Power Shadow

[Chuck57]

Just found this one. I did a search here and it hasn't been mentioned before.

I bit the bullet and downloaded it for a 30 day trial. It seems to be Chinese, but the copy I got is, thankfully, in English.

http://www.powershadow.com/

So far, for 15 minutes anyway, it seems to be running very nicely, and you can switch shadow mode without a reboot. When you leave that mode, you can reboot or shut down. It also reminds you to move any downloads to the non partititioned part of your drive. Another plus, it does the partition for you. And it does seem to be working. I went to a few sites, only for gathering cookies, and it got rid of all of them.

I don't know anything about how secure it is. That's beyond me, but it seems pretty nice, nice GUI and you know it's simple to use if I could figure it out right away.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: Developed by Chinese, but was test -run abroad, prior to introducing to their own countrymen. It appears gainning popularity among schools in China. It can be dubbed as DeepFreeze, or ShadowUser Chinese Style. IMO, It warrants a thorough exploring.

[Peter2150]

-{ Quote: "Just found this one. I did a search here and it hasn't been mentioned before.

I bit the bullet and downloaded it for a 30 day trial. It seems to be Chinese, but the copy I got is, thankfully, in English.

http://www.powershadow.com/

So far, for 15 minutes anyway, it seems to be running very nicely, and you can switch shadow mode without a reboot. When you leave that mode, you can reboot or shut down. It also reminds you to move any downloads to the non partititioned part of your drive. Another plus, it does the partition for you. And it does seem to be working. I went to a few sites, only for gathering cookies, and it got rid of all of them.

I don't know anything about how secure it is. That's beyond me, but it seems pretty nice, nice GUI and you know it's simple to use if I could figure it out right away." }-

I know nothing about them, and yes they are chinese. I just don't get a warm fuzzy, when I can go all over the website, and not a word about who they are. I'll pass.

[Pedro]

Another application:o
It's like mushrooms, popping everywhere lol.
Well, that's the Internet for ya.

Anyway, seems nice, but the way it makes switching shadow mode without a reboot seems risky. Of course, what do i know, but isn't this exactly why Deepfreeze makes it hard to do? The risk of being compromised?

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "Another application:o
It's like mushrooms, popping everywhere lol.
Well, that's the Internet for ya.

Anyway, seems nice, but the way it makes switching shadow mode without a reboot seems risky. Of course, what do i know, but isn't this exactly why Deepfreeze makes it hard to do? The risk of being compromised?" }-

To switch Into shadow mode does not require a reboot. Switching Out of shadow mode, you have the choice of either rebooting or you can shut down the computer. Everything goes back to where it was before you went into shadow mode. It also warns you before you switch from shadow mode to move anything you downloaded to another drive or out of the shadow partition.

In shadow mode, you can also open and run your download and test it safe and secure in the partition, check it for viruses, etc, whatever. And then choose to keep it or not. Then move it, or reboot if you don't want it and it's all gone.

I haven't found any info on the company, but I've stumbled across a lot of Chinese sites and none of them say much about who they are. I was leery of trying this thing, but considering all the stuff I've downloaded in the past year, I'm about due for my yearly reformat anyway.

Some day, I vow I'll have a separate computer just to play with new stuff, and for beta software, which I'm afraid to put on this machine.

[Perman]

Hi, folks; According to its own Chinese web site, the newest version 2.8 was released in mid December 2006. And its Chinese version is a freeware for non-commericial uses. This company does obtain a official business registration number from local authority (city of Beijing), therefore ,it is very likely a legitimate business identity. If it offers its own countryfellows free of charge for use, it must,IMO, possess something worthy of show and tell. I would not write it off just yet. 8)

[Chuck57]

I'm running the trial version and so far, based on a few hours and several reboots just to see if it's doing what it claims. I haven't had a single problem. no freezes, no glitches yet, and it's working as advertised.

So they have a freeware version in Chinese. That doesn't help me. LOL. I wonder if an English freeware version is in the works?

[Kees1958]

I think shadow surfer is a great concept. The only thing lacking in my opinion was an easy procedure to set downloaded files (in shadowmode) to the clean section (so they would last when session was rolled back).

Looking at what's described this PowerShadow offers this user friendly work around.

Thanks for the info

[Espresso]

Anyone know how to get a free serial/mailbox number for the Chinese version? I'm not sure what the procedure is. I can't see any place to sign up, except to download a commercial application document. Maybe it just expires to a slightly crippled version. ???

Translation:

-{ Quote: "Shadow system Chinese simplified form 2.8 edition software provide for individual user uses in the non- commercial use, if you conform to this condition, after only needs to install and the activation may the free use. The free version does not have the plug-in unit, does not have the advertisement, non- hoodlum software and does not have any function limit, asks individual user to feel relieved the use. The school, the educational institution, must seek to make a profit the organization and each kind of public welfare organization as well as the software evaluation organization may free use this edition software.

Only supplies to use in the non- commercial use to explain that, The shadow system (PowerShadow) simplified Chinese personal version software only uses in for you the non- commercial use. This meant you may in the home the free use this edition shadow system software, but, if you want in the operational site use shadow system, you to have beforehand to obtain the Beijing nut bit science and technology limited company the permission.

If you hoped (PowerShadow) simplified Chinese personal version software free uses in the commercial use the shadow system, please download and fills in the commercial use request form, transmits business@ensurebit.com.

Please clicks on the right key choice in the downloading link in addition to save is, or chooses other downloading tool downloading. Downloading commercial use request form" }-

I also see this in the changelog:

-{ Quote: "Cancels the original input registration code to relieve the time limit the function, changes to the on-line activation way, you only need to fill in the name and the mailbox address, will be allowed to facilitate activation software, after activation software does not have the time and the function limit, please will feel relieved the use; " }-

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "I think shadow surfer is a great concept. The only thing lacking in my opinion was an easy procedure to set downloaded files (in shadowmode) to the clean section (so they would last when session was rolled back). " }-

I agree, however a neat workaround to that is install a second HD and drop all your finds on it. Remember though to keep the alternate/second hard drive "disabled" from being Shadow Moded and after a reboot (which i also find annoying), the session is dumped but your D/L files are safely resting and waiting to be transferred to your main screen.

[Espresso]

Doesn't everyone have more than one drive/partition? I mean, really. ???

[Espresso]

I found the "free" registration info for v2.6:

User: PowerShadow s/n: VVR29E-R4WCK2-K4T111-V1YHTP-4JYJDD

http://www.powershadow.com/cn/product.htm

If you want to use the Chinese version 2.82, just enter a name and email address in the registration box and it will register online. :thumb:

[Chuck57]

Thanks for the find espresso. I'm back to square one. My computer died a few days ago. Motherboard quit, and it was only 6 yrs old. This one is built by a guy in a nearby town. I'm getting a whole new lesson in security from it. The builder gave it to his 2 sons to "test" for a month.

So far I've found 11 viruses of various kinds, 2 trojans, and all sorts of tracking cookies numbering in the hundreds all found by AVG antispyware, including a couple of viruses avg antivirus missed which surprised me.

CCleaner removed 887MB of leftover internet junk when I ran it before the spyware and antivirus, and more than 2G of stuff from all the games I've taken off the thing. It would barely boot when I got it and was so slow doing anything that I almost gave it back to him, but I decided that this would be a challenge - and he knocked a hundred bucks off the price. Well, spent from 4pm until midnight working on it and I still am not through.

Oh, and speaking of the viruses and trojans.....this machine had Trend Micro IS installed, activated, fully updated and running. I ran a scan and it found NOTHING. It was only after I downloaded avg antispyware that stuff began turning up. Trend is gone now and avg av is installed.

Any suggestions on what else I can use to look for stuff? No doubt there's more hidden in here somewhere.

[Perman]

Hi, chunk57: If you want to start from scratch to build a well protected pc, you may consider the following steps which are resulted from my own experiences, some are very painful at the time. (1) Firewall-with inbound/outbound control, preferably w/ application control as well. (2) solid anti-virus app w/ real time scanner, perhaps adding on-demand only AV.(3) Ati-spyware apps-AVG AS plus-very good for anti trojan, SuperAnitspyware on demand only.(4)CHIP- prevx1 or cyberhawak pro. (5) a reliable back-up app.(6) Most importantly, a sandbox/virturilation app, such as deep freeze standard, shadowuser/shadowsurfer, buffle zone, or Power Shadow(if its test run is favorable). When you surf net, use shadow(frozen) mode, reboot it when task is done. The chance to get infected is close to that of getting hit by lighting. You do not have to spend much so-called cyber downtime to clean your pc. Just think about its countless benefits. Good luck.

[Rmus]

-{ Quote: "Any suggestions on what else I can use to look for stuff? No doubt there's more hidden in here somewhere." }-If so, I wouldn't take any chances. I would reformat and start all over, using Perman's suggestions as a guide.

regards,

-rich

________________________________________________________________
"Talking About Security Can Lead To Anxiety, Panic, And Dread...
Or Cool Assessments, Common Sense And Practical Planning..."
--Bruce Schneier

[Chuck57]

I've reformatted and taking your suggestions, perman. I have the room to do things now with a 127G hard drive ,a 100G secondary hard drive, and lots of RAM. Processor is only a 1.8 Duron but this thing is like lightning compared to my old box.

Sorry to take my thread off topic. I knew something was happening to my old machine but couldn't figure out why it was acting weird. It was dying.

[EASTER.2010]

Hi & greets Chuck57, Espresso, Perman, and others. I also decided to install the Trial of this one. There is a nice advantage i noticed just like you already mentioned above, which is unlike say ShadowSurfer, you can switch "immediately" at any time straight into a Shadowed session without having to reboot first. That is a feature that Shadowsurfer 2.5 doesn't have.

So far this one, on the surface anyway, appears normally stable. I tried both Bufferzone & especially Sandboxie months ago now and kind of liked them but from what i remember at the time they were relatively new projects and BZ was still in beta. Something to the effect like slowing my surfing down or lagging when clicking explorer windows pushed me to drop them for awhile. Came over to a likable Shadowsurfer so just stayed with that one.


All the best Chuck57 on your new room to run. ;) I got a 200GB back on Thanksgiving and was considering waiting to either find a new computer to install it on with more CPU\RAM or else building it, but since you mentioned it runs like lightning with just a 1.8 i might reconsider those options now. Can't hurt to test it out anyway, right? I also have a AMD Duron myself that weighs in at a trim 1.5 ;D Fast enough for satisfaction so far. :thumb:

[Chuck57]

I like this Power Shadow a lot. So far, I haven't found any drawbacks. I downloaded some stuff just to see if it worked, and added some sites to my browser and rebooted. Everything vanished as it was supposed to, and in a full day of running, it's very stable on this PC. Also, it doesn't seem to slow me down at all.

I'm not going hunting viruses, trojans, or other malware to see what happens, and I haven't found any Powershadow tests to see if it's as secure as they claim.

I'm very happy with this new box NOW. Sure wasn't when I got it. I had heard that the Durons performed faster than the Intel chips of equal and higher numbers. You couldn't have proved it by me at first. No doubt having more RAM helps too, but it had 512 until today and was still very fast compared to my old Athlon. I had a stick of the right RAM and installed it to boost me to 1 Gig. I'd have been content with the 512 though. Considering that over half of what I do with this thing is surf and word processing type stuff, it's probably overkill to have a box like this, but I'm not complaining.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "I'm not going hunting viruses, trojans, or other malware to see what happens, and I haven't found any Powershadow tests to see if it's as secure as they claim." }-

No, but i just did ;D

I totally installed a pretty nasty Zlob Varient that drops a Folder in Program Files named Video Active X Objects which introduces some fidgety bugs that can't stand to be in one place long. :D
Had to allow it permission to pass System Safety Monitor & CyberHawk, and then it started it's actions.

Saved the folder to an alternate disk then rebooted and Vallah!! NO trace of that 'bug' session. I gonna put it thru some more antics but like what it offers so far. LoL

[Chuck57]

That shows promise, Easter.2010. You're braver than me. I kind of figured it would work. Somebody said PowerShadow is being used in schools in China. I guess kids are kids wherever they are. I doubt they'd be using it if it wasn't a reliable program.

Keep us updated on your testing. If it keeps things out, I think it'll be a keeper. This is a new computer, freshly formatted, etc, and I'd as soon not go on another downloading binge of security software - at least for a while.

That serial number espresso posted is valid, by the way.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Keep us updated on your testing. If it keeps things out, I think it'll be a keeper." }-

Will do. And i agree, early on it's beginning to look like one to keep home.

So busy today just trying to get a single download of the new Comodo release i had to postpone testing PS like i'm used to doing any Safety product. LoL
Comodo Servers must be red hot today cause they kept resetting the D\L and kept me on my toes all afternoon starting over again. Currently on dial up networking so have to bite the bullit as far as speed goes. Gonna get my hi-speed wireless back again come Spring season.

All that's left for Power Shadow so far as i can see right now is to add that exiting Shadow Mode without a reboot. Now that would be the capper for me. This one is remarkably lighter than even Shadowsurfer that i been using. It's nifty how they added that "Wave Motion" thingy ma bob! 8)

[Chuck57]

I read somewhere, on the site or in the frequently asked question thing that comes with it, that they are looking into getting rid of the reboot. It's a small thing here.

I start the computer in the morning and get my antivirus and antispyware updates. Then, I do what work I need to do in Word for a few hours. Then, the computer goes into shadow mode and stays there until I turn it off for the night. If I find something I absolutely think I can't live with without, I'll move it to CD.

[aigle]

Hi memebers! few Qs.

The site shows three versions, one chineese and two english. Which one u are using? As far as I see, only chinese version is free on website. Am I true?

Waht is the size of download?

Hi Espresso!

From where u got the free english version info and the serial no. plus key.
Is it Ok/ legal/ ethical to post the serial no and key here on a forum?

Thanks for the replies.

[Espresso]

They posted the name/serial on their website so I must assume it's alrite.

http://www.powershadow.com/cn/product.htm

I've translated version 2.82 into english if anyone's interested. There are still a bunch of string resources in chinese but most are vestigial. I can't find any more chinese text in regular usage except for tooltips and some registration dialog. I've numbered the unknowns so if any pop up you'll know their location.

[Franklin]

None of those links would work properly.

Found 2.6 below.

http://www.tucows.com/preview/400832

Where can I get the latest version?

[Espresso]

Latest English version is 2.6.0511:

http://www.powershadow.com/download/powershadow.exe

[Chuck57]

I visited the site and picked up the serial number. It's PowerShadow's site. I don't think they'd have it there if it was illegal, and it works.

I downloaded the trial from the site back when I first found the program. Everything worked then. When that computer died a few days ago and I got this one, I got my version from Tucows. I never paid any attention, but think it's the current version. Tucows used to be good at keeping things up to date.

I tried the PowerShadow site first, but the download was incredibly slow this time, like 2k, and that's on broadband.

Either way, latest or slightly older, it's turning into my favorite software. Considering I practice very safe surfing, it's probably overkill. On the other side, considering how much stuff I download and discover by the end of the day that I don't want, it's worth it.

[djg05]

Out of interest. When you are in shadow mode what happens if you save bookmarks. Are they lost when you end the sesssion or do you have to make a point of saving them in a special mode?

[Chuck57]

Bookmarks along with everything else done during a session are gone. I learned that last night when I began re-adding all the bookmarks I had prior to getting this new box. If you download anything, as well, save it to CD or a different partition or drive or it Will disappear when you reboot or shut down.

I had almost all my sites back and bookmarked. Today, when I booted up, they were all gone.

With your browser up, the only thing that tells you that you're in shadow mode is an occasional ripple of the toolbar. When your desktop is showing, it says in red letters 'Single Shadow Mode' at all four corners and the desktop will ripple, like a wave, periodically. I'm using single shadow mode. There are also other modes you can use.

[djg05]

Thanks

Thought it might do for my Wife but I know I would get hell if she lost her b/m's

[poirot]

I dont have any direct knowledge of Power Shadow,dig05,but i think there's no problem either way:
if it can save the Favourites/ any other desired file, you just save that directly, otherwise you can employ a removable drive like a pen drive and copy there all the files you want to copy afterwards in your disk.
Just a few seconds to insert the pen and some more to remove it, no fuss.
Considering,moreover,the extra large capacity of nowadays medias.

I use shadowSurfer/User and wen i have something to save i use one of my pen drives: Doc.&Settings>'User'>Favourite for IE or
Doc.&Settings>'User'>ApplicationData>Mozilla>Firefox>Profiles
for Firefox.


Alternatevely,you could use-if your 'shadowing' software ,be it Shadowsurfer /Power or the likes of DeepFreeze etc. dont 'copy' any file-
a permanent external disk for this, but the former method seems to me
more 'secure' than having a permanent solution, at least less costly.

Edit- Chuck57 and yourself.djg05,beat me to posting....that's why my post was delayed a few minutes!ahah!

[Chuck57]

I considered asking the wife if she'd like it on her computer. She does graphic art and hangs out in some of those forums, which we discovered are also hiding places for viruses. Since she downloads some stuff, I figured this program would be good for her. She could play with the program and, if she liked it, save it to CD. Thank God for Kaspersky or her computer would be down as much as running.

Warez and gaming sites aren't the only virus traps on the Internet.

[Chuck57]

poirot, we both said the same thing, so at least I know I was right. This whole virtualization thing is brand new to me. I just now checked my second drive and found that a program I downloaded yesterday in shadow mode is still there, so I did it right.

To my understanding, assuming I read the help files correctly, anything to be saved has to be saved to either a second hard drive that is not shadowed, or to an unshadowed partition or a CD or floppy. Power Shadow creates it's own partition (I think) so we don't have to, although I think it also mentions that you can devote a partition exclusively to Powershadow. I didn't, so it makes its own every time I boot up and, when I'm done, it and everything on it is gone.

I think the above is all correct, but I wouldn't quote me on it.

[cheater87]

Gaming sites have viruses on them? I go to tons of them and I never had any.

[Chuck57]

I talk to a guy on another forum who collects viruses from some gaming site he visits. I also have this computer (brand new) but tested by the builders sons for about a month. They're online gaming fanatics, he says. It had 2 trojans and 11 viruses when I got it, and those are just the ones his antivirus, Trend Micro, missed. That's why I reformatted the whole thing after hours of trying to clean out all the junk. Great machine.......NOW.

Maybe I shouldn't have made a blanket statement like I did. I'll say Some gaming sites are known for viruses. I don't play games, except for MS Flight Simulator, and if I called that a game on any Flight Simulator forum, I'd risk being banned.

[solarpowered candle]

this is a very nicely program . has any one noticed that if you choose to not remain in power shadow that the time between disengaging power shadow and reboot ones firewall becomes disengaged while still online. Its only a short time however it does happen till the system is rebooted?

[Espresso]

You can move your favorites folder ( and other user profile folders like My documents, music and pictures) to another drive/partition with TweakUI.

Does anyone use junction links with a Powershadowed system? I'd like to keep my Avafind index folder on another volume and create a junction point in the Application data folder instead. Otherwise, it has to rebuild the index whenever I reboot. Powershadow won't protect the target of a junction point will it?

[Franklin]

HI Espresso,
Wondering if the newer version you have offered a link to can save any installed apps that require a reboot?

Such as installing the new Avast AV for a test run in shadow mode but requires a reboot to implement correctly.

[Espresso]

You can't install new apps while in shadow mode. Any installed files/registry settings would be discarded on reboot. You would have to reboot into normal mode, install and then reboot again into normal mode to finish the installation.

[EASTER.2010]

I tell you guys one thing i noticed lately. A lot of developers of these and other Security related programs are producing in addition or exclusively from their paid products, a lot of fully free versions.

SnoopFree comes to mind for me, i remember every time i trialed the Pro version it always caused an issue on my system. I kept reading here at Wilder's where a lot of you relied and spoke highly of it, so i went to the site to see if it had been updated and not only was it updated but now FREE according to it's author. And now this "free" full version (and updated) finally works for me with none of the ill affects experienced before.

Comodo also comes to mind, a FULLY uninhibited feature rich Application/Networking Firewall classified as the Professional version, totally FREE-FOR-LIFE!

I admire this practice not just because vendors offer these free versions as most do anyway now, but they realize that their BRAND offered in this manner, if proven worthy & useful to users will spread the word enmasse and turn attention to either the other products they create & design or else it attracts attention from the big corps who might approach them with a lucrative buy-out offer, thus a win/win situation.

[bryanjoe]

-{ Quote: "No, but i just did ;D

I totally installed a pretty nasty Zlob Varient that drops a Folder in Program Files named Video Active X Objects which introduces some fidgety bugs that can't stand to be in one place long. :D
Had to allow it permission to pass System Safety Monitor & CyberHawk, and then it started it's actions.

Saved the folder to an alternate disk then rebooted and Vallah!! NO trace of that 'bug' session. I gonna put it thru some more antics but like what it offers so far. LoL" }-

haha ... u r good ...... ;D

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "You can't install new apps while in shadow mode. Any installed files/registry settings would be discarded on reboot. You would have to reboot into normal mode, install and then reboot again into normal mode to finish the installation." }-
Yes I understand that but for testing an app installed in shadow mode where I don't want to install on my real system.

Such as installing Avast AV requires a reboot to complete the installation.Of course a reboot from shadow mode to shadow mode wipes everything so no chance to try out any apps that require a reboot.

Does the 2.8 version that you PMed me the link to have this feature?

Quote from help files:

18: There is a trial version program installed under PowerShadow mode and the program cannot be used unless it is restarted from the system. However, once I restart the system, it is as if I never install such a program. Any comment?

PowerShadow Version 2.4 is not supportive to this problem yet. We would love to add more trial software functionalities to the future version.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "haha ... u r good ...... ;D" }-

What can i say, i love what i do and especially while malware is running foolishly silly through it's commands to disrupt and anything else it tries to accomplish, and just think about it, the author who coded then released that crappola is laughing his tail off;

well now so can we. ;D

[Espresso]

Franklin, I see your point now but v2.82 isn't capable of that type of operation nor is any other disk shadowing program, AFAIK. Generally, it goes against the purpose of such a util. The quote does imply they are considering adding such a feature so it may appear in a future version. I would recommend doing a disk image with Acronis/Ghost and installing Avast. If you're not deliberately infecting yourself with virii, System restore can get you back to your previous state as well.

Maybe you can start the Avast driver manually and run the program while in Shadow mode. There might be more to it but it's worth a try.

[Franklin]

Thanks for your help Espresso.:)

Downloaded the 2.8 version, overwrote with the English files as per instructions and it's working fine.

Ghost images and clone on a slave are my mainstay backup.

Quite impressed with Powershadow so far.Easy to use and no slowdowns.

Can still test out apps that don't require a reboot.

[tobacco]

Seems awfully similiar to 'ShadowUser'. Even the wallpaper is the same. Hmmmmm!:dry: I sure would like a comment from the 'StorageCraft People'. But anyways, another excellent freebie:thumb:

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Thanks for your help Espresso.:)

Downloaded the 2.8 version, overwrote with the English files as per instructions and it's working fine.

Ghost images and clone on a slave are my mainstay backup.

Quite impressed with Powershadow so far.Easy to use and no slowdowns.

Can still test out apps that don't require a reboot." }-


Latest English version is 2.6.0511:

I'm very foreign language illiterate so maybe you wouldn't mind describing just how to go about overwriting the chinee files? Sorry if it sounds like an awkward question but the english alphabet is all i'll ever know. LoL

Likewise i'm impressed with it's ease of use and no conflicts but especially fond of it's dumping the session completely with no ill after affects. I have no complaint with Shadowsurfer as-is but there's certainly more to favor with a shadow program that can switch-over to modes like that at will without reboot/resets.

Regards EASTER

[Chuck57]

I have....or had on the old computer .... the free shadowsurfer and had problems with it not rebooting out of shadow mode. That's when I went hunting and found Powershadow. It hasn't messed up yet.

No slowdowns, no refusing to reboot or turn off at the end of the day. And, moving downloads to my other hard drive is as easy as cut and paste, which I do rather than download another program.

It's a nice program and I like the fact that you only have the single reboot at the end of the session rather than having to do it at start too.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "the free shadowsurfer and had problems with it not rebooting out of shadow mode. That's when I went hunting and found Powershadow. It hasn't messed up yet." }-

Likewise :)

I experienced the same problem. At first i thought it might only be some glitch but no matter what Shadowsurfer refused to come out of the Shadow-Mode each reboot. Sometimes i needed to reboot a second time because the screen hung up just before trying to enter the GUI.

That was becoming nonsense of course and a good way to turn a sour look at that program after it appeared so promising for awhile.

I did finally discover the workaround by uninstalling it while in Shadow-Mode after killing the 2 processes in Task Manager. I used APT Kernel Kill to do it. Next reboot, guess what? It was still there only this time was out of shadow and back into normal screen mode. I didn't want to be burden with having to resort to that workaround everytime i used SS so that's why i find Power Shadow immensely appealing. No issues, no conflicts, easy to switch-over, and best of all no staying stuck in Shadow-Mode.

Looks like this one is a sure replacement for SS.

[aigle]

It,s nice. But during hadow mode I my system will refuse to hibernate. That,s not good. Otherwise very nice.

I wonder does it play with MBR?

[Espresso]

I have 2.8 translated but I can't post the link here.

[Franklin]

Hi Easter,maybe you could pm Espresso asking for the download link for the newer version 2.82.

All the files are zipped with the instructions readme.txt for overwriting to the English version.

[EASTER.2010]

I see. So far the other version (older), seems to perform smooth and effortless but am curious to auto-switching from in and out Shadows without boot-ups all the time.

I know users are all abuzz over First Defense Disc Imaging and taking or reverting to snapshots which is a real good thing in and of itself i suppose. lol But for what it's worth those type programs are geared more toward emergency restores or exploring different configurations, testing software, etc. and that's ok too, but for me it's just as useful to go virtual and then drop out right back to earlier state as before.

Guess it all depends on your own personal preferences of what you want to have done and what works best for you.

[Franklin]

Noticed PS wants to connect to the net whilst in shadow mode even with check for updates unticked.

Blocked "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SHADOW\SHADOWTIP.EXE" with my firewall within the real system with no adverse effects.

[Espresso]

I noticed that with 2.6 but 2.82 doesn't make a peep, ticked or not.

[bryanjoe]

-{ Quote: "Noticed PS wants to connect to the net whilst in shadow mode even with check for updates unticked.

Blocked "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SHADOW\SHADOWTIP.EXE" with my firewall within the real system with no adverse effects." }-

what is it use for?

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "what is it use for?" }-
Don't really know!

Still playing around with it.Too early to tell.

[Espresso]

Shadowtip is the "control" module that opens in the system tray when you start shadow mode. I thought it was the settings module (ShadowSetting.exe) that tried to connect to the net when I had it installed.

[solarpowered candle]

i uninstalled powershadow however i found that at some stage they both tried to connect through my firewall. however that wasnt what prompted me to leave it for now rather the fact that if i chose to not remain in power shadow that the time between disengaging power shadow and reboot ones firewall becomes disengaged while still online. Its only a short time however it does happen. I also emailed them with the email provided for support to ask them about this ( support@powershadow.com) and it was non existant at the time i sent it and was returned . It may all be fine but i dont feel happy with the short time that the firewall is down .

[Chuck57]

I noticed that, too, solar, but for the brief time the firewall is down, I can live with PowerShadow. I haven't found anything else so user friendly.

ShadowSurfer has some kind of glitch - it won't reboot out of shadow mode, plus you have to reboot to get into shadow mode. I'm not aware of any other program of this type that's free, and works without additional steps needed for booting into or out of shadow mode.

[Espresso]

To disengage, powershadow has to shutdown or restart. How do you know the firewall is down during this short period of time?

The chance of a hostile intrusion of an up to date (patch wise) system in such a short period of time seems miniscule to me. Besides, the disk is still shadowed during this time, so any changes from a hostile intruder will be discarded.

[Chuck57]

Duhhhh, thanks espresso. It never occurred to me that the disk is in shadow mode until the reboot begins. Anything that might connect during the few seconds between clicking restart and the reboot out of shadow mode would be eliminated.

[solarpowered candle]

-{ Quote: "To disengage, powershadow has to shutdown or restart. How do you know the firewall is down during this short period of time?


The chance of a hostile intrusion of an up to date (patch wise) system in such a short period of time seems miniscule to me. Besides, the disk is still shadowed during this time, so any changes from a hostile intruder will be discarded." }-

Windows alerts if my firewall has been deactivated.


Its not what is coming into my system as much as what can be transmitted from my system if my firewall is out for a short time.

It is perhaps very minor however when emailing them it was returned as it was unable to be delivered. all in all i edge towards caution till these things are clear in my mind . Its a very simple and nice program. just one or two questions that i would like clarified b4 i load it up again.

[silat]

-{ Quote: "I have 2.8 translated but I can't post the link here." }-

Espresso I have 2.6 english. Could I get the link for 2.8 with instructions?

wyoksyofee AT kriocoudek DOT mailexpire.com

Thankyou

[aigle]

Hi all, the bugs so far are as follows.

1- It phones home.
1- It disabled system restore on my system, system restore always crashes and can,t be used..
3- Updates notifications become automatically on even if u turn them off.
4- My PC can,t hybernate in shadow mode.

[Chuck57]

aigle said: Hi all, the bugs so far are as follows.
1- It phones home.
1- It disabled system restore on my system, system restore always crashes and can,t be used..
3- Updates notifications become automatically on even if u turn them off.
4- My PC can,t hybernate in shadow mode.

***

Don't know about it phoning home.

My system restore is fine. In fact, just after reading your post, I restored this thing to a couple of days ago without a problem. I was not in shadow mode when I did it. Don't know if it works with shadow mode engaged.

The update thing apparently cannot be disabled. Tried that and it's like you said.

Don't know about hibernate since I don't use it. That would be something that they ought to work on, if anybody can figure out how to contact them.

Can't the phone home thing be blocked by your firewall? I use a hardware firewall and have Windows enabled. No outbound at this time. A 2 way firewall is next on my list.

Finally, I can't figure out why it would trash system restore. If powershadow isn't being used, isn't the program turned off, like other software that isn't in use? But, as I said, my system restore is working fine.

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "Hi all, the bugs so far are as follows.

1- It phones home.
1- It disabled system restore on my system, system restore always crashes and can,t be used..
3- Updates notifications become automatically on even if u turn them off.
4- My PC can,t hybernate in shadow mode." }-
Yep, phones home, stopped with my FW.

If you select single shadow mode as default startup then I think that any other settings done through the gui will stick.

Don't use sys restore or hibernate so can't check on these.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "Hi all, the bugs so far are as follows.

1- It phones home.
" }-

Ya, it does.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: " It disabled system restore on my system, system restore always crashes and can,t be used.." }-
Sorry it was an older version of CyberHawk that did it.


-{ Quote: " My PC can,t hybernate in shadow mode." }-

I get this message while only in ShadowMode, otherwise not.

[Espresso]

It's interesting that it tries to connect to Saudi Arabia - on a dns port (unless you're in SA and it's just checking your ISP dns). Anyone want to run a packet sniffer and check what it sends?

Anyway, like I said, 2.82 doesn't phone home, even if you ask it.

[solarpowered candle]

-{ Quote: "It's interesting that it tries to connect to Saudi Arabia - on a dns port (unless you're in SA and it's just checking your ISP dns). Anyone want to run a packet sniffer and check what it sends?

Anyway, like I said, 2.82 doesn't phone home, even if you ask it." }-

without a firewall up for that pariod powershadow can send what it wants

[EASTER.2010]

Well, another way i perform work with Power Shadow is like this. I go into ShadowMaster Mode then activate a Virtual Machine program then unleash the latest captures while examining Security Software interception abilities, right?

It's quite entertaining sometimes ;D

On a more serious note, this program seems the safest of the 2. I did hammer things pretty hard at it and have had no problem yet with PS dumping the session completely.

These apps comes down to favoring the simplest features without sacrificing ability/performance as well as no other quirks or issues.

Maneuvering in and out of a Shadowed volume and vice versa without doing any resets/reboot is the best feature that will attract the most attention IMO.

[Chuck57]

Well, *sigh* I downloaded the latest 2.82 version but can't get the English translations to work. Not because they won't. I'm ashamed to say, I don't know how to overwrite the files.

It's no big deal. This version 2.6.xxx is doing fine. No complaints at all. Also, the call home thing is blocked by my new old ZA 5.5.094 firewall that I downloaded today after a brief try with PCTools firewall. Everything seems very compatible and running fine.

[Franklin]

Have to agree Easter.

This app is a keeper here atm.

Still running FF through Sandboxie which I probably don't really need with Powershadow but everything works fine and I feel committed to beta testing new versions of Sandboxie as it's been a fine little product for quite a while now.

Kinda feel naked without it!

A little sandbox running inside a big sandbox, LOL.:wacko:

[Chuck57]

I'm back with Sandboxie too, after a run with Bufferzone. I haven't run Sandboxie and PS together. What I'm doing is, if I'm just visiting one of the way too many forums I post on, I use Sandboxie. If I'm surfing (no warez, porn, or similar sites) or checking my email, I use PowerShadow. It's just how I like to do it. They're both great programs and I like to use them both.

[Espresso]

When I run shadowsetting.exe from v2.6, it tries to connect to 210.51.168.100.

http://210.51.168.100/

IP address:
Looking for '210.51.168.100'

Server 'whois.apnic.net' reply [1252 bytes in raw data]:

inetnum: 210.51.168.0 - 210.51.173.255
netname: XINNET
country: CN
descr: XinNet Technology Corp.
admin-c: TJ35-AP
tech-c: YZ618-AP
status: ALLOCATED NON-PORTABLE
changed: cncipaddr@china-netcom.com 20041012
mnt-by: MAINT-CN-ZM28
mnt-lower: MAINT-CN-BJIDC
source: APNIC

route: 210.51.0.0/16
descr: CNC Group CncNet
country: CN
origin: AS9929
mnt-by: MAINT-CNCGROUP-RR
changed: abuse@cnc-noc.net 20060330
source: APNIC

person: Tao Jiang
nic-hdl: TJ35-AP
e-mail: bjidc-ipaddr@china-netcom.com
address: No.1,Beihuan Donglu,BDA,Beijing,China
phone: +8610-67875599-7274
fax-no: +8610-67878624
country: CN
changed: cncipaddr@china-netcom.com 20040227
mnt-by: MAINT-CN-BJIDC
source: APNIC

person: YiChao Zhang
nic-hdl: YZ618-AP
e-mail: zhangyichao@myce.net.cn
address: BEI JING
phone: +86-010-67865113
country: CN
changed: BJIDC-IPADDR@china-netcom.com 20041009
mnt-by: MAINT-CN-BJIDC
source: APNIC

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "A little sandbox running inside a big sandbox, LOL." }-

I'm right there with ya' LoL Know what you mean. ;)

Only i'm atm, running (testing) this free Virtual Machine inside a Sandbox. In case anyone's interested, dunno where i seen this or if i even seen it discussed here but trying it out inside Power Shadow.
I know is a bit overK, but heh, if it works right why not, right?

VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)

Power Shadow has my undivided full attention and likely i'll just go ahead and uninstall ShadowSurfer now that PS is proving worth it's metal, and store it away for a rainey day.

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "Well, *sigh* I downloaded the latest 2.82 version but can't get the English translations to work. Not because they won't. I'm ashamed to say, I don't know how to overwrite the files.
" }-
Using Winrar here.

I just executed PS 2.8 then opened the English folder inside Winrar, highlighted the contents then drag and drop them into C:\WINDOWS\system32\shadow.

Windows will prompt - do you want overwrite this file with this one, press "yes to all".

There are a few different ways you can do this but as long as you can get the contents of the English folder to overwrite it's Chinese counterparts in C:\WINDOWS\system32\shadow Bob's ya uncle - meaning - you should be ok.

[Espresso]

Chuck57 wrote:
-{ Quote: "I don't know how to overwrite the files." }-

It's pretty straightforward.
-Install v2.82 and reboot
-Extract the shadow english folder from the archive.
-Open it and select all files and folders.
-Right click and choose Cut
-Open c:\windows\system32\shadow and paste all the files. (control-v or right click and choose Paste)

[EASTER.2010]

So what exactly if you could outline in brief those marked differences between 2.6 then say from that for 2.8?
I assume theres some improvement to features as well as the added benefits that were brought out earlier.
The stability is pretty remarkable w/ little if any resource rise and i surely not noticed any problems so far with actually running m'ware on it which is my chief use with these type sandbox programs. Interesting find without a doubt.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "

Only i'm atm, running (testing) this free Virtual Machine inside a Sandbox. In case anyone's interested, dunno where i seen this or if i even seen it discussed here but trying it out inside Power Shadow.
I know is a bit overK, but heh, if it works right why not, right?

VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)" }-

Sorry a bit OT but how u compare VirtualBox with VMware. As I see VB is also free.
How big is the download for VB?
Thanks

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Sorry a bit OT but how u compare VirtualBox with VMware. As I see VB is also free.
How big is the download for VB?
Thanks" }-

10.8 MB = VirtualBox

VMWare i installed once and it ate up a lot of real estate plus resources so really haven't went back to it again even though many users highly favor it.

VirtualBox is an ongoing project if i read their home page notes right. Any Virtual Machine is going to pull down some serious resources over time i would think, including this one but so far i installed one XP Pro into it and added a ton of programs and although not as equal in response to normal windows it does seem to be suitable, at least for my purposes which again is testing m'wares along with security programs etc.

The neat item i like is that it needs to capture/keep the mouse/keyboard within the Virtual screen (click arrow within it), but a simple tap of the Ctrl (Right side) key releases the hook back to your regular screen again. Still new to me and deserves more going over before it wins my complete interest like Power Shadow, but it does look to have some potential. One side note, i not been able to save a snapshot with it yet so i go into the folder and copy then paste the .vdi file it uses to make a volume/disk and save it to another drive if something messes up.

[aigle]

Thanks. Can I install ubuntu in it?

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Thanks. Can I install ubuntu in it?" }-

Don't see why not. Even if it's not listed from the drop down box of O/S's there is another selection named "other". Try that one let us know how you make out on the install.
Funny too or just coincidental maybe but i was just thinking of doing the same thing myself once i figured out how to 'save' a snapshot or generically save the file (.vdi) of the XP Pro install. Got my Ubuntu install disc at the ready after i put 98 in it first. LoL

[aigle]

Thanks. I might try it.

[silat]

-{ Quote: "Using Winrar here.

I just executed PS 2.8 then opened the English folder inside Winrar, highlighted the contents then drag and drop them into C:\WINDOWS\system32\shadow.

Windows will prompt - do you want overwrite this file with this one, press "yes to all".

There are a few different ways you can do this but as long as you can get the contents of the English folder to overwrite it's Chinese counterparts in C:\WINDOWS\system32\shadow Bob's ya uncle - meaning - you should be ok." }-

I have 2.8. I install. But where is the English folder you are referring to? The 2.8 is an exe. When installed there is no En file/folder.

[silat]

-{ Quote: "They posted the name/serial on their website so I must assume it's alrite.

http://www.powershadow.com/cn/product.htm

I've translated version 2.82 into english if anyone's interested. There are still a bunch of string resources in chinese but most are vestigial. I can't find any more chinese text in regular usage except for tooltips and some registration dialog. I've numbered the unknowns so if any pop up you'll know their location." }-

Im still interested:)
Are my posts not showing up?
wyoksyofeeATkriocoudek.mailexpire.com

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "I have 2.8. I install. But where is the English folder you are referring to? The 2.8 is an exe. When installed there is no En file/folder." }-
The English folder should be in the ZIP folder along with the exe.

Did you get the link to version 2.82 from Espresso?

[silat]

-{ Quote: "The English folder should be in the ZIP folder along with the exe.

Did you get the link to version 2.82 from Espresso?" }-

I have it just now:)
Thanks for caring:)

[EASTER.2010]

It's very timely AFAIK that finally another new SandBox find is surfaced. Like some others, i also been so used to relying solely on a Shadowsurfer in order to steer clear from all the many other ongoing & neverending releases (one after another) of a Sandboxie, BufferZone, etc., and those are great programs don't get me wrong, but is much simpler to be able to turn to a single app that can do everything & more many others do but with a little less system conflict or other issue.

I yet to discover any bugs in it, i've malware it up pretty heavy at times and stayed up as long as possible then after closing/reboot, there is simply no trails to be found. Nothing whatsoever is subverted or slipped thru Power Shadow's containment field. I probably place a lot more of that type of demands on these then others do so i'm relatively confident at this point that it's a sure bet this appy is a winner.

[Franklin]

I have to agree Easter.

Have downloaded and tried out a few other browsers in powershadow but none were as good as FF.

Also tried a few other apps that I knew were crappy but I just wanted to and not a trace remains after rebooting.

No conflicts with ghost imaging,no slowdowns and too easy to use.

And free! Ahh, that always makes me bias towards an app.;)

Definate keeper here and have installed it on a coupla spare drives I have as backups.
:thumb:

[Chuck57]

I went on a downloading binge yesterday evening and today. No malware as far as I know, but some pretty large programs that I wanted to look at and try. Had PowerShadow up all day messing with this and that software. Just a few minutes ago, I rebooted and every single thing is gone which is just what I hoped. Nothing in registry, no traces anywhere.

I imagine I could have done the same thing with BufferZone, Sandboxie or one of the other similar programs but for whatever reason, powershadow just feels safer. Hard to explain exactly what I mean. It's staying on my computer, along with Sandboxie which I use sometimes when I'm just visiting forums, because I like it, too.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "No malware as far as I know, but some pretty large programs that I wanted to look at and try." }-

Nope :) And you don't have to be wary of any either.

Chuck57, before i started in this offending files/programs research business i must say that i found programs, and quite a few of them presented as much if not more problems then malware for me.

Nothing is more worse than downloading and trying out a program (whatever), only to discover either no uninstaller, or uninstall log not found (cleaners can wipe those sometimes depending on the directory/folder their in), or it's just poorly tested or barely at all and causes all sorts of system problems etc.

That used to happen with me and then had to resort to XP system restore at the very least. That was before these shadowing sandboxes began to appear. They do make a "HUGE" difference AFAIK. lol

[Perman]

Hi, folks: I am glad to hear that you guys have discovered the very beautiful side of sandbox/virtualization apps. I can echo your feeling after using this type of application. Your cyber-downtime has dramastically reduced and now you can devote yours for more valuable tasks. I am using DeePFreeze, am a very happy camper. Have a nice one.

[Longboard]

Hello all

Have been wading through this thread:

Could someone please help: where is the latest current release in English and where is the English help file?

Where is the key?

-{ Quote: "Thanks for your help Espresso.
Downloaded the 2.8 version, overwrote with the English files as per instructions and it's working fine." }-
??

Thx.

[Espresso]

The latest official english version is 2.6. The 2.82 english version is an *unofficial* translation by me. The help file is from v2.6 though. Check your PM.

[genckartal]

Espresso,
Can you send me translated files?
best regards,

[EASTER.2010]

POWER SHADOW in any flavor is a huge benefit in comparison to shadowing/sandboxes everywhere IMHO.

Nothing fancy or conflicting with it. It does what is expected of it and with the greatest of ease. That includes safely dropping the previous session completely. Tested against many malwares/rootkits on this end with sparkling returns here. Same with program installs to test them as to their worthiness or not.

Nice Program, Great Find, Wonderful World of Shadowing!

[aigle]

I will wait for next english version.
Does new version still calls home and no option to turn off update notifications?

[Chuck57]

At this point in time, shadow mode type software (virtualization) might be the ultimate protection software. Some day I'm sure the malware makers will figure out a way to beat virtualization.

Also at this point in time, PowerShadow is number one in my book. I've looked at a bunch of them in the past week or two, since I can do that now without cluttering up my registry etc, and I've yet to find one I like as well as Powershadow.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: As per their web site (chinese), they do have another product, called PowerShadow Master, compared to Ghost, is also free of charge for Chinese Domestic users. Key is provided, 100% legal. Have you had any chance looking at it yet? :)

[simmikie]

not to nit pick, but it's quite interesting to note considering this High Maintenance Group, nobody is lamenting the lack of support for this app, or any level of forum participation. have you all gone soft or is this app that good??


Mike

[Chuck57]

Ask Easter.2010. He's run various malware tests on it and says it's that good.

I've downloaded a number of programs, none malware, and run them in Powershadow. On reboot, every single trace of those programs disappeared.

I start my computer, pick up my antivirus update, and go into Powershadow. The computer stays in Powershadow for the rest of the day. When I shut down,every trace of my day is gone except those things I want to save, which go to another, unshadowed, hard drive. I don't visit the dark side of the web, but just feel better knowing that wherever I go, if I accidentally pick up something, it's only temporary. It can wreak all the havoc it wants in the virtual environment. I can just laugh, reboot, and it's gone.

I'm not part of the High Maintenance Group. I want a good effective program that will protect me, along with my antivirus to check my downloads.

Powershadow has replaced everything but a firewall and antivirus on my computer, and I'm finally content. If the computer gets infected, reboot and the problem is gone. I have Sandboxie here as well, but haven't used it in a while.

[aigle]

It really seems nice.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: Power Shadow DOES provide a decent SUPPORT(including a suggestion box), but has yet to establish a FORUM, which is not uncommon for new comer. This is ,of course ,in Chinese only, sorry.

[solarpowered candle]

i tried emailing their support with the link for support provided in powershadow and it was unable to be delivered or there was no such email addy. I still have connection concerns especially its ability to disable a firewall for a short time and its ability to send info while this is down . I tried to emailed them to ask about this. I uninstalled it as a precaution . Its kind of rough that we are asked to pay $39 while its free to billions in China. However its certainly a nice app and well translated for english users. Just a pity their support isnt there especially if one was to pay for this.

[Chuck57]

It's free. Here's the serial as posted on their website.

User: PowerShadow s/n: VVR29E-R4WCK2-K4T111-V1YHTP-4JYJDD

It worked with my copy and with others who have it here. From all I can tell, not being able to read Chinese, they're a legitimate company and have other versions of Powershadow offered as well as other types of software.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Ask Easter.2010. He's run various malware tests on it and says it's that good." }-

That's correct so far. In today's local research i opened/activated 2 rootkits/hiders simultaneously and verified they were indeed operational but stealthed by employing the assistance of a couple of the latest RKDetectors as well as some cmd-line revealers just to ensure this.

There was a point when some pretty tough malware had nearly stalled explorer entirely but if needs be a manual reset performs the same as switching out of PowerShadow Mode on the program itself and upon start-up afterwards everything returns to as it was before.

I have no reservations yet with it's ability to completely erase a shadowed session leaving no trace behind after a reboot/restart. If someone else discovers otherwise it would behoove them to bring that to our attention right here if they would, but so far so good with the returns i'm enjoying. LoL

Thanks

[Franklin]

Can't fault it here either except for testing apps that require a reboot.

This machine P4, 3ghz, 1 gig ddr.

Installed Powershadow on an old P3, 500mhz, 192 meg ram running XP pro and even though it's a slow machine compared to my main,running Powershadow showed no noticeable slowdowns.

Also with the latest 2.82 no serial is required,just enter a first name and email address and it's registered.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Also with the latest 2.82 no serial is required,just enter a first name and email address and it's registered." }-

You find any added benefits with the 2.82 as compared to 2.6 version? Since 2.6 is performing "MUCH BETTER" and beyond that what ShadowSurfer/User ever could provide, unless theres some marked advantage i personally don't see any critical need to go up the ladder with this version. :)

Comments, opinions?

Thanks

[yankinNcrankin]

Did a test in full shadow mode with a few RKs'. Rustock B and Haxdor. Of course we know there many variants but any how ran each RK and verified install with RKU., rebooted and retested and the drivers and files were removed like it never happened. I dont know how this program works but it works. I like this program enabling shadow mode is so fast and easy. This technology scares me a bit, in a way that if something like this can be made for good imagine if they used this technology for bad and I'm sure the bad guys are. :blink:

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Did a test in full shadow mode with a few RKs'. Rustock B and Haxdor. Of course we know there many variants but any how ran each RK and verified install with RKU., rebooted and retested and the drivers and files were removed like it never happened. I dont know how this program works but it works. I like this program enabling shadow mode is so fast and easy. This technology scares me a bit, in a way that if something like this can be made for good imagine if they used this technology for bad and I'm sure the bad guys are. :blink:" }-

Indeed yankinNcrankin, and you run identical runs as i have with those and with equal results i'm pleased to report. :)

I must admit they have done a remarkable job with fashioning this program in the safe way it operates. It does wonders for confidence, especially since i can sit comfortably at one PC and run these tests without anxiety & without having to turn to another box to run them on. That alone saves a lot of time plus frustration.

You summed that up quite nicely yankinNcrankin, in stating "enabling shadow mode is so fast and easy" and unlike ShadowSurfer/User, without having to resort to another reboot in order to enter it.

[solarpowered candle]

-{ Quote: " This technology scares me a bit, in a way that if something like this can be made for good imagine if they used this technology for bad and I'm sure the bad guys are. :blink:" }-

It is an amazing piece of software. Can an image be reflected out during this time when the firewall is out/down.

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "You find any added benefits with the 2.82 as compared to 2.6 version? Since 2.6 is performing "MUCH BETTER" and beyond that what ShadowSurfer/User ever could provide, unless theres some marked advantage i personally don't see any critical need to go up the ladder with this version. :)

Comments, opinions?

Thanks" }-
It seems to perform the same.Nicer gui with a coupla more options.

[Chuck57]

What I like about it is, over and above the security it provides, starting off with a clean, newly formatted computer, having the computer stay clean and newly formatted except for the software I want on it.

No more bits and pieces of odd programs to clutter up the registry, since I don't think any registry cleaner ever gets it all. With Powershadow, you can look at a program, run it, play with it, and decide whether to keep it. If you don't like it, it's all gone - ALL of it. Nothing left behind.

I think my yearly reformatting adventure will no longer be necessary.

You're right Easter.2010. Unless the newer versions really offer something exceptional, I see no reason to upgrade. This version 2.6, even over a year old, is still a step or two ahead of the competition.

[ktango]

1. One of added benefits with the 2.82 as compared to 2.6 version is multi-harddisk protection in Full Shadow Mode.
2. PowerShadow 2.82 compatible with Windows 2003.

[Chuck57]

Thanks, ktango. Being able to shadow all hard disks is a plus, and compatability with 2003 opens up even more doors to new users.

I still can't believe they offer this software for free. I wonder now if there isn't a pay PowerShadow that isn't available to those of us outside China that is way ahead of this free version. If there is, it must be incredible.

[Diprivan]

Is anyone using Powershadow in a FDISR snapshot?
I have tried this, but on coming out of shadow mode FDISR will not load.
I don't remember having this problem with ShadowUser.

[aigle]

Even ShadowUser can,t be used straight with FDISR, U have to exclude some folder etc from SU to use it with FDISR( there is a thread here, and u can,t use SS with FDISr as no exclusion options).
Now I don,t see any exclusion option in PowerShadow, so that might be the reason for the problem or something else may be1

[sukarof]

This software does sound interesting. I understand that you dont have to rebot to get into shadow mode. How long does it take to go i to shadow mode?
If I understand this threads description of this software it sounds alot like the FDISR Freeze mode. The only reason I dont use the freeze option anymore is that it takes so long to load, so it would be nice if one could get into shadow mode quickly.

-{ Quote: "Is anyone using Powershadow in a FDISR snapshot?
I have tried this, but on coming out of shadow mode FDISR will not load.
I don't remember having this problem with ShadowUser." }-

Do you mean that you dont see the FDISR boot screen before windows loads? What happens if you disable preboot in FDISR?

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "This software does sound interesting. I understand that you dont have to rebot to get into shadow mode. How long does it take to go i to shadow mode? " }-

IMMEDIATELY!! ;D

That is a HUGE bonus compared to what i been used to.

Now on the closing session reboot; one might be tempted to think that there could be a marked delay in PowerShadow dumping the previous "shadowed" session right? Well, nothing out of the ordinary here. The only delay i notice on shutdown is from where i now set Xp Pro to dump the PageFile and even that is tolerable.

Like others i always had a continued issue with ShadowSurfer hanging up upon reset/shutdown so it made it that you had to manually press the reset/off button to get the darn thing to reboot right?

Not anymore with PowerShadow :thumb:

[Chuck57]

What I like about PowerShadow is that I don't need anything else. I used to have my old computer so loaded with security 'stuff' that it was ridiculous.

Now, I have PowerShadow, an antivirus program, and a hardware firewall along with a firewall to cover outbound - and I'm not sure I need that any more.

I'm confident that right now, PS is all the protection I need.

[tobacco]

I feel the excitement generated towards this product is not just because it's another excellent Freebie Find, but because it can move into shadow mode without rebooting. And rightfully so!:thumb: And if it it could leave shadow mode without rebooting, that'd be the cat's meow wouldn't it.

There's only one program i know of that can move 'In' and 'Out' of full disk Virtualization without rebooting and you might be surprised but that's Bufferzone Home. I still feel it needs some tweaking and i've only testing it by moving/copying/deleting files and folders but it works and again with no reboots!;D

[Franklin]

Well I have always been a Sandboxie fanboy yet this PowerShadow is so damn good and simple that I want to get deliberately infected with anything.

Bye Bye blacklist scanners, nod 32 and kas included!

The only app I would run is Superantispyware as on demand which won't find a thing after a reboot but SAS has character!

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "
There's only one program i know of that can move 'In' and 'Out' of full disk Virtualization without rebooting and you might be surprised but that's Bufferzone Home. I still feel it needs some tweaking and i've only testing it by moving/copying/deleting files and folders but it works and again with no reboots!;D" }-

I tried it multiple times and it never worked for me.

[Franklin]

Unwarranted comments and apologies.

[poirot]

I finally had some time to uninstall ShadowSurfer and install PowerShadow,but i encountered a Registration problem.
I tried to copy-paste the string

User: PowerShadow s/n: VVR29E-R4WCK2-K4T111-V1YHTP-4JYJDD

as given by Chuck57 and seen in their website, but i didnt succeed: everytime it returns a
'name or registration code incorrect'
verdict.

I tried to paste starting fom 'User' ,from 'PowerShadow',and obviously the first three times i tried with the sheer code from 'VVR...', i also changed my name, just in case,to no avail-
it simply wont accept my registration.

I then went online to register, downloaded the chinese characters from the XP CD, but found no solution......apart from paying with paypal,of course.

Perhaps i'll have to reinstall?something went awry during install,or the code doesnt work anymore?
The program works just fine,apart from the additional startup question about giving ok to XP,i even have a feeling the startup total time is somehow 20% to 40% shorter with PowerShadow.

If my current troubles do persist perhaps i can download the newer version with Espresso's translation, as i understood it only requires name and email?
Thanks to anyone's help as i'd hate either to say goodbye to this fine piece in 29 days time or pay.

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: "IMMEDIATELY!! ;D

That is a HUGE bonus compared to what i been used to.

" }-

ok, you´ve got my attention now :)
still waiting for the final verdict: does firstdefense play well with power shadow? or does it take control over mbr?

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "Well I have always been a Sandboxie fanboy yet this PowerShadow is so damn good and simple that I want to get deliberately infected with anything.

Bye Bye blacklist scanners, nod 32 and kas included!

The only app I would run is Superantispyware as on demand which won't find a thing after a reboot but SAS has character!" }-

I have Sandboxie and do use it occasionally, but mostly the little yellow kite just sits there on my toolbar. It and Bufferzone are both excellent products. I also have BZ on my other drive, along with nearly a dozen other security type programs, maybe more. I doubt any of them will ever be used until that black day when the bad guys figure out a way to beat virtualization.

Powershadow 2.6 is over a year old, and still at least a step or two ahead of any other similar program I've found.

As for other security software, I'll keep my antivirus, although I'm not sure I need it any more, and my outbound firewall though I don't know if I even need that. I'm back to running my computer the way I did 10 yrs ago, and it's nice.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "I finally had some time to uninstall ShadowSurfer and install PowerShadow,but i encountered a Registration problem.
I tried to copy-paste the string

User: PowerShadow s/n: VVR29E-R4WCK2-K4T111-V1YHTP-4JYJDD

as given by Chuck57 and seen in their website, but i didnt succeed: everytime it returns a
'name or registration code incorrect'
verdict.

I tried to paste starting fom 'User' ,from 'PowerShadow',and obviously the first three times i tried with the sheer code from 'VVR...', i also changed my name, just in case,to no avail-
it simply wont accept my registration.

I then went online to register, downloaded the chinese characters from the XP CD, but found no solution......apart from paying with paypal,of course.

Perhaps i'll have to reinstall?something went awry during install,or the code doesnt work anymore?
The program works just fine,apart from the additional startup question about giving ok to XP,i even have a feeling the startup total time is somehow 20% to 40% shorter with PowerShadow.

If my current troubles do persist perhaps i can download the newer version with Espresso's translation, as i understood it only requires name and email?
Thanks to anyone's help as i'd hate either to say goodbye to this fine piece in 29 days time or pay." }-

VVR29E-R4WCK2-K4T111-V1YHTP-4JYJDD

That's the right serial as copied and pasted from espresso's post back on the first page. I wonder if they haven't changed it, or if they change it monthly.

I haven't been able to find it again, but did locate the above serial number on one of their forums. It's all in Chinese so I couldn't read any of it, but did find the above number there too, after espresso posted it. If espresso knows where it is, I'll bet the latest serial number is posted. I'll go looking again, since today is a do-nothing day here. 22 below zero fahrenheit outside, so sure won't be doing much else.

[ktango]

-{ Quote: "ok, you´ve got my attention now :)
still waiting for the final verdict: does firstdefense play well with power shadow? or does it take control over mbr?" }-

Power shadow does not change MBR.

[poirot]

thanks,chuck57. the string appears to be exactly the same as the one i used, but you didnt tell me if i've got to paste into the Registration space the entire thing as it is written or just the numerical,orthodox-code part.....

As to the wheather...22 below zero in NewMexico?!!!
Is it a common occurrence or is it a sort of negative record?

[Franklin]

Unwarranted comments and apologies.

[Chuck57]

I copied and pasted just the registration number into the registration box and it worked for me. If you haven't done that, try it and see what happens.

22 below zero is not unusual where we live in New Mexico, in the high mountains near the Colorado border. We're at about 8000 feet elevation. We have nearly 3 feet of snow on the ground now, and more expected in a few days. This is a normal winter up here.

[poirot]

-{ Quote: "What a drama queen.

Are you deaf, blind and can't hear?

PM Espresso and he will set you right to the ultimate setup." }-



Franklin,
while i have to thank you that you , in such a 'polite' manner, advised me about what to do, at the same time -lacking any moderators intervention-i have to bring your attention towards a few facts:

1-it's not that obvious how to proceed with registration (at least to justify such a reply),but even if it was ,who on earth gives you the right
to use such a language ,considering our roads never crossed before?
Or did we meet in a forum at any time?
In this latter instance your value as a person must be near zero,as i completely forgot about you.

2-You say i am 'a 'drama queen'.....

I made myself a Test at

http://www.queendom.com/tests/minitests/fx/drama_queen.html


and found out i am not.

I maintain i did not make a 'drama' out of the fact i cannot temporarily Register with PowerShadow....,or,at least,this
is what i think, we can leave the judgement to other members here.

The term 'queen' appears in english to have other derogatory meanings,though,but -given this might need some culture whereas you appear to be an inadequate resident of the Bush with the manners
of a stupid troglodyte i really doubt you implied that.

[Drew99GT]

So how would you go about keeping things added to a browser, like favorites or extensions etc.? Would you have to manually take them out of areas in the shadowed partition and move them to the main partition? I add stuff just about everytime I am online, and constantly doing that would become kind of tedious!

Anyone else find anything out about the phoning home?

[bryanjoe]

i using version 2.6..... still required reboot to enable shadow mode.

2.8 does not require reboot???

[Chuck57]

2.6 doesn't need a reboot to start shadow mode. It needs a reboot to disable shadow mode.

Most of us have version 2.6. All we do is open it, click Start, the screen goes wavey for couple of seconds and we're in shadow mode.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "i using version 2.6..... still required reboot to enable shadow mode." }-

That is very incorrect sir. As Chuck57 mentions above, the only reboot needed is when you "EXIT" (Restart) Power Shadow Mode

This program is more advanced in that it allows you to "ENTER" shadow mode " WITHOUT" any reboot but simply engaging that mode by manually pressing a button to "Enable" Shadow Mode.

Simple as that.

[Chuck57]

I wonder if bryanjoe isn't running Shadowsurfer, a good program but wouldn't work for me for reasons already mentioned here or in some other thread.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "I wonder if bryanjoe isn't running Shadowsurfer, a good program but wouldn't work for me for reasons already mentioned here or in some other thread." }-

I'll be darn Chuck57, i do believe you got that right because it just dawned on me that ShadowSurfer last version is indeed 2.6

My bad if i seemed to forcibly contradict his post in the above but that being said now, it makes perfect sense. 2.6 SS

Thanks

[Chuck57]

I don't know what version Shadowsurfer is at. The free one I tried and gave up on was, I think, 2.5. The names are close enough that anybody could make that mistake. Not sure about the 2.8 he mentioned. Is Shadowsurfer up to 2.8 now?

[zopzop]

wow this program is getting lots of attention here. to people that have powershadow installed on a test box, i have 2 questions :

1) is this program really free :D

2) will it protect the MBR vs viruses like killdisk? and has anyone tested it to confirm?

[Chuck57]

It's free. The serial number is available in this thread a couple of times and also on their website. They also have a slightly newer version that's also free. The version 2.6 though is free and the serial number here perfectly legal.

As for the other, I've downloaded many, many programs in the past few weeks. No malware that I know of, but who can say. When I boot out of shadow mode, every single trace is gone.

Easter.2010 is our malware expert and he's said that he's found nothing that has gotten through shadow mode. He's also using it. If it wasn't good, I don't think he'd have it on his computer.

I've cut way back on all the various programs I used to run. All I have now is a hardware firewall, outbound firewall, antivirus, and a software firewall. I'm not sure I need the antivirus or outbound firewall any longer. If anything gets onto my pc, I can reboot and it's gone.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: From what I learned so far, power shadow is indeed an excellent app. To clearify the question of a freeware or not, I revisted its web site( I can read Chinese) and this is my findings:On its English site, it clearly states it is a 30 days trial app, to register as a paidware, please fork over US$39.00 or EUR 32.25 (listed on may 11,2005) for version 2.6.0511. On its Chinese site, very interesting, there is a user name and key code published, and it claims it is free for v.2.6 and 2.8, the only and perhaps a major difference of registration methods between these two versions is that user name and key code are required for v.2.6, whereas online activation is needed (submitting your email address and name) for v.2.8. As I understand it is a totally freeware, no restriction whatsoever, for vast Chinese domestic users. If you can get it free here with members' tireless efforts, use it , why not. A new found benefit being a member of this remarkable forum.:)

[Chuck57]

Thanks Perman. I was half right on it being free for everyone. Still, I entered the registration number and it accepted it, and that number came from their site, so I'll accept it as being okay. If they don't want the world using it, don't publish the serial number.

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: "Power shadow does not change MBR." }-

Thanks for the info.
With that in mind I installed the 2.6 version. Install was flawless. C&P the user name and password (provided in this thread) and it registered without problems. No problems between Firstdefense and Powershadow detected yet. :thumb:

From FAQ:
-{ Quote: "Q: I still don't understand how to exit shadow mode without restarting. It's possible, right?

A:We are developing an advanced version for PowerShadow. The advanced version can quit shadow mode without rebooting computer." }-
Interesting.

[yankinNcrankin]

I did something crazy and ran a SH*T load of live active trojans and viruses files in shadow mode just for the hell of it. Total count I believe I clicked and ran over 75+ files claiming to be live anyways I did all of this while on-line and surfing the net. Tcp view showed alot of services trying to access the internet.Lucky me my system never froze or BSOD I was able to quit shadow mode and reboot. Restarted no problems Tiny Watcher scanned upon system start and found no changes, ran Kaspersky, Avast, and Avira, found nothing. I'm
enjoying this program alot! ;D

[sukarof]

Thats cool. I am enjoying tis little app more and more too. Once when getting out of shadow mode is as simple as getting in to it, this is gonna be a kickass software. Even though I am a nerd regarding software like this, I think that PS will be easy enough for average joe.
And for those of you who still care about memory usage: 6.1Mb with two processes running. No noticeable impact what so ever on system performance.
No conflicts with:
Prevx1
Comodo Firewall (2.4.5.111beta)
FDISR
DrWeb AV
Windowsblinds
Raxco Perfectdisc 8, to mention a few of my running processes.

[Meriadoc]

Hi, nice program. Looking into how it is achieved.
Had an error twice after selecting shadow - small box saying 'no explorer window', then nothing in the corners.
Any bugs? Can anyone read the home site to see if any issues.

[como212]

how is the memory usage of this program?

[Espresso]

It's recommended not to defrag the drive while running PowerShadow. Any changes too the file system have to be saved in the PS temp file so a lot of defragging will build up a huge temp file.

[Franklin]

-{ Quote: "how is the memory usage of this program?" }-
Here - Shadowtip.exe - 3,432 kb
- Shadowservice.exe - 1,052 kb

[solarpowered candle]

-{ Quote: "how is the memory usage of this program?" }-

My pc flies along. with only look n stop and powershadow running . there seems to be quite a diffirence in surfing speed in shadow mode .
I stopped Shadowtip.exe from starting up and Shadowservice.exe is running at 1008k here.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: There is no major known issues so far, however, it does caution that power shadow does not support these:
64 bits O/S; RAID; win98/ME or vista: multi O/S with linux.

[aigle]

Major issue-- phoning home.
Sidabled hibernation on my laptop(that is only for me of course).

[MaB69]

Hi all,

Anyone know if they are incompatibilities with my setup (in my sig) ?

Many Thanks for your answers

MaB

[Perman]

-{ Quote: "Major issue-- phoning home.
Sidabled hibernation on my laptop(that is only for me of course)." }-
Hi, aigle, I totally agree. Why would a shadow app( they call power shadow this way, instead of sandbox/virtualization, why? I have no clue at all) phone home? Strange indeed. No one has raised this issue on their support section( Chinese).

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: "Major issue-- phoning home.
" }-

Interesting. What else than checking for updates does PS do when it phones home to China?
I guess it is easy for an educated user to check with a packetsniffer to see what is sent?
I do not know anything about that stuff but this is what it sends in my machine:


-{ Quote: "?Æ...........xxx.ensurebit.com.....À........~...wineh-web-g09.xinnetdnsÀ.À/......7®..Ò3¨d

this is how it looks with HEX:
3FC6 8180 0001 0002 0000 0000 0377 7777 0965 6E73 7572 5662 6974 0363 6F6D
0000 0100 01C0 0C00 0500 0100 000D 7E00 1A0D 7769 6E65 682D 7765 622D 6730 3909 7869 6E6E 6574 646E 73C0 1AC0 2F00 0100 0100 0037 AE00 04D2 33A8 64
" }-
This is what shadowsettings.exe sends when I look at the log from port explorer. the xxx is www, I had to change it because wilders wont show the whole line other wise. It connects to (openDNS) DNS server fo a second or so, no more connections.

This happens only when I view the settings in SP. I will check shadowtip.exe next time it tries to connect.

[Meriadoc]

Using verson 2.8.2 now with everything working fine so far. ShadowTip.exe wants access out.

[twl845]

Just one more product made in China. Now our computers will feel at home. What's down the road, Windows Fong? :lurking:

[solarpowered candle]

Meriadoc is that an english version of 2.8 and where did you find that.

this phoning home is a hassle. I emailed to support@ensurebit.com and asked them why it phones home. So far it hasnt been sent back as undelivered.

[Pinga]

-{ Quote: "Just one more product made in China. Now our computers will feel at home. What's down the road, Windows Fong? :lurking:" }-
This is neither the time nor the place for racist remarks. Please consider your wording more carefully in the future. Thank you.

[Chuck57]

Maybe Microsoft will let the Chinese develop their products. If PS is an example, they might do a better job than Redmond.

[solarpowered candle]

yes they both like to phone home

[twl845]

Pinga - Not a racial remark, but national free trade policy. More jobs lost to China trade imbalance.

[kr4ey]

I have been using version 2.8.2 a few days.
Phoning home issue... Easy... Block it with your Firewall.
I have NO ill effects when blocking with a Firewall.

Rick

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "yes they both like to phone home" }-

I use a little thing called XPAntispy that turns off most of the phone home stuff in Windows - and there are a few things. Plus it can turn off a lot more unneeded stuff besides.

I don't know what the phone home thing with Powershadow is. If its to monitor websites visited, they'll be bored to tears with me.

[Pinga]

-{ Quote: "Pinga - Not a racial remark, but national free trade policy. More jobs lost to China trade imbalance." }-
If you would make the effort to step over your own shadow, perhaps you would see that this is not about 'our' computers or 'lost' jobs at all. We are one planet and US-centric thinking has not been very helpful in its development as of late. I am not asking you to agree, just to consider that there are people of different nationalities on this board and that we're here to communicate, not to compete.

[solarpowered candle]

i suppose with a few billion pc s in china thats a lot of interesting statistics they can gather.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "I did something crazy and ran a SH*T load of live active trojans and viruses files in shadow mode just for the hell of it. Total count I believe I clicked and ran over 75+ files claiming to be live anyways I did all of this while on-line and surfing the net. Tcp view showed alot of services trying to access the internet.Lucky me my system never froze or BSOD I was able to quit shadow mode and reboot. Restarted no problems Tiny Watcher scanned upon system start and found no changes, ran Kaspersky, Avast, and Avira, found nothing. I'm
enjoying this program alot! ;D" }-

Even if your system had frozen, all you gotta do is manually turn it off and turn it back on and you're out of shadow mode and everything is back where it was.

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm more comfortable with a manual typewriter than a computer, Powershadow is one of the best software programs to come along in a long time. I'm waiting for the day they come out with a version where you can disable shadowmode without a reboot. I'm betting it won't be long - and hopefully will be have an English version.

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "Meriadoc is that an english version of 2.8 and where did you find that.

this phoning home is a hassle. I emailed to support@ensurebit.com and asked them why it phones home. So far it hasnt been sent back as undelivered." }-
Yes, go back abit or read your pm.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "i suppose with a few billion pc s in china thats a lot of interesting statistics they can gather." }-

Might have something to do with the Chinese Govt. I read somewhere years ago that they don't allow their people unlimited internet viewing. It could be that the phone home thing is part of that - to tell them who is going where.

I don't know if the above is true, or how they could even compile all that and do anything about it. I think it's just a thing to check for updates/upgrades or something similar. With millions of copies of the program out there, they'd need an army of people to handle all the info.

[solarpowered candle]

that may be what it is all about. However i have the english version and i really dont fancy paying $39 ( not that i will ) for the privilege of being monitored by the chinese govt :)

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "Might have something to do with the Chinese Govt. I read somewhere years ago that they don't allow their people unlimited internet viewing. It could be that the phone home thing is part of that - to tell them who is going where." }-
I believe they're heading towards their own government run internet, country-wide intranet tightning up the already gov.run web :( anyway your probably right in...

-{ Quote: "I think it's just a thing to check for updates/upgrades or something similar. With millions of copies of the program out there, they'd need an army of people to handle all the info." }-

[poirot]

My support to pinga and chuck57!

I'd like to let everyone know that i finally and inexplicably succeeded in registering my 2.6 copy of PowerShadow after
a complete uninstall of the previous program from AddRemove-
a complete uninstall from TotalUninstall-
an 'Aggressive' mode of cleaning the registry with RegSupreme-
a change from OpenOffice,Wordpad to Notepad copy-paste into PS.

Perhaps the program does not condone a first-time mistake.
Perhaps there was something corrupt in the first install.

Very interesting what Espresso said in a previous post about NOT being advisable to defrag when you use PS, something to remember.
After all, if you use PS all the time there's little chance the disk will need a Defrag like if it was used in a 'normal' way, isnt that so?

I think that the 'phoning home' of Powershadow can be easily solved by instructing your firewall to block it. The same thing cannot be said about well established OSs .....

[twl845]

Solarpowered candle - Right.

[Chuck57]

Good to hear, Poirot. Powershadow is too good a program to give up after 30 days.

My hard drive is very good since I reformatted. I looked at defrag and ran the analysis. It's almost like it was when I finished the format, thanks I think to Powershadow. You're right. Run Powershadow all the time. Play with and test programs in shadow mode and you'll never have to defrag again. Just another added benefit to having a great program.

[aigle]

-{ Quote: "I use a little thing called XPAntispy that turns off most of the phone home stuff in Windows - and there are a few things.
" }-

Can u explain how u can stop PS to phone home via XPantispy?

Thanks?

[Espresso]

I doubt if XPAntispy will be able to stop PS from phoning home. I assume you're talking about v2.6, as v2.82 doesn't phone home. The best option would be to find the IP to which it's connecting, get the reverse dns and stick it in your hosts file.

[Woody777]

Ok I installed this.Yes it seems to work fine. I guess its mostly for when you go to questionable sites or want to try out Software. It seems to be all that you guys said it was. My only concern is that it will goof up my Antivirus updates. Also it would not accept my registration until I tried 3 times & took my first & last name & eliminated the space between.

[Espresso]

Install your AV on another drive/partition if you want them to stick. You can also move the folder and make a junction point to where it would normally be (I assume that would work).

[aigle]

-{ Quote: " v2.82 doesn't phone home" }-

I think it does as well. Can anybody confirm plase?

[Espresso]

DSA doesn't pick up any outgoing connections whether I have the "Check for update" box checked or not. The only time it has to connect is to register.

[EASTER.2010]

Funny i haven't seen it try to do an outgoing at all unless COMODO didn't see it which i hardly doubt is the case.

You don't have to run it all the time unless you're really that afraid of picking up a potential drive by from some dodgy website. I only use it when testing programs or deliberately trying to pull in a intrusion file loaded from a rogue webpage.

You can get all your updates (Automatic) by leaving it off. Just run it during such times you choose during the day/night then when done it's off after a simple restart.

[Chuck57]

I ran it religiously for a couple or three weeks. Now, in the past day or so, I've decided to only use it when I'm downloading something or visiting sites I use for research. In the past day or two, sandboxie is getting a workout. Either way, PS or Sandboxie, I feel well protected without having my computer clogged up with a bunch of security programs.

[chew]

Hi Folks, Thanks for highlighting this new discovery. Just what I want really as I have been looking for one like this for a while now, although I saw a few rather similar ones like those mention in previous threads I never tried them. But this one sounds very good and it looks like a bigger version of Sandboxie that I have only started using a 3 months. So I have some questions to ask experience folks here. My questions: (mostly related to the step by step installation) 1) Could you provide me the link to Power Shadow 2.82 please as I heard that it can be converted to an English version. (including the process to convert to English) 2) Could you also let me know how to install it please. 3) I am using Window XP SP2 firewall behind University server so how do I prevent it from calling home? 4) Can I Power Shadow in Limited User account or all the accounts? Cheers Thank you Chew P/s: I have only 512mb RAM and most of my Anti-malware softwares are on-demand only with the exception of Windows Defender, SpywareBlaster, SpywareGuard and Snoopfree.

[yankinNcrankin]

-{ Quote: "Funny i haven't seen it try to do an outgoing at all unless COMODO didn't see it which i hardly doubt is the case.

Same, no phoning home here, maybe its doing it for the newer versions, I know English version has another 2.6** forgot the numbers and the 2.8**, they might be phoning home but I'm not sure.

[Chuck57]

This is off subject, but I started the thread......so.....

I was just surfing around with Sandboxie engaged for a while, left the browser up MSIE 7 and went off to do something else. I came back later, didn't pay any attention, closed the browser and emptied Sandboxie.

Just a few minutes ago, I got back on and I had Yahoo toolbar on my browser. Don't know where it came from or how it got there. I did not download it and certainly did not install it. Could this thing have gotten through Sandboxie somehow?

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: ") Could you provide me the link to Power Shadow 2.82 please as I heard that it can be converted to an English version. " }-

Well, maybe I am missing something here. I use version 2,6 downloaded from Powershadow home page, and I just chose the enlish version...? so whats all the talk about 2.82?
-{ Quote: " I am using Window XP SP2 firewall behind University server so how do I prevent it from calling home?" }-

Well if you dont want it to look for updates, then you just turn that feature off. I am still waiting for someone to provide some kind of fact that PS "phoning home" is doing other things than checking for updates. I am not saying that it doesn't try to contact the net for those who claim so, but at least some facts of what it actually does would be nice rather than just the fact that it does it.

Personally I have not experienced that the file some is talking about (shadowtip.exe, maybe its just the 2.82 version that does that?) has tried to contact the net other than during registration process. Unless it has bypassed my firewall completely and hides itself from port explorer, process explorer and rootkit hook analyzer..
But if it does try to contact the net the easiest way to block it, as with all other software you dont want to get out on the net; just block it in your firewall. Or if you´re paranoid enough - dont use the software, that is the ultimate way of blocking anything :)

[Meriadoc]

2.8.2
Correct, ShadowTip.exe...C:\WINDOWS\system32\shadow\ShadowTip.exe...tries to connect to a remote address (powershadow.com, http(80)) through an outbound TCP connection.

[poirot]

My 2.6 version 'phoned home' just once,which i consented to-just in case they would like to know about me- then i blocked the request in Jetico and that's it, no more problems.



Woody777 , why would it 'goof up' your updates?
At the end of the session/day you just turn it off so next morning it will not be on when you begin using your pc and you can do all your updates without any problem in 'normal' mode. Then you can begin a PS session if you wish and start the day with all your updates in the box.

This is true with any 'shadowing' program, the only drawback with the rest of them is you have to reboot in order to start. In spite of that you can always-with any program- start the day without being shadowed and make all sorts of updates then reboot and start a shadow mode.

[Meriadoc]

'Phoning home'

2.6 if I remember was ShadowSetting
2.8.2 ShadowTip.exe

ShadowTip.exe
Basically the niceties (hand-shake) [1,2,3]
then some conversation followed by a pushy I got a higher application that wants something [4]
a reply with a I got a higher application that wants something [5]
again with a I got a higher application that wants something [6] and data
chitchat [7] ending with reset [8].

The conversations?
- nothing outta the ordinary.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "Just a few minutes ago, I got back on and I had Yahoo toolbar on my browser. Don't know where it came from or how it got there. I did not download it and certainly did not install it. Could this thing have gotten through Sandboxie somehow?" }-


Hi Chuck57

That doesn't surprise me at all. I never really fully trusted Sandboxie although i wanted to keep it. I had problems in the past with it and this latest stable version proved no different. I try not to post my disappointment over it as many seem to heavily rely on it and claim they absolutely love the program like yourself.

My feelings is it still has some bugs to work out, maybe? I dunno, what i do know is that my confidence in POWER SHADOW is iron-clad and solid given the protection it offers and is proven.
The phone-home thingy is not no biggie so long as you know how to block "outgoing" requests, so that's rather useless worry IMO.

[ktango]

-{ Quote: "

Just a few minutes ago, I got back on and I had Yahoo toolbar on my browser. Don't know where it came from or how it got there. I did not download it and certainly did not install it. Could this thing have gotten through Sandboxie somehow?" }-

me too

[Chuck57]

I don't know how man Kilobytes that toolbar is, but there was no warning from Sandboxie, no evidence of anything being downloaded - unless it was while I was away from the computer - and nothing to show it was installing. The toolbar was on MSIE 7 and I discovered it on my Firefox 1.5.xx too.

I got rid of the toolbars, finally. I found the ytb.exe in 3 different places, or there were 3 yahoo exe's on my computer. I still don't know where they came from. I use yahoo for my mail and have for years without a problem, and never download any of it. Ran a couple of different registry programs I have and AVG Antispyware and all seems clean again.

Anyway, I don't cut my security software any slack. If it fails on something like that, it can fail with more serious stuff. I don't think yahoo toolbar is spyware, but I consider it spyware when it gets onto my computer uninvited. So, Sandboxie is gone.

I've gone back to Bufferzone 1.90 for routine surfing. If wherever those toolbars came from, they get through BZ, I'll dump it too and just rely on Powershadow. I Know it won't fail.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "If wherever those toolbars came from, they get through BZ, I'll dump it too and just rely on Powershadow. I Know it won't fail." }-

:thumb:

Indeed. I was amazed last night with Power Shadow because i just realized how incredibly simple it works and it sure doesn't give out anything to complain about like some sandboxes do. In fact, most other sandbox apps it takes a little extra time to read up on them and know just what settings is required, where they box apps, and even then can you be really sure nothing will slip past at some point in time. I guess the same can be said for any app but unless PS itself is particularly targeted it is failsafe.

I use System Safety Monitor so i can place the executable in SSM's "keep process in memory" and feel secure that if it was forcefully closed it would immediately be restarted. Now i don't know exactly what it would mean if it was abruptly terminated just what that would present but i'm going to do a test with APT and use Kernel Kill to stop it and then run some apps and see if they are retained after reboot or Power Shadow would either still dump the session or else remain in shadow mode.

Good this was brought up because there is nothing in the program itself that can cause such a concern.

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "The phone-home thingy is not no biggie" }-
My son was next to me with his new laptop and I was teaching him some stuff - looking at traffic, using the appliance logs, Ethereal and CommView packet sniffers. The decoded traffic in PS was nothing to worry about which I've now stopped with a desktop firewall

[yankinNcrankin]

Just ran the full test of DiamondCS Advanced Process Termination (APT) while in single Shadow mode,
I was unable to kill the process of ShadowService.exe and ShadowTip.exe thanks to my setup with ProcessGuard, however interesting enough I was able to kill both processes with Ice Sword v1.20. After verifying that the services were killed I began to delete folders from my shadowed C: and dragged files from my D: to my desktop, I even opened a live RK Rustock variant to my C:
I did all of this while online connected to WildersSecurity forum, after a bit I restarted my computer, the window of PowerShadow that usually comes up when you want to restart or quit shadow mode didnt even pop up, this got me a bit worried, so my comp shut down normally and rebooted ok, upon start up I noticed that all the stuff I dragged to my desktop when ShadowPower services were killed, were all gone! :D :thumb: It was liike nothing had happened. had to be sure so ran some scans and RKU also and found nothing, the folders that I deleted when the PowerShadow services were terminated were all back like nothing had happened! This keeps getting more and more awesome! ;D

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "It was liike nothing had happened. had to be sure so ran some scans and RKU also and found nothing, the folders that I deleted when the PowerShadow services were terminated were all back like nothing had happened! This keeps getting more and more awesome" }-

You beat me to the punch yankinNcrankin ;)

Indeed! Those results are nothing short of Miraculous and Amazing! Just goes to prove yet another measure of TOTAL SECURITY! with this engenious shadowing program.
Try as anyone may, this is definitely one app that can really stand up to the severest of tests and hold it's own very well.

I am now even more IMPRESSED!! :thumb:

[Chuck57]

Seems to me that with you all running all these tests that I don't have the experience or knowledge to run, I might just dump BZ and do what I was doing earlier - just run PowerShadow and forget about anything else. Engage it when I start the computer in the morning, leave it running, and it cleans my entire drive of all junk when I shut down at night. What more can anyone ask for?

[yankinNcrankin]

For this program to be able to do these things and be free is simply amazing!
You don't even need to be computer wizard to know how to run this program its a no brainer. :)

[Meriadoc]

Yes computer novice can run Power Shadow.

[Chuck57]

I'm proof that you don't know how to be a computer wizard to run PS. Absolutely, it's a no brainer, because I HAVE no brain when it comes to computers and I had PS up and running in minutes.

There has to be a weakness. No program can be this good.

[chew]

Folks, I tried to download from PS website but to no avail. So any idea where else can I get the download from I also tried the other website but that too was to no avail. I assume the version 2.6 will use the same serial number posted on this website? Cheers Chew

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "There has to be a weakness. No program can be this good.
" }-

Don't think you'll need to wait too long. It's a given that this one will be probed intensively even by those better adept at that then even myself because in all my acquired knowledge of programs/rootkits/malware, the one thing that i don't have the time to examine is the internal code for possible vulnerabilities. Even so, they would have to be introduced i believe because as-is, this program definitely excells greatly in what it claims.

It's enough for me that i can run some pretty formidable malware whilst in Power Shadow Mode only to experience any actions from them completely useless after exiting it's shadow mode (Single Partition).

Not much more to report then that from this end and since yankinNcrankin already solved the curisosity mentioned earlier you can't ask for much more than that out of this program except when the version comes along where we can "EXIT" Power Shadow mode without a reboot.

That will be the capper for me. 8)

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "Folks, I tried to download from PS website but to no avail. So any idea where else can I get the download from I also tried the other website but that too was to no avail. I assume the version 2.6 will use the same serial number posted on this website? Cheers Chew" }-
Tucows and I think download.com. The PS download is slow.

edit : yes both.

[chew]

Meriadoc, Thanks for the info. I managed to download it from download.com. I will install it later with the serial number posted on this website. Cheers Chew

[tobacco]

207 Posts!

Talk about a 'Freebie Feeding Frenzy'!;D

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "207 Posts!

Talk about a 'Freebie Feeding Frenzy'!;D" }-

From the simple to the most advanced of users this thread is drawing an audience and understandably so.

Power Shadow is very unique and a massive improvment in the world of PC Security.

[tobacco]

-{ Quote: "Power Shadow is very unique and a massive improvment in the world of PC Security." }-

Like 'Star Trek', kinda makes you wonder what else is out there we haven't discovered yet!

[EASTER.2010]

tobacco, more truer words were never said. :thumb:

And thats exactly what keeps people like me glued to this medium. Just when you think theres nothing more out there in the cyber world that can make things interesting, along pops up something brand new and extremely useful.

And you can bet there are yet hundreds of other exciting and useful surprises just waiting to be discovered for us.

Short post but carries much weight in that statement :)

[mhallerman]

Would love to run it on my development machine instead of vmware like I have beendoing but eventhough the results of everyone's tests look good, how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it. Has anyone tried RKU on it? I cant run that under wmware.

I apologize in advance if some of these were already answered in this or other threads. I am fried tonight and didnt have the heart to do a thourough search.

Regards,
Mark.

[yankinNcrankin]

-{ Quote: "Would love to run it on my development machine instead of vmware like I have beendoing but eventhough the results of everyone's tests look good, how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it. Has anyone tried RKU on it? I cant run that under wmware.

I apologize in advance if some of these were already answered in this or other threads. I am fried tonight and didnt have the heart to do a thourough search.

Regards,
Mark." }-

Thats a yes, I can run so far any application, program, RKU, my gaming apps all in shadow mode with no problems, honestly its pretty nuts that its able to do that without causing instability to my box! :)
As far as I can tell while I'm in shadow mode and run RKU, all looks legitamite, but hey I have no idea about this kind of technology so who knows maybe there could be something spooky about this program kind of "blue pill" like, I really dont know. I hope thats not the case cause I also ran port explorer and other open ports, nirsofts current ports programs to see if it was phoning home and it looks ok just split second UDP upon launching PS from the tray. I think its ok. If there is something spooky about this program as far as I know I'm unable to detect it and I think thats good enough for me after the tests I have already done. Who knows maybe more info about this program willl arise and I hope its positive for the security conscious. :)
how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it. same could be said about VM ware, or just about any well known trusted program, what if messing around with such a program ends up creating undetectable anomylies? Get your feet wet and experience it, if you dont like a program simply stop using it. :)
Just try and imagine if the person or persons' involved in creating this program ever turned to the "darkside" ;D

[Chuck57]

"how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it."
same could be said about VM ware, or just about any well known trusted program, what if messing around with such a program ends up creating undetectable anomylies? Get your feet wet and experience it, if you dont like a program simply stop using it.
Just try and imagine if the person or persons' involved in creating this program ever turned to the "darkside"

I think we users of PS have an advantage - for a while. Right now, Powershadow isn't that well known, although it's bound to be soon. The bigger names are out there and the ones being looked at.

Powershadow is just burrowing along like a little mole, just under the surface. The malware players hopefully aren't focusing on it yet. As good as this program seems to be, I hope the creators stay on the 'light side.'

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "I think we users of PS have an advantage - for a while" }-

If they never release another version of this it would be of little consequence because it more than makes up for deficiencies experienced with all the other shadow programs. Search your feelings and view your own facts, this app while maybe not the end all of them, firmly establishes it's place among the elite of the BEST proactive sandboxes.

There is nothing else that even comes close to matching it's ability.

[poirot]

I agree Easter.2010, to the point i'm even thinking of getting rid of ShadowUser in my other computer-which i paid-to make way for PowerShadow.

I am a very security conscious person and i fear a lot any type of rootkits,but i am wondering.... if PowerShadow had been made by Symantec or MacAffee-instead of by the chinese (or italians,french,polish ,rumenians or else)- would there be such a question asked like 'is there a hidden rootkit?',
even before trying out the program?

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it." }-
Its wise to think about these things but at the moment I've not found anything to worry about (have some more time tonite.) Theres was nothing in the traffic I analysed nor any tricks like trying to by-pass or hide from a packet sniffer, nothing outta the ordinary in that period of time, if theres something it kept quiet.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "I agree Easter.2010, to the point i'm even thinking of getting rid of ShadowUser in my other computer-which i paid-to make way for PowerShadow.

I am a very security conscious person and i fear a lot any type of rootkits,but i am wondering.... if PowerShadow had been made by Symantec or MacAffee-instead of by the chinese (or italians,french,polish ,rumenians or else)- would there be such a question asked like 'is there a hidden rootkit?',
even before trying out the program?" }-

I doubt it. Symantec or McAfee aren't the best examples from what I've read on this board. Let's say that if suddenly ESET began offering Powershadow everybody would be installing it no questions asked.

The Chinese have developed one of the best sandboxing/virtualisation programs available, and that's the bottom line.

[sukarof]

I guess this is no surprise to anyone but PS does not work with Vista.
I installed it and tried to run but it crashed every time. But I guess there will be a Vista compatible version sooner or later. I hope, I understand that no one is allowed to work with the kernel in Vista, and I suppose this software does that? Well, the bad guys doesnt care about if they are allowed or not of course ;)

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "if PowerShadow had been made by Symantec or MacAffee-instead of by the chinese (or italians,french,polish ,rumenians or else)- would there be such a question asked like 'is there a hidden rootkit?',
even before trying out the program?" }-
YES :) , although not for malicious circumstances, but I understand what you are saying.
For me its not a case where from, its that I dont know you and/or dont know your program.

[Chuck57]

That's the problem with software. You can try to protect it, and not share it, but the bad guy will always find a way. It's a shame PS doesn't work with Vista. It's another reason to add to my list of reasons not to upgrade.

[Rivalen]

Chucks early link and downloaded + used Expressos early reg key to register - gave me an error message when I tried to register the english 2.6 version. Need some help here pls.

Had some error message at shutdown but will get back on that if I can register and keep it.

Best Regards

[Chuck57]

Someone else had the same problem. Did you try copy and paste or typing the key in? Seems like it has to be copied and pasted, though I don't know why. As far as I can see from the website, the license key posted here is still valid.

I didn't have any problem with error messages after the install so can't help much there. Did you have antivirus and other security software disabled? That's about the only suggestion I can offer.

[poirot]

Rivalen,
try to do this (judging from my initially negative-like -you-experience):

1-copy the entire string as given in an earlier post by chuck57 and paste it
not in Word,Wordpad,OpenOffice but in Notepad.
(i know it seems strange)
2-double click the PS icon in desktop
3-get rid of the tips section
4-copy paste ' PowerShadow ' put it in the upper ,user,section
5-copy the serial number to be pasted in the lower section
6-give all the okeys
if it wont work for 3-4 times you will have to

uninstall the program completely,including deleting the downloaded program, using registry cleaners.

Reboot everytime.

Download a new copy of the program,install it,use it once,give the permission to connect outbound (just for this first time,you can deny later-and even if the registration is inside PS) and after a reboot try again.

Hopefully at this time it will work.

[mhallerman]

Well, my feeling is that while I am very impressed with PowerShadow, the fact that there is very limited contact with the vendor, who at it stands now is some unknown entity in China (not saying that is inherently bad, just a big unknown), I have less of a comfortable feeling about the software than if it was some company that was easily contactable, where the website gave a good deal of information in English as to the program, how it works etc.

Granted, SONY, a very large company, installed their own rootkit ;), but these folks are a real big unknown...

Just my 2 cents...

Thanks all,
M.

[Chuck57]

Someplace in this thread, I think, somebody found that the company is registered in Beijing. Don't know any more than that except that Powershadow works, and no one has found any problems with it.

The site doesn't give a lot of info in English. I wish I could read Chinese, since I'm sure there's a lot to be learned from reading their forum. I tend to believe more what people are saying about a product than what the company posts.

[solarpowered candle]

well there are a number of members who are from china here at wilders. hopefully one of them might end up in this thread and ask a few questions on the powershadow chinese forum for us.
I havent as yet received a reply from my email to their support as yet, however that may be due to their support not speaking english. They may have had the english version translated by an independant company hence the request for $39. The translation is really well done and simple to understand. The whole presentation of powershadow is great. It just flows.

[Chuck57]

Good idea, solarpowered candle. I've been skimming through the antivirus section, about Rising and other Chinese antiviruses (meaning I'm avoiding work) and found a number of Chinese posters. Hopefully one of them will discover this thread eventually.

[solarpowered candle]

if we could sort out one or two questions that are really to the point it would be helpful also.As it may be easier for a chinese member then to post it. I have to make contact with chinese ( manderine speaking ) people once or twice a month through my work so I could pass the question on to them to do this But need to keep it real simple and to the point as they may not necesarily be into this sort of computer awareness or use. However having someone from here who speaks manderine ( i guess the forum is in manderine) to do this would be a lot easier as those who i do contact often struggle a little with some aspects of english.

[yankinNcrankin]

@ Rivalen
You can also type PowerShadow with a space between words like this Power Shadow, I think this solves the problem with the registration error :)

[Meriadoc]

I like to know if there will be a English sub-forum for PS.

Ensurebit Software Inc.

Ensurebit Software Inc. (ESI) delivers powerful, easy to use software applications for customers all over the world. Though the company is relatively young, we have built a R&D team with high expertise, rich experience and excellent skill, also has attracted a group of market and project elites to join us. With the aspiring team spirit, ESI has been growing steadily and quickly. Therefore, we take pride in providing a high level of consistent, reliable customer service, support and exceptional products.At ESI, we take partnership seriously, we are committed to enhancing the productivity and profitability of our user's businesses. We are ready to work with you to ensure the win-win situation for business collaboration of any kind.

- FunWebcam, playwebcam.com

[SafetyFirst]

-{ Quote: " eventhough the results of everyone's tests look good, how do we know there isn't some other as of yet unfound dropper or virus or advanced rootkit in it. " }-

I have been reading through ten pages of this thread waiting to see if anybody was going to ask such a question. This is completely legitimate question and very important thing. Nowadays that we are witnessing progressive dying of personal freedoms and privacy even in western "liberal democracies" (Patriot Act in USA, German police capturing en masse people running Tor servers, German government imposing a backdoor on JAP etc.) it is absolutely justified to ask yourself if you can trust such a powerful software coming from China. As you probably know, internet access is restricted to Chinese citizens. Google and Yahoo had to comply with Chinese laws if they wanted to be present on Chinese market (a Chinese journalist is facing possible death penalty due to Yahoo's extradition to Chinese government of his emails he had sent out of China ).

I simply doubt that Chinese government who want to control everything would allow their people to have a program that would allow them such a high degree of privacy.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: " it is absolutely justified to ask yourself if you can trust such a powerful software coming from China." }-

Too late to cast doubts on Power Shadow. Doesn't matter if it was created in China or Tim Buk Two, this program lives up entirely to what it claims and thats the bottom line.

If not, this Topic would have easily faded away but in contrast, those who are giving it a whirl are finding a very effective shadowing sandbox app that plays friendly with every security program they already use plus quietly runs as expected without issue.

I think some users falsely fall into a trap of thinking just because a program originates in another language/nation, that the creation is subject to issues. And that may be in some cases but certainly not this one. Read the reviews right here for yourself and then if your curiosity presses you that much, take a plunge for yourself.

Leave the politics out of it and instead look at the modern innovation of it that's being offered. After all, they could very well have kept it native or moreover, kept it contained from the internet altogether.

The privacy issue doesn't really hold much water in this world anymore anyway since the introduction of this new international medium called the internet has removed those walls.

[Woody777]

I think that anonymity is precisely why power shadow was developed & why it is free to Chinese citizens. What you have on your computer can be used against you in almost all countries. Depending on the laws everyone might be suspect sometimes. The fact that this program is being touted as a solution for malware probably keeps the developer from being instantly arrested. I would doubt that the Chinese will allow this program to exist very long. There are a few programs that try to wipe out online data available in the USA but none will do it as well as this one. If you have one of those programs on your computer you probably can expect that you will be under suspicion if law enforcement ever looks over your data. I can only imagine what Law Enforcement will say when they find out that thieves etc can wipe out all their computer activities with this free program. As far as I am concerned Anonymity is NOT a crime. One can only imagine if one combines this program with a virtual server such as virtual box or VMWare protected by a firewall & router what activities could occurr. Could they ever be traced if a Proxy was used? Even if they could be what tracks would be left behind when you rebooted? I think the possibility for abuse is huge!

[mhallerman]

Easter,

I think you may be missing my point when you say:

"I think some users falsely fall into a trap of thinking just because a program originates in another language/nation, that the creation is subject to issues"

I could care less if it came from China, Israel, Turkey or Iran for that matter - my point was that there is basically no information available about the company, it's "mission", the way software does what it does, the team who built it, etc.

Nobody is questioning that it can do what it claims, only with the lack of other info, it is what else it could possibly be doing that is a concern.

Mark.

[Chuck57]

Powershadow is being used in schools in China, so I'm sure the Govt knows about it. Whether they know exactly what it can do, who knows. Maybe China isn't as sealed off from the rest of the world as other Govt's would like us to believe.

As for being used in some abusive (illegal?) manner, no doubt, as could shadowuser/surfer, VMware, DeepFreeze, and the other virtual/sandbox type programs. Powershadow compares, in my opinion, to shadowuser only, as was said, does it better.

I find it a miracle that both haven't been declared illegal here under the Patriot Act, except that I don't see how they can stop people from downloading it from foreign servers. They (Govt) can make anything illegal, but the joy of the Internet is that if people people on the 'net don't like a law, they ignore it. It has to gall Govt's that the Internet even exists. The Internet is freedom and free speech. Governments all over the world hate both. Outlaw something in one country, those who want it go to another via the net and get it.

[EASTER.2010]

Yeah well ok, all that is topic for another discussion. Let's stay on topic here if possible.

The basic purpose for this discussion as i believe the author intended was to bring attention to an alternative sandbox that not only is issue free but doesn't give rise to problems similar to that what others have had to put up with.

ShadowSurfer/User comes to mind. Bufferzone, GreenBorder, Sandboxie, etc. they all have their respective places in sandboxing but the underlying question AND curiosity of most is just how effective is Power Shadow in comparison.

Well for my end there is no equal, at least none i'm aware of presently. I conduct daily and ongoing research into the dangers of malicious files/programs that are deliberately fashioned to do the utmost damage to an otherwise normal operating system, specifically Windows. Not so much damage per say but unauthorized disruption of people's services called the internet that they pay good money to have at their ready anytime day and night.

Just one intrusion or only a single unrequested forced entry into these PC machines and an entire (single) computer can be at risk to being fashioned as a zombie in order to distribute anything determined on it that can fan out over the rest of a network, not to mention gravely limiting the performance and operation for which it was intended of in the first place.

Power Shadow serves multiple purposes. In my case, it saves enormous frustration from having to track down those malicious entries and pick out their settings which can measure in the tens of dozens if not more. For example registry entries that are tied to drivers/services which can interupt normal usage.

A program like Power Shadow saves a user the heartache and disappointment of having to hunt thru the entire makeup of the windows tree in order to remove entries that serve no useful purpose whatsoever for the end user.

It's extremely comforting to test new programs that might not be coded as well as you might expect and instead of leaving setings behind to gum up and in some cases cause slow downs from the usual performance enjoyed before, this program affords a user a test bed whereby after examining matters they can decide if it is trustworthy and reliable or if not, you can rest assured nothing on your computer is been either compromised or disrupted permanantly.

[Chuck57]

-{ Quote: "Easter,

I think you may be missing my point when you say:

"I think some users falsely fall into a trap of thinking just because a program originates in another language/nation, that the creation is subject to issues"

I could care less if it came from China, Israel, Turkey or Iran for that matter - my point was that there is basically no information available about the company, it's "mission", the way software does what it does, the team who built it, etc.

Nobody is questioning that it can do what it claims, only with the lack of other info, it is what else it could possibly be doing that is a concern.

Mark." }-

The info might be there in Chinese. I don't know. I know attempts to contact the company have failed, but it is a registered company in Beijing, so it does exist.

As for how it works, seems to be a virtual rather than sandbox type of environment, similar to Shadowuser only better. Whoever the team that developed it are, they're good. As for it doing anything else, my firewall shows nothing in the logs. I have PS blocked just in case. My computer runs great, no strange anythings happening.

[Woody777]

The Patriot act allows many things. but one of the things it probably does not allow is declaring software illegal. I think you would need a specific law doing this & then where would you stop? As for its malware removal capabilities & software testing capabilities Power Shadow is awesome. I personally believe that the Patriot Act is knee jerk patriotism & will be slowly phased out. Exactly what did it accomplish anyway? Law enforcement could do most of things the Patriot Act codifies anyway with the proper w rents anyway. The President always did have power to pursue bad guys with unmitigated power. I never understood why we needed it. At any rate I am glad we have a Program like Power Shadow.It will be interesting to see the reaction of law enforcement when they finally find out about it. Probably the same as the Chinese.

[Chuck57]

For me, Easter, Power Shadow just saves time when I go on one of my penchants for downloading and trying out stuff. Like you said, the programs don't uninstall everything and I was reformatting every year or so. No more need to do that now. And, if I pick up something from a supposedly safe download, or from a presumed safe site, it can run crazy in a virtual environment thinking it's wrecking my computer. When I'm tired of watching it, I hit reboot or manually reboot and it's dead.

[Woody777]

Interesting that Ensurebit software located & registered in Beijing China has over 30000 different programs available. The most prominent being " Fun WebCam" Also Wondershare & some video & photography Programs. There is a separate site for PowerShadow. Its almost like Ensurebit software is a distributor type company marketing Power Shadow> . Exactly what this means I don't know.

[Chuck57]

Didn't know about any of the other programs. I've never checked. From the number of programs, it sounds as if they're a reseller/distributor rather than the builder. Whoever makes Power Shadow, some companies here could sure learn from them.

[solarpowered candle]

well it could make a lot of security software redundant. possibly wouldnt go down too well.

[Chuck57]

Very true, solar. It's made most other stuff redundant - and non existent - on my computer. I've taken off everything but ccleaner, AVG antispyware, an antivirus, and firewall. My av and AVG AS have a very easy job these days. I suspect they feel as if they're in retirement for all the work they have to do, and I still run them, weekly now rather than daily. Ccleaner too doesn't have much work to do.

[Perman]

Hi, folks: The following are for your info only.
I found a forum discussing Power Shadow (all in Chinese). First Let me recap few things. This company is a registered software development identity, 100% legal, no hidden agenda. Its chief engineer had a lengthy interview w/ one of leading IT magazines, in it, he mentioned PS has been available in US since May,2005, and has over 20,000 copies sold, he decided to introduce it in China in Dec.2006, and free for all non-commercial users. That interview was made on 2006-11-27. Apparently, PS did have a forum and have since closed for an unknown reason. On the forum which I unearthed, there are 380 postings between 2006-12-11 and 2007-2-5. 99% of them are positive ones, very similair to what we have seen on Wilders. Common prombles are registration related. None has mentioned about phoning home issue. In general, PS has been favorably accepted in China. Some users even joked about the future of AV,AT and AS apps. They agree that the dependance on those apps has gradually faded. I can communicate in Chinese, but my PC's keyboard is not equipped w/ Chinese characters and am not trained how to use them.

BTW, for Ktango, I received your PM, I will look at the link to see whether I can translate it for you in the morning.

[Chuck57]

So, I take it no problems with Power Shadow not doing its job. And, they're right about the future of anti/virus/trojan/spyware if this little treasure becomes really well known. Like me:turn on the computer in morning, get antivirus and spyware update, go into shadow mode, do surfing or forum posting. Then reboot, and do my writing for a couple of hours. Then, back in Shadow mode until I shut down.

When my browser is up, I'm in shadow mode. It just makes good sense, even with very safe surfing habits.

[EASTER.2010]

-{ Quote: "When my browser is up, I'm in shadow mode. It just makes good sense, even with very safe surfing habits" }-.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[ktango]

-{ Quote: "

BTW, for Ktango, I received your PM, I will look at the link to see whether I can translate it for you in the morning." }-

Thank you very much, My english is not good enough to translate this thread correctly. It should be useful for all Power Shadow users.

[EASTER.2010]

Thank You to all these members for participating in this very unique topic and especially it's author. It's very rare indeed that a topic such as this draws as much interest as it has but it's also been a very timely one as well as an important subject which is been greatly needed at a time when security takes on so much interest for PC safety then ever before.

I hope everyone can and will benefit from these discussions that have been brought to the surface and that you will discover how important it is to examine for yourselves what it means to keep your computer completely safe like this program can offer us.