The unofficial Shadow Defender Support Thread.

unfortunately it’s the end fo me too after more than 10 years of good service. Two BSOD in one week. Probably the best program investment I ever made.

 

I wonder if the dev decided to open source the product, could someone else have kept updating it like what happened with Sandboxie.

 

For the past 5 years I've been running SD on Win10 without any problems whatsoever with 'core isolation' (and 'fast startup') disabled. Recent posts by @Mr.X, @digmor crusher, @Antarctica and @Osaban re SD causing BSODs on Win11 is very concerning as I'm about to upgrade to Win11.
I'm wondering if that issue is due to 'core isolation' being enabled on Win11 (as that would cause a similar issue on Win10)? I have no problem disabling 'core isolation', but if some other Win11 incompatibility is causing this issue I simply won't upgrade!

 

Do it!
I missed to come back here and inform that disabling 'core isolation' on W11 solved the problem. Fwiw I did a new clean install not upgrade from 10 to 11.
I can't recall doing so on Windows 10 last time I installed it about 2 yrs ago /scratching head

 

Thanks for that feedback - I thought that could be the culprit because starting with Windows 11's Feature Update 22H2, 'core isolation' is enabled by default (and SD aside, 'core isolation' is known to cause performance issues)!
Windows 11's core isolation security feature is now on by default

 

That SD is not compatible with Core Isolation has been known for a long time. Besides that, in my case, Windows 11 has never enabled Core Isolation "by default". I am on 23H2.

 

So are you running SD on Win11 23H2 without any issues?

 

Yes. Also on Windows 10, in which I use it more frequently.

 

Until now I do not use Windows 11 very often, but from this experience I can say the same as Mr.X and Robin A.: With disabled core isolation I have no issues concerning SD.

 

In my case it really was enabled. Fresh clean install from scratch, Windows 11 23H2.

 

Monolithic 'monocultures' have never had much regard for the struggles of third party developers/developments and in many cases the wishes/desires/fears of their own users. They stand apart, as fortresses against external innovation.
As for the users, our idea of 'security' or 'privacy', is not the same as theirs.
It's a constant fight with 'core' operating system developers as a third party software producer not to get your product completely nullified in a wave of 'like it or lump it' or, so completely distorted out of shape with you trying to play 'catch up', that it loses it's core value and unique selling proposition, even if it could remain viable with some co-operation.
These additions of virtual compartmentalisation to 'protect' hardware etc are self referential, only, and third part developers or consumers will not be allowed to get in the way of ingrained developmental goals.
Usually if you turn these virtual aspects off in these operating systems Shadow Defender will work. It works very well with a 'real' system, not a system with 'virtual' aspects which fragment and isolate from what Shadow Defender has access to.
W11 is maybe not that different from W10, only in that some of these virtual aspects are turned on by default.
I'm not familiar with W11 so that is purely conjecture on my part.

 

@Mr.X, @Robin A., @Peter 123,
I really appreciate receiving your confirmation re SD - Win11 compatibility. Now I will upgrade my Win10 laptop to Win11.

 

The fact that Windows Core Isolation won’t allow Shadow Defender to install is evidence of how tight and effective Windows Security has become. I found out the hard way (see post #6725), as I had to restore an image with Macrium, and as the image was 1 week old, I lost 1 week of hard work.

I will still keep SD on Win 10, but I think on Win11 it has become redundant. Macrium paid version can create an incremental backup in less than a minute, and restore an image in about 2 minutes (these times can only get faster in the future). It is basically the same time (a little bit more than SD) as entering and exiting shadow mode. I still think SD is a great program, but objectively speaking I don’t need it anymore on Win 11.

 

Your hardware and system partition size may facilitate those enviable backup/restore times, but as much as I hold MR in high regard for my image-backups, my backup and restore times are nowhere near those that you enjoy (especially when restoring an incremental that's dependent on prior incrementals in the chain)!

 

Just to clarify, I was running SD on W10.

 

Hey dc, thanks for the clarification, but do you recall if 'core isolation' was enabled or disabled when you experienced those BSODs? I've been running SD on Win10 Pro for 5+ years without any BSODs (with 'core isolation' disabled).

 

I'm pretty sure it was disabled. I ran it for years too with no problems until one day they just popped up.

 

Have you checked if Core Isolation/Memory Integrity was enabled?

 

Its off.

 

Is there any free alternative to Shadow Defender? Or a paid equivalent solution?

 

I used ShadowDefender for years before switching to DeepFreeze by Faronics.
Not free but lifetime license, just pay if you need major updates to the program.

 

Is there anything that works like Shadow Defender | Wilders Security Forums

 

I found DF difficult to exclude files.

 

Deep Freeze is used mainly for University Computer Labs or similar multiple computer LANs and that sort of thing (offices etc), to run on all PCs, so that when students/ workers/staff, either inadvertently or on purpose wreck a pc structure, it can, at the end of that day, with one button, set all the lab back, to default settings. It seems to be a tool for a Sysop ( system operator) and as I remember, sort of 'clunky' for personal individual use. I haven't , though, used it for a long time.

 

Oddly enough but at the same time comforting, Shadow Defender's website is back. I really hope, I wish from the bottom of my heart, Tony doesn't let die this wonderful program.
https://www.shadowdefender.com/index.html