Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0 Release Notes
Build 2695141395
Released on: April 21, 2010
Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0.1 is an upgrade release of the reboot and restore software, Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v8.x, from Horizon Datasys. It contains several major updates and important bug fixes. To install Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0, user should first uninstall the existing v8.x version and user needs a new license for DVPCR v9.0. This Release Notes covers What’s New, What’s Fixed, Known Issues and Product Limitations.
The following are new features and updates in Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0:
Upgrading the system kernel to support the latest Microsoft Windows 7 platform.
A new feature to automatically shutdown PCs if the PC is left on idle for X minutes.
Add a percentage indicator for creating an exemption drive.
New set of command line switches for managing DVPCR restore settings. The new
command line switches are:
Shieldcmd.exe /restoreschedule Restoretype /time Timeformat /u "administrator" /p "admin password"
Restoretype:
restart
logoff
Restartlogoff
hourly
firstboot
daily
weekly
Timeformat:
hourly time format: minute
daily time format: hour:minute
weekly time format day:hour:minute
For example restore baseline weekly at Monday 19:30pm
Shieldcmd.exe /restoreschedule weekly /time 1:19:30 /u "administrator" /p "admin-pass"
New graphical interface for both program console and subsystem console.
Activate license during setup. Eliminated activation requirement after setup.
The following are problems and bugs fixed in Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0:
DVPCR setup on Windows 64 fails with “update MBR failed”.
DVPCR activation problem on Windows vista 64 systems
DVPCR cannot connect to RMC in a different network segment.
Shieldclnt.exe causes high CPU when DVPCR is configured to connect to a RMC and the RMC is offline.
The following limitations still exist in Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus v9.0:
Hard Disk Support – DVPCR Plus can only protect one IDE/SATA/PATA hard drive. If a system has more than one hard disk, DVPCR Plus will protect the drive designated as the “Primary.” DVPCR Plus does not support SCSI, RAID or MIRROR hard drive configurations.
Server Support – DVPCR Plus is a Windows workstation based product, it is not designed to support Windows servers.
Booting From an External Media (OS) – DVPCR Plus cannot protect the hard drive when changes are made to the hard drive from an external or foreign (non-Windows) operating system bypassing DVPCR Plus protection drivers. For example, booting from a CD-ROM will start a different OS before DVPCR Plus is loaded, that could change the hard drive without acknowledging the existence of DVPCR Plus snapshots on the hard drive and produce unpredictable results.
Disk Encryption Programs that Intercept Low-Level Disk I/O – DVPCR Plus may conflict with some applications that proxy low-level disk I/O.
Compressed Drives – DVPCR Plus does support NTFS compressed drives. (DVPCR Plus does support NTFS compressed )
Dual Boot of Windows and Linux OS on the Same Hard Drive – DVPCR Plus does not support systems that have multiple Windows Operating Systems with non-Windows Operating System (like Linux) loaded on the same hard drive.
Use of Defragmenter Programs – Once installed, DVPCR Plus blocks the use of defragmentation programs. The reason for this is that DVPCR Plus tracks sector change activity, relocates some sectors, and maintains its own map of all sector locations on the hard drive. Defragmentation is the process of locating the noncontiguous sectors of a file and rearranging the sectors and restoring them into fewer sectors. As a result, once DVPCR Plus is installed, the work done by a defragmentation program would not provide the desired result without knowing the sectors used by other snapshots. Thus, defragmentation programs are blocked. The need for a defragmenter varies according to file system and the amount of file creation and update activity on a hard drive. Horizon Datasys recommends that defragmentation be done before installing DVPCR Plus. In addition, DVPCR Plus has a build-in defragmenter as the alternative.
What’s New:
The following are new features and updates in Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus RMC v9.0:
Add a Restore Mode column in console detailed view to show clients restore setting
New feature, remote command, allows administrator to run programs and scripts on client workstations.
New RMC scheduled tasks, system updates, allows administrator to schedule Windows updates or other updates to apply to the client workstations.
New client workstation setting for automatically shutdown workstations if the workstations are left on idle for X minutes.
Add a checkbox to run DVPCR RMC at end of setup..
Update RMC Server Service to run on Windows 7 platforms
The following are problems and bugs fixed in Drive Vaccine PC Restore Plus RMC v9.0:
RMC Server Service hangs due to TCP port conflict.
Client connection to the RMC drops when RMC is trying to activate clients license over a dial up Internet connection.
RMC scheduled tasks settings are not saved on hard disk if the RMC machine is rebooted before the completion of the task.
Drive Vaccine Classic integrates Reboot-and-Restore, a simple technology designed to keep computers fully functional and optimally configured. It works by write protecting the hard drive at the physical sector level - ensuring that all file saves, and configuration changes are temporary. When a Drive Vaccine Classic protected system is restarted - the workstation automatically reconfigures itself to the desired, baseline system configuration. -Hence the coined phrase "Reboot-and-Restore"-
Since the protection is invisible; users feel as though they have absolute control of the system. Regardless of what they may attempt to do, including erasing files, installing software or even modifying registry settings, the computers will restore to their configured baseline settings everytime they are restarted or when a user logs-off. Making the workstations perfectly configured and available for the next user.
Video Demo: Drive Vaccine Classic In Action
Drive Vaccines Reboot-and-Restore solution, drastically reduces computer maintenance, and is widely used to protect public access computers, (ie. library public computers, school PC Labs, etc) or shared computing environments where a workstation could be misused or damaged either intentionally by a malicious user or accidentally by a learning student.
Eliminate Public Access Computer Downtime - One of the most troublesome and recurring tasks for an IT technician is to restore a PC back to a pristine working condition... Prior to the concept of Reboot-and-Restore, many administrators of public access workstations were faced with the daunting task of formatting hard drives and reinstalling the OS, everytime a system became inoperable... However, this proved to be a time-consuming and costly routine for fixing "micro-disasters". This becomes a concern for both the PC technicians as well as for the users, as they are forced into a non-productive state while the computers are being brought back to life.
Drive Vaccine eliminates computer downtime by maintaining a consistent system image everytime your PC and Mac workstations are restarted or a user logs-off. Thus any errors, mistakes or unauthorized software installations are instantly eliminated by simply restarting the computer. This enables your technical staff to focus on more advanced technical issues rather than the daily user level mishaps.
Maintain your public access computers to be fully functional with the same desktop settings everyday...
Keep PC's Virus and Spyware free: Viruses and spy ware are the most common threats, and new infections slip through the first lines of defense almost daily. In addition, users can also cause unknowing damage by tampering with configuration settings, by installing botched software - damaging the original configuration to a point of no return.
Set Acceptable User Policies: Put in force AUP's by guaranteeing that only approved applications are installed. When protected, Drive Vaccine will not allow configuration changes or installation of any applications to remain on the workstations. This, in effect, blocks the installation of most illegal or unauthorized software.
Enhance The Computing Experience: Drive Vaccine ensures workstation performance is at optimal levels by removing website cookies, spyware, temp files viruses and unnecessary plug-ins; which cause system bottlenecks. Any infections to a "immunized" system are instantly eradicated - workstations are reverted back to their original configuration on every restart or user log-off. Because Drive Vaccine does not restrict access and is transparent to users - Users feel as though they have complete control of the machine; enhancing the end user's computing experience.
Prevent Identity Theft - Protect User Privacy: Users in a public access setting are susceptible to falling prey to identity thieves. Some may attempt to pre-install a key logger or some dangerous spy ware application. Other bandits may attempt to view your history, temporary files or worse - Your completed forms, which may contain personal information, user names, passwords etc. A system immunized by Drive Vaccine insures users - that no information or installed applications remain. Drive Vaccine erases any installed application, history settings, logs and temporary files from remaining on the public access workstation so your privacy is protected and personal information is not cached and saved on the system for prying eyes to see.
Accomodate Windows OS And Anti-Virus Updates - Drive Vaccine (Plus Edition) can be configured to easily accommodate Windows Critical OS and Anti-virus definition updates right out of the box. No complex batch files, scripting, or scheduling PC downtimes. Drive Vaccine (Plus Edition) simplifies the process of maintaining updated security patches and virus definitions.
Network Management Control - Drive Vaccine meets the needs of today's network environment. All Drive Vaccine products include a Network Controller Console. The GUI based Network Controller provides a central location for controlling, monitoring and managing workstations across the enterprise.
Drive Vaccine is ideal for Public access computing environments where the Systems should always be available for use in a consistant operating state. It's Reboot and Restore technology is suitable for:
Reboot and Restore - Simple desktop security for public access computers.
