One of the most annoying things I have found is rebuilding computers due to malware. This costs time and money. Backups are the bane for any business. The company needs to ensure continuity while not affecting productivity. User’s I talk to want a simple solution to first prevent the system from failing and then easily restore the computer should something happen. Enter Smart Restart from Centurion. The product is simple to install and works in the back ground until trouble arises. A simple reboot is usually all that is required to restore the system back to normal.
Installation
Installation is quick and incredibly simple. Users only need to supply a password for hard drive protection. This password allows enabling and disabling of Smart Restart. The password is required when making certain system changes. So make sure you remember it. Stick it in your Password Safe! Smart Restart only works on NTFS systems, which is now the default file system for Windows XP and Vista. 1 GB of hard disk space and 128 MB of RAM are all that is required. You will be required to reboot the computer so make sure you have backed up all of your work before installing. When rebooting, the system creates a “Temporary and Keep Zone”, more on this feature below. After the reboot you will be presented with the “Protection Status” screen before you to start using the product.
Using Smart Restart
By clicking the Protect button, you enable the protection. An icon in the tray alerts you to the status of Smart Restart. This is where the zones become important. Smart Restart uses three zones: Temporary, Keep and Protected. Once you understand these zones, using the product is easy. The Protected zone is used for important non active files, permanent installations, data and the system configuration. The Keep zone is your active files such as photos, pictures and active documents. Anything in this zone is protected should something happen to the system. This is your safety deposit box. Many of your files will be stored here. The temporary zone is your sand box. This is where your favourite applications downloaded from the internet go, any unproven software or unsavoury files. When you reboot all contents of this zone are lost. Like a clean slate. This zone is technically using virtual memory so nothing is actually written to your hard drive.
The Keep Zone can be modified with a simple user interface to help keep all of your documents safe. To include files in the Keep zone, the user simply adds them via the interface. The only annoyance here is that the system must be taken out of Protection mode and then rebooted for the system to take effect to have folders added. Once rebooted you can enable protection again without a reboot, but beware that you have to reboot again after the change. A little foresight in setting up a repository of files that needed to be saved will save you a few unnecessary reboots.
Recovery Test
For fun we infected our computer (in a controlled environment, with no internet access) with a common virus. We then deleted key system files and generally tried to create havoc. One reboot later our system was back to normal. All files in the protected zone were left brought back to pre virus injection. All of our files in the Keep zone were untouched and all of our bad files were gone.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a fast and simple mechanism for your users to be able to look after their own machines and take a little responsibility as to the restore of their systems, then Smart Restart is for you. Once users have mastered the zones, they can’t help but protect themselves. Overall I would give the product a 4/5. The minus one is only because of all of the reboots.
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