Wondershare Time Freeze Free Review (Windows)
Written by John Thompson on August 10, 2010 · Filed under Review, Software
Security is paramount in this day and age on computer systems. All the data stored on our machines contains information about our location, our online banking details and everything we’re working on. Of course, there are many companies that strive to keep our machines as free of malware as possible, but there’s always a risk of infection when you are connected to the internet.
Rather than adhere to the typical structure of many security applications, Wondershare’s Time Freeze Free handles things a little differently. It allows you to run whatever software you like, however you like, and ensure that you’re still kept safe. How does it do this? Virtualisation.
How Does It Work?
When you’re running a machine in a virtual environment, it seldom suffers the same fate as machines running normally. Because an ‘image’ of your system is created when it is virtualised, the core system files aren’t affected by viruses or other malware like they normally would be. Similarly, your machine is far less susceptible to becoming slow over time like it normally would. This is because all of the operations that you’ve executed whilst using the computer running Time Freeze will be gone the next time you boot.
In addition to protecting your system, Time Freeze can also protect the files stored on your hard drive by restricting access to them. For example, the folder where all your critical system files are (and where viruses tend to harbour themselves in an attempt to avoid detection) can be made to be completely locked or read-only so that nothing can write data to it.
Why Should I Use It?
Time Freeze is an amazing application for those of you who are trying out new software everyday, or running high risk software that could be bundled with viruses. This is a particular problem for users who download things illegally from pirate websites, as much of the content provided is bundled with viruses in some form or other. It’s certainly a time saver for professional users as well, as maintenance becomes far less of an issue when your machine is virtualised. Simply reboot your system, and all traces of your previous activities are gone, including all internet cookies and local operations.
If you tend to tinker with your machine, and try all sorts of software downloaded from the internet, then this application is most probably what you need to stay safe online. The great thing about this program is that its effects aren’t just limited to online threats, but also local changes which are applied too, if you simply want to try something out after coming across it on the net. If you’re on a family machine, and the kids are downloading all sorts from the internet, you can also manage permissions with Time Freeze, so that no permanent damage is done.
How Much Does It Cost, and Where Can I Get It?
If you want to download Wondershare’s Time Freeze for Windows, you can download the 1.0 version for absolutely free, so you’re protected straight away. However, there is also a version 2.0 available, which will cost you $39, equating to around £25 at the time of writing.
