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Faronics Deep Freeze.

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by ron k. 1 view

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http://www.faronics.com/en/Products/DeepFreeze/DeepFreezeCorporate.aspx
Too much for a desktop?
We use weekly backup images for the 3 main computers and recovering six days worth of data shouldn't be much of an issue but I'm always looking for a better way to protect ourselves. 'Freezing' a snapshot of a clean system looks like a good idea, even if it is setup more for use in an Internet kiosk or computer lab.
It's my understanding that I can 'unthaw' certain areas, like My Documents for instance.
Any thoughts? Alternatives?

8 replies

by ron k.

Maybe no one who'll reply to me knows if it's a good idea.

by charvell

First off, I don't use this product, but I did read the article and a couple things popped into my head. The first, and usually the biggest danger sign, was "this is too good to be true". That being said, it probably is. From what I can gather from the article, it basically restores the machine to a default config you set up on every reboot. Which is fine for machines in a computer lab, or even for a kiosk computer like you mentioned. I wonder, though, if between reboots you can make changes, its just on the reboot that it resets everything, or if it truly locks everything down.

My impression is this is a piece of software I'd want to test out for a couple months before I purchased it, since it looks like it could have some great features, but might have some drawbacks or easily exploited weaknesses.

by ron k.

Maybe to change the configuration.
I remember Norton Go Back. It was pretty horrible to use. Boot times took forever and to make any changes, turning it off and back on, you may as well have gone out for donuts.
I understood the article to mean that the computer automatically goes back to the default, so setting up a limited user account, will be likely, in most cases.
I have the trial software. If I can get a few things out of the way I'll try it,

by santeewelding

From the first time I learned about it, the thing sounded like an ultimate sandbox.

I know it was in use in one of my first computer-use classes. I was messing unauthorizedly in the bios when the instructor came by.

Unconcerned, she asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"

"No," I said.

"Cool," and she left me be.

by rkuhn040172

I won't comment on whether or not it is the right solution for anyone, but I have used it on my kids computers and the product is outstanding.

Virus...no worries. Kids deleting system files...no worries.

by ron k.

I'm working my way through some website building software but I have Faronic's software and that's next on my list of shlt to install.
I marked your reply helpful because it made me laugh.

by thetokenlady

extensivly in our school system. Yes, you have to "thaw" the systems to make any permanent changes, so you have an extra reboot to your work time. The system isn't reset until it is powered off or restarted, so it's a good test environment for any installs that don't require a restart.

We use the enterprise version that include a console, and can thaw or freeze multiple stations at once. The console also supports wake on lan.

So far, we've only had a handful of machines compromised by our ever-so-inventive high school students, probably by a bootable flash drive. I know there's a hack out there somewhere. It saves us a lot of work each week in our environment.

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