Deep Freeze... Why isnt it as popular as I think it should be?

By auto-logic
in Tips, Tweaks & Customization

 Share

Recommended Posts

Community Regular

auto-logic

Posted
Posted

I saw a thread about how people manage their security on ars technica.

Personally, I would never even consider running a computer without installing deep freeze immediately after a fresh install, before connecting to the net. It's like the final lock in the system, with near zero performance hit.

I guess I'm just wondering why this isnt a more popular solution! It's also cheap. And for my data, I just have it on a seperate partition that is not frozen.

If you dont know what it is you can check it out at the link. Literally one reboot and your hdd is untouched.

Thoughts?

http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

Veteran

CY:G

Posted
Posted

Well, it is more famous on the education departments, both my High School and University computer labs used it.

I don't see a use for it personally, im always installing new apps and changing config files, i think it would just be a hassle.

Veteran

hjf288

Posted
Posted
Well, it is more famous on the education departments, both my High School and University computer labs used it.

I don't see a use for it personally, im always installing new apps and changing config files, i think it would just be a hassle.

I figure the gain in security is simply not worth it for the amount of hassle and arsing around I'd have to go through in order to use my computer daily with it.

Community Regular

auto-logic

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hmm... maybe I am just super neurotic about a clean system... but I think it's worth it.

To install new stuff, you type in the DF password, and then reboot into an unfrozen state. You can then tell it, on next reboot, to freeze again.

As far as bookmarks etc, I just keep em 'in the cloud'.

Does anybody else out there use DF?

Veteran

sweetsam

Posted
Posted

The very concept of needing a reboot to get to unfrozen state is a turn off. What I do is I image my hard drive after I have a windows install up to date and with all the apps I use installed. Now when I run in to issues either because of infection or because of issues caused by a program I tried out I simply restore the image which takes 10 mins and voila I have a fresh install in mins. This in my opinion is a lot simpler compared to frequent switches between freeze and defreeze mode.

That said its a perfect solution for public computer where they simply don't want people messing with it. All you need is a reboot. Can't get more simpler than that.

Mentor

ring0

Posted
Posted
The very concept of needing a reboot to get to unfrozen state is a turn off. What I do is I image my hard drive after I have a windows install up to date and with all the apps I use installed. Now when I run in to issues either because of infection or because of issues caused by a program I tried out I simply restore the image which takes 10 mins and voila I have a fresh install in mins. This in my opinion is a lot simpler compared to frequent switches between freeze and defreeze mode.

^^^

since i don't run every exe and go to every shifty russian website i can find, i don't need that kind of ridiculously over-the-top cleanliness/security. i'll keep an image in a hidden partition, just in case things get really nasty, but i might have to restore that... pfft... once a year, tops.

doesn't seem practical for a home user. think of the madness when you'd fix up a relative's machine and they call you the next day FREAKING OUT because all the things they just did the previous day are gone. before you say "oh that wouldn't happen - i'd just show them how to unfreeze blah blah blah".... no.... if they won't even bother to use firefox when there's a firefox icon right beside the ie6/7 icon, they aren't going to bother with this.

Experienced

bloodrain

Posted
Posted

every school I've seen has used deepfreeze, its more for computer stupid people and school where you dont want people messing with ****. For example I have installed on my fathers pc at his house. Since then, the stupid calls of "why do i keep getting messages telling me I won $10,000. Do they send me a check or something?" have since stopped.

Veteran

sweetsam

Posted
Posted
^^^

since i don't run every exe and go to every shifty russian website i can find, i don't need that kind of ridiculously over-the-top cleanliness/security. i'll keep an image in a hidden partition, just in case things get really nasty, but i might have to restore that... pfft... once a year, tops.

doesn't seem practical for a home user. think of the madness when you'd fix up a relative's machine and they call you the next day FREAKING OUT because all the things they just did the previous day are gone. before you say "oh that wouldn't happen - i'd just show them how to unfreeze blah blah blah".... no.... if they won't even bother to use firefox when there's a firefox icon right beside the ie6/7 icon, they aren't going to bother with this.

I wasn't recommending it for a home user especially not for people who do not have a clear understanding of how computers work. Just incase it wasn't clear.

every school I've seen has used deepfreeze, its more for computer stupid people and school where you dont want people messing with ****. For example I have installed on my fathers pc at his house. Since then, the stupid calls of "why do i keep getting messages telling me I won $10,000. Do they send me a check or something?" have since stopped.

haha

Proficient

_BeanZ_

Posted
Posted
Maybe Microsoft will make it better.... They've got a similar program in development called "SteadyState"..... at least, i think its still in dev.... correct me if i'm wrong.

Been out for nearly a year now - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

Grand Master

The_Decryptor Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

As other people mentioned, it pretty much makes your computer useless.

I'm running firewalls on all my computers (app based firewalls) and AV on my Windows PC, and my router is running another firewall (set to reject everything by default), a port scanner shows a total of 1 port open, and that's just when I'm running the app on that port.

My configuration gives me good security, and i can still save files.

Grand Master

majortom1981

Posted
Posted

We use deepfreeze at work. For public computers it rocks. ITs not really meant for home use.

You can set it to automatically unfreeze at a certain time and then have wsus download the updates at that time and have the virus scan do the same time then have the computer refreeze at a specific time.

You can also use the deep freeze console to remotely wake up the pc.

ITs also pretty hard to crack.

With deepfreeze you can also have a thaw drive which is allowed to be changed and not effected so if yo uwant to store all your documents and music and game saves and stuff create a thaw drive.

Deepfreeze is awesome!!!!!

Grand Master

morficus

Posted
Posted

IMHO, Deep Freeze is only worth getting if you have to handle a large amount of public access computers...or if you have a kid at home who screws things up all the time.

Internet Cafes, Some college/university labs, some high school labs, public terminals - all great places for this product.

But if you have a good domain admin, you can pretty much set rules to restrict just about anything and get as detailed as you need. DF is just a quick and dirty solution.

The down side.. is that you can't do automatic updates... since DF would just revet it. Same goes for any changes you push using Group Policy... DF would just revert them next time you boot up.. and the policy would have to be pushed again...and again...and again...

Proficient

classicdisastr

Posted
Posted

My school has deepfreeze on every computer students use, but they also have Novell on there with everything restricted, and Norton and SpySweeper. They have the network drives with our home folder unfrozen. But i think they're pretty secure there. haha. That bad thing about it is that they dont get automatic updates. They only have SP1 on the computers.

Grand Master

majortom1981

Posted
Posted
IMHO, Deep Freeze is only worth getting if you have to handle a large amount of public access computers...or if you have a kid at home who screws things up all the time.

Internet Cafes, Some college/university labs, some high school labs, public terminals - all great places for this product.

But if you have a good domain admin, you can pretty much set rules to restrict just about anything and get as detailed as you need. DF is just a quick and dirty solution.

The down side.. is that you can't do automatic updates... since DF would just revet it. Same goes for any changes you push using Group Policy... DF would just revert them next time you boot up.. and the policy would have to be pushed again...and again...and again...

Your wrong. Deep freeze allows yo uto have dep freeze automatically have the computer reboot unfrozen and then set a time where the pc reboots frozen. Then you use Group policy to set windows update to download the updates from an wsus server at that time. Deep freeze compliments grou policy very well. we use deep freeze with an antivirus server, group policy and wsus all work perfectly.

If you dont beleive me here is fro mthere web site

http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

"Schedule Thawed Maintenance periods to perform Windows updates through the Internet or a SUS/WSUS server or run a custom batch file to update your antivirus definitions

Schedule Send Message tasks "

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Elgato Stream Deck+ is now available at the lowest price

      By TarasBuria · Posted

      Elgato Stream Deck+ is now available at the lowest price by Taras Buria During Amazon Prime Day 2026, Elgato is offering a big discount on its Stream Deck+ accessory. This streaming and productivity accessory is now available for $141.99, thanks to a 21% discount. For those unfamiliar, the Stream Deck+ is a console-like device that features eight buttons with built-in displays. You can map these buttons to various actions and specify what each display shows. Unlike "classic" Stream Decks, the Plus model features four additional knobs for adjusting zoom, brightness, volume, microphone, and more. Above the knobs, there is a wide display that shows various values and sliders. Elgato's Stream Deck devices are highly customizable devices, and you can expand their capabilities using hundreds of plugins from the official Elgato Marketplace. You can create your own presets or use pre-made profiles to save time when configuring the device for specific apps. In the box, you get the Stream Deck+ itself, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, and a user manual. The Stream Deck+ is a single-cable device, and all you need to set it up is to connect it to your computer and install the official Elgato app. Elgato Stream Deck+ - $141.99 | 21% off for Prime Members Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Rufus alternative Ventoy now supports Windows 11's mandatory update, fixes major boot bug

      By Zeromus2003 · Posted

      Can you give an example of when you would want to use Rufus over the other or vice versa? Just wondering which is the "best".
    • Steam Summer Sale 2026 kicks off offering weeks of PC game discounts

      By Zeromus2003 · Posted

      Oh no...the wallet is already screaming. So many games and so little time. Being old and responsible is awful!
    • LibreWolf 152.0.2-1

      By Copernic · Posted

      LibreWolf 152.0.2-1 by Razvan Serea LibreWolf is an independent “fork” of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community run successor to LibreFox. LibreWolf is designed to increase protection against tracking and fingerprinting techniques, while also including a few security improvements. This is achieved through our privacy and security oriented settings and patches. LibreWolf also aims to remove all the telemetry, data collection and annoyances, as well as disabling anti-freedom features like DRM. LibreWolf features: Latest Firefox — LibreWolf is compiled directly from the latest build of Firefox Stable. You will have the the latest features, and security updates. Independent Build — LibreWolf uses a build independent of Firefox and has its own settings, profile folder and installation path. As a result, it can be installed alongside Firefox or any other browser. No phoning home — Embedded server links and other calling home functions are removed. In other words, minimal background connections by default. User settings updates Extensions firewall: limit internet access for extensions. Multi-platform (Windows/Linux/Mac/and soon Android) Community-Driven Dark theme (classic and advanced) LibreWolf privacy features: Delete cookies and website data on close. Include only privacy respecting search engines like DuckDuckGo and Searx. Include uBlockOrigin with custom default filter lists, and Tracking Protection in strict mode, to block trackers and ads. Strip tracking elements from URLs, both natively and through uBO. Enable dFPI, also known as Total Cookie Protection. Enable RFP which is part of the Tor Uplift project. RFP is considered the best in class anti-fingerprinting solution, and its goal is to make users look the same and cover as many metrics as possible, in an effort to block fingerprinting techniques. Always display user language as en-US to websites, in order to protect the language used in the browser and in the OS. Disable WebGL, as it is a strong fingerprinting vector. Prevent access to the location services of the OS, and use Mozilla's location API instead of Google's API. Limit ICE candidates generation to a single interface when sharing video or audio during a videoconference. Force DNS and WebRTC inside the proxy, when one is being used. Trim cross-origin referrers, so that they don't include the full URI. Disable link prefetching and speculative connections. Disable disk cache and clear temporary files on close. Disable form autofill. Disable search and form history...and more. Download: LibreWolf 64-bit | Portable 64-bit | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) Download: ARM64 | Portable ARM64 Links: LibreWolf Home Page | Addons | Screenshot | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Hands on with iFlyTek AINote 2 E-Ink tablet: insanely thin and smart

      By TarasBuria · Posted

      Hands on with iFlyTek AINote 2 E-Ink tablet: insanely thin and smart by Taras Buria During Amazon Prime Day 2026, iFlyTek is offering its E-Ink tablets with big discounts. The AINOTE 2 is now available at 20% off, allowing you to save quite a lot on one of the thinnest E-Ink tablets out there. I was offered a chance to look at the device, so here are my impressions. The AINOTE 2 is a large 10.65-inch E-Ink tablet that strikes you the moment you take it out of the box. It is extremely thin. At just 4.2 mm, this tablet is at the edge of what is possible for a device with a USB Type-C port. It is also very light, which makes it comfortable and enjoyable during long reading sessions. The tablet has a gold metal chassis with the front and back made of plastic. The back also features four rubber feet that prevent it from sliding around your desk when writing. Besides a USB Type-C port and an LED indicator, there are two buttons mounted on the top edge: a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a dedicated AI button. I would say the fingerprint scanner is quite mid. Given that iFlyTek positions the device as a digital notebook, it makes sense to have a biometric scanner to protect sensitive information. However, it is not the fastest fingerprint reader, and sometimes it fails to recognize my finger. I assume that is due to the tablet's insane thinness. A dedicated AI button is an interesting choice, especially in the middle of the top edge. I can see this button being useful for those who heavily rely on AI and use it frequently, but I cannot help but think its placement is impractical. Having it on one of the longer sides would make so much more sense. The AINOTE 2 is a very pretty device. Gold finish with thin chassis and nearly symmetrical front bezels create a fantastic combination, and iFlyTek cleverly hides the front chin with a section that looks like an extension of the screen, housing two touch-capacitive buttons: one for AI and one for quick notes. This section can also scroll pages when you swipe from the middle to the left or right. It is a cool idea, and very handy when you need to scroll tens of pages at once. AINOTE 2's elegant look extends from its exterior to its software. The user interface is very clean and not cluttered with an abundance of buttons. The tablet prioritizes the note-taking experience, and when you unlock it, it defaults to the list of all notes and folders. Additionally, there is a separate "Schedule" section with your calendar, tasks, memos, and other productivity features. You can connect your Outlook or Google account or use a local calendar. The tablet has quite a lot of AI features powered by OpenAI's GPT-5 and Google's Gemini 3. Besides a standard app with all your chats, you can invoke AI by pressing its dedicated button and dictating your request. It is not limited to just chats. It works with the built-in calendar, and you can tell it to create events, tasks, notes, and more. Additionally, AI features are integrated into the built-in notepad, allowing you to summarize notes, ask questions about your notes, and more. The tablet can OCR handwritten text in different languages (about 120 languages, which is very impressive), and it surprised me with very good accuracy. Voice note transcription is also available, including a "multiplayer" mode where the tablet detects each speaker. Unfortunately, the AINOTE 2 has no built-in speakers (even though it somehow makes a tapping noise when you flip pages using the Quick Bar), so the only way to listen to something is to connect a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. However, there are four front-facing mics for dictation, voice notes, AI chats, and more. Unfortunately, certain features require a Pro subscription that costs $5.99/mo or $59.99/year. Those include offline voice transcription, access to better AI models, the ability to edit notes on a PC or mobile app, and extended service coverage similar to Apple Care. It is a bummer to see yet another app, especially in a device that costs $649, but at least they give a free 90-day trial so that you can see if the benefits justify the price. As for the reader, it supports PDF, EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW3, DOC(X), XLS(X), PPT(X), JPEG, JPG, and PNG. The app is quite customizable, with features like text contrast/boldness/size adjustments, margins and spacing customization, and the ability to load custom fonts. Plus, you can annotate books with the stylus, add text notes, and use AI to work with them. Just keep in mind that most AI features require an active internet connection. Like with other E-Ink tablets with Android inside, you can load any other reader you want from the Google Play Store or a third-party source. Despite its hefty price tag of $629 or $519 by the time of publishing this article during Prime Day 2026, the AINOTE 2 has quite modest hardware inside. There is only 4 GB of RAM and about 42GB of storage. It is powered by the RockChip RK3576 processor with 8 cores at 2.2 GHz. Given that the tablet runs Android 14 and has Google Play, you can install Android apps, but do not expect much from this thing performance-wise. As for the battery, there is a 4,000 Li-Ion battery, which, on full charge, lasted me for about one week of active daily use of reading and note-taking. The screen has a resolution of 1920x2560 pixels, which equals 300 PPI, a perfect spot for a sharp, nice-to-read display. It supports EMR styluses that do not require charging, and I have to say that the note-taking experience on this tablet is fantastic. Stylus lag is nearly imperceivable, creating a very natural, paper-like feel. The stylus comes in the box (including two extra nibs), and it features an extra button for various actions and an eraser on top. It magnetically attaches to the tablet and stays safely secured. The stylus has a very nice coarse texture, and thanks to using Wacom tech, you can swap it for any other EMR pen if you wish. The AINOTE 2 has no front light, and because of that, the display sits very close to the screen surface, reducing the distance between the stylus tip/your finger and the display to a minimum. No front light is certainly an inconvenience in certain scenarios, but the screen makes up for that with a seriously impressive paper-like feel and writing experience. In dark conditions, you will have to find a lamp, but the good thing is that the screen has a solid anti-glare surface that diffuses light. The display has two modes: Crisp and Fast. Crisp ensures the image stays, well, crisp and sharp, while Fast speeds up refresh rate and response by toning down display resolution and making everything a bit more jagged. In my testing, I only used Fast mode when browsing the web for a much faster render time. The iFlyTek AINOTE is an impressive device, but it's not flawless. A few things disappointed me during a week of using it. Software localization has a bunch of not necessarily broken, but certainly awkward, machine-translated English. System navigation is not good, as there is no universal "Home" gesture. To go to the main page, you have to swipe up and then press the Home button from the multi-tasking window. There are many gestures for various actions, such as display cleanup, screenshot, undo/redo, but no back/forward or Home gestures. I really hate that the tablet won't let me update its software without creating an iFlyTek account first. Finally, privacy could be a concern for some, as most tablets' features require an active internet connection, an iFlyTek account, and sharing data when using AI. If you can overlook its quirks, some of which could be addressed with software updates (I received two with massive changelogs over a single week), and accept a $519 price tag (with a discount), you will be happy with the AINOTE 2. However, if you do not need that many AI features in an E-Ink reader or you want something a bit more affordable, you'd better look at cheaper competitors from BOOX or Amazon, such as the BOOX Go 10.3 Gen 2 or the Kindle Scribe, which is currently 24% off during Prime Day sales. Buy iFlyTek AINOTE 2 on Amazon - $519 | 20% off with Prime What I liked What I disliked Very impressive hardware Beautiful design Fantastic display with an EMR stylus Supports offline voice transcription Easy-to-use software Clever, useful, and well-made AI features A fingerprint scanner Very expensive Some features require a subscription Poor system navigation Mandates a user account No speakers Privacy could be a concern Note: iFlyTek provided the review unit without any editorial input or review guidance. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      kinowa earned a badge
      First Post
    • Rookie
      krychek57 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Grand Master
      Jaybonaut went up a rank
      Grand Master
    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      416
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      168
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      132
    4. 4
      Xenon
      73
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!