System Files Protection At No Cost

New forms of smarter malware ready to penetrate your system's security are developed every day, that is a fact. But new protection alternatives are developed as well (although at a slower pace) and this is a fact, too. The truth is that users are always in need of new intelligent system protection mechanisms to protect sensitive data from being diverted to a remote server somewhere in the world.

Malware in general has come to use intelligent ways to enter your system and surreptitiously do their bidding. In most cases their activity results in bringing your computer to a halt as system files are affected or ends up in sending sensitive information collected from your computer to a remote party.

Restricting the access to some files and folders generally increases the protection of the entire system and renders malware harmless. System Protect is one of the fighters using this weapon for guarding your most precious data from being deleted. The application is not at all expensive as it is a genuine freeware that can be used both in a corporate environment as well as in the confinements of your home with absolutely no restriction.

It comes with a clean cut and very easy to use interface, with all its menus running down in the left hand part of the application. The learning curve is as smooth as can be and it will take you much under a minute to get the hang of it and how it can be used. Maybe that's the reason for the lack of a proper help menu and only the FAQ section on publisher's website will suffice to answer all your questions.

The purpose of System Protect is not limited to preventing unwanted deletion of system files as it is perfectly capable of putting a lock to deleting user-defined files and folders. The first panel appearing immediately after launching the app displays the general protection status enforced by System Protect: protection mode, number of custom protection items and if the password protection of the application is on.

The four protection modes available in the application allow the user great flexibility and control of the way the notifications for deleting or modifying protected data occur. The options here vary from absolute denial of modification/deletion of the files to disabled protection. In between you can opt for denying permission to modify/delete data but receive notification on the attempt or set the software to ask you each time before each deletion or modification of protected information.

By default the program will keep an eye on some important system files but you can also add your own files and folders to be protected against modification. This is achieved in Custom Protection menu of the software and the selection procedure is as simple as browsing to the desired file or folder. As long as System Protect is running on your computer and the protection is not disabled, all secured information will be safe against all modification and deletion attempts.

However, the application does not extend its capabilities over preventing the opening of a file or copying it to another location, but only for securing it against any form of modification or deletion. So the files will still be accessible.

System Protect's settings are not too difficult to handle as they fit perfectly the user-friendly feature of the entire application. You can enable its starting with Windows, set it to automatically downloads any updates coming down the pipe, protect it with a password as well as configuring the Internet connection settings (provide the necessary details for the proxy, if the case).

Once protected with a password, any modification to the settings of the program will require the typing in of the assigned countersign. You will still have access to the interface and perusing of the menus, but no modification can be made. Even the turning off of the application entirely depends on the password. There is one glitch, though: stopping the process from Task Manager or any other process manager you use will not put up a fight and the operation will go smooth.

This may not sound like much but the fact that the process is not protected in any way could turn into a vulnerability easily exploited by malware. However, the application is at the beginning of the road and there is always room for improvements like allowing the user to hide system tray icon or making the application run as a service.

When turning off system Protect there are three choices you can make for assuring the later protection of your system. First of all you can set it to re-enable the security of sensitive files/folders on system reboot, program it to resume its activity after a user defined time (up to 60 minutes) or System Protect can be re-enabled at your request only. With these options at hand you can rest assured that custom folders and files will be protected exactly as you want it.

Although System Protect is at the beginning of the road it can make for a very good file/folder protecting utility. The notifications contain the process trying to delete or alter protected files and the pop up window will disappear after a few seconds (hovering the mouse pointer inside will pause the countdown timer and failing to choose an option by the time the seconds run out will enforce the default action).

The application does a great job at enforcing the storage of the files on the computer, but its young age is showing in some areas. Making it completely invisible and protecting the termination of its process would be a great additions for starters. Extending its security over copying and opening of the files would also bring new benefits for the user and I am sure its list of options and features will be improved sooner than expected.


The Good

System Protect does what it claims to do: prevents modification and deletion of the files it secures and notifies the user on any attempt. It does not require any skills and can be used by any type of user with the same rate of success.

Its settings can be password protected in order to make more difficult its turning off.

The Bad

Its protection can be interrupted with the simple termination of its process from Task Manager or any other process managing utility on the market with no hindrance whatsoever.

It only protects against deleting or altering the files and these can be opened/ran or copied to a new location with no opposition from the software.

I could not find a list with system files it protects by default.

The Truth

The application is simple, very easy to use and raises to its claims. It is still at the beginning and there is plenty of room for new features and improvements. It does its job with low footprint in computer resources, but its protection can be overridden by simply terminating its process. For home use System Protector comes as very good basic protection of files and folders.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: