@MikeW: an example(s) of 'boot-to-restore solution(s)', please. Maybe I have this already installed and don't know about that! Nobody says 'this is boot-to-restore solution'!

Many posters recommended Toolwiz TimeFreeze instead of today's giveaway. The Toolwiz website says all of their products are free to all, with free tech support. They don't even solicit donations.

Does anyone know their business model? Can they be trusted? Thanks.

Re #43 Thanks for taking the time to give a thorough explanation that, even I can understand.

@G in post #44:

You said "...it is (in linux terms) a copy-on-write layer over the filing system. ..."

This is not true as RVS/RSS (v3x) and the new Quietzone (v4x) are disk based and not file system based. All write attempts to the real hard disk are what is virtualized and not the file system within Windows.

You will also be happy to know that we have moved away from integrated antimalware and anti-execute features; not because of issues with the performance of these features in the older 2010 and 2011 generations (v3.1x and v3.2x respectively) but because:

1. There are just too many AM/AV/AS/AE solutions out there for these features to be a sustainable value add

2. We are focusing on our core technology (boot-to-restore virtualization) to make our software compatible with a wider range of potential layered security strategies.

Mike

While everyone s naming the usual suspects for rollback software, the one I use and never hear mentioned is Keriver 1-click Restore Free. It takes 10 to 12 minutes to take a full snap shot of your system, and about the same amount of time to return it to that original state.

You can run it daily before Windows, and you can relive that day over again! And as others have said of their favorites, Its free, forever free! Enjoy people.

Re #26, " Giving bad reviews for an application on an unsupported O/S isn’t worth anything."

I disagree. XP is a good OS to test software. And Microsoft has just given me a virtual XP for free two weeks ago, because I own a Windows 8 licence. So I first test software on this virtual XP SP3, protected by TimeFreeze. If I like it,I will test it on my real W8.1 64 machine in SandboxIE. If the outcome of the test is positive and I have a real use for the software, I will install it on a real W8 computer.

To people warning of double virtualization: this is *not* a virtualization product - it is (in linux terms) a copy-on-write layer over the filing system.

Returnil RVS was originally a good product then the second major release (around 2011?) blew that reputation when they added some dodgy code whose behavior triggered all sorts of alarms. Does anyone know if they are now behaving themselves? After what happened to me last time (I had to reformat to clean my machine out) I'm reluctant to install this to test it unless all the GAOTD reports are consistently overwhelmingly positive.

Re #36, "... do SandboxIE and TimeFreeze work together well…on the same machine, or, is it better to use one or the other. Do these two do essentially the same thing, or is it of value to use both, together. "

You can use them together. TF works on a lower level than SandboxIE. TF protects the complete (virtual) PC. After shutdown the PC reboots to the exact state it was the last time. So it is a perfect solution to experiment with the average application given away here.

SandboxIE (I think the IE stands for Internet Explorer) was originally developed to surf in a safe way. But you can install software in a sandbox to experiment. I use it mostly on the real OS and only occasionally on the virtual machine. But it also runs fine on the virtual PC.

SandboxIE is also nice to test software longer than the standard 30 days often allowed for a trial. If you install a trial in a sandbox and delete that sandbox after 30 days, you can reinstall it five minutes later whithout aany problem. Whilst a trial will very often leave some trace, even after deinstalling, making it virtually impossible to extent that period of 30 days. Of course, I am not advocating to use a trial permanently. But sometimes 30 days is just not enough.

SanboxIE is also handy if you want to test an appication that might interfere with other installed software. For instance if you want to test LibreOffice, OpenOffice and Microsoft Office on the same computer at the same time. Just install each of them in their own sandbox and each of them runs completely independent of the others.

SandboxIE has changed it licence policy for the worse, I bought my licence a few years ago and can use this single licence on all my Windows machines forever. When testing software for a longer period, I make a special sandbox for it. For the giveaways I have two sandboxes, so I can test a giveaway for 48 hours.

To summarise: TF protects the complete installation of your PC. SandboxIE lets you run each appliction in its own environment.

@James M in post #35: The installer is network based so this is why its size is so small. Once installed, it then downloads and installs the full product installer which is about 56 MB in total size.

As mentioned in an earlier reply, there will be an option for an off-line installer when the Enterprise edition is released in the near future.

Mike

@Jordan in post #33: When the license period has ended, the software will return to the trial version unless you have new licensing to apply.

@Jimbo post #29: Neither our website or official support forums (www.wilderssecurity.com/categories/official-returnil-support-forum.100) have been off-line. Also note that we have continued to support our software there and via e-mail even if that version of the software is a much older generation.

I am not certain why you would post what you did here but of interest to many might be the fact that the creator of the application you mention was missing for over a year and that during that time he stopped releasing any updates to his program. We on the other hand never went away and have never had a gap in our product support or with our partners around the world.

Those who might be curious about what jimbo is claiming and want to read further should reference this thread at the Wilders Security forums (warning - long thread): www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/the-unofficial-shadow-defender-support-thread.293075

Mike

@pejay Kilroy post #27: Quietzone is compatible with Windows XP SP2 and above. This means it is also compatible with Windows XP SP3, but that is not the oldest version of the OS that Quietzone will support.

Special thanks to #15 Giovanni and all of you who take these giveaways around the block for followers like myself who might get in over my head. I am a huge fan of GOTD and all the company's that give us their programs to try but without all of you posters I might have problems I don't need. I save all the other programs recommended here that I wouldn't otherwise know of.

@ Giovanni # 15...juzt-reboot free???? how about this >>>>>

http://download.cnet.com/Juzt-Reboot-SW/3000-2242_4-10413956.html

It says 30 day trial...

Or am i missing something?
Please feel free to correct me.....

gergn, or anyone else, do SandboxIE and TimeFreeze work together well...on the same machine, or, is it better to use one or the other. Do these two do essentially the same thing, or is it of value to use both, together. Thanks!

Not sure about this software.. how can something of only 88k do the same thing as others of this kind?
Also, others here have suggested Toolwiz Time Freeze. I've used that twice on a 64 bit system and both times, I had to reinstall my operating system afterwards. :/

One other note for anyone who has not used a TOR browser you will find your Internet speed greatly reduced when using it. Secure but slow...

Downloaded and installed, nice interface and easy to use. My question for the vendor is: what happens when the 1-year license has expired?

A good software. More option than deep freeze. Safe to use.

I would also question whether Returnil has the right to use the TOR browser in their 'commercial' product as the TOR web site says it is for use with open source non-commercial packages.

Re #16, "... For XP, you will need at least Service Pack 2 (SP2)".
I use a VM based on XP Pro with Service Pack 3. The one that Microsoft gives away free of charge if you have a genuine W8 licence.
I don't remember seeing any error message after installation. I had to reboot and when restarting, the virtual machine just hung. So I cannot provide error messages.
I had switched off TimeFreeze this morning because I wanted to install QZ. But I am not going to de-install TF just to test QZ. The VM is a production machine I do not want to tamper with. The only thing I might do is make a copy of my VM and remove TF from that copy for a test. After the test I will just delete the VM.
I fully understand that TF and QZ have different business models. So one can be free for the user (without support) and the other one has to be paid. As I have a number of Windows machines at home, I prefer free software. Software producers like Treepad and SandboxIE allow me to use their products on all my machines for the price of a single licence because they understand I only use one at the time.

In the past I used Returnil and it was okay but Shadow Defender is way better. Also Returnil support and their web site disappeared some time back as if they had gone out of business. Skipping this one as Shadow Defender does everything I want.

Keep on trucking, Giovanni, most of us appreciate your efforts.

Interesting comments in no 16.... It appears this software was specifically written NOT TO WORK on XP less than Service Pack Three.

And That, folks, is what is called Planned Obsolescence, like waking up one day and discovering that there is no tyre to fit your 1985 GM Vehicle.

I noticed several users installing this on XP. Didn't anyone get the memo: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/end-support-help

"As of April 8, 2014, support and updates for Windows XP are no longer available." Giving bad reviews for an application on an unsupported O/S isn't worth anything.

Apparently this is free. Not sure if it is a partial alternative.
https://www.torproject.org/

I have no use for this software. I don't care if any company out there is using "Big Data" to analyse my preferred topics when I surf. So that they can direct information and marketing adverts my way?

Who cares?

Most of us are ordinary joes. We do not have big bucks to spend.
We are not shopping for a $300 Million yacht.
"Big Data" would not want to waste time checking us out.

@XP-Man post #4: The network installer does not include an option for altering the default installation directory to make the install process as simple and efficient as possible. We will be providing an additional off-line installer that will include this option with the release of the Enterprise version that will also include remote client management.

Once this version is available, the user will have the choice on which installer they want to use.

Mike

@Giovanni post #13: While I understand your enthusiasm for free-free, we have to pay our engineers, tech support, and other personnel on a regular basis or they would obviously seek other opportunities to make a living. The current price break for our software is more aggressive than any of our paid customers and those who do purchase licensing get dedicated technical support when needed.

So for the cost of a cheap night out at McDonald's, you get a powerful tool to help secure your expensive computer for (at the current moment) a 1 year license for our software. Where do you not see the value add here?

Mike

@Karl post #12: thanks for the overview on what boot-to-restore does in general. to add to your explaination, our software has always been disk based rather than application layer based so it can take control of the hard disk to create the virtual environment rather than continuously monitoring the Windows file system.

Regarding the Privacy Browser - yes it is TOR based and we discuss this in detail in our site FAQ's and in the included User's Manual in the software. You will also see this noted in the browser when it is launched.

We use a modified version of the TOR browser and update it when needed to filter out known bad or compromised nodes.

this change in the 4x generation leverages what we know about how our software is generally used in the real world:

Scenario 1: corporate networks. public access, etc: The customer does not want any changes to their systems UNLESS they specifically make the changes following some type of review and testing.

Even in this type of environment it is likely that users will surf the Internet and may attempt to make unwanted changes. Our implementation of the TOR browser may or may not be used here and is simply an additional tool the admin can provide to their users if desired.

Scenario 2: Consumer users. These users may not want or need to use the virtualization all the time and tend to use it as a panic button and/or additional layer of armor when surfing the Internet. In our default configuration with Desktop toolbar active, you can use a single click on the icon to immediately start the Quietzone protection AND launch the TOR browser for privacy/anonymity.

Mike

@wosa post #9: Quietzone (v4x) includes the same MBR protection that the older generations of our software included. When the sandbox is activated, the MBR is protected from changes and WE DO NOT use the MBR. That is, our software does not make changes to the MBR nor do we write any code to the MBR - we simply protect it from changes when using the Quietzone protection.

And as noted by me in a previous post - PLEASE uninstall other boot-to-restore solutions prior to installing Quietzone UNLESS the alternate virtualization solution is application layer based like SBIE. Quietzone uses disk level virtualization which requires that it take control of the actual disk to place Windows in a virtual environment. If there is another application that also needs to take control of the disk at the same time, it may result in a fight of drivers (conflict) that can be problematic.

Mike

Mike

@gergn post #8: WTF may actually be a source of conflict and the root cause of your original issue report regarding the VM install. You should uninstall other boot-to-restore solutions prior to installing Quietzone as this may result in driver conflict which would manifest the same symptoms as you described earlier.

Mike

With all due respect, I can't help recall of this 2007 article by Bruce Schneier.

A Security Market for Lemons

@Corno: Quietzone can be used in virtual machines without issue as long as the Guest OS is a supported version of Windows.

Mike

@XP-Man: You will only need one connection to the Internet to register and activate the commercial license for your copy of the software. Once the client shows as "commercial" in the middle of top section of the screen (it will say "Commercial License by mm/dd/yyyy") no further internet connection is needed to use the software.= during the license period.

You WILL need a connection to the internet to complete the following:

1. Check for and apply software upgrades
2. Re-register your client following an uninstall/reinstall at a later time (if applicable).

IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT USE 3rd party uninstallers to remove Quietzone - USE the included Quietzone uninstaller through Windows add/remove software feature. To provide the virtualization protection, QZ installs a Windows driver that must be installed and uninstalled in a very specific way/order. If this is not performed correctly or is only partly effective you may encounter issues with Windows boot.

Mike

@gergn: Hi, your report is not expected. The first thing to check is whether your version of Windows XP is supported. For XP, you will need at least Service Pack 2 (SP2). As QZ is compatible with SBIE, it is not an issue to use the two at the same time so that is not the cause of the issue you encountered.

Do you remember any error messages? If yes, what is the text of that error? We would ask for the troubleshooting logs but your post indicates you may have uninstalled the software.

Mike

One year license only?

Come on....

http://www.toolwiz.com/products/toolwiz-time-freeze
http://www.horizondatasys.com/en/products_and_solutions.aspx?ProductId=18
http://www.juzt-reboot.com/aboutJuztReboot.htm
http://www.toolwiz.com/toolwiz-time-machine

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE forever!!

Enjoy!! ^_^

#10 roman

Can someone explain it to me what it exactly does?

I'll try.

The today's software is a virtualization system. It adds an layer, where all changes, made to the system, are made to the virtual layer, not to the real system. The safe browsing is more than misleading. It simply installs the TOR network with the TOR browser. And this in the virtual layer. So you can surf under the TOR network and all changes or downloads to your system will be cancelled, if you finish the "quietzone session".

This is simple and working. But the company should mention more about the background and especially that they install the TOR browser. HTH.

And yes, this is a one year subscripting. Misleading, too!

Karl

It would have been nice to know that this was a subscription-based program before I installed it.

On reading through the help file I got the impression that if the subscription was not renewed it would continue working but reboot my computer every 30 minutes.

This program has been uninstalled.

Double virtualization is always a bad idea. Best to use virtualbox and create a snapshot. If you want to keep your data private just restore it to the snapshot everytime you want to delete your tracks. Just remember certain things can still be tracked.

Can someone explain it to me what it exactly does? I have read it over and over again and still can't see what it does. Is it kind of safe browsing?

While it is a good idea to separate your data from the system data ...
it is (in general) NOT a good idea to install such deep involved system drivers not into the system drive!

I don´t want to start a tech´s discussion about that - just wanted to clarify that you should

1. start your brain and try to understand general implications of such a class of tools.

2. save the MBR and BOOTSECTORS of your drives it playing around with such tools (many older tools DID change data there!)
Due to that DONN´t even think of doing system restore instead of correctly de-installing such software if you want get rid of it!

3. Use double virtualizations ONLY if you are curious about the effects.

I did no tests on today´s giveaway (while the reputation of Returnil is rather good) because today I have not enough time for testing it.

Finally: I agree to former posted suggestions as TimeFreeze, Sandboxie and the free variant of RebootRestoreRX, which are all good and well tested solutions; but please, keep in mind my hints above!

more than 300 file changed and 600 reg key during thisi installation

no way to know exactly what it was doing

pay only 4 1 year so crazy!!!!!!!

Re #6, " ... running a virtualization program (Returnil) in a virtual environment (virtual XP) is not a good idea."

I disagree. The fact that they both uses the word "virtual" does not make them incompatible. A virtual OS makes it possible to run an OS "above" the OS of the real PC. ToolWiz and SandboxIE allow you to run applications virtually withn the OS itself. I am using SandboxIE, TimeFreeze and Cameyo portables very succesfully on my virtual XP. No problem whatsover.

Even more, if my virtual XP does not start after installing Quietzone, that has NOTHING to do with TimeFreeze. Because that only comes into action later in the booting process. Just like the classical heater in your car only starts working after the engine has started.

In the time being, I will keep using SandboxIE (free if you need only a single sandbox) and TimeFreeze by ToolWiz (free)
gergn

exactly the same as I do

Sorry to hear your misfortune, Geron, but I have a feeling that running a virtualization program (Returnil) in a virtual environment (virtual XP) is not a good idea.

Installer downloads the program.

Installed and registered without problems on a Win 8.1 Pro 64 bit system. Returnil does not check, if another virtualization program is installed. That's bad. It must! because of of conflicting problems.

A well known company without name and address. We had had software from Returnil in the past (Returnil System Safe 2011 Pro in 2010 and Returnil Virtual System 2010 in 2009)

It is basically the same virtualization system under another label with another focus to attract buyers. This time it is the en vogue "internet and PC privacy". rom their FAQ :

Why does this matter?

This is a matter of personal choice. However, your Internet activity is being tracked. A substantial number of organizations use this to build profiles of

your behavior, tastes, routine, associations, location, movements
your age group, gender, ethnicity, religious and political affiliations
your financial and credit status
and many, many other aspects of your life.

There is much talk in the media of “Big Data” and its uses in business, government and security, but remember “Big Data” means you, your personal details, your life and your Internet activity.


If you don't work with a virtualö layer or a sandboxed system, this is a good start. Be sure to read the FAQ before. And for the internet privacy... your browsers, the cache and all modules must be stored on the disk, protected by this software. Otherwise the traces will remain.

For that reasons - and I recommend it - I browse with a portable browser copied after system start to RAMdisk.

I have another system to which I trust since several years.

Yet again another installation that does not do the full download until setup is run.
Once the download had been completed it installs itself on my C drive without offering me the opportunity of where it should be placed.
A reboot of the computer was required for a full installation and even when that appeared completed for few minutes afterwards it was connecting services etc, fortunately I believe my uninstaller managed to capture everything.
In its initial state it is turned off, it has an icon in the taskbar that allows control.
As an XP user I have to be more careful than most regarding security but will not really know what the program is supposed to do until I have read through their information on their FAQ page at the following link:-
http://qz.returnilvirtualsystem.com/faq/

Also as a security safeguard I will limit my connection to the Internet and rather than changing to a newer version of Windows I will use Skype via Android. A great specifications 10 inch tablet, retina display, 16 gig to high-quality cameras for less than £110.

If this program is as good as I hope it is maybe I will be able to say connected via Windows.

Warning! The name Returnil has such a good reputation, that I installed it on my virtual XP permanently without my normal precautions. Alas! after that, the virtual machine would not start anymore. I had to use system restore to get it going again. So, I won't touch it until the error had been fixed. Hopefully today.

In the time being, I will keep using SandboxIE (free if you need only a single sandbox) and TimeFreeze by ToolWiz (free)

Toolwiz TimeFreeze is the best software for this kind of work!!!

Just a heads up folk: Quietzone works on an yearly subscription model, and this giveaway is of a one year license.