PCU88 Reviews

10/5/07
19:05
Page 87
▲
PCU88 Reviews-Software
SOFTWARE
Perfect Image 11 Personal Edition
We all know we should take backups of
the data that’s stored on our PCs, but in
reality it isn’t something many of us get
around to all that often. And of course,
the very time you haven’t taken a copy
is the time that your hard drive will fail
or your PC will contract a virus. Any
software that makes the job of backing
up your data easier is therefore well
worth a look.
Perfect Image enables you to protect
everything on your PC, including the
operating system, programs, files and
data. It can create a complete image of
your hard drive in real time without the
need to reboot or interrupt any
▲ The package also includes AutoSave
which takes copies of your files in the
background as you work
applications. The software also provides
the ability to create a recovery CD, so
you can repair your PC even if you can’t
boot from the operating system on the
hard drive.
There’s a scheduling option, which
enables you to run backups when you’re
not using the machine. Conveniently, the
package also comes with VCOM
AutoSave, which runs in the background
and copies important files whilst your
system is running with minimal impact
on performance. Backups are
automatically compressed in order to
save space on the target drive and you
can save to another hard drive, a
network, or straight to CD or DVD –
including spanning multiple volumes.
For such a powerful application Perfect
Image is quite easy to use. The interface
is wizard-driven and once you’ve set up a
backup it becomes fully automated so
you can’t forget to run it. Restoring your
data is equally simple and the program
can replace partitions or even complete
disks. Thanks to a dynamic resizing
capability you can use it to migrate your
data onto a larger disc too.
The price of the software looks a little
high on first glance but consider that
£39.99
▲ Perfect Image is fully
wizard-driven making
it easy to set the
options for your
backup
84%
AutoSave on its own would cost you
£29.99 and the Perfect Image package
starts to look like great value. If you
want to make backing up your PC as
easy as possible it’s hard to think of a
package that could do it better.
Ian Barker
Supplier
Contact
Website
Verdict
Avanquest
0800 289 041
www.avanquest.co.uk
Powerful set-and-forget solution
to ensuring your PC gets backed
up regularly
Steganos Secure Traveler
£89.95
76%
▲ As with all the programs in the package,
Password Manager is self explanatory
It’s still up to you to pick a complicated
master password, and change it regularly
for maximum security.
AntiTheft is strangely named, given
that it’s designed to help you recover
the computer in the event that it gets
stolen, rather than prevent theft in the
first place. It works by periodically
sending your machine’s IP address to
the Steganos servers. Should your
machine be stolen, you can log into the
Steganos website (so you’ll need
another PC), enter your AntiTheft ID,
▲ The main control
panel provides quick
access to all the
programs in the suite
and view a list of the last few IP
addresses from which your machine
connected to the Internet.
Finally, Shredder securely deletes
files so that they cannot be recovered,
even by those with specialist software
and knowledge.
There are some useful utilities here,
and they all have clear interfaces which
make them easy to use. However, the
price tag is rather hefty.
Dave Cusick
Supplier
Contact
Website
Verdict
Steganos
See website
www.steganos.com
An easy-to-use suite of security tools for
laptop users, but rather expensive
▲
Aimed principally at laptop users,
Steganos Secure Traveler collects
together several Steganos security
products in one bundle – namely Secure
VPN, Safe, Portable Safe, Shredder,
Password Manager and AntiTheft. All are
accessible through a central control panel.
Secure VPN is designed to protect
you when you’re using a wireless
network or Wi-Fi hotspot. It creates a
128-bit encrypted tunnel through which
all your data is sent, so that hackers (or
indeed the hotspot operator) can’t
snoop on what you’re transmitting.
Steganos Safe enables you to create an
encrypted virtual drive on your hard drive.
Everything you copy into this will be kept
hidden from unwanted eyes; its contents
can only be accessed by entering the
appropriate password. Portable Safe
extends the concept further, enabling you
to create virtual drives on memory sticks
or rewritable CDs or DVDs.
Password Manager enables you to
securely store all your passwords in one
place – protected by a single master
password. This means you can pick
different, hard-to-guess passwords for all
your user accounts, without having to
worry about remembering them all later.
REVIEWS
issue 88
www.pc-utilities.co.uk
87