Persistent PC goodness
- TAGS:Persystent, pre-boot, security
- IT TOPICS:Operating Systems, Personal Technology, Security, Software
Because the vast majority of Windows users have administration rights to their operating system, they screw things up. They change settings. Download dubious files. And they delete things they shouldn't.
Although it's difficult to change people's behavior with their PCs, you can undo every dumb thing they've done every time they boot up their machine, claims Ken Fitzpatrick, chief marketing officer for Persystent Technology Corp. of Tampa.
The Persystent Enterprise Suite (PES) works during the preboot stage of a PC's start-up process. According to Fitzpatrick, an agent in the boot process takes a quick glance into an invisible (to the end user) partition to see if anything has changed on the system. If something is different from the way you set it, and wasn't updated in the partition by you, PES reverts to the prior desired state. PES never touches user data.
PES works whether a user is online or off the network.
"It guarantees a healthy PC every time you turn it on," boasts Fitzpatrick.
Next month Persystent will add support for Windows Vista and will offer integration with whole-disk encryption tools. And Fitzpatrick says the company's long-term plan includes support for Linux, Macintosh and other operating systems. Pricing starts as low as $20 per year per device.



