ShadowUser vs DeepFreeze vs FD-ISR vs...

Discussion in 'sandboxing & virtualization' started by Genady Prishnikov, Jan 14, 2007.

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  1. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    I know many of you are into testing various applications like Shadow User, Deep Freeze, Bufferzone, FD-ISR, Sandboxie and all of those. The only one I have used is Deep Freeze. However, I have not used it on personal computer.

    What arguments for/against these programs are real versus just preference? I know they are not all designed for the same objective, but close in their mission.

    Does one stand out for ease of use?

    Other similar apps I should look at besides those mentioned above?

    Comparisons, warnings, suggestions are welcome.
     
  2. vhick

    vhick Registered Member

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    sir it depends on your needs. just try them out. this every software is a very good product. first i thought rollback rx suit my needs but when i try fd-isr, i thought is suite my need and even more...
     
  3. AaLF

    AaLF Registered Member

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    I have True Image at present which I am satisfied with. With all possible fiddling included the turn around time is less than ten minutes. Sounds a lot. But not if things don't 'stuff up' regularly.

    I have yet to jump into 1stDef. But I have toyed with SU under trial. Great concept. But... manual rebooting is a pain. And to activate SU you gotta reboot. Same to exit. And if you're deep into something important and forget....aaaggghhh.

    True Image, 1stDef, Rollback etc at least are automated. When SU can create a 'mode change' without reboot... it'll be a contender for the throne.
     
  4. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    True Image is a good program, but I wouldn't put it into the same class of product. It's strictly a drive image program, right?

    Both of you mentioned Rollback. That's one I failed to put on my list. Thanks - that's very similar to the others and worthy of comparison.

    I'd love to read a pros and cons from some who have trialed all (or some) of these programs.
     
  5. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    To me FDISR has one huge advantage. You can archive to an external drive. I keep one working(primary) snapshot on my disk, and one stripped down secondary snapshot that simply serves as a place to boot if I need to. I keep the archive updated as it is so quick to do, and when I need to roll back I just boot to the secondary, and refresh the primary. Also I can keep several "flavors" of archives for different purposes.
     
  6. Perman

    Perman Registered Member

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    Hi,folks: I am a happy camper of Deep Freeze standard . It has provided me the sense of security I need, of course w/ some loss of flexibility, but it is a good tradeoff. I notice that there is another app very similiar to ShadowUser Pro, which name is Clean Slate, produced by a US company, Fortres Grand corp. By reading at its web site, it does resemble to ShadowUser Pro. I did not try, therefore can not say more than just this. IMO, it worths some sort of exploring. Have a nice one.
     
  7. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    I saw that in the documentation, Peter. That is a big plus, no doubt.


    I've never heard of Clean Slate, I'll have to check it out.

    Any other comparisons and thoughts are welcome!
     
  8. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    I have never tried any of the other programs that you have mentioned. when I finish this e-mail I'm off to have coffee. while I'm away I will restore a system image that I made 7 hours ago. I have been messing around with wireless network printers for a few hours, loaded a test malware program and a couple of other demos. Now while I'm away my system will be restored to the state it was in 7 hours ago. I'm probably doing too much testing because each day I probably make and restore images several times a day.

    So what is it about these other programs that might make them better or more appropriate ? do they restore exactly or are they just restore the essentials.

    I would like to give one or two of them a trial but have been unable so far to see where the killer benefit would come from.
     
  9. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Time. I can refresh the archive before testing in about a minute. Restoring the archive is still much quicker the restoring images, and I also do a lot of that.

    Pete

    PS And yes it is exact.
     
  10. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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    I can give you some feedback for ShadowUser, which I have been using daily for more than a year. It has never failed to do what it was programmed for, that is to give you a truly safe internet session with the possibility to save almost anything while you are on virtual mode.

    Yes rebooting can delay some, but I only reboot when I have to update Windows or install a new program (once a month, usually).

    I'd say you are looking at a very reliable application with an easy learning curve which will protect you from malware that might not yet be in your AV signatures (including spyware).

    If you are a 'beta tester' then some of the other programs mentioned in this thread might be more suitable.
     
  11. ratchet

    ratchet Registered Member

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  12. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    For example, Deep Freeze, which is the only one I have personally ever used, is setup the way you want it (a 'perfect' frozen state) and then everytime you reboot it brings back your frozen state byte for byte. You can only change your 'frozen state' by rebooting in a 'thawed' state. So, your perfect image is only a reboot away, no programs to run.
     
  13. Perman

    Perman Registered Member

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    Hi, folks: I used ATI before, as I remember correctly, the only safe and secure area (in terms of malware attack) is its secured partition. Its working partition is not immune to malware alteration. Therefore my suspicion is when you restore it back to images of 7 hours ago, the malwares may just be carried over and subsequently infect the restored image. Unless you do it w/ the one in secured zone. ATI is good for image backup, as long as your system is safe and clean all the time. A slight slip of care, your system could be tainted. Just speak out of my own painful experiences. :)
     
  14. jake8man

    jake8man Registered Member

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