ResQ Card Adds Measure Of Protection

In principle, that's how the ResQ Card 256 from View and View Technologies works. The card creates a restore point and acts as a safeguard against viruses and worms, as well as accidental and malicious computer misuse. The card is typically used in systems located in public areas such as cybercafes, according to white-box builders.

"What is so great about the card is nothing is permanently written to the hard drive until you give it permission," said Darren Palmer, senior managing partner at Daptech Consulting, a Cypress, Calif.-based solution provider.

CRN Test Center engineers installed the ResQ card on two similar systems, one running Windows 2000 and one running Windows XP. Hard-drive space needed to be at least 10 Gbytes with a minimum of 2 Gbytes of free hard-drive space. It was critical to run a disk defragmenter prior to installation.

A setup driver and a system reboot were the only things required for installation on both systems. Once the system rebooted, a configuration screen prompted for options such as password protection and parameters.

In the Windows XP system, the system slowed down, mostly because Windows XP creates a huge file that quickly fills up the buffer. However, once the bootup issues were addressed, the card functioned normally. The company plans to release in the next few weeks a ResQ card with a 3-Gbyte buffer vs. the 500-Mbyte buffer used now.

Using the C drive as the protected area on the Windows 2000 system, a plethora of .exe files, .jpg files and .pdf files were downloaded, the system was rebooted and the configuration screen was brought back up. The restore data command, or F5, was hit, and in a snap the system was restored to its prior state.

NAME: ResQ Card 256
PRICE: $50
AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS: No authorization required
DISTRIBUTORS/INTEGRATORS: Directly to VARs and systems integrators
COMPANY: View and View Technologies
City of Industry, Calif.
(626) 581-0900
(866) VNV-TECH