DeepFreeze..could this be the ultimate security tool??

Discussion in 'other security issues & news' started by adiel, Jun 3, 2003.

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  1. adiel

    adiel Registered Member

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    Has anyone heard about this program?This is one of the most amazing piece of software,i am using it now and it does all that it says,which is..

    "No Computer Downtime. All changes are temporary!
    Full utilization of expensive computer assets.Deep Freeze® "freezes" your software configuration.Whatever hackers, mischief makers and innocent clickers attempt, their "work" will instantly disappear when the computer is restarted. All settings, files and programs are 100% restored to original configurations every time.
    .
    FullAccess for Users The computer operates without restrictions or securitybarriers and all programs run normally.Deep Freeze is invisible and totally non restrictive and does not interfere with programs. The user enjoys full access to all computer functions. Deep Freeze has set a new high standard of reliability


    Simple & Extremely Flexible Deep Freeze requires NO setup or configuration.Just install, restart and its working. Save files to a floppy, network, or into a specified Deep Freeze "thawed" space (Pro version). It's easy to make permanent changes; just turn Deep Freeze off and install or removeyour programs or make configuration changes."

    I must say this is a very impressive security tool,even if a virus strikes you,all you have to do is to restart.

    But there is one drawback,with Deepfreeze enable,my pc takes about 4 minutes to start(yes thats really annoying and thats why when i first installed it,i formatted my hard drive thinking that something has gone wrong,and deepFreeze does'nt let you restore registry and boot in safe mode) and i have PIII 1.2ghz,which normally starts in 30 seconds.Maybe it is handled better in pro version,i am using trial version.

    I think you should give this a try,i am feeling very relaxed while it is enabled.
     
  2. JimIT

    JimIT Registered Member

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    Looks like it is "floating" the entire OS/apps in RAM.

    Perhaps similar to what the cd-based distros of Linux do--Knoppix, etc.
     
  3. beetlejuice

    beetlejuice Registered Member

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    Hi adiel. Sounds very interesting. What's the site address?
    beetlejuice
     
  4. solarpowered candle

    solarpowered candle Registered Member

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    http://www.deepfreezeusa.com/
     
  5. root

    root Registered Member

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    There was a similar program like this out a couple of years ago. Most of the reviews on it were about the problems that come with that kind of setup and I think it just died out. I don't remember the name.
    For some people I imagine this would be ok. For me, I change stuff several times a day nearly every day, so it would be a real hassle for me. Think about things like every time you add a bookmark, save a new text file, update a program, update your AV, AT, etc.
    I'm not trying to shoot the program down, just mentioning some issues that may affect some more than others.
    Great program for someone like my Mother who just does email and plays games. If I get her to try the internet, I would probably try a program like that for her. Probably should get it for her now. That way she wouldn't be able to screw something up every other day the way she does now. :D
    The more I think about that, the more I like it. :D
     
  6. Gavin - DiamondCS

    Gavin - DiamondCS Former DCS Moderator

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    Of course this is really only useful for schools and such.. I think it is a big point to remember - this wont prevent you from being a part of a worm epidemic, in fact it will HUGELY increase the chance that you are infected with a worm, because you will rely on it too much and think im ok, im safe. And then spread those worms to others :rolleyes:

    Also, what about installing patches, you have to mess around with disabling it, or creating a new freeze point ? For software (malware) to not be able to do this, it would need to be tedious.. surely not fun every time you apply that latest IE6 patch ?

    And of course if that virus/worm/whatever decides to flash your BIOS and destroy your mainboard (several variants of CIH, and Magistr do this) no software will bring it back.. only by sending the mainboard back to get rechipped will solve this.
     
  7. controler

    controler Guest

    HI

    Don't you all keep a copy of your BIOS on floppy yet?
    As I mentioned before, You should reflash your BIOS before an Format
    anyways :D
     
  8. JimIT

    JimIT Registered Member

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    Agreed. Not to mention the fact that if you install it on a "dirty" machine, all the rebooting in the world won't help you.
    According to the info on the website--yep. You'd have to disable it to install stuff "permanently".
    Hmmm. Maybe someone could set up a test bed to see if this would, in fact happen w/DFreeze installed. I'm not volunteering, though! :D

    Adiel, how is your system performing speed-wise with this installed? Any sluggishness?
     
  9. adiel

    adiel Registered Member

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    @Gavin /DiamondCs
    All objections apart....compared to the "ease of mind" these problems are nothing.

    I know it looks diffcult at first that for every change you will have to disable DF,but you can easily do this...
    Exclude one of your partition just for saving files and other changes,and i believe in one whole day you CAN disable DF one time and move these saved files and other changes if everything works fine.

    Now i am feeling so much relaxed that i have never felt before.Even with all AV,AT,Spyware removers,Firewalls,there was always something that would go wrong and i always end up with formatting my hard drive...but no more now.

    @JimIT

    About your "installation on dirty machine"....it is not mentioned anywhere that DeepFreeze will not be installed on a pc where an Anti Virus is present.I mean you can scan all your pc and then you can install DeepFreeze.

    Anti Virus and Anti Trojans would switch there roles after DeepFreeze installed,deepfreeze will be your primary protection,and you can use one AV just as a "helping hand"

    Before DeepFreeze installing something was a long and boring procedure for me,I had to monitor this installation with either system mechanic or filewatch in order to know exactly what files and which registry keys have been added,but with deepFreeze installed i can install all the softwares,and then decide what to keep and what to not.Its specially good for people like me who have a passion for installing all kinds of softwares.If i want something i would disable DF,otherwise everuthing is gonna wash out after restart.

    And above all my nephews are so happy,because now i can install ANY game for them,a thing i never did before because i am not interested in games and they always conflict with some of my music softwares,so i end up formatting,but now this is past. ;)
     
  10. beetlejuice

    beetlejuice Registered Member

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    As far as "Deep Freeze" being the "Ultimate Security Tool", I have my reservations after reading the users manual. There are at least 2 referances to having to "format" the hard drive if certain problems should occur during the "Install" and "Uninstall" procedure. In my opinion that's 2 too many. A lot of things can happen during install or uninstall that can cause either an incomplete installation i.e., a "bad" download, software conflicts, power spikes, or dozens of other things that can cause any program not to be installed completely or correctly, or an incomplete uninstall, probably caused by many of the same "gliches". Most "bad installs/uninstalls can be corrected simply by shutting down and starting over. The way the Deep Freeze manual reads, if either of these occurances happen "bad installs and/or uninstalls", the drive will have to be reformatted. Also as Gavin said, it would be "tedious" (I believe) to have to switch from frozen to thawed every time you wanted to update some app. If I may, I would imagine it would be a royal pain in the a**, considering that switching from frozen to thawed requires a reboot each time the switch is made. DeepFreeze is a good idea. It would be nice (with all of the security breaches in I.E.,) to have a program that would help to secure it better than MS's (Time for an Oxymoron. "Microsoft Works") constant patch requirements probably do, or at least if someone managed to infect it with some nasty, you'd have a pretty good (?) chance of removing it upon reboot. If DeepFreeze would get rid of the risks (I suppose there are risks inherant in all software to some kind of failure, but I've never run across anything besides DeepFreeze that explicidly stated that a bad install would result in having to reformat) that seem to be evident, I might give further thought to trying it out. But as my opinion stands right now, the risks to your computer if something should go wrong, far outweigh any benefits you might gain.
    beetlejuice.
     
  11. zOK

    zOK Guest

    Talked about a while ago at dslreports.

    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,6215389~root=sware~mode=flat
     
  12. zOK

    zOK Guest

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