Should I Use This

Discussion in 'General Returnil discussions' started by Andrew Baer, Jul 16, 2015.

  1. Andrew Baer

    Andrew Baer Registered Member

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    I am deploying win 7 to three PCs. My wife browses foreign webistes and seems to have a penchant for getting malware despite my use of the usual protective measures. So, I thought of installing vbox and letting her browse using a guest copy of win 7.

    There is of course sandboxie which I have not used.

    Then, I ran into this...returnil. Do you think this is better than running a guest pc in vbox?

    Is it faster using less resources?

    Will Norton Secure Guard which we get with Comcast cause conflicts
     
  2. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    Hi Andrew and welcome to the forums :)

    The new QuietZone generation works by ensuring nothing is saved to the real disk when the sandboxing protection is active (works at the disk level as opposed to SBIE which works at the application layer). This means that when the computer is restarted, it, whatever "it" happens to be never happened. You can use Windows and do everything you would do without it and be assured that the system will be reset to a clean state assuming that it was activated on a clean system.

    The software has a trial period so I suggest giving it a try and kicking the tires to get a good feel for what it can do in your specific scenario.

    Kind regards
    Mike
     
  3. marzametal

    marzametal Registered Member

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    I have a question about QuietZone...

    I recently came across this program while reading through another program thread. Is QuietZone similar to Shadow Defender, with more flexibiity? Also.. is there any way to download the app without using the downloader widget to download for me?
     
  4. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    Hi marzametal,
    QZ is our 4th generation of disk level sandboxing (AKA: Instant System Recovery or Boot-to-Restore). It works by placing Windows in a virtual environment that protects the real system from harmful and/or unwanted changes with a simple restart of the computer. Though this class of software is traditionally used as a recovery solution, we leverage and emphasize its effectiveness in a layered security strategy where it provides 100% removal of malware and maintains a high level of system productivity.

    NOTE: The software allows saving of user defined content to the real disk. This is a risky process which is not active by default...

    New in this generation:

    1. All disks are automatically protected by default rather than just the system disk
    2. Exclusions process is a combination of the underlying safety of the older v3x RSS/RVS File Manager feature with the traditional, but simplified concept of Exclusions.
    3. QZ is compatible with Win XP SP2 through the new Windows 10
    4. Vastly simplified and more intuitive GUI than the older generations
    5. Better sandboxing performance over our older generations

    The installer on the website is a net installer that will initialize the install process and then download the full installer directly from our servers. We are working on a full, stand-alone installer for our corporate customers to aide in network distributions and may make it available via mirror sites in the future, but for now the network installer is the only one available from the website.
     
  5. Andrew Baer

    Andrew Baer Registered Member

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    I am not clear about something. is there or is there not an edition that is free for personal use?

    Will the free version protect my wife from getting malware from browsing/watching foreign videos/news/movies? Is it better than using a virtual pc

    Thanbks
     
  6. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    Hi Andrew,
    No, we no longer have a free version with the retirement of the old v3.2x RSS version. The price for licensing however is vastly more affordable than the older generations at less than half the v3x single seat price with the added benefit that QZ consumer licensing (at the current time) comes at two for the price of one; further reducing the per copy price to consumers by an additional 50%.

    Yes

    Yes and no as it depends on how the VM is being used and who is using it. Remember that a virtual machine is just as vulnerable to infection as the host system as you are simply running a virtual computer on a real computer. Also note that in certain circumstances malware can leak from the VM into the real system so you will need to protect the VM with the same strategy as you are using on the real system. With the fact that your wife is still encountering malware, this may not be an optimal configuration...

    Using QZ on the real system will enforce the clean state of the system with a simple restart with the added benefit that your wife will not have to do anything other than turning the computer off after she is done using the computer.
     
  7. Andrew Baer

    Andrew Baer Registered Member

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    What is the current price for the software? Is it a yearly sub or one time?

    Thank you
     
  8. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    (USD) $14.99 with one year subscription
     
  9. boredog

    boredog Registered Member

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    Using QZ on the real system will enforce the clean state of the system with a simple restart with the added benefit that your wife will not have to do anything other than turning the computer off after she is done using the computer.

    I hope I can explain my self correctly for the above quote and my system?

    I have tried to explain this before but am not sure I was successful.

    On my Win 8.1 64bit PC, when I restart my computer everything is changed back to before like mentioned. If I shut down changes made remain unchanged even though QZ still shows protection is on from session before. Unlike selecting Permanent QZ in the main GUI.

    Example : I can enable the One Time option is the main GUI and delete some files then shut down. When I turn my system back on the GUI icon comes back with One Tine enabled but the files I deleted are still gone.
    If on the other hand I select to restart my system, the files I deleted are back again with the GUI icon not enabled until I do it manually.

    And so at least on my machine simply shutting down doesn't get rid of changes to my PC, only restarting will.


     
  10. boredog

    boredog Registered Member

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    As a side note: I just found out after making changes to my PC before each of 5 shutdowns only, once I restart ( not shut down ) that all the deleted file did come back. Only after finally doing a restart and not just shutting down.

    Does that make sense as to how it should be working?

    If correct his wife will have to do a system restart after each session and not just shut down her computer.
     
  11. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    Hi,
    What you are describing appears to be an account log-off, suspension, or sleep mode. All of these do not actually restart the computer so you are essentially on the same boot sessions until you perform a full shutdown and restart. Once the QZ sandbox is active, regardless of which protection mode selected (one-time or permanent), all user accounts are protected.

    So if you login, activate the one-time sandbox and then simply log out of your account, your wife's account on the same computer is still protected under the virtualization until you completely shut down the computer and do a full restart to turn the protection off. IOWs - to turn the sandboxing off, you must do a full restart.
     
  12. boredog

    boredog Registered Member

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    but I just mentioned I SHUT MY COMPUTER DOWN not log-off, suspension, or sleep mode. And I must say I have been using computers since the 70's and went to electronics school in the early 80's and the school was rated in the top ten in the nation. The FBI hired most of the graduates. And so I do know a bit about computers and software.
     
  13. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    Hi,
    You said the following which I based my reply on:

    The system has to be shut down and restarted for:

    1. To drop all changes and reset the virtualization (sandboxing) cache
    2. To release the sandboxing

    What you wrote above indicates that the computer was not completely restarted. If this happens, which is usually sleep mode or suspending the computer, the protection will still be active on wake up just as it would be with a simple account log-off and new user account log-in.
     
  14. boredog

    boredog Registered Member

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    Yes I guess you are correct.

    I have 4 option sign out, sleep, restart or shut down.

    If I select restart all changes are gone and Quietzone is no longer active.
    If I select shutdown and physically push the power button to start my computer back up, all changes have remained and Quietzone is still active.
     
  15. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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    If this isn't how you want the power button to work you can change its behavior using the Windows power options in the control panel...
     
  16. boredog

    boredog Registered Member

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    And so what changes should I make in my power options so that when I shut down my computer and it shuts off in Win 8.1 64 bit can I make so that when I shut down my computer and hit the power button to turn it back on all changes made to my computer are gone? I am sorry but I don't see it.
     
  17. Coldmoon

    Coldmoon Returnil Moderator

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