Returnil Virtual System 2011 Keygen Download
Joao Charlesbois
Returnil System Safe Free 2011 is a free PC security suite based on a premium software package. It includes the basics, including virus and malware protection and its Virtual Mode feature, a virtualization technology that isolates your PC from threats. In addition to the reduced-function free version, Returnil is also available as a fully functional 30-day trial version. The free version lacks features such as the automatic system rollback feature, remote online management, and free technical support. More significantly, it disables the File Manager that lets users save files and make changes to their main system from inside Returnil's virtual system. That means you can surf the Internet and use your PC safely, but you can't save any work you do in Virtual Mode.
We needed to reboot our system to finish installing Returnil's setup process. The program does most of what it does in the background, but there are several access points, including an optional floating desktop bar and a system-tray icon, which we right-clicked to call up Returnil's menu. The blue-hued user interface bears a generic resemblance to other security applications and system utilities, with large fonts and plenty of opportunities to upgrade to the paid version. After checking for updates, Returnil scanned our system for threats when we clicked the Start Scan button. The scan was thorough but turned up no major issues, we're glad to say (speaking on behalf of our system). We were most interested in the Virtual Mode, though. We activated Returnil's Virtual Mode, which had no obvious adverse effects in our system or its performance, apart from a slightly longer load time. Inside the VM, we browsed to a Web site normally and saved an image to our desktop in the usual way. We exited the VM, which required a reboot and purges all changes made while in a virtualized environment. Sure enough, after rebooting, our saved image file was gone.
The functional security tools Returnil includes with the free version are certainly valuable, and most of the features it omits can be replaced with other freeware, such as antispam utilities. Of course, you don't need Returnil to create Virtual Machines on a Windows PC; its chief advantage is in making virtualization easy to use. The only real sticking point is the disabled File Manager. Without it, Returnil's Virtual Mode works but is of limited utility.
You know you shouldn't wildly click links in e-mail messages, but you did it anyway. Now your computer has been totally pwned by a rogue security program that encrypted all your files and wants a ransom to decrypt them. Oh, if only you could go back in time to the instant before you clicked that fatal link! If you had installed Returnil Virtual System 2010 Home Classic ($39.95 direct) you could do exactly that. Returnil virtualizes all changes to the file system and Registry. Just reboot and all evidence of the malware attack is gone, along with all other changes.
When you activate virtualization the program warns that a reboot removes all changes. Installed a new program? Gone. Edited a document? It's back to the unedited version. If you use your computer mostly for surfing the Internet, this seem like no big deal. Oh, but did you update Flash to play that spiffy new game? You'll have to update it again after your reboot. Any new bookmarks will also vanish. Clearly using virtualization-based protection requires a new kind of awareness.
There are some actions for which you just have to turn off virtualization. Among these are updating Windows, defragging the disk, creating a drive image backup, and scanning with another antivirus. But for day-to-day computer use, Returnil includes a number of options for protecting particular files from being washed away by a reboot.
Returnil specifically virtualizes the system disk, the one from which Windows boots. If you have multiple partitions on your computer it's easy enough to store working files on one of the other partitions. They won't be wiped out by a reboot. Of course, the rare malware threat that installs on non-system partitions will also survive reboot, but it will be powerless because any file or Registry commands that would launch it at startup have vanished. Don't have that spare partition? Returnil can create a Virtual Disk that's accessible whether or not virtualization is active and that isn't affected by a reboot.
Advanced users can actually dig in and view the file structure of the real disk and the virtualized disk side by side, copying items from one to the other. A similar feature allows comparison of the real Registry and the virtual Registry. However, this isn't something you'd use under any normal circumstances.
Overall Returnil's, protection via virtualization is effective and well thought out. Without effort on your part any malware that may get onto the system will vanish at the next reboot. Yet Returnil also offers many different ways to ensure that specific files do get saved to the real disk. There's still a certain awkwardness involved in having to turn off protection for tasks like Windows Update, but that's the nature of this type of utility.
You will need to do a little work on the interaction between the antivirus and Returnil. Turn off automatic updates and scheduled scans, since these are pointless when the system is virtualized. Leave real-time protection active. And, once a week or so turn off virtualization, update the antivirus, and run a scan. Update Windows and any other programs while you're at it. Then re-enable virtualization.
Returnil also offers a totally free edition that omits the virus scanner but does include real-time antivirus protection. The free edition can create a virtual disk for storing files that won't be wiped out on reboot, but it omits the ability to access the real disk directly or save files to the real disk using the file manager. The free edition doesn't include customer support, but with the simplicity of the virtualization system, many users won't need support.
The virtualization-based security at the heart of Returnil is totally effective in the sense that any malicious changes can be reversed by a reboot. It offers a number of options for handling files that shouldn't be wiped out on reboot, though you simply must turn it off during certain system tasks. Your system can still be pwned temporarily by malware, but only until the next reboot. It's definitely effective and especially useful for those who focus on Web surfing and don't install a lot of programs locally.
You know you shouldn't wildly click links in e-mail messages, but you did it anyway. Now your computer has been totally pwned by a rogue security program that encrypted all your files and wants a ransom to decrypt them. Oh, if only you could go back in time to the instant before you clicked that fatal link! If you had installed Returnil Virtual System 2010 Home Classic ($39.95 direct) you could do exactly that. Returnil virtualizes all changes to the file system and Registry. Just reboot and all evidence of the malware attack is gone, along with all other changes.\n
\n\nReboot to Restore
\nThe Returnil concept is simple. When the System Safe virtualization mode is active, the real computer is unaffected by any changes to the file system or Registry. For the sake of system stability, it specifically omits the virtual memory page file and the hibernation file from virtualization. Programs don't know the differencethey happily use Returnil's virtualized versions of the file system and Registry. If malware hits your system, just reboot and it's gone. No, reallyit's as simple as that!\n