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Posted: Fri, December 20, 2002
Pulseman to the rescueBy Basheera Khan and Mark Kiddell Product information Ease of use Test 1: System recovery Test 2: File recovery Test 3: Virus recovery Overall impressions The Securix Pulseman had its UK debut at Infosecurity Europe 2002, where it was punted as the solution to data recovery issues facing PC users, both in the home computing and small business scenarios. PCs suffer non-hardware related crashes all the time, which in some cases, can severely damage data, which may or may not be recoverable through reformatting, re-installation or rework - all of which are both time and labour intensive. The Pulseman promises to change this, by providing various levels of data protection and allowing for data recovery at the next re-booting of the affected system.
The card takes an image of your hard drive's key data and analyses subsequent changes. The key data is stored independently to the computer's motherboard or hard drive, so the image it creates is considered safe. The Pulseman carries out its key operations in 16-bit mode. Maintenance of the protected image is up to the user, and updates can be managed during the boot up stage. All actions taken by the user following image update can be ignored by simply reverting to the protected image following reboot - it's as though the changes were never made. This sounded too good to be true to IT Wales' technical guru Mark Kiddell, who ran a number of tests designed to find any flaws in the system. (see below). Ease of useThe product is shipped in two parts - the Pulseman card arrives through the post, while drivers and installation instructions are sent via email. Installation is a simple enough process, but if you run into difficulties, Globe Micro offers telephonic support, provided by very helpful technical staff.Test 1Objective: System recoveryMethod: All BIOS settings were wiped using the jumper on the motherboard. Pulseman detected this automatically on boot-up and replaced many of the original CMOS settings. Result: System booted perfectly. Verdict: Works well. Test 2Objective: File recoveryMethod: Delete all files, empty recycle bin, reboot. Result: In Automatic mode, the files were restored on reboot. In Manual mode, user is given the option to restore all files deleted since the previous boot-up. In Open mode, which is an unprotected boot option, the deleted files were not restored. Verdict: Works well. Test 3Objective: Virus recoveryMethod: Modify 2000+ files on system, to the point of system instability Result: On reboot and restore, the Pulseman restored every single file to its original state. Verdict: Very impressive. Overall impressionsThe product performs well, but there are certain inflexible settings which make it less than perfect - for example, the window of opportunity allowing users to choose Pulseman options on system startup is only open for 3 seconds - so if you're rebooting to recover lost data, you need to be quick off the mark.Nevertheless, the product delivers on its promises, and is extremely affordable. The Securix Pulseman is a powerful and cost efficient tool in protecting your data and system files. Support informationOperating Systems: DOS-Windows 3.X, 95, 98 to Windows ME, Windows NT, 2000 and XPSlot Type: PCI or ISA, HDD's Supported IDE, Enhanced IDE, ATA-66, ATA-100, SCSI File Systems supported: FAT 16, FAT 32 NTFS Minimum Specification IBM PC Compatible 80486 or higher ContactsGlobe Micro SystemsTerry Shepherd Tel: 01372 471 000 Email: info@globemicro.com Web: www.globemicro.com Personal Computer Science (PCS) Liz Cunnane Tel: +353 (0) 946 7734 Email: sales@pcscience.com Web: www.pcscience.com BiPulse Technology Web: www.bipulse.com |
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