Shadow defender or returnil ?

[Firebytes]

Originally Posted by jpcummins

My Returnil 2008 Free Addition, which I have used for years and was very happy with, recently expired. I didn't use it that often but it surprised me because I believed it to be Free, no strings attached.

I still use Returnil Virtual System 2008 on my XP systems and it does expire annually. You just have to uninstall and then reinstall it to get another year of use.

[jpcummins]

Question now is does anyone know where I might download Returnil Virtual System 2008? I have looked on the internet but with no luck. It may be listed but when I attempt to download the site takes me to Returnil Virtual System 2011. I appreciate all replies and would thank you in advance.

John

[caspian]

I sent you a PM.

[jpcummins]

I am still trying to find where I might download the free Returnil Virtual System 2008. Caspian, I tried your advice I was not successful. I have tried Google but when I visited sites suggested and downloaded the program the file ends up full of malware. I have tried the latest verison of the free Returnil but for whatever reason it has not worked and has ended up causing me problems when I uninstalled it. If anyone knows where I might be able to safely download the free Returnil Virtual System 2008 file I would appreciate it very much. As always I appreciate all replies and would thank you in advance.

John

[AlexC]

Hy jpcummins, have you considered Toolwiz Time Freeze?

I was a long time user of Shadow Defender but I dropped it because it doesn't work in Win8.

Now I'm using TTF and it's very light and easy to use. It allows to exit the "shadow" session and save changes and re-enter the "shadow" session again without the need to reboot.

The only minus I see is that it isn't possible to set excluded folders, however it is possible to create a separate partition the won't be virtualized (I moved there my desktop and favorites folders).

[PJC]

Q Shadow Defender or Returnil?
A Shadow Defender

[AMIGA500]

Originally Posted by CyberMan969

All possible questions regarding SD have been repeatedly answered here:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showt...293075&page=01

Here's the short version: Shadow Defender 1.1.0.325 is the last known good version released before Tony, the SD developer, disappeared. Unknowns seem to have taken over the SD site. They keep selling the software without providing any form of support or answering any e-mails, and have released v1.1.0.331 without a changelog. Most people who know their sh*t and have been following SD for years now, are still sticking with v225.

Two full years after it was lastly updated, SD is still the ONLY software able to withstand and fully undo infections by sturdy rootkits like TDSS (me and many others don't consider v331 as a legitimate update). I cannot stress enough how true this is. Personally I have tested almost all light virtualization apps, and IMHO SD is still the simplest and BEST. Once you start using it and learn the ins and outs of the story behind it, you'll know what I mean. And like many others before you (including me) you'll probably feel a little bit foolish in regard to your initial reservations.

Hi,
Thanks for your brief and concise outline of the program.Ive never used SD and im intrigued but from what i can make out from your post it would be ill advised to attempt to purchase from the site.
Would i be right in saying this product is not actually being sold or distributed seeing as the developer has vanished.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by Beethoven1770

...Would i be right in saying this product is not actually being sold or distributed seeing as the developer has vanished

SD is being sold and distributed by shadowdefender.com and I bought my license from them. The transaction was handled by Avangate and proved reliable in that shortly after submitting payment (with PayPal) I received a license (registration no.) which btw works with builds 325 and 331.

However, while both of those builds worked smoothly with my prior WinXP x86 PC, I am experiencing a serious problem with the 64-bit version of SD on my new Win7 x64 laptop!

Cruise

[CyberMan969]

Originally Posted by Beethoven1770

Hi,
Thanks for your brief and concise outline of the program.Ive never used SD and im intrigued but from what i can make out from your post it would be ill advised to attempt to purchase from the site.
Would i be right in saying this product is not actually being sold or distributed seeing as the developer has vanished.

You're welcome mate!

Someone from the SD domain started answering e-mails again recently. He said he is Tony but there is no way to verify this. For all we know it could be just be a ploy by the current owners to pacify the SD die-hards who have been complaining for more than two years now.

BTW, after that initial contact and a few answered e-mails a couple of weeks ago, 'Tony' seems to have disappeared again. Before he vanished again he released a very belated (and most probably fake) changelog for v331. He only did this after my prompt, and many e-mails by Patrick (who is one of the original moderators of the SD forum).

I had asked Patrick to contact 'Tony' and ask him for a v331 changelog as a sign of good faith towards the long-suffering users of his software. After a few more e-mails by Patrick 'Tony' eventually published it, but of course it is unverifiable. Anyone can write whatever they want on a text file and post it as a changelog. The validity of a changelog can only be verified when direct and open communication exists between the developer and users of the software. In this case communication is a joke, so I'm also treating this new changelog as such. I have personally sent more than 30 e-mails to SD during the last year alone, and none were ever answered.

'Tony' hasn't answered any of Patrick's recent e-mails either. This shows no respect towards someone who has done good service to the software for free in the past and whose posts in here kept helping users despite the continued silence of the developer. I mean WTF, how long does it take to write down a few words and click SEND?

For the time being we're back into silence.

[Flexigav]

I am trying out these programs. First I have installed SD. It did give me one glitch...I set it up to enter shadow mode upon bootup, then couldn't exit from that mode as every time I tried to get into the SD management console to request it exit from shadow mode and not enter it again upon rebooting I got a SD app has stopped working pop up. It was still in shadow mode, only the SD management console crashed.

I discovered a conflict with a HIPS tool (PrivateFirewall) configuration that was working as a behavior blocking tool and was able to refine a rule (while in shadow mode) to allow the SD management console to work again. So I was able to exit shadow mode without it rebooting back into shadow mode. I was then able to set the rule in PrivateFirewall again outside of shadow mode and now all is good. The HIPS or behavior blocking tools will help prevent intruders from stealing personal information from your system while online even though in virtual mode for that extra peace of mind, but must be configured correctly as I found out here. Now my testing can continue!

[LockBox]

My three favorite "light" virtualization tools as of now:

1. Deep Freeze - the best. $$ Must buy annual license.

2. Wondershare Time Freeze 2 (can write to memory buffer vs hard disk) $$ but easily found coupons can bring the price down to around $24.95 - a one-time cost.
This is an excellent program.
(not to be mistaken for Toolwiz Time Freeze)

3. Drive Vaccine - simple. solid. One-time payment.

I'm not including Shadow Defender due to too many questions about the developer and its current development.
Returnil, eh. Much better products than this one, including others besides my favorites mentioned above.

[coffeetime]

For my win7 x64, Shadow Defender and Returnil both corrupts Firefox and other apps (lose your personalized settings, etc). Deep Freeze works great, if you don't use external drives via USB3 or eSata, because once you disconnect the external drives you'll get a BSOD.

Diskshot looks like another good alternative to the above mentioned, once they get the English translation done.

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=333366

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by LockBox

My three favorite "light" virtualization tools as of now:

1. Deep Freeze - the best. $$ Must buy annual license.

2. Wondershare Time Freeze 2 (can write to memory buffer vs hard disk) $$ but easily found coupons can bring the price down to around $24.95 - a one-time cost.
This is an excellent program.
(not to be mistaken for Toolwiz Time Freeze)

3. Drive Vaccine - simple. solid. One-time payment.

With all due respect, here are my dissenting opinions:

1. DF cannot be used on-demand - which hinders the way I like to use a PC (and it is very expensive)!

2. WTS' memory buffer implementation is buggy on my Win7 x64 - to the extent of crashing my system!

3. DV appears to be a specialized (single-snapshot & auto-restore on restart) version of Rollback Rx (i.e., not really an LV).

Most significantly, it has been shown that all 3 are vulnerable to TDSS rootkits - SD is still the reigning champ in that regard (if it's compatible with your system)! In any case I believe one should complement any LV with at least one additional security layer.

Just my 2-cents worth (besides which, the above is probably OT)...

Cruise

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by Cruise

3. DV appears to be a specialized (single-snapshot & auto-restore on restart) version of Rollback Rx (i.e., not really an LV).

That is correct. Drive Vaccine's functionality is based on RollBack Rx, including a similar MBR modification!

Originally Posted by Cruise

...In any case I believe one should complement any LV with at least one additional security layer.

I completely agree with that.

TS

[LockBox]

Originally Posted by Cruise

With all due respect, here are my dissenting opinions:

1. DF cannot be used on-demand - which hinders the way I like to use a PC (and it is very expensive)!

2. WTS' memory buffer implementation is buggy on my Win7 x64 - to the extent of crashing my system!

3. DV appears to be a specialized (single-snapshot & auto-restore on restart) version of Rollback Rx (i.e., not really an LV).

Most significantly, it has been shown that all 3 are vulnerable to TDSS rootkits - SD is still the reigning champ in that regard (if it's compatible with your system)! In any case I believe one should complement any LV with at least one additional security layer.

Just my 2-cents worth (besides which, the above is probably OT)...

Cruise

I'm going to focus on one thing - the definition of "light virtualization"... It is quite controversial and most of it based on mistaken beliefs regarding how these programs work. Are you under the impression that SD keeps everything in RAM? I ask because some do and that's just wrong. SD also writes to an app-created hidden partition. Call them "snapshots" or whatever, Drive Vaccine still commits nothing to the actual system partition without user-intervention and is clearly a "light virtualization" tool.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by LockBox

I'm going to focus on one thing - the definition of "light virtualization"... It is quite controversial and most of it based on mistaken beliefs regarding how these programs work. Are you under the impression that SD keeps everything in RAM? I ask because some do and that's just wrong. SD also writes to an app-created hidden partition. Call them "snapshots" or whatever, Drive Vaccine still commits nothing to the actual system partition without user-intervention and is clearly a "light virtualization" tool.

Hi LB,

No, I am not under the impression that SD keeps everything in RAM. Furthermore, I disagree that 'Drive Vaccine is clearly an LV tool' (as you suggest), although I do agree that the results obtained when using DV are very similar to that when using an LV.

Drive Vaccine uses RollBack Rx's engine, so to say that DV is an LV app is to imply that RollBack (RB) is an LV app, which is just not true. RB creates multiple persistent snapshots, by locking the disk sectors containing the system changes which occurred during the period when that snapshot was active. Although RB snapshots are persistent an RB user can easily restore any prior snapshot (including the baseline snapshot) if and when desired. On the other hand, DV is restricted to creating one non-persistent snapshot (beyond the baseline) in that upon a system restart DV simply restores the baseline snapshot automatically (so the results are indeed similar to that of an LV app).

Cruise

[The Shadow]

Nice explanation Cruise.