The unofficial Shadow Defender Support Thread.

I don't think it's irrelevant Robin; as I said I service many of those machines on a regular basis and I have never seen loss of settings happening. The owners of the machines have never reported this issue to me either.

Of course this is a valid issue that affects some users but it also depends with specific software being installed on C: People have been mentioning certain software that have been affected but so far we don't have enough data for a one-fix-fits-all kind of solution. At the moment the statistical sample we have is the few people who have reported this problem in this forum, or in the SD forum in the past. It is hardly a huge sample when compared to the vast majority of SD users who face no such problems, and who won't ever log into a forum to report so.

Personally I always keep my Windows install as clean and lean as I can. I always use standalone/portable programs running from a different partition, in order to avoid any chances of such incompatibilities from taking place. I only install stuff on C: when they are not available as standalones. My mantra is that the less stuff you have installed on C: the better, and I try to instill the same philosophy to my friends and clients. Maybe that's why I have 70+ SD machines under my belt with only one failure and no SD-related reported problems whatsoever.

 

Given that you install/run software in a manner that would deliberately avoid corruption by SD, you can hardly then claim that your 70+ users is a endorsement of the reliability of Shadow Defender!!!!!!

Also, the suggestion that because there are only a handful of users reporting the problem within this thread then the corruption problem is relatively small, is idle speculation. Most (if not all?) of us who have posted about corruption are long-term Wilders members. We have not just joined this forum to post about our SD problems. So on that basis is it not more reasonable to assume that the level of problems posted in this thread are actually representative of the real world?

 

Some people are experiencing problems when using Shadow Defender, (that's undeniable) (maybe with Shadow Defender in conjunction with particular apps or drivers) but because there is no consistancy of complaint or fluid reaction to complaint this has the effect of undermining user confidence in the product and in particular because it is a security product, a workday tool, (not a gimmick or toy) which people rely on to be dependable and consistant in all the aspects, conditions and environments that it might be used in.
As I've said many times a program like this can never succeed without fluid open dialogue, "transparency" from the developer and a mutual user/developer input. I cite once again Sandboxie/Ronen Tzur/forum model of user developer relationship and product development as almost ideal.
I also think for Shadow Defender development that language and cultural differences are getting in the way of an open and vigorous development.
I am convinced of the need for another dedicated Shadow Defender forum based on more robust software which Tony would visit daily, be involved and consistantly input. I know that this is a big ask for a busy, one man developer but as things are at present users feel dis-enfranchised and in the dark.
With Sandboxie (for example), if you are an active forum member there is the feeling that you are part of the development and a club/fraternity. people are excited, optimistic, and have the sense of belonging and I'd like to see Shadow Defender go in the same direction.

 

I'm not a moderator but please let's keep on topic and not start with personal comments or insults.

 

You make some great points there Patrick. Lack of communication and transparency is, on occasions, a serious problem for SD.

 

Good points, I also would like to see the dedicated SD forum returning with Tony participating full time.

 

I wish there was some way to actually prove it's actually Tony that is working on SD right now. I'm not positive it is him.

 

ot posts removed. Stay civil

 

Hi CE,

Are you aware that 'tonycn' logged-in just a few months ago to prove that he is who he professes to be? So either this Tony actually is the original developer of SD or else this Tony somehow got tonycn's password.

TS

 

Valid point there Scoobs. My point is that this method works, and I am hardly the only one who likes to keep their C: partition as lean as possible. I can only judge a method by its results, and keeping C: trimmed most certainly saves from many future headaches.

I agree that problems exist and that a solution must be found. I still don't think that such problems are as widespread as some of us think. This is my personal opinion and right or wrong, I still have the right to express it. People with problems are always the most vocal ones (and rightly so), and that's true with any software.

One thing is pretty certain: Tony will need a lot of input from affected users in order to fix this. Everyone affected by such issues should e-mail Tony directly, rather than just posting here.

 

I'm convinced that this is the same Tony as the original Tony, I know that the situation has been rather strange and we've all been left pretty much in the dark about what has gone on but I'm finding that my communication with him now is just like before his disappearance.

Patrick

 

shadow defender

Does Shadow defender run well with Rollback rx.

 

Re: shadow defender

I have used them together in the past on XP Pro x32 SP3. They worked well together except I never tried using Rollback Rx while in Shadow Mode. I never expected to be able to use them together while in Shadow Mode so I never tried to.

 

I'm well aware that a post was made with Tony's login credentials a few months ago. I'm also well aware that Shadow Defender's site, and forum was taken over by an unknown person or persons. If they were able to do this then it probably would have been trivial to steal his Wilders credentials as well. I'm not trying to be negative, but i'm just being real about the whole situation. I sent Tony an email to the SD support recently asking what had happened to him along with a bug report. He answered the bug report portion, but didn't address my concern that he was indeed Tony. That doesn't mean he is not Tony. I sure hope it is him because I have been really concerned about his well being. I just have to be honest that I have seen no proof that it is indeed him. At this stage I don't really know how he could prove this. The person to have the closest relationship to him is Patrick, and I don't believe he has really explained anything to him as well. The installer is signed Yang Ping. I don't know if his name is Tony Yang Ping, or that is his name at all. Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I don't have the needed information to know whether it is him or not. I hope it is him.

 

If I was using any SSD drives, and were affected I would. I'm using 300 GB velociraptors 10,000 rpm, and Western digital 300 GB 7,500 rpm drives which I have had no issues with. If I remember correctly the cache sizes for all of them were 64 mbs. I'm not positive though since they are in storage right now The next machine I build I will make it a point to use an SSD drive.

 

I recently went back to using SD 1.1.0.325 since the latest version caused my Laptop which I am using now to become unbootable. It could have been an incompatibility issue between SD, and another security application i'm using. It may have even been a driver conflict with intel's Rapid Storage technology driver on this machine. I couldn't get a dump file, and I had to use my Laptop since it's all I have at the moment. I have 6 desktops which are all in storage right now.

 

How come you took such a long break from the forum Cut? Were you travelling?

 

I had a lot going on in my life. I needed a break.It was just so hard to keep up with all the threads. I had surgery 3 years ago for acid reflex (GERD), and the doctor that did it really screwed me up. I almost died of starvation. I went from 180 lbs to 110 lbs in only 4 months. I have been in pain every day since. I have improved over the past 3 years, but I don't believe I will ever be the same. I had to resign from my job due to complications from the surgery, and now i'm changing career fields. I'm going back to school now to get a degree in Networking.

 

Damn........Best of luck to you.

 

Thanks DBone!

 

OR, Tony sold his interests to someone who is not very good in developing SD anymore.

Maybe, Tony realized that there is no more market for his product, only few individuals. A program which needs continues development requires a big market of many, many corporate organizations. Tony followers were few and maybe he was not making the money considering the efforts he was putting in the project. So, he stopped the development. Later, someone approached him and bought his rights to the product.

Tony needs to prove that he is TONY.

Best regards,

 

I am 100% with you.

Sorry, to hear about your health problems and nice to know that you are now improving. Keep up the good work.

Best regards,

 

Dearest Patrick,

I am still not sure that it proves it is TONY. He might has sold his rights to someone else who is now developing SD, but Tony in this agreement, might be selectively communicating with you to prove that he is TONY.

SD has always been famous with few computer enthusiasts, but never caught on with the corporate market, as the development of SD relied on only one individual (Tony) rather than a team, and when that individual disappeared for whatever reasons the development stopped.

One of my favorite program Sandboxie suffers from the same fate.

Best regards,

 

I can't prove that it is Tony but his mannerisms are exactly the same, He wasn't a big "talker" even when he was posting on his own Shadow Defender forum or when he posted here in earlier years.
I believe that Shadow Defender is one person and that is Tony.
He told me not long ago that a page of English gives him a headache.
Tony is obviously reluctant or unable to talk about what happened when he disappeared. I have put most of the questions asked on here on Wilders to him directly but with no direct answer. He will often say
"I'll look into it" if you report a bug and get back to you pretty quickly if he is able to identify a problem and of course he's tried to address the ssd issue and windows 8 and CyberMan969's ramcache request.
I believe the development of Shadow Defender since Tony's return is consistant with the rate of development prior to his disappearance.

 

Dearest Patrick,

I am the fifth person who scribed to this thread which was started by Cutting_EdgeTech on February 15th, 2011, 02:39 AM. Check the very first page of this thread.

I scribed to this thread on February 15th, 2011, 08:20 AM, six hours later. And, have been a member of this thread from the moment onwards, long before others joined in. Have been keeping up for a very, very long time, almost two years now.

Best regards,