Horizon DataSys’ new freeware utility harkens back to write-protection once offered on floppy disks. Reboot Restore Rx can be seen as a write-protect tab for your PC’s hard drive.
Many IT warhorses from the early days of computing can relate to the concept of write-protecting a floppy disk. An antiquated, thin plastic storage medium to store less than 2MB of data, the floppy drive has long outlived its usefulness. However, the functionality of the floppy write-protect tab lives on as a freeware utility: Reboot Restore Rx.
Write-protection was originally designed to protect data that was housed on the floppy disk from being overwritten or deleted. In the 1990s many hardware manufacturers introduced hardware based recovery cards that would essentially restore a PCs hard drive on every restart. Unfortunately, installing hard drive restore cards on thousands of school PCs was not practical. The next stage of the evolutionary process of write-protecting shared computers was to move to a software based solution.
There are many commercially available solutions today that use the reboot-to-restore technology in order to write-protect the hard drive. With regards to free write protection utilities, Microsoft introduced one called Windows SteadyState which has been discontinued. Until recently then there were no commercial organizations that offered a freeware utility for PC write-protection. Reboot Restore Rx has filled this void and has been embraced as thereplacement for Windows SteadyState.
The big IT buzzword these days is “cloud computing.” But since most data is now securely saved offsite most organizations are concerned more with productivity and making sure that the endpoint computing devices are always available and fully functional than with the cloud servers. “Every single cloud has thousands of devices,” says Lyle Patel, President. “It’s easy enough for admins to maintain their cloud infrastructures…it’s the endpoints that constantly need to be reconfigured.” IT departments are now looking at ways to write-protect their computing assets, so that they are always uniformly configured.
Reboot Restore Rx can be seen as a Write-Protect tab for your PC’s hard drive. It delivers a Non-Restrictive computing environment that does not limit the user’s access to any Windows functionality in any way. Non-restrictive hard disk protection is the ideal method of protecting public access PCs. “School systems save big on PC management and gain in student productivity,” says Kritesh Dewan, Senior Account Manager. “No longer do you need to contact your resident PC tech after Joey has inadvertently messed up the registry or installed malware. With Reboot Restore Rx, a simple reboot and all changes that he’s made instantly vanish.”
In addition to its Freeware offering of Reboot Restore Rx, Horizon DataSys also offers more advanced features for hard drive Write-Protection. They have more progressive solutions such as Drive Vaccine and RollBack Rx. “With our advanced RollBack Rx software, we offer unique capabilities including the ability to update the baseline which can save ad-hoc changes at any time without having to restart the PC,” explains Patel. Horizon DataSys recently added to their wide range of instant restore solutions targeting the IT service desk industry. Their next upcoming event is in Las Vegas, where they will be exhibiting at HDI’s “License to Learn” Conference. “Visit us at Booth 421. We’d love to show you a live presentation of our product line of write-protection solutions,” adds Dewan.
Where: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
When: April 16-19, 2013
For More Info: http://www.hdiconference.com/expo/exhibitors.aspx
About Horizon DataSys:
Horizon DataSys Corporation is a privately held software company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada with offices in Washington State, and London, England. Horizon DataSys develops and distributes computer software applications designed for end-users and enterprises. The company specializes in end-point PC management, OS integrity, and instant restore. The company’s business solutions allow organizations to reduce risks related to software corruption, inadvertent changes, malicious hacks, virus infections, and unauthorized PC access. It’s primary offerings include its Instant Restoration Suite (Rollback Rx, Drive Vaccine, and Drive Cloner) and Virtual Desktop. In addition to its many off-the-shelf turnkey products it also supports clients to customize solutions that suit the specific needs of their IT environment.