Safe'N'Sec Review

Echo that . SDS if you have time .

 

I messed with PrevX a few months ago, but found it actually slowed down some things on my PC and seemed a bit too intrusive. Has that changed?

Also, I have a wierd problem with SNS now. It seems it randomly decides to not run when windows loads, and this requires an uninstall and re-install of the product. I can only assume this is because of the activation method or something. At any rate, I need to hear back from them, because this is quite annoying! I've had to re-install it 3 times this week already.

Argh.

 

Hi Pete . Remember me ?
Prevx is as good , IMO , as SnS but , with a few more additions . And , Prevx is about to release AGAIN . I have been told that the startup issue has , again , been worked on . Made a huge difference last time . Wonder how good this one will be . I went to SnS to see the resource use difference and watch for registry changes . Many may disagree but , I like both but , Prevx Pro is 20 bucks . SnS is 25 and no discount offers . Of course , if you want the AV version , they have a discount right now . As I have stated before , I like this product . But , Prevx is a sweet deal . At 20 dollars and much more configurability , Prevx Pro is hard to beat . As for the home ( free ) version , I , as of right now , would have to choose Prevx free . A 25 dollar savings over SnS and STILL more configurability . I am in touch with SnS now and hoping some configurability options will be added . SnS is LESS abtrusive than Prevx but , Prevx does more . Hope that helps Pete .

 

Me too . And I take it that you do not run SnS right now ? Since I do not believe the two will run side by side .

 

Its not that I think PrevX offers vastly more protections than SNS, I just think PrevX shows you everything it does and has options. SNS is more of a streamline, consumer friendly backend IMHO.

I've tested almost every point of entry for things on SNS and it seems to wholely block them all - but without a list of just everything it stops - we can only speculate. I know it protects all windows folders, host file, registry, appINIT ranges, services, and just about everything else I can test.

The product I think has amazing potential, they just need to get the stupid activation crap turned off and the conflicts with other security apps ironed out for the people having issues there.

PrevX just seemed TOO involved for what I need, I love protection, but I don't need to have it pop up 200 times everytime I install a game. SNS at the least, seemed to have some intelligent monitoring going on and know what was good and bad. PrevX just seems to bitch and moan about everything, regardless. Thats a bit too much for me.

 

I've not tried Prevx, and for some reason never felt the urge to, I don't know why.

I think SDS909 hit it spot on

This is pretty much it for me. It's a battle that is waged on a daily basis throughout the security application industry, especially in the firewall arena.

I also use PG/RD, and although I don't think they are overly complicated to use, I'm less sure of the opinion of the remainder of the family. For them, SNS may be the sweet spot. For them, the fewer pop-ups requiring user intervention, the better. There are clear trade-offs here, but it's all about knowing what they are for yourself and being able to identify those traits in the multiple options that we're all presented.

So far I've also been rather impressed with SNS. I've experienced one problem, although I don't know if it was due to SNS, NOD32 2.5 beta, an interaction of the two, or some other item going astray. The problem persisted after the SNS uninstall, and was eliminated with the NOD32 uninstall. But software can get munged is strange ways, so I take those observations as neither evidence of guilt nor innocence, particularly since my install of Firefox has all the tabbed homepage items blown away shortly before the major problem emerged

The problem presented itself as a transient system or video subsystem lock with 5-15 second periodicity - everything was locked for 7-10 seconds, then normal for 5-7 seconds, no BSOD's incurred (except for the one involving my own patience) - as though there was a battle over some resource being fought in the background. I made too many recent changes to adequately debug the problem.

I have returned to the current NOD32 release and reinstalled SNS and all is stable - of course those three remaining activations loom heavy if I run into additional problems. They really need to deal with this issue soon.

Blue

 

I've blown through 9 activations, they had to reset me one already and i'm nearing my second reset. They seem pretty easy about resetting them. But i've hammered them about finishing the product more before having this harsh activation.

They recently sent me a new "Key" to test that apparently is time based, rather than installation based, and pops up "This key will expire in 30 days" rather than the usual "You have 5 activations left" type thing. I really think they might be moving to a time based system soon - which might explain them sending me one to test. =)

I'm going to keep working with them closely on this product, and I think it will mature quite nicely. They seem commited, dedicated, and very responsive. Forums are forthcoming i'm told, which will be nice.

The ONLY problem ive had with the product is it randomly seems to "Blow out" and stop loading - which I suspect is a activation issue or something.

 

Interesting discussion here, I am in a similar situation. I have just installed ProcessGuard - although I have got IMO great protection in McAfee and Ewido, the safeguarding of my AV programme in particular is worth paying for. I am a bit worried about how user-friendly PG will be for the rest of the family but with so much crap left on kids sites these days, I don't feel peace of mind without it.

I don't know much about SNS but I don't plan on paying for yet more software, especially if it is still having teething problems. I will give Prevx a try though, it's supposed to compliment PG very well according to this review: http://www.techsupportalert.com/intrusion-detection-p2.htm

The avalanche of popups first few days will probably mean I can install it on my machine only but the home version is free so I don't have too many complaints.

 

Prevx home is perfect for you in your situation . Good product . Good protection . Nice program

 

It's even better than I thought. The latest version is very quiet with almost no popups unless you install new software, and even then there is an "allow install" feature - so the one major complaint has been eliminated. This is a superb programme for free. I am going to install it on my family pc, it seems to be as much a set and forget programme as is possible for this type of app.

 

Pete,

I'm not terribly worried as everyone here has had very easy refills on the activations, though I do think that it will be an issue as they go mass-market with this application. They need to change that policy before that happens.

Blue

 

I agree, I was told today that a corporate/network edition is in the works, as well as a serious power-user version. All of this good news.

I think by the middle of next week they will solve the "Unloading" issue I have where it suddenly disappears. - at least I hope.. LOL! In the meantime, I have to reinstall the app about 2-3 times per week, which is a hassle.

However, given the level of protection i've witnessed on it, and the fact that it seems to use some pretty advanced behaviorial monitoring - I can live with that. PrevX was nice, but way way too many popups. I think a program should be intelligent enough to know when something is an installer - without me having to switch switches. I'm amazed I can install something with SNS and it doesn't give me a single popup, but when I install a trojan, i'm immediately notified of funny business.

I'll still be watching PrevX closely, but SNS has me sold right now.

 

I installed Prevx Home today alongside ProcessGuard and it seems to be a much more stable product than it was six months ago. I think it is because the Home version is completely free and hassle free.

I think that SnS's developers are making the classic mistake that many new software companies make. They should be less concerned about keeping users from using their system and much more concerned about how to get people to use it. Any kind of activation system on a new product such as this (which needs tons of testing) in a very competitive field will ultimately causes more problems for SnS development than it solves. My recommendation to the company is to drop all activation keys at this time and get as many people as possible to use the product. My last try was totally unsuccessful and I hope they are able to attract more testers (people who are willing to devote their time to testing and fixing the product for free). One way to do this is to eliminate any kind of obstacles at this time in their development cycle.

Rich

 

Total agreement here .

 

They aren't a very new company. Remember their primary business is their extremely expensive, and effective copy protection. Companies pay umteen thousands of dollars for that.

This was a spinoff using what they learned about preventing hackers and creeps from messing up their protections. I really think the product should have had another few months in beta to be honest.

Time will tell, looking good so far, but a few glitches. Every product has rocky early starts I guess.

 

Oh . Make NO mistake here . SnS IS good now and , of course , will get better . It is early on for this project . This good now / Wow . Just wait . The potential is incredulous !

 

New information available now at http://www.star-force.com/ Including a manual for download. click on safensec ( next to software protection and company ) . Some nice improvements to the site.

 

I installed PrevX yesterday and the constant popups issue is gone. The latest free version is VERY intelligent and from all I've heard and read I'm no expert) the protection is excellent. About SNS, it sounds like a potentially very good software, but it's $25, whereas PrevX is free. When you have more than one pc to protect the costs are a big issue.

 

I use the AV version, a strong on-demand backup AV is what I needed, so its worth the $29 to me. But they do need to relax the licensing drastically for home users.

Maybe we can convince them of this.

 

Wow your right, nice site update. The manual is a huge 54 page manual too. Looks like they've been working hard over the weekend.

Also I see they have live-support for it via ICQ now...