Deep Freeze vs Shadow Defender

I have been for a long while reluctant to buy DF license because I don't want to pay yearly fees. However after doing some more research here and calling their customer service I was told that the current license of DF on the website is lifetime and only the upgrades expire after a year. Also I can extend the upgrades every year by $10 which seems fair to me.
So now that DF and SD are on similar licensing agreements which one is better? I am planning to run Avira premium with either service.

 

The best way to decide which works better for your needs is to evaluate them yourself with Avira installed. Deep Freeze has an evaluation version. I don't know about Shadow Defender.


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rich

 

I prefer Deepfreeze over ShadowDefender as there's a well known Company behind it. You still can only guess who exactly does the development of ShadowDefender. I know it has been confirmend that the latest Versions of SD run properly and include some extra Features and also will get more in future Version but if I had to trust one or the other I would probably go for Deepfreeze. I don't want to say anything bad about SD. I have a license for it as well but I feel better somehow using Deepfreeze. I don't really Need the commit Feature as I have a large thawed Partition where I can store my files.

Overall both are excellent pieces of Software and I think it is more personal Preference which one to choose. If you want to exclude signatures I think it can be done easier with SD although you can do it with Deepfreeze as well. Faronics offers DataIgloo for These purposes. You can do it with Windows Tools as well.

 

I am trying both but I'd like to know cons and pros of each one as well. So far, DF looks much harder to set up with antivirus and dropbox than SD.

 

SD has unique features that DF does not. Have a look here for usage that can save your disks from a lot of hits:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=2237771#post2237771

Also my SD review with detailed tips of how to set up the system for optimal security.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/52...e-review-and-guide-shadow-defender/index.html

 

I've used DF in the past for the best part of a year, and it is a robust and reliable application. What I didn't like then was the difficulty to retain anything from the frozen mode (one could of course use a flash drive to download material to save, or having another thawed partition for this purpose). Entering frozen modes always required a reboot.

Shadow Defender is partly more versatile in its operation namely allowing shadow mode on the fly, and the convenient "commit" feature which would write any file or folder to the real volume with just two clicks. When doing extensive research on the web SD was more suitable than DF in my opinion.

Static environments, computers with several users, children, are best managed by DF. SD is more suitable for people who don't always need virtualization, with a certain amount of granularity.

Antivirus seems to be a problem for many people as it is difficult to have it to update in frozen mode. IMO one should let the AV update in frozen mode, and then let it update 'again' in thawed mode. The AV efficacy is retained in both modes.

Testing both applications is very important for functionality. I've tested DF on my new Win8 machine a while ago, and it really messed up my boot protocol. Normally my computer boots in 12 seconds with DF it was taking 2 minutes.

 

no Problems here using DF on Windows 8 Pro x64. Also as you've already mentioned Deepfreeze is not supposed to offer many Features for the user as it has been developed for public Computer usage like Schools Networks and things like that. Faronics could however bring some of those Feature in the Standard Version but unfortunately the Standard Version doesn't really differ from the Enterprise Version.

 

Yes. That´s what I do.

 

They are both very good apps and if their cost over the long term (SD is a lifetime license!) isn't a factor, than perhaps how you intend to use the app is...

DF loads at system startup. SD is more flexible in that you can set it to load at startup or you can just use it on-demand (as I do).

Wendi

 

Okay I tried DF and I am honestly disappointed. I am running 7200 RPM HD, 3.2GHZ i5 and 8GB RAM and there was a major slow down in my normal computer usage. Start up was at least twice as long, browser and each program took forever to open. I wonder if there is a conflict with Avira, I set my AV for normal start up and configured it to be as lite as possible.
So DF is completely out of the question for me right now. Im trying SD next.

 

UPDATE: Okay I tried SD and it hosed my Windows 8 into infinite update loop!!!
Disappointed... I might try it again after my restore process completes, but still SD should have ways to prevent Windows update process from rendering the system unusable.

 

ummmmm....no. That's just not the smartest thing to do; enter a virtual environment and then try to update windows. That makes no sense, since the point of virtualization software is to prevent changes. Why would you expect anything different? That is user fault, not Shadow Defender's.

 

That would be a mistake, in my view. Deep Freeze stands apart from other similar programs in the way it's set up to interact between the user and the system. I wouldn't want it to change. There are alternatives that have other "features."

You'll notice that "Home user" is not used in Faronics' marketing literature. We have to use the Standard Version.

The Enterprise version offers the Administrative Console to control banks of workstations in an institutional environment.

For other differences, see:

Deep Freeze Comparison
http://www.faronics.com/compare/deep-freeze/

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rich

 

Yes I know it was my fault, I did it by accident. Still there should be at least a warning in SD. Not a single warning, nothing just restarted my computer and it's done, infinite restart loop.

 

Perhaps you ought to disable automatic updates and do them manually. Thats how I do them and have never had a problem using Light virtualization programs in my XP or W7. I have used 3 programs of this kind and none has ever caused me issues, not even slowdown of things. You had problems with the two programs that you have tried, it could be your antivirus or something else in your PC I guess.

Bo

 

Yes. I´d say it somewhat differently: if you use LV, you must disable automatic updates of Windows. In general, if a process needs a reboot to complete, it´s safer not to begin it in virtual mode.

 

I think the licensing terms need to be emphasized. Shadow Defender has a lifetime license and one-time fee, Deep Freeze wants home users to bend over and say ahh (read this). The Deep Freeze model is ridiculous.

Shadow Defender + HardLink Shell is the best combo by far.

 

I agree there. Am currently using SD and I have compared with "updates-on" and when I rebooted it was back to the same "not updated" so I do it manually now. AV is excluded so when it updates it sticks or is comitted after a reboot. Well sometimes when you use the whole size/majority of the pc screen you get to not see "Shadow Mode" there in the middle.

 

Ok, my opinion. I have used both programs and can thoroughly recommend them both. I am currently using DF because it comes from a larger (much) company with an established reputation. SP is indeed easier to use and of course it has that lifetime license. DF is lifetime but not upgrades.

My system is Win7, 64-bit, with a solid-state-drive. DF works just fine and yes I have tested my system with a program found here at Wilders to double-check that DF did not "trick" my SSD into thinking that TRIM was working (aka Rollback RX) ... TRIM really is healthy with DF installed.

Two excellent programs, good luck with your choice.

Acadia

 

Okay i actually decided against neither of them. My main reason is that I am not really ready for a full blown virtualization. I don't like to reboot my computer to save changes and so I am now giving Toolwiz TimeFreeze a chance. It allows instant on-demand virtualization and I don't need to restart my system. Of course it has no MBR protection but if SHTF then I will simply re-image. What I really need is a quick way to test software and be able to completely undo the changes. Thank you everyone for your input.

 

I don't think $10 per year for lifetime upgrades/maintenance fee is making you "bend over." Your reason for NOT liking that is actually a good reason to LIKE it. How many software companies come and go in this space? Maybe because they want the quick bucks up front by luring people in with promises of a "lifetime license." But, is that a sustainable model? It's a weak and poor revenue model. These type programs need updates and maintenance with every change of Windows. The company that's charging the $10 yearly fee for this has a revenue model to sustain that kind of maintenance. I find it great peace of mind for .02 a day / .20 a week / .83 a month = $10 a year. That's hardly screwing anybody over.

Deep Freeze is an excellent product, well maintained, and Faronics as a company is solid and will be here long after many of these others will disappear.

.

 

There are products that have some a way to sustain that one-time-fee model; just look at Sandboxie or Jetico. And, re-read the link I shared. It's not just $10 per year. Users will end up paying $60 initially + $10 per year mandatory. That's a lot of cheddar for something that can be had elsewhere for cheaper; Shadow Defender or Toolwiz TimeFreeze. And Shadow Defender has more features (as well as some that are not currently available anywhere else), such as the ability to write changes to RAM.

 

On the other hand I wouldnt mind paying $10 for upgrades if they were worth getting. So far DF seems to offer far less features. The good thing about it is that a big corporation is behind it, they will not disappear like Tony did with SD. Computer security is very much so about reputation.

I called DF customer service and they explaind to me that DF has a lifetime license. The only thing you need to pay for is $10 for yearly upgrades. If you do miss your $10 payment then you get 40% discount off of $40 on your next purchase. Your old version of DF will still work indefinitely until it become incompatible with new operating system.

ToolWiz Time Freeze on the other hand is open source. As long as there are people out there will to develop for it, the program will never disappear. Just like VLC player, Mozilla FF, Open Office and many others which are completely free and open source.

 

Well, as they say, you get what you pay for. I happen to think Deep Freeze is far and away the better software than anything else in this niche space of light virtualization.

$50 + $10 a year for updates/upgrades/maintenance/support is a steal.

We'll see where these other free products are in a few years. Remember, this is very niche, it's not like Firefox. Faronics founded this space with Deep Freeze in the 90s!

That's my opinion and that's what this thread asked for.