Powershadow: What are the advantages?

Hmmm, I wonder if they've finally changed the serial number. It had to happen sooner or later. 2.82 is free and it's identical from what I could see to the earlier version.

 

I will probably have a go at installing version 2.82, but just don't fancy having to trawl thru 28 pages of thread....sometimes that is the only way!

 

They do have a rather nice self quiz on their website that let's you know how well you understand how to use PowerShadow.

 

I find imaging the least intrusive method of protection.

I'm very wary of software that modifies my O/S in any way, and would rather take the chance of getting infected and then rollback, then have problems with my O/S.

The thought of layering up my system with all kinds of 3rd party software scares me.

PowerShadow is appealing because people say it is light and unobtrusive. Howerver, it would be nice to understand the basics of its operation.

I run NOD32 as a basic level of protection and back up my data regularly.

 

They aren't giving too much away in their FAQ's but may be worth a look.
http://powershadowsecurity.com/PowerShadowFAQ.aspx

 

After reading this, I know at least for sure that PS uses virtualization, while in FDISR everything is REAL and that makes it interesting for me, because it IS virtualization. Now I have to think how I will CAN use this tool in practice.

The most fascinating quiz questions and answers (in bold) for me were these two :

 

Greetings everyone:

First of all, I am using PS 2.6 and am very satisfied with the program. It seems to work as advertised, is light, and causes no slowdown on my comp. However, I do see the point some are making: Why would I use an app from a mostly unknown company if I don't know what it is doing? It seems to be a contradiction for a security-minded forum. What I liked about sandboxie is that I had an understanding of it, and knew exactly where the sandbox was on my HD. It also worked as advertised. But I just couldn't resist Easter's and Chuck 57's enthusiasm for PS and took the leap. So far so good, but I will still like to know a little more of its workings ( in layman's terms, solid novice here). Also, are we agreed that 2.6 is almost identical to 2.82 and, if not, what are the differences?

 

From what I can remember the GUI is a bit different and the screen corner hints "single Shadow" in 2.82 are white.
2.6 are red I think?

2.6 needed the name "PowerShadow" and serial to register whereas 2.82 needed a personal name and email address to do the same.

Other than that they seem to work exactly the same and it really wouldn't bother if I was using one version or the other.

I would say if your copy is registered stick with it as things may have changed.

 

Thanks Franklin. So the differences are basically cosmetic, I will stick with 2.6. You know, I think the dev's would be quite impressed with the number of posts their app generated here ( I contributed 4 or 5). Or maybe they do know and, hence, the possible change in the serial number.

 

A serial number change is the first thing I thought of, although if they were trying to sell it why post the serial number to begin with or, in the same vein, give away a supposedly updated version although I can't see any difference other than cosmetic. I guess if you get it right the first time, cosmetic is about all that needs to be done. Other companies could take a lesson from them in that regard.

 

Thanks, tayres.

I found the self quiz.

http://powershadowsecurity.com/PowerShadowSelfQuiz.aspx

I am coz I got a A

 

Chuck 57:

Not to hijack this thread, but are you trying out the new blink suite? If so, how is it? Hey moderater, I'm sorry if I am depriving Powershadow of post # 932 (app).

 

I had Blink Personal for a week and, as with Neighborhood Watch, I really liked it. But, I couldn't get it to recognize my printer (3 in 1). It wouldn't let me print or scan, and it flat blocked from opening some websites I normally use for research, like the National Archives(?) and the Smithsonian.

It wouldn't allow the printer no matter what I tried. So, I'm back with System Safety Monitor and Blink is gone. Other than that, even being heavy on resources, I noticed no slowdown with my computer. It worked fine with Powershadow.

 

And i'm still as enthusiastic as ever about it

TO be perfectly honest i found Power Shadow "exactly" as your results bear out as well as countless many others. It's truly the best program of it's kind to be found anywhere or to provide the confidence you can take in it.
I look at what might be pictured as cautious skepticism this way, and yours is a very valid one by the way, "BUT", in my experiences going all the way back to 98SE, i've trusted before, so-called reputable software offers only to find they nearly destroyed my (computer system) & interest in computing altogether, after their program would cause a loop of "errors" "explorer crashes" in 98SE or the infamous "BSOD" in XP even after uninstalling their crappy compiled code.
You have to remember now that in XP/2000 there are at least some safeguards to prevent a total washout of your system like System Restore, good alternate uninstaller programs, and Registry removers to redeem you from the time/money eating element of running to the shop for a repair or doing it yourself thru a tried & true published internet method. I been there too many times to count.

If Power Shadow didn't perform to it's claims or to my own expectations right off the bat (out-of-the-box), it would have been ditched as quick as you can say polly.

But it has not only lived up to it's claims (for me), but is far excelled and performed well beyond my own wildest expectations & surpassed any others of it's type with amazing ease and user-friendliness. Heck, i hammered it with rootkits and malwares most will never experience in a lifetime only to find that Power Shadow effectively disposed of ANY & ALL traces they were ever present! That to me speaks HUGE volumes and does a boost for confidence as an added benefit. Yes it's stable too, and co-exists very well with most security programs like AV's/AT's/AS's/HIPS and the list goes on.

ADVANTAGES? They're all there laid out here for you in many posts for your own review and comfort as well as complete confidence in keeping your system safe from Permanent attachment by any intrusion.

Single-Dimensional it may be, and of course to the skeptics, it's no FD-ISR, it's ludicrous to make such an assumption in comparison with AFAIK, but it does what it does without glitch, hitch, or whimper in my book. And personally i hope it always stays that way. The post count continues to swell on the Power Shadow Topic and for good reason, this is long been awaited for as that next level security protection against your machine being compromised, PERIOD!

@benny bronx

Yes it is for most practical purposes an unknown company but the program is proven Rock-Solid merit by many now and is branched far off from it's origins with plenty of a satisfied following and many couldn't be happier that it has, courtesy Chuck57

 

I installed Powershadow, as soon as I run the application I got prompted for this process: ShadowTip.exe attempting to take screenshots. I don't know what to think of this behaviour, I simply uninstalled it.

 

who prompted this message ?

 

Snoopfree prompts to it because the ShadowTip accesses the screen. It doesn't exhibit anything malicious whatsoever and is a normal function like other safe programs that raise that kind of alert via Snoopfree.

Explained here. https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=927841&postcount=58

May i recommend first reading the HTML help file to become better acquainted. From the help file below explains also................

 

Hi there,

where can I get the free 2.82 version? Their home page offered only version 2.62 for a trial. Thanks in advance.

true north

 

Does anyone know any other software somewhat similar to powershadow but works for vista 32bit? will love to have ps but not compatible in vista..

 

Hi, folks: Try DeepFreeze standard v.6.2.

 

This one's for ErikAlbert

As great as FD-ISR is i choose to keep it that way by shadowing my FD snapshots "IF" & "WHEN" i go research hunting for malware and related drive-by sites with POWER SHADOW! (single shadow-mode only) and thus eliminating completely any potential for harm to FD-ISR or snapshots/archives.
Thanks for sharing those honest suspicions detailed in some of your replies that even FD-ISR can be vulnerable to targetting by the bad guys, so to give some new life to encouragement, it gives me great pleasure, & confidence to rest FD under the protective cover of PS for those practices. That being said, i also and most certainly don't assume to discount the FREEZE feature of FD in any way, i just prefer as well as believe it can be very beneficial to apply every precaution possible to keep FD isolated safely away from harm of some new risk not yet experienced.

 

If you think, I'm a devoted fan of FDISR, you thought wrong.
I'm not a fan of any software and I will replace FDISR without hesitation, if I find something better, but at this moment FDISR has no competition, so I stick to FDISR.
I don't have any problem with being honest about FDISR's vulnerabilities and disadvantages.

 

That thought didn't really occur to me as much as what's been gained from you sharing some of your own experiences & opinions of FD-ISR's best features, which just might have created a new one (devoted fan) even if you're not. Lol
For that i'm most appreciative of all those efforts.

Not to belly on about PS, even though i'm always encouraged to, i do see a very real potential for becoming more imaginative by incorporating BOTH programs; and especially since PS is very light plus strong & stable, i see added benefits with shadowing FD with PS and simply leave the freeze feature alone or else use it also and shadow it too. But i might also be getting ahead of myself there because as intrigued and excited as that appears on the surface, i haven't tested that approach yet for myself, but i do intend to at some point. Any thoughts to this approach? Doable, you think?

 

Hi Easter,

I've been intrigued by the discussions of various products in recent threads; not being too familiar with them, I don't follow everything, but am interested in your rationale for what you use.

Assuming three major entrance points for malware:

1) through firewall

2) remote code execution: by web-embedded exploits, such as the recent .ani; and inadvertant clicking of an executable attachment

3) unknowingly installing an infected program.

Let's eliminate 1) for now.

What are your means for dealing with 2) and 3), to include

==> detailed description of how you think something like this could happen in each case?

==> the liklihood you think something like this would happen in each case?

==> what products you would use to protect in those cases?

regards,

-rich

 

Hi there,

since Power shadow isn't free anymore; I have a question:

What would you recommend to throw my money after;
GeSWall (paid) or Powershadow??
Thanks in advance for your opinion.

true north