Returnil System Safe Pro clones the operating system and loads an identical copy of it, instead of the real deal. While that does not change anything related to rights, it ensures that viruses, trojans, worms and other malicious software will not be able to stay permanently on the system. It works in this regard much like a LIVE CD where it is also not possible to save data on once it has been burned.

But Returnil System Safe Pro is more than that. Before we go into detail we need to look at how the program operates.

Returnil places an icon on the computer desktop after installation. This toolbar acts as a control panel for the application. The very same options are provided by the system tray icon as well. Users can disable either one, or even both of them, in the program preferences.

Returnil System Safe Pro will not start the virtual mode automatically, it is up to the user to do that. The homepage screen shows the current system status including if virtual mode is active or not. Virtual Mode is the virtualization mode that lets the user work with a copy of the operating system.

Virtual Mode can be activated straight away from the home page of the program. This is a fluent process that does not require a restart or configuration at all. With Virtual Mode active, all changes to the system are by default not saved. This includes pictures, documents or any other data that is saved to it during the mode.

It would not be very handy if one could not save data at all. That’s where the built-in file manager comes into play. The file manager can be used to break the virtual shell and save selected files to specified folders on the hard disk to have access to them after shutting down Returnil’s virtual mode. Users can define files or folders that should remain after restart.

Most activities in virtual mode remain only active as long as the mode is active. This includes for instance program installations and web browsing activities. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Everything that you do online, like writing a blog post, remains online as long as it is stored online. Returnil System Safe Pro furthermore protects only the main partition of the computer where the operating system is stored. It is possible to save data to other partitions if available or external drives. Finally, it is also possible to save data to network drives.

The computer needs to be restarted if the user wants to leave virtual mode again. This is done to load the original operating system without the changes that have been made to it during virtual mode. Returnil System Safe Pro can be configured to always start in virtual mode which could be beneficial in test environments or public computer systems.

Returnil in addition offers realtime virus protection which can be disabled if another antivirus solution is already in use on the system.

Where Returnil System Safe Pro Can Help

• Keeps your computer safe when browsing the Internet and working in the cloud
• Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Adware, Spyware, Keyloggers, Rootkits, unwanted content, and unwise configuration changes disappear with a simple reboot
• Enforces settings and protects your Internet privacy
• System Restore/Rollback feature gives you something to fall back on at all times
• Saves you time and money, by maintaining or improving peak computer performance
• Reduces or eliminates the need for routine maintenance, cleaning, and disk de-fragmentation of your system partition
• Protects you from the consequences of opening infected e-mail and/or attachments
• Leaves absolutely no traces of computer activity
• Eliminates all activities even if your computer is powered-off or crashes
• Eliminates the danger of evaluating new software
• Offers stronger, simpler and smarter protection for your PC
• Seamless integration with supported Windows Operating Systems
• Easy to use, simple to configure, and the one tool in your arsenal that will be there to save the day when all else fails!

The system requirements are the following:

• Supported Windows Operating Systems: 32-bit and 64-bit editions of XP / 2003 Server / Vista / 2008 Server / Windows 7
• Recommended hard drive space: Twice the amount of computer memory, recommended 16 Gigabytes
• CPU and RAM depends largely on the operating system, from 300 MHz cpu and 128 MB of RAM on Windows XP to 1 Gigabyte of RAM and 1 GHz cpu on Windows 7.

Returnil System Safe Pro Verdict

Returnil System Safe Pro’s greatest strength is its simplicity. All it takes to enter virtual mode is a click of the button. Users who just want to use the computer, and those who store their documents online or on secondary partitions, can leave the program settings as they are. Advanced users find enough room for tweaks there as well.

Returnil System Safe Pro Giveaway

We are giving away licenses at the official giveaway website over at Returnil. Everyone gets one after filling out their name and email address. Both the download link and the product key are displayed on the next page. The license is valid for one year.

The main difference between Returnil Virtual System 2010 and sandboxing solutions is that Returnil will create a clone of the operating system that gets loaded instead of the original one. This clone can run all applications and files that are installed on the system. They are however run in an isolated environment which means that the original operating system is not affected by malicious software, viruses and other threats.

Installation of Returnil Virtual System is thankfully not a complicated process. The user should however make sure that the computer system offers the minimum system requirements so that the software can be installed and operated properly. The most important spec is the hard drive capacity for the installation which Returnil suggests to be 16 Gigabytes but at least twice the available computer memory)

The program itself is compatible with several Microsoft operating systems including Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows Server 2008. Another change to last year’s offer is the 64-bit support that is now available for all supported operating systems.

The first step after the required system reboot at the end of the installation should lead into the program’s options; Specifically into the System Safe menu.

Returnil will by default forfeit any changes made to the clone system on system shutdown or reboot. This is great for security as it ensures that the system will always be free from malware and problems as it reverts back to its original state. It is sometimes on the other hand necessary to make changes to the system and this is why the option to save all changes is provided in that menu.

Please note that it is still possible to download files or documents for instance as they can be copied to an USB storage device or another system partition. There is even a workaround to store them on the system partition which can be found in the helpful faq of Returnil.

System Safe is the virtual clone mode of the operating system. It can be turned on in the menu of the same name and does not require a restart for that operation. A restart is however required once the user decides to go leave the clone and continue working with the default operating system.

Returnil are offering to create a virtual hard drive that can be mounted when in System Safe mode. This is beneficial on computer systems without another partition because it ensures that the data can be safed to the virtual drive (remember data cannot be safed that easily to the drive the operating system resides on). It is possible to configre Returnil to always boot the computer system into System Safe mode which can be an interesting option for multiple usage scenarios (e.g. public computer systems).

A file manager is provided in safe mode to access the files of the original hard drive. This comes in handy when a specific document or file needs to be accessed while in safe mode. Returnil Virtual System 2010 Home Lux ships with a Virus Guard that protects both the standard and virtual system from virus attacks. It provides real-time protection against threats with the possibility to turn the virus protection off in case another antivirus program is installed on the computer system that should be used instead.

Verdict

Virtualization is a great way of protecting the computer system from threats. Returnil Virtual System 2010 Home Lux offers a safe environment that seems ideal for public computers, lending computers to other users, family computers and even business environments.

Ghacks Giveaway

We have an unlimited number of licenses for Returnil Virtual System 2010 Home Lux. If you want to license visit this giveaway page and enter an email address. After you verify the email you will receive a second email with the license code and instructions to download and use Returnil.

Raju has licenses for Winautomation Professional, make sure to check out his giveaway as well.

Returnil Premium is a program that can emulate the operating system in a sandbox – a virtual environment – so that changes have no effect on the system itself but only to the sandboxed copy of it. It does not require lots of computer knowledge to run, the only thing that’s out of the ordinary is the (optional) creation of a virtual partition that will be used to store data when the sandbox is active. Here are the steps on how to use the security software:

• Installation: You get some options here most notable to run the system on the hard drive or computer memory. There is also the optional setting to create a virtual partition on the computer system to store data. An alternative would be to use online storage space.
• Running Returnil: You can start Returnil after a restart. Once Returnil is started it will redirected access to the virtual system so that the actual computer system will not be harmed. You can then use whatever application you like. Keep in mind that any changes that have been made to the computer system will be undone after a restart as they have only been made in the virtual system and not the actual one. Here is an example:

  If you bookmark a page while Returnil is running it will show up in the bookmark manager. It will however be gone after a restart of the system.

• Stopping Returnil: The only way to stop Returnil is to reboot the computer system.
• Saving Data: Two ways to save data. The first is to use the virtual partition to store the data on as it will not be erased after a reboot on that partition. The second is by utilizing online storage space. You can sync bookmarks online, save files there, edit Word documents and basically do most things online.

How does Returnil work?

It is obvious that Returnil cannot mirror dozens of Gigabytes of data in the sandboxed environment. There is actually no need to clone the whole system. All that needs to be done is to keep track of the changes to the system and act as a proxy between the computer system and the virtual system.

What are the differences between the free and the premium version of Returnil?

The premium version of Returnil adds quite a few features that make it interesting. The user can choose to cache data in the computer memory or on the hard drive, save sessions to continue working with them at a later point, relocate system folders, to browse and move files between the real hard drive and the virtual drive, shell integration and free customer support.

Returnil Premium adds much needed features to the virtualization software that are missing in the free version. The main benefit of both versions is the simplicity of usage. You only need to press one button to turn the protection on once it has been configured the way you want.

Remember, you can request your Returnil Premium key by following the link on top. Would be still nice to tell us what you think of it.

Returnil basically clones the system partition of the computer and boots the computer using the clone instead of the real system partition. The effect is of course that changes made to the clone can be reverted easily by rebooting the PC. Folders can be specified that retain the data that was saved into them, if you would not do that the saved files would be gone after a reboot.

I wrote a review about the free version of Returnil a few months ago. The premium edition of Returnil has some advantages over the free edition. It comes with a Session Saver and File Manager that the free version lacks. It’s also possible to choose the caching method and it does add several other features that are missing in the free version.

What Returnil offers is a way to use a virtual system that does not degrade system performance in any way. It might not be needed by experienced users but it’s definitely a good way of protecting the system if you are an inexperienced user or want maximum security.