebooted knowing it would put the system back to working order. Shadowmode did not restore the system to a working order and we were not able to get it to connect to the internet. I am sending him a Winsock repair app that we hope will fix the problem, if not it will have to be reformated and restored because of having to much faith in Shadowmode.

P.S.
He did have it running in shadowuser mode

[Peter2150]

-{ Quote: "Just a little note on shadowmode. While I was in Kansas two days ago a friend ask me to network his computers so he could have them both on line. After they were online my friend thought he might should run his AOL disc again in case networking did something. i suggested against it but he ran the disc and it screwed the internet connection by corrupting the Winsock. But not a problem since he was running Shadowmode and was enabled and set to restore the system to the same configuration at every reboot. So he rebooted knowing it would put the system back to working order. Shadowmode did not restore the system to a working order and we were not able to get it to connect to the internet. I am sending him a Winsock repair app that we hope will fix the problem, if not it will have to be reformated and restored because of having to much faith in Shadowmode.

P.S.
He did have it running in shadowuser mode" }-

Take a look at Rollback Rx. This would have worked for him.

Pete

[bigc73542]

got First Defense ISR i know it works.

[Peter2150]

-{ Quote: "got First Defense ISR i know it works." }-

I agree. Absolutely no doubt FD-ISR will do the job.

Pete

[Osaban]

-{ Quote: "got First Defense ISR i know it works." }-

Absolute speculation. It's amazing how something that happened in Shadowmode that hasn't been thoroughly analysed is attributed to ShadowUser malfunctioning. Solution: Go First Defense! Do I have to take your word for it?

[Acadia]

FirstDefense works as advertised on any system that it is compatible with, I'd bet my next week's pay check on that. 8)

Acadia

[bigc73542]

-{ Quote: "Absolute speculation. It's amazing how something that happened in Shadowmode that hasn't been thoroughly analysed is attributed to ShadowUser malfunctioning. Solution: Go First Defense! Do I have to take your word for it?" }-


No one ask you to do a darn thing, the choice is yours.

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "Just a little note on shadowmode. While I was in Kansas two days ago a friend ask me to network his computers so he could have them both on line. After they were online my friend thought he might should run his AOL disc again in case networking did something. i suggested against it but he ran the disc and it screwed the internet connection by corrupting the Winsock. But not a problem since he was running Shadowmode and was enabled and set to restore the system to the same configuration at every reboot. So he rebooted knowing it would put the system back to working order. Shadowmode did not restore the system to a working order and we were not able to get it to connect to the internet. I am sending him a Winsock repair app that we hope will fix the problem, if not it will have to be reformated and restored because of having to much faith in Shadowmode.

P.S.
He did have it running in shadowuser mode" }-BigC,

There are some configuration options involving prespecified autocommit that could yield this behavior, as well as the obvious persistence option which will span reboots and a few other ways I can think of off hand. These things might seem too obvious, just guessing.

There can be glitches as with any software, however I'd certainly verify configuration details before entertaining a reformat. As for Winsock, I've reset that more times that I care to remember either manually or with the prepackaged apps and I've never had that path fail when it was a true Winsock issue.

Blue

[bigc73542]

I have faith the app I sent him will fix the winsock, it has always worked in the past. And not once did I say that shadowmode (shadowuser) wasn't any good. I just said that the one time he really needed it to work it failed completely. And that you shouldn't have blind faith that an app will work as advertised all of the time.

[Osaban]

-{ Quote: "No one ask you to do a darn thing, the choice is yours." }-

Indeed! I've had Shadowuser for 5 months now and it has ALWAYS brought my system back to square one. I get a kick out of people using any opportunity to blast an application they haven't even tried to promote their latest choice. You haven't replicated the problem your friend had with First Defense, and internet connections problems might very well be beyond the software capabilities.

@Acadia. The thread is about ShadowUser and not a comparaison with First Defense. As far as I see the issue, the two applications work in very different ways - SU creates a virtual volume and FD a snapshot of the system. Trying to play one against the other is counterproductive particularly without hard evidence.

[bigc73542]

-{ Quote: "Indeed! I've had Shadowuser for 5 months now and it has ALWAYS brought my system back to square one. I get a kick out of people using any opportunity to blast an application they haven't even tried to promote their latest choice. You haven't replicated the problem your friend had with First Defense, and internet connections problems might very well be beyond the software capabilities.

@Acadia. The thread is about ShadowUser and not a comparaison with First Defense. As far as I see the issue, the two applications work in very different ways - SU creates a virtual volume and FD a snapshot of the system. Trying to play one against the other is counterproductive particularly without hard evidence." }-


And I wasn't and did not blast any product, all I did was give a heads up that it wouldn't recover the internet due to a winsock problem in the case of my friends computer. And no I didn't replicate the problem with first defense and why should I, it is not the software he chooses to use. Besides I saw the way it works. I don't have to be shot four or five times to realize that bullets hurt. And as most people here that know who I am realize that I am fair and impartial with all software applications. If I have an issue with any particular app I will post what it did so others know that it can happen. I do not tell anyone what software they ought to be running I always tell everyone that they need to try the different apps for them selfs so they will know which is right for them. So I would appreciate it if you didn't accuse me of something I didn't do.

[Osaban]

-{ Quote: "And I wasn't and did not blast any product, all I did was give a heads up that it wouldn't recover the internet due to a winsock problem in the case of my friends computer. And no I didn't replicate the problem with first defense and why should I, it is not the software he chooses to use. Besides I saw the way it works. I don't have to be shot four or five times to realize that bullets hurt. And as most people here that know who I am realize that I am fair and impartial with all software applications. If I have an issue with any particular app I will post what it did so others know that it can happen. I do not tell anyone what software they ought to be running I always tell everyone that they need to try the different apps for them selfs so they will know which is right for them. So I would appreciate it if you didn't accuse me of something I didn't do." }-

It was not my intention to create a situation whereby you might feel accused. We are talking about softwares and I have learned a lot mainly from people like you at Wilders. My feeling is that sometimes there is a rushed consensus about what seems to be right or wrong, and inevitably that leads to controversy.

[bigc73542]

Possible misunderstandings all around lets just move on.;)

bigc

[Acadia]

-{ Quote: "Trying to play one against the other is counterproductive particularly without hard evidence." }-
Who's trying to do that? I think that ShadowUser and Surfer are excellent products and I highly recommend them.

Acadia

[Peter2150]

When I tried ShadowUser I also had a problem getting to do what I wanted. I suspect I just didn't have something set right. Like any of these programs you need to test and play with them to understand what and how they work, before depending on them. This is equally true for Shadowuser,Rollback and FDISR.


There also was a comment back further in the thread that maybe FDISR couldn't handle network configurations. Not true, it can reset ANYTHING on the computer.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "On the last page I just had to enter the coupon code in the "Purchase Order" field (not the Coupon field) and it gave me the reciept and emailed me the code (did not have to enter a card number)" }-

Yeah, i can vouch for that. Nice gift if you ask me. I've done tons of research and all that on alternate boxes over the years and even lost a laptop once to a hard drive killer i was testing.

Using ShadowSurfer now myself and thoroughly enjoying the peace and tranquility of having matters returned right back again as they were after a simple reboot from any Shadow session. Makes it really a breeze to surf the net virtual, and takes that uncertainty away that's always been expected when you run into something that's designed to intrude your machine.

Great product IMO. Dunno much if anything about ShadowUser but i understand Suzi over at Spyware Warrior was pretty high about it for a time.
Is there much difference to going the ShadUser route as compared to ShadSurf?

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "Is there much difference to going the ShadUser route as compared to ShadSurf?" }-The feature comparison list at the vendors site, here (http://kb.storagecraft.com/activekb/), see question associated with item 4, pretty much says it all.

Blue

[aigle]

Recently i tried installing following software with ShadowUser,s shadow mode.

Prevx1R
Antihook
PG free
SSM
Neova beta

I could not install SSM, Neova and PG as the window did not start normally on reboot and did system restore automatically. I tried PG free withpout Shadow mode and it was successful.

[Osaban]

-{ Quote: "Recently i tried installing following software with ShadowUser,s shadow mode.

Prevx1R
Antihook
PG free
SSM
Neova beta

I could not install SSM, Neova and PG as the window did not start normally on reboot and did system restore automatically. I tried PG free withpout Shadow mode and it was successful." }-

I'm not quite sure I understand what you did, but if you want to test programs in 'Shadow mode' and expect them to survive a reboot, you'll have to make sure that 'Shadow mode' is set to 'persistent', and that can only be done when you are in 'normal mode' from the ShadowUser GUI under 'options'.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "I'm not quite sure I understand what you did, but if you want to test programs in 'Shadow mode' and expect them to survive a reboot, you'll have to make sure that 'Shadow mode' is set to 'persistent', and that can only be done when you are in 'normal mode' from the ShadowUser GUI under 'options'." }-

Yes I did this and shadow mode did persist but the problemhappened on reboot as I mentioned above, however some programmes I was able to install, I think SU need some improvement, some body in this forum told me that he does not have this problemwith FDISR or Rollback Rx.

[Osaban]

-{ Quote: " I think SU need some improvement, some body in this forum told me that he does not have this problemwith FDISR or Rollback Rx." }-

I would be careful before I conclude that SU needs improvement (no product is really final anyway), sometimes it could be an unknown conflict. When I first got SU I got at times some blue screens when testing programs particularly in persistent mode.

I contacted support already thinking I had made a mistake buying the program, and to my surprise they replied that the symptoms I had described where typical of a known conflict with an old version of Kaspersky AV. Needless to say I had exactly THAT version of KAV, and as a matter of fact, uninstalling KAV killed the bluescreens (I currently have NOD and no conflicts, recent versions of KAV don't conflict anymore with SU).

If you think it's too much of a hassle to investigate the problem, you can obviously look at other solutions that might give you good results straight away.

I honestly think every software is very good at certain things and not really suitable for others. I use SU first and foremost to surf the web knowing that my system with a simple reboot can flush out all sort of undesirable stuff, including mail attachments. If I were into beta testing as a hobby, I would probably look at different software, and one has the embarassment of riches in terms of choices.

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "I honestly think every software is very good at certain things and not really suitable for others. I use SU first and foremost to surf the web knowing that my system with a simple reboot can flush out all sort of undesirable stuff, including mail attachments." }-That's a pretty good one sentence overview of ShadowUser's primary usage.

Although SU, FD-ISR and Rollback Rx are being mentioned with the same goals in mind in various threads here, and they do have functional overlap, they're really very distinct product offerings.

SU is designed for continual flushing of recent content/changes to restore the state of the last shadow session start, with the opportunity to commit anything desired. However, once committed, that is it, there's no going back.

FD-ISR/Roolback Rx do not constantly flush the system state to a previous condition, but have prior snapshots to recover a specifically saved state when directed to do so at any time in the future.

The asymmetry is design ethic is clear, as are the intended primary applications. I do not view these products as directly interchangeable.

Blue

[Acadia]

-{ Quote: "FD-ISR/Roolback Rx do not constantly flush the system state to a previous condition ..." }-
The latest version of FD now has the feature to automatically revert your system back to a previous state every time that you reboot.

Acadia

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "The latest version of FD now has the feature to automatically revert your system back to a previous state every time that you reboot." }-Acadia,


Trying to capture the essentials in a simple fashion, I did state this somewhat too casually. Obviously, if you can set back to a previous snapshot at any time in the future as I noted, that includes each reboot as a subset with automation finessing the result. One really needs the prior description of SU for the comment to be completely within context and I should have been explicit that-{ Quote: "FD-ISR/Roolback Rx do not constantly flush the system state to a previous condition....now adding with the ability of a user to selectively commit changes moving forward" }-
My main point remains, they are really two different classes of programs with some significant overlap. I realize that you are not trying to perform an explicit direct comparison, but making a point-counterpoint feature set comparisons basically accomplishes that.

Blue

[Acadia]

Oh, yes, the technologies of FD and RB are COMPLETELY different from one another. They do basically the same thing but arrive there from two completely different directions. :)

Acadia

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "I would be careful before I conclude that SU needs improvement ....... If I were into beta testing as a hobby, I would probably look at different software, and one has the embarassment of riches in terms of choices." }-

You might be right, infact as i did not make my mind to buy it, so I did not discuss it with the support.

[ashwin]

FYI: I followed the "freebie" process above, and the download version I recieved for ShadowSurfer is a 15 day trial...

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "FYI: I followed the "freebie" process above, and the download version I recieved for ShadowSurfer is a 15 day trial..." }-
Yes, it will be trial and u need to enter the key sent to u by post.
Also make sure the offer is still valid.