DriveSentry Security Suite Review

DriveSentry Security Suite Review
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A Little Background information

DriveSentry works with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista (32-bit). It requires a 1Ghz Processor, 512MB of RAM, and 54MB of hard disk space. An Internet connection is required to contact the DriveSentry Advisor. I am running DriveSentry on a system that uses Windows XP SP3.

Installation and First Setup (4 out of 5)

Installation was quick and simple. The default options are adequate for most users, and the program installed within a matter of minutes. There was no restart required, which is unlike most antivirus setups. At the end of the installation, you’re given the option of installing the GoAnywhere version on a USB drive. GoAnywhere can be ran on portable cameras, portable music devices, thumb drives, external hard drives, and more. If it plugs into a USB port, then GoAnywhere can be installed and ran from it.

After you finish the installation, you will start the activation process. The first screen prompts you to either create a community advisor account, or login with your current account. I created the account with the GoAnywhere version, and was able to login to the Community Advisor and activate both versions of DriveSentry. The second screen in the setup is where you’ll enter your license key and activate the product.

The User Interface and operation (3 out of 5)

DriveSentry offers you real-time scanning, along with the ability to manually scan your computer and setup scheduled scans. You are also given the ability to encrypt files and folders, and control which software has access to the drive. DriveSentry automatically protects external drives when they’re connected to the computer.

I have ran two manual scans of the hard drive. The first one was a scan of 9,447 files and the second was a scan of 10,045 files. The total scan time was approximately 5 minutes, and did not use a lot of resources.

When you close the window, you’re prompted with the option of closing the window or shutting down Drive Sentry. If you choose to close the window, it goes into a minimal type of user interface. You can close that to the system tray or shut down DriveSentry.

GoAnywhere (4 out of 5)

GoAnywhere is DriveSentry’s removable storage protection solution. You are able to purchase the product from DriveSentry and download it from their site. And if you’re using a U3-enabled USB Drive, you can purchase a slightly different version from the U3 download site. The protection is the same as the full-featured DriveSentry program.

I discovered accidentally that the license for the version of DriveSentry that I received from their site will activate the U3 version of DriveSentry. Upon inquiring with DriveSentry’s support staff, I found out that this is a valid scenario for installation– although the U3 version of DriveSentry does not have the same features as the version downloaded from their site.

Final Thoughts (4 out of 5)

Overall I think DriveSentry is a good product for the cost. At $15.00 USD, it’s definitely cheaper than the other paid solutions, and from the testing that I’ve done, it seems to be pretty decent. A scan with a commercial online scanner found no malware (aside from four cookies) after running DriveSentry on the system. You can purchase DriveSentry at https://www.drivesentry.com. Recommended!