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

    • Apple raises MacBook and iPad prices as memory costs surge

      By +Warwagon · Posted

      Now 8GB of ram looks even worse in the Neo. I'm so happy I purchased 128GB of DDR 4 when I did.... paid $174. Upgraded my parents laptop to 32GB around the same time for $48. Luckily I have a TON of spare laptops. So i'm good on laptops for a while. I also have a lot of desktops too that I could use if i had to. Lets just hope nothing happens to my main 4 monitor couch workstation.
    • Apple raises MacBook and iPad prices as memory costs surge

      By macoman · Posted

      I will keep my current devices for several years... no planning in upgrading until these devices stop working. Too pricey.
    • Apple raises MacBook and iPad prices as memory costs surge

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Apple raises MacBook and iPad prices as memory costs surge by Karthik Mudaliar Apple has raised the U.S. prices of several MacBook and iPad models, including the MacBook Neo, which it launched for $599 less than four months ago. The company’s cheapest laptop now starts at $699, while some MacBook Pro configurations have increased by $300. The changes affect the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. Apple has not changed the hardware or storage included with these models, so customers are simply paying more for the same configurations. Here is how the new US pricing compares with the previous starting prices: Product Previous price New price Increase MacBook Neo $599 $699 $100 13-inch MacBook Air, 512GB $1,099 $1,299 $200 14-inch MacBook Pro, 1TB $1,699 $1,999 $300 16-inch MacBook Pro $2,699 $2,999 $300 11-inch iPad Air, 128GB $599 $749 $150 13-inch iPad Air, 128GB $799 $949 $150 11-inch iPad Pro, 256GB $999 $1,199 $200 13-inch iPad Pro, 256GB $1,299 $1,499 $200 The updated prices are already appearing on Apple’s U.S. online store. The MacBook Neo increase will probably attract the most attention. Apple introduced the laptop in March for $599, pitching it as a more affordable Mac for students and buyers considering Windows laptops or Chromebooks. It uses an A18 Pro processor and originally undercut Dell’s new $699 XPS 13 by $100. Following the increase, the two laptops now have the same starting price. The M5 MacBook Air has also lost the price Apple promoted when it launched in March. The 13-inch model arrived with 512GB of storage for $1,099, while Apple’s store now lists the MacBook Air range as starting at $1,299. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip and 1TB of storage has gone from $1,699 to $1,999. Apple has made similar changes to its iPads. The recently released M4 iPad Air, which launched at the same $599 starting price as its predecessor, now starts at $749 for the 11-inch version. The 13-inch version has risen from $799 to $949. The iPad Pro increases are larger in dollar terms. Apple’s 11-inch M5 iPad Pro now starts at $1,199, up from $999, while the 13-inch version has moved from $1,299 to $1,499. Both base models still include 256GB of storage. Apple blamed the increases on the rapidly rising cost of DRAM and NAND flash, which provide system memory and device storage. The company told Reuters that it had tried to shield customers from the increases but could no longer absorb them. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said. Tim Cook had already warned that price increases were coming. Cook said Apple’s existing component inventory had softened the immediate impact, but that higher memory costs would increasingly affect the company after the June quarter. Much of the pressure comes from the construction of AI data centers. Memory manufacturers are directing more production toward high-margin server products, leaving PC, tablet, and smartphone makers competing for the remaining supply. Apple has not said whether the new prices are temporary or whether further increases are planned. For now, the changes show that even Apple’s purchasing power has not been enough to keep the AI-driven memory shortage away from consumer devices.
    • Ventoy 1.1.16

      By Copernic · Posted

      Ventoy 1.1.16 is out.
    • This Chinese company is reportedly developing a feature Apple and Samsung can only dream of

      By Mateus · Posted

      This is a none story - these low volume Chinese models will always get new experimental features first because Apple and Samsung can't produce them in huge volume to meet demand.

  • 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
      462
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      171
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      135
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      77
    5. 5
      Xenon
      77
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!