The unofficial Shadow Defender Support Thread.

[Osaban]

Therefore it is not affecting boot time, is it?

[atomomega]

Originally Posted by Osaban

Therefore it is not affecting boot time, is it?

TBH, I haven't timed it, I'm not that peeky.
But, I'm sure it doesn't increase it a lot. I just like to boot with as few autorun/autostart entries as possible, that's all.

[Osaban]

Well the reason of my original query was related to my booting time with Windows 8 which is unaffected, 12 seconds to see the desktop. I tend to think without any slowdowns it is convenient to have SD on the tray.

[bo elam]

Originally Posted by Osaban

Hi Bo, SD by default starts with Windows, any specific reasons for changing the setting?

I use Shadow defender on demand, maybe one day out ten so I really don't need to have the program start with Windows.

Boot time. I had SD start with Windows during the first few months that I used the program, personally I cant tell any difference in boot time in two computers either way.

Bo

[EASTER]

Shadow Defender on demand here

Just barely trims a minute few seconds off bootup time which overall is insignificant. This is on Windows 8 of course.

Man i am geeked to the upteenth power with how extremely reliable SD performs over and over again with ease.

[Dundertaker]

Originally Posted by bo elam

You can also commit files by right clicking on them and clicking commit.

I don't have SD start with Windows so after rebooting if I don't see the SD icon by the clock in the taskbar, then I know that I am out of shadow mode. Also, if the SD icon is blue it means you are in shadow mode, yellow means you are not in shadow mode.

Bo

Oh I did not see that..Will definitely try that(right-click). That will save me from searching all that is changed. I'll just create a folder where to place it all once I am in SD mode (maybe the desktop) and from there right-click>commit.

Thanks!

[CyberMan969]

Originally Posted by EASTER

Shadow Defender on demand here

Just barely trims a minute few seconds off bootup time which overall is insignificant. This is on Windows 8 of course.

Man i am geeked to the upteenth power with how extremely reliable SD performs over and over again with ease.

I used to have it on demand too, but I then realized that with the RAM cach option enabled I could be running the virtual system directly from super-fast RAM. I now scheduled Shadow Mode for C: on every reboot, with 4000MB RAM buffer allocated. So far I've left the testbed switched on for 4 days and nights (with some heavy usage in between), and SD has only eaten through 2700MB out of its allocated cache. Not bad cache usage I'd say.

I understand that no everyone can assing this much RAM, but this works well even with less RAM. On my laptop I only have 4 GB of RAM and I assigned 2000MB to SD. It still gave me a good 4 days of usage before it came anywhere near its limit. Most people would commit and reboot much sooner than that anyway, and the cache would be refreshed.

Biggest benefits of SD RAM cache:

Speed
When the virtual system runs directly from RAM, it flies.

Device longevity:
When the virtual system runs in RAM your protected volumes won't take any write hits until you choose to manually commit data to them. This is especially beneficial to devices with limited IOPS like SSDs, memory cards, flash sticks etc.

Data Privacy/Security:
No disk hits also means no disk traces of deleted data left behind. It all stays in RAM and gets flushed at the next reboot, which is perfect for the more paranoid among us.

BTW: Latest from Tony:

http://shadowdefenderforum.com/index.php?topic=41.0

[renod29]

Hello guys,

I've been using Shadow Defender for months right now and so far it doing fine to me. But one time when I disable my SD to install a game and enable it again. And when I restart my computer the background in my desktop was error it says "Active Desktop Recovery". And I disable and enable my SD again to change my background but when I restart it again, the error in the desktop is still their. How to solve this thing? BTW I'm using Shadow Defender 1.1.0.325

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by renod29

Hello guys,

I've been using Shadow Defender for months right now and so far it doing fine to me. But one time when I disable my SD to install a game and enable it again. And when I restart my computer the background in my desktop was error it says "Active Desktop Recovery". And I disable and enable my SD again to change my background but when I restart it again, the error in the desktop is still their. How to solve this thing? BTW I'm using Shadow Defender 1.1.0.325

Which version of Windows are you running (is it XP )? ...as I recall, that was an IE error under XP (and I really doubt that SD caused that error) ...also, how exactly did you disable/enable SD when that happened?

[EASTER]

Originally Posted by CyberMan969

I used to have it on demand too, but I then realized that with the RAM cach option enabled I could be running the virtual system directly from super-fast RAM. I now scheduled Shadow Mode for C: on every reboot, with 4000MB RAM buffer allocated. So far I've left the testbed switched on for 4 days and nights (with some heavy usage in between), and SD has only eaten through 2700MB out of its allocated cache. Not bad cache usage I'd say.

I understand that no everyone can assing this much RAM, but this works well even with less RAM. On my laptop I only have 4 GB of RAM and I assigned 2000MB to SD. It still gave me a good 4 days of usage before it came anywhere near its limit. Most people would commit and reboot much sooner than that anyway, and the cache would be refreshed.

Biggest benefits of SD RAM cache:

Speed
When the virtual system runs directly from RAM, it flies.

Device longevity:
When the virtual system runs in RAM your protected volumes won't take any write hits until you choose to manually commit data to them. This is especially beneficial to devices with limited IOPS like SSDs, memory cards, flash sticks etc.

Data Privacy/Security:
No disk hits also means no disk traces of deleted data left behind. It all stays in RAM and gets flushed at the next reboot, which is perfect for the more paranoid among us.

BTW: Latest from Tony:

http://shadowdefenderforum.com/index.php?topic=41.0

Thanks for passing along Tony's correspondence. Hearing anything from Tony is encouraging. I had a really good sense that it was just about time for him to release another new update to his great SD.

I did forget to mention that on Windows 8 i commit a mere 1024 = 1Gb memory to it's cache. More then enough on this end to ensure & complete session business.

[renod29]

Originally Posted by majoMo

Are you using Win XP?

Yes, Win XP Home Edition

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Which version of Windows are you running (is it XP )? ...as I recall, that was an IE error under XP (and I really doubt that SD caused that error) ...also, how exactly did you disable/enable SD when that happened?

I'm using Win XP Home Edition. I disabled my SD by clicking "Exit All Shadow Mode" in Mode Setting and after the installation was finish I click "Enter All Shadow Mode" to enable the SD. And when I restart or turn off/on my computer the desktop background was in error. Is this only happen in Win XP?

[bo elam]

Originally Posted by renod29

And when I restart or turn off/on my computer the desktop background was in error. Is this only happen in Win XP?

It has never happened on mine (or in my Windows7).

Bo

[TomAZ]

Originally Posted by renod29

Yes, Win XP Home Edition

I'm using Win XP Home Edition. I disabled my SD by clicking "Exit All Shadow Mode" in Mode Setting and after the installation was finish I click "Enter All Shadow Mode" to enable the SD. And when I restart or turn off/on my computer the desktop background was in error. Is this only happen in Win XP?

I used to have a somewhat similar problem with that version of SD and most of the other earlier versions as well on my XP system. I'm still using XP, but now with SD 1.2.0.376 I haven't had one single problem.

[TomAZ]

Originally Posted by CyberMan969

I understand that no everyone can assing this much RAM, but this works well even with less RAM. On my laptop I only have 4 GB of RAM and I assigned 2000MB to SD.

I basically use SD for testing a piece of software on my XP system from time to time and I only have a total of 2GB of RAM. For this "testing" purpose, would it be safe to assign 500MB to 1000MB in order to use the SD RAM cache option - or isn't it really necessary for just testing software?

[EASTER]

Originally Posted by CyberMan969

I used to have it on demand too, but I then realized that with the RAM cach option enabled I could be running the virtual system directly from super-fast RAM. I now scheduled Shadow Mode for C: on every reboot, with 4000MB RAM buffer allocated. So far I've left the testbed switched on for 4 days and nights (with some heavy usage in between), and SD has only eaten through 2700MB out of its allocated cache. Not bad cache usage I'd say.

I understand that no everyone can assing this much RAM, but this works well even with less RAM. On my laptop I only have 4 GB of RAM and I assigned 2000MB to SD. It still gave me a good 4 days of usage before it came anywhere near its limit. Most people would commit and reboot much sooner than that anyway, and the cache would be refreshed.

Biggest benefits of SD RAM cache:

Speed
When the virtual system runs directly from RAM, it flies.

Device longevity:
When the virtual system runs in RAM your protected volumes won't take any write hits until you choose to manually commit data to them. This is especially beneficial to devices with limited IOPS like SSDs, memory cards, flash sticks etc.

Data Privacy/Security:
No disk hits also means no disk traces of deleted data left behind. It all stays in RAM and gets flushed at the next reboot, which is perfect for the more paranoid among us.

BTW: Latest from Tony:

http://shadowdefenderforum.com/index.php?topic=41.0

Agree completely on all the myriad advantages of SD and especially the RAM cache option. It's likely one of the best features ever added to an already sturdy LV framework. My Win 8 unit also sports a mere 4gb memory and i quickly discovered by checking in on system status that in all the activity i was putting it thru it didn't consume as much RAM cache as i expected. Anything extra Tony decides to add such as requested features of "block driver loading" and " virtualize all" and the like can only serve to lock this app up tight in the Legendary category of best ever windows programs.

I been laboring very hard just to find a reasonably solid but fluffy lite HIPS for x64 but i guess those 32bit developers aren't ready to spring for a MS x64 driver signature yet.Outpost SS and Comodo. both for me exhibit way too much drag on a system to be of any real use let alone forking out for a fee just to bog your own system down.

It's coming to the point (in this camp anyway) that a single comprehensive and feather-lite LV technology such as Shadow Defender employs coupled with a Sandboxie then those complimented with a dependable Roll-Back/Imaging app is perhaps the most stable and best security a user would ever want.

[CyberMan969]

Originally Posted by EASTER

Agree completely on all the myriad advantages of SD and especially the RAM cache option. It's likely one of the best features ever added to an already sturdy LV framework. My Win 8 unit also sports a mere 4gb memory and i quickly discovered by checking in on system status that in all the activity i was putting it thru it didn't consume as much RAM cache as i expected. Anything extra Tony decides to add such as requested features of "block driver loading" and " virtualize all" and the like can only serve to lock this app up tight in the Legendary category of best ever windows programs.

I been laboring very hard just to find a reasonably solid but fluffy lite HIPS for x64 but i guess those 32bit developers aren't ready to spring for a MS x64 driver signature yet.Outpost SS and Comodo. both for me exhibit way too much drag on a system to be of any real use let alone forking out for a fee just to bog your own system down.

It's coming to the point (in this camp anyway) that a single comprehensive and feather-lite LV technology such as Shadow Defender employs coupled with a Sandboxie then those complimented with a dependable Roll-Back/Imaging app is perhaps the most stable and best security a user would ever want.

+1 Easter, the proactive protection afforded by antiexecution and drop rights/drivers/hooks should be able to keep a system safe. Still, for people who want more mainstream uses out of their computers, such options may be limiting for their intended uses. Those users could still use SD with such options disabled, alonside conventional antimalware protection.

These future SD options are not there to compete with existing more traditional protections. They rather supplement them into a multi-layered system security shield.