Shadow Defender - [Light Virtualization / Security / Update / Discussion]

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Update to new version 1.4.0.588

DL in the first post.

 

Almost nonexistent, its a very cool program, try it.

 

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New version 1.4.0.591
Download first post.

 

Good catch. But let me tell you is a typo, should be 2016. I'm going to notify Patrick who is in direct contact with Tony, the author of Shadow Defender.

 

Shadow Defender is lightweight virtualization that works below the level of the Windows file system to virtualize entire disk partitions. As a minimum this should include the system partition. Changes are virtualized by redirecting all disk sectors writes on a shadowed partition to a hidden temporary cache. Shadow Defender can be thought of as sitting between Windows and the running applications. This has some consequences.


1. Providing applications are making normal Windows file system calls (direct disk writes are prevented), Shadow Defender will handle disk sector redirection without the application being aware of Shadow Defender's existence. This is a simple and robust mechanism. Shadow Defender does not need to be kept up to date to cope with software changes in applications. Furthermore, the license is lifetime, covering all future software updates.


2. No software compatibility settings are required for Shadow Defender to operate smoothly alongside other security applications and utilities. The operation of Shadow Defender is invisible to applications running at the level of the Windows file system.


3. As all system changes are discarded when rebooting to exit Shadow Mode, Shadow Defender restores the system to a previous known state in order to eliminate unwanted change from whatever cause: malware infection, system crashes, etc. It's about more than just protecting the system against infection by malware.


4. Because the entire system partition is virtualized in Shadow Mode, all processes are running within a system-wide sandbox. No process isolation between sandboxed and unsandboxed processes is needed. Software that installs drivers or services can be tested using Shadow Defender, providing that it does not require a reboot to complete the install.


5. Because Shadow Defender virtualizes the entire system partition, care needs to be taken to ensure that changes to data aren't accidentally lost when rebooting. If the data folders are located on the system partition, Shadow Defender can be configure to permanently exclude them from virtualization. Alternatively, data folders can be moved to a separate data partition, if there is one. (As an alternative to folder exclusions, changes to data files can be committed manually but it does mean remembering to do it to avoid data loss.)


Unlike Sandboxie, Shadow Defender does not have any added real-time protection features beyond virtualization. This makes it essential to supplement Shadow Defender with additional real-time protection.


Finally, because they operate differently, they can be used together. Sandboxie can provide the additional real-time protection for sandboxed applications that Shadow Defender lacks, whereas Shadow Defender enables the system to be kept in a constant state that can also be useful for software testing.