get started with virtualization

Anyone that relies on a computer on a daily basis is obviously concerned with PC security. You hear about the elaborate tactics utilized by security experts, but what about your average user? What is Joe Schmo supposed to do to keep himself safe online, or keep his kids from screwing things up? We'll take a look at two programs that offer protection for the everyday user above and beyond your regular antivirus applications.

First up is the virtualization system called Returnil. When employed, Returnil will run your whole system as if it was a virtual machine. When installing this software, it is important that you create the virtual partition. There is nothing difficult in this, you just select the amount of disk space you want to contribute to the partition. It's important that you do this now, as if you choose not to you will no longer have the option once the program is installed. When you are running your PC in the virtualized environment Returnil provides, everything you do will be lost upon restart. This is why it's important to create a virtual partition so many files or documents you create can be stored there and remain available to you. If you forget this step, you will have to reinstall the software.

Once installation is complete, the Returnil toolbar will reside on your desktop.
Right click to open the program and access the settings. What's so nice about this program is that there's not much in there, so it's nonthreatening for those who are not particularly PC knowledgeable. Simply turn PC protection on, and you're good to go. Now here’s where it can be a bit of a pain. When enabling protection status, it does not activate (nor does it end) until the system has been rebooted. There is an alternative however, enabling the “session lock” feature will turn protection on for the current session.
To turn on the session lock quickly, just right click the toolbar and select “enable.” Or alternatively you can do the same with the system tray icon.
Why would you want to use this? Well, if you've got kids in other always messing up the settings on your computer! By enabling Returnil before they sit down at the PC, any changes they make will be lost upon restart. Your PC will go back to its previous state. If you have teenagers, we all know their online behaviors on social networking sites expose your pc to a lot of potential problems. Returnil will protect you from all that garbage. Same for all the online viruses, email worms, etc. You no longer have to freak because someone sent you an attachment. Anything malicious will be thrown out with the bathwater when you reboot the pc. Another nice feature is the built in scheduler.
You can set your system protection up automatically, like for when the kids get home from school! But what about stuff you don’t want to lose while system protection is on? Well you can still save to other drives, Returnil is only protecting your windows partition. That is why you made the virtual partition during installation. Just save your work to the Returnil partition (drive Z)while system protection is active, or alternatively save to a usb device.
In closing, Returnil is an easy indoctrination to virtualization for someone not very experienced with computer usage. It’s easy to set up and easy to use for someone just getting their feet wet with virtual system protection.

If you want a more feature rich set-up for your virtualization, give Sandboxie a try. Rather than running your entire machine in a virtualized mode, Sandboxie allows you to pick and choose which programs you want to run in a virtualized environment.
You can run as many sandboxes, as you need for all the programs you intend to use. This is especially useful when used in conjunction with your browser as it allows you to try out new toolbars, browser extensions and the like, without being committed to them. If you don't like what you installed you can just throw them away in the same box. Any spyware, malware, browser hijackers or whatnot will also be confined to the sandbox. Creating new sandboxes is a simple task, by selecting “Create New Sandbox” from the sandbox drop down menu.

It's easy to quickly identify what programs are being run in sandbox mode by the number symbols placed in the program's title bar.

But where Sandboxie he really shines, is in your ability to keep the things you want. Any time you click something to download while running in the sandboxed browser, you are immediately given the option to recover the file.

If it's truly something you want, you can recover it now, or just close the box as it will still be recoverable later. Any time you want to recover files, just pull up the quick recovery folder.


This gives you the option to recover any of the files that have been downloaded to your sandbox.

At the end of your session, you can empty the contents of the sandbox by clicking delete contents:

There are there are a lot of customization options available within the program. You can create shortcuts to your favorite programs that you would like to run in a sandbox. You can designate particular folders you would like to be included in the quick recovery option. And you can customize sandbox settings. The website offers tutorials, FAQ’s, and a user forum where you can go for help.

If you've been plagued by malware from the web, it's time to give virtualization and try.


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