Safe'N'Sec Review

echo that. I find it really hard not to like safensec. The most appealing aspect for me is the behavour blocking. Protection against future attacks etc. both known and unknown. I use both benign and mailwasher for my mail protection, which operate pretty much on the same principle. I think it would be great if one of them dropped in and answered a few queries. I notice they have a link to here on their site .

 

SnS is still an excellent product in protection . As for PG and RD . RD is most DEFINATELY unpolished . People are clamoring to it because of it's POTENTIAl and who the designer is . That is not good enough for me . RD is ok . Probably WILL get better . Not worth it to me now . Not good enough . or should I say extended enough , for me to shell out that kind of money . PG , on the other hand , IS very much polisahed . Very nice and has lived up to its potential . SnS 1.0 has done really well . It is worth the money now . So , IMHO , unlike RD , it is already worth the asking price as is . And they DO continue VERY hard to make this thing perfect .

 

Thanks Pete . Your posts have been helpful to me as I am seeing the same thing .

 

hollywoodpc,

For me RD in it's current form is fine for a 1.x version level application. It clearly has some growing to do. But for now, I was looking for something that handled the registry well, and it does exactly what I was trying to get ahold of for a long time. No more, no less. Maybe it's my minimalistic streak coming through.

SnS looks very interesting, but again it's going through the 1.x version growing pains. One thing I look at comparing say RD/PG vs. SnS is the licensing. Lets say the decision was between RD/PG vs. SnS (ignore the coverage differences for the moment - and they are there). I have 5 PC's at home. The unlimited licenses for RD/PG would be $80. A 5 license pack for SnS is $100 for the basic version. Not a huge difference, but something I weigh. Obviously the scales can tip in a predictable way depending on the number of PC's in your house. I'd recommend that they consider a family license for home users with multiple PC's. Just a thought that could help market penetration.

Right now on my systems the RD/PG combo is very stable, I like the way they work, and they conform to my minimalistic tendencies. When I started writing this post, I was real close to pulling the trigger on an SnS purchase. Well, sometimes you just have to chance it - so I decided to pull the trigger and made the purchase, $30 for SnS plus AV is a very decent deal. I do agree with you - it's worth the money now. I'm going to wait a few days before installing so some of the issues regarding ver 1.1 mentioned above can get shaken out, then I'll take a leisurely look at how it fits into my personal group of realtime protection.

Blue

 

I totally agree on the licensing . It is something that , to me , would be a big part of my decision . I am glad that RD is what you were looking for . I cannot argue on RD because everyone in this forum is fond of what Jason has done and there is really no reason to bash RD as it has potential . Everything I have read shows all these people are in agreement with you . I am the lone man . I like Rd ok . Not for $ 25 . To everyone else , it is worth it . Not me . There is not enough of a program there to justify that cost . No arguement here because I know I am alone . I think the world of Jason but , $ 25 to me , is better spent on something more polished at this time . SnS is more polished , as in , it does alot for a 1.x version . You are absolutely right when you say RD has some growing as it is in it's infancy . Comparing the two , there is no question which one I would spend the money on . RD is worth keeping up with . Congrats to all that bought it . I am the only one who does not like the protection YET . What it DOES protect , it does fairly well . I hope you like SnS . If you like security programs and the idea of the registry being closely watched , along with zero day attack protection , you picked a good one . Good to see you around Blue . I enjoy reading on you . Take care and do not bash on me too hard ok . lol .

 

Hey hollywood (if I may be so informal...),

You know I'd never bash on you.

I do believe that purchasing dynamic changes a lot based on the number of PC covered. For $8/PC I'm good with RD, and that's where I'm at. For a new purchaser with one PC, it's cost neutral for RD vs. SnS Plus right now. I can see the scales tip in the other direction in this scenario, which may be closer to a typical consumer. That's an issue which a vendor of very specialized niche applications has to be very aware of. I see exactly where you are coming from and don't disagree at all with your thoughts.

Cheers (and time for me to sign off for the night...),

Blue

 

They just emailed me saying they nailed the Shutdown issue, and will have a new version of the product posted tomorrow. In addition, they are investigating ways to "Loosen" the license key system as per our requests. (and I do think its far too rigid)

Generally I have found them to be very responsive to issues and concerns, and this is most impressive to me.

-----------------

The shutdown bug has been corrected now, tomorrow it will become available for all users on the web-site. And I keep in mind the activation keys issue for you.

Regards,

Oleg

 

I found out why SNS sometimes slows down logging into windows I think.

Under options in it, theres a checkbox for "Display Notifications Before User Logs In". I have no clue what this does, but turning it off made my window boots normal speed.

So its staying off for me.

 

Also I found this which might be of interest to security buffs on how SNS works.

http://www.boredmofo.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41

 

Its in the help > advanced settings > cusomizing user interface settings

 

Well, not sure this helps too much, but from the help system, there is the following:

I guess the question is whether it is blocking something you want to be running now? Any indications of processes "missing"?

Blue

 

I just got an email back from them addressing some of my/our concerns.

1) They are considering opening up a forum for the discussion/support of the product, this is under immediate discussion.

2) Next week they will have autoupdating services online, so once you install the product you can update/autoupdate to any new versions that come out without re-installing or downloading anything manually.

3) Anyone running out of activations should contact hotline@star-force.com and they will glably give you more activations until they adjust the activation system to be more amicable.

Overall, these answers make me happy.

 

What exactly is the problem you have? Can you describe it in detail?

Also, which version are you running? Oleg sent over 2403 which seems to be the latest beta build. I guess i'm unofficially one of their beta testers, which I don't mind one bit. I love the product and want to help it grow in powers without growing bloated or over glamorous.

 

SDS what changes are there with the 1.1 version. I am still running the 1.0 version trial.

 

Can someone have succeed to make version 1.1 start They have send it to me today, and after I go to the uninstall of 1.0/reboot, intall version 1.1/reboot, when I double click on the safe'n'sec icon, it just won't start? what the hell?

Can someone explain to me how they work? When I had the trial version 1.0, it was working great and I had no major problem except a little conflit with Your uninstaller! 2004. So then I bought it, and go to a lot and complexe process to uninstall my trial version and install the version they send me (version 1.0) after more than 2 hours I finally succeed to install it with the key and everything but then I began to have a lot of problem with my system and other application (like Drive image 7.0 for instance and boot up problem, etc.) so I disable it. And than this morning I received version 1.1 and this one simply just don't start on my system?? Maybe they should keep this one free because the problems seems to began when you paid for it?

Atomas31

 

Atomas31,

I received was I assume is the same build level that you received this morning. I had been unable to get a successful installation with the that files I had originally started with (never reached the activation dialog box), so I held off doing anything until this latest build appeared.

The installation with the latest build went completely without incident. The file version is listed as 2.0.0.105 under properties, although as far as I know it is version 1.1 of the product (go figure). I did not disable any of my other software, just treated it as a routine installation.

Have you contacted Star Force directly yet? They do seem very responsive.

Blue

 

Pete,

Like most of us, I have only a fleeting exposure to this application.

To me thus far it does seem very similar to ProcessGuard thus far, but it's pure application control at predefined level. PG has a lot of the details out there to tweak, cajole, and obsess about. That can be good or bad depending on your background and inclination. SNS keeps all that in the background. There are broad cut control policies (Total/Strict/Trusting) which control the level at which notification/blocking occurs. You then have applications categorized according to trusted, partially trusted/restricted, and restricted which seems to control what the applications are allowed to do. I assume that the control policy sets the flags which generate the warnings to allow a user to trust certain behavior by application or not. At any point in time you can clearly reset the history of an application to restart the qualification process. On top of this there is the malware detection if you have the AV option.

I can see this as more of a mass market type of PG, not unlike the split you see in firewalls with rules-based (PG) vs. application-based focus (SNS). It does appear easy to use, although easy is a relative term. Neophytes might have difficulty even with this application. So far, I give it and the StarForce support staff very high marks.

Blue

 

Did the man say cajole ? Holy crap . He said cajole . I think I will adjourn for now and cajole something .