PCDSKSEC.RVW 940207
Comparison Review
Company and product:
A. Padgett Peterson
POB 1203
Windermere, FLA, 34786, USA
(407)352-6007 eves Florida time
(407)648-0733 fax
DISKSECURE v 2.4
Summary: Low level hard disk protection to prevent access, by virus or
otherwise, to hard disk.
Cost free for non-commercial use
Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good)
"Friendliness"
Installation 4
Ease of use 4
Help systems 3
Compatibility 3
Company
Stability 4
Support 3
Documentation 2
Hardware required 3
Performance 4
Availability 2
Local Support 2
General Description:
DISKSECURE replaces the partition table of the hard disk with code which
performs load time checking and prevents access to the hard disk if booted from
floppy, and offers software write protection to the system areas of the disk.
I should state a bias here. DISKSECURE is a very powerful protective system,
and, unlike many others of similar function, is completely confident in telling
you what is being done. In reviewing antiviral and security software I have
come to the point where I am positively afraid of running some of these
systems: much more so than I am of any viral programs. DISKSECURE has,
however, saved my hard disk a number of times from the predations of these
other security programs and for this I am profoundly grateful.
Comparison of features and specifications
User Friendliness
Installation
Default installation is simple and can be accomplished through a supplied batch
file. A "quick start" reference is provided along with the regular
documentation. For protection of the hard disk only DISKSEC2 is required to be
run, although this limits the possibilities for recovery.
Novice users may not be sufficiently aware of the dangers inherent in this
process, and it is highly recommended that the entire documentation be read.
The program is replacing the partition table of the hard disk, and, if it
fails, all information which the computer requires to access the disk and
information will be lost, even if the information is not, physically, erased.
Although the possibility of this is very small, a backup of the partition boot
record prior to installation would be a good idea. This is, in fact, one of
the options of the program, and should be accepted.
Despite its power, DISKSECURE has caused very few problems over the years. The
greatest number of problems are with those who know just enough to realize the
potential problems of this type of program and who are afraid of it. I have,
on several occasions, had people worry that it might have been a trojan
program. These are the ones who have not read the documentation for the
program.
Ease of use
Operation of the programs is simple. DISKSEC provides ample prompting and
opportunity for the user to stop at any point. The program now has even more
options and can fully control all aspects which used to require some manual
intervention by the user.
DSRPART can be used to recover the hard disk from "boot sector infecting" (BSI)
viral programs of the type that overwrite the "master boot record" of the hard
disk. (On floppy disks the first "physical sector" on the disk is the boot
sector. On hard disks the first "physical sector" is the "master boot record"
or MBR, which contains a short section of code followed by a description of the
size and attributes of the disk called the partition table. Because of the
limited number of floppy disk formats, the same thing is accomplished on
floppies with only one "media descriptor byte". Thus, while using the SYS
command can wipe out any BSI on a floppy disk, some BSIs cannot be so
eliminated on a hard disk if they infect the MBR rather than the boot sector.)
Help systems
None provided. DISKSEC is well prompted and the other programs have no
options.
Compatibility
The original program, since it was so intimately tied to the low level hardware
and disk structure, would not work with non-standard disk formats. Padgett has
worked very diligently over the years and the more recent versions will even
work with such oddities as dedicated Novell network servers and Windows
32BitDiskAccess. The program even has the option of moving the TSR portion to
avoid conflicts. The author warns against using DISKSECURE with QEMM in
stealth mode.
Company Stability
Padgett is an unstable personality, and should be avoided when driving "The
Judge."
Company Support
Padgett is well known as a contributor to VIRUS-L/comp.virus and is also a
member of the GEnie "Virus and Security RoundTable".
Documentation
The documentation is quite clear to anyone familiar with MS-DOS operations.
Occasionally certain points may not be clear to novice users (for example, the
fact that "removal" of DISKSECURE is done via the DSRPART program.)
Hardware Requirements
None specified, but a hard disk and at least one floppy disk (which can be used
to boot from) would appear to be minimum requirements.
Performance
The program is able to detect all known boot sector infectors, even some recent
ones that use new stealth methods and little known interrupt hooking. Most
infections can be removed by the program automatically. Boot infectors which
modify the MBR can be removed through the use of the recovery information
stored by the program upon installation.
The program indulges in some "stealth" technology of its own: the partition
boot record appears unchanged after installation.
Local Support
Padgett is available via the Internet and GEnie.
Support Requirements
DISKSECURE is simple enough for a novice user to run, and should provide
significant protection with minimal risk. Recovery is quick and easy, as long
as the user remembers the importance of DSPART.COM. Intermediate users should
note the difficulties in running system optimizing software.
General Notes
This program should be a part of the DOS operating system. It has, in fact,
been offered to three manufacturers of DOS: all three have rejected the
opportunity.
DISKSECURE was originally shareware. Very few people registered the porgram.
In spite of this, Padgett has continued to improve the program and has now
released it as freeware for non-commercial use. This is very much to his
credit, and not particularly to the credit of the shareware using community. I
definitely recommend that all MS-DOS users get and use this program, and that
companies license its use.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1991, 1994 PCDSKSEC.RVW 940207
======================
roberts@decus.ca rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@vanisl.decus.ca
"Watch me disappear!" CLICK. - Ryan's version of the "Treasure" Cat
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)