 |
| Signup for Clif Notes Newsletter You can subscribe or unsubscribe here by using the pull-down arrow |
Returnil Virtual System - super protection from malware or accidents
Posted by ClifNotes, Jan 2008, permalink Virtualization Software
If you're smart, you use lots of protection tools to keep your PC running right. You need a firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-rootkit and you need to keep good backups. All of these are there just in case your system screws up or if you get infected by a bad bug.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a way to go back to the way your PC was working before the system went all screwy on you?
I've tried various protection tools that create a sandbox for you while you are surfing the net. A sandbox is a protected area of an operating system that lets you make changes to your PC temporarily, but will let you remove those changes when you need to. This is great when you know you've been infected. You can simply revert the changes that were made to your sandbox and go back to your normally safe environment.
Many sandboxing or virtualization systems only protect certain applications that connect to the internet. You can sandbox your web browser or your email application to keep you safe while you use them. Returnil Virtual System offers a free Personal Edition that makes your entire system partition into a sandbox. That's even better than protecting single applications.
I've tried Returnil Virtual System and it works great. After I installed it I was able to install new applications, uninstall applications, change system settings, delete and create files but the next time I rebooted, all the changes I'd made were magically gone. Returnil didn't seem to slow down the PC or cause any problems during my normal use.
Returnil would be perfect for classrooms, libraries, internet cafes or even at home. Anytime you need to keep kids from messing up a PC. If you feel like it system tray icon for Returnil can be hidden.
There are lots of settings to figure out but Returnil provides plenty of help and a nice PDF manual for you to consult. After playing with it for awhile, I decided the best way to set it up was to put all the documents and settings on another hard drive or drive partition. Returnil even offers a wizard that helps you do this. That way, at least you can save documents or download pictures and files without them disappearing when you reboot. Also be sure to set Returnil's program access password if more than one person uses the PC.
click to expand picture
Quote from the website
Returnil virtualization technology clones a computer's System Partition and boots the PC into this system rather than native Windows, allowing you run your applications in a completely isolated environment. Hence the session and all activity, malicious or otherwise, will happen in the virtual environment, not in the real PC environment. If the PC is attacked or gets infected, all you need to do is to simply reboot the PC to erase all changes. After reboot, the system will be restored to its original state, as if nothing ever happened. All of this without sacrificing computer performance or usability while helping to reduce technical support intervention and the need for routine maintenance.
Website:
http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com
Free Personal Edition:
http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/comparison.htm
