Returnil vs VMware - Anyone use both?

I currently use Returnil and really like it.

I have read snippets about VMware and it sounds like it might offer some slightly different functions.

What I'd love would be if Returnil offered the option to save an image of the differences between it's virtual drive and the frozen system drive and some kind of scheduled back up, so you could freeze the system partition and still make changes that could be kept and backed up periodically...

 

Returnil is in the first place a security/protection app. and as such very good at that.
I guess that to implement a function like a save at reboot would run counter to the whole idea behind ISR's like Returnil,Power Shadow en Shadow Defender.
Most of us don't need that option(except for a few Wilders members)so i think it would hardly ever happen.

 

Returnil is very good, except in one thing : installing, testing and uninstalling softwares without a trace.
Returhil is a 50%-solution for testing softwares, which means not a full solution.

This means you need another solution to test softwares, VMware is one of the possible solutions.
Keep in mind that some malware know how to hide themselves and keep themselves quiet in Virtual Machines.

I would install Returnil to have a frozen system AND VMWare for testing softwares.
I don't know if Returnil and VMware like eachother.

 

I have used both together in the past but i ended up removing returnil from my host system as i found it to be redundant for my particular setup. These days i run no security apps on my host system as its only used for games and multimedia tasks so theres little risk to it. I run the same OS in a VM which i use for my online activities, i do run security apps in the VM.
All the options you spoke of can be done in a VM.

 

And also FDISR !

 

FDISR is dead and can't be recommended anymore.

 

If you work only with VM is that also a solution to manage your personal data in a data partition ?

 

Yes, I use Returnil and Sandboxie on the virtual machine I store and run off my thumb drive.

Turning off undo disks speeds things up quite a bit.

 

Yes,but many current owners could do more with it,such like testing softwares.

I don't recommend FDISR,i recommend using it this way.....you get it ??

BTW very alive for me !!

 

If VM does everything, why do you still need your Windows or don't you use your Windows anymore, except in VM ?

 

Well, i run defensewall & sandboxie inside my VM which i use to restrict what my apps can do and help protect my data. I also have the VM setup to ask me at the end of each session if i want to keep or discard changes which allows me keep the VM in a frozen state if needed.

 

I normally would only use Virtual Machine, but this is a nice double precaution with some POC's knowing when VM is active.

Do you use memory or dislk with Returnil (seen the resources VM asks I would guess memory)

Regards Kees

 

Returnil also plays nice with VirtualBox which is a free alternative to VMware along with VirtualPC.

The reason I use Returnil is because it's not as easy to "freeze" and "unfreeze" a VM in VBox as it is in VMware or VPC. So now I run Returnil as an easy way of freezing the VM it's been working great with not a single problem.

Fundamentally they are different products with different goals but I have and do use one of my VMs in frozen state for surfing and software testing as I would use Returnil on my host system if it supported x64.

 

Erik, I like to try different things as I'm sure a lot of Wilder's members do and I have all sorts of different setups on vm's and hard drives.

 

Franklin: what is that? Something I missed or have misunderstood.

Ya
I've tried VB and VMWare just shades it by a bit for me.
Tested Returnil in VMWare works ok here too.

And this might be another killer tool for Linux/Windows
http://www.chipx86.com/blog/?p=250

 

With MS virtual pc there is an option in the settings to turn off undo disks which saves writes to the usb drive and seems to speed things up.

I know the thread is about VMware which I haven't used so sorry if I may have misled.

 

FDISR is very cool. I am using it in one of my XP laptop. I like it very much.

 

Now that may just get me to pay for VMware and give Linux another try as my main OS! Seriously cool stuff happening with VMware.

Soon we'll be able to keep virgin clean OS' and have all our apps in VMs or on the web. Thanks for the link.

 

Yeh it definitely looks pretty cool although there are current solutions that allow us to virtualise our apps and keep the host clean.

 

I prefer the VMWare. The VPC can not hold changes after reboot.

 

What do you mean by cannot hold changes? VPC functions just like a normal pc during regular use. When closing down the VM it allows you the option to keep or discard changes to the VM.

 

I'm not surprised you find it cool, I wonder where you got it, because it isn't available anymore, it's replaced by FDISR Rescue.

 

There many ways to get FDISR other then buying.....come on Erik if members praise FDISR to no end,would be users will find ways to get to it.Illegal ways though,piracy is common place in cyberbusiness,RAXCO did nothing against it by selling their stuff without activation code.SOFWARE PURSUITS was a bit smarter by selling FDISR with need to activate after the grace period.

i'm not saying that QQ2595 did something illegal,far from it,chances are that he bought his copy from the vendor but i can't get it that a renown vendor like RAXCO sold their stuff with no need to activate and losing revenue as a consequence.

RAXCO have still great products but business wise they are the most stupid company on earth !