I greatly thankful to all people who took time to respond. Below is a
summary of those responses.
Several librarians told they had similar problems with their IS (IT) Depts
regarding Deep Freeze but then a solution was found.
These are a few comments on this:
- We use DeepFreeze and although we don't do this, my understanding is the
software can be thawed for a specific set time over night. During that
time I thought I was told that updates could be downloaded and installed
automatically. Then the machine would be frozen again.
- I suggested Deep freeze for my computers in the library, and Information
Services went wild! They think it is so great that they are using it on
many other computers in the hospital. Seems the users can't help
themselves, they are always adding programs to the various PCs. After
installing it, we had to officially add Chartmax to all of the library
computers, and our IS department had no problems. Since IS is the only one
with the ability to add, update and otherwise deal with all things computer
here, they know how to work around Deep Freeze. And, personally, I love it!
I can turn off the computers, turn them back on, and all of the weird,
unacceptable junk just goes away!
- The solution our IT department offered us is this: all the public
workstations log into the network using the same ID and password and that
ID has been given restricted rights so that folks using it can't access
things like the network drive where our OPAC software lives, etc. and so
they can't run executable files that they download. It's not nearly as
good as far as we're concerned and we spend a lot of time removing things
that folks have put on the computers.
- I got the same answer from my IM department when I presented this to
them. The option they presented me (which I declined) was to
get a commercial ISP (which I would have to pay for) for computers in the
library , and then I could install something like Deep Freeze on those PCs.
Other products suggested:
1. GoBack by Roxio.
Comment: works great
2. Centurion Guard
http://www.centuriontech.com/solutions/libraries/
(and a different product that just come across:
http://userful.com/products/alternatives/centurion?p=library)
Comment: It is hardware, rather than software based, and can be turned on
and off as needed. It might be a balanced compromise between the library
and IS.
3. HDD Sheriff from Jungsoft
Comment: This product locks the hard drive with a card inserted into the
PCI slot that erased all modifications to the PC every time you re-booted.
It always returned to original configuration. HDD Sheriff allowed
administrative access very quickly and easily with a few keystrokes. In my
opinion, the time necessary to unlock, upgrade, and re-lock each PC is
small in light of the damage that could be done by unprotected units.
4. Clean Slate (from the same company as Fortress)
Comment: installed on the library PC's, this product allows the IT staff to
do automatic updates to the virus protection software remotely. The
software just has to be set up with the write access enabled for certain
directories, and for certain users (ie Administrators). I couldn't tell you
the details of the install, as IT does all that, but they love the product.
We've had no problems with it.
Once again, many thanks to all people provided this valuable information.
Yelena Friedman, MLS, AHIP
Director, Medical Library
Staten Island University Hospital
475 Seaview Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
Tel: 718-226-9545
Fax: 718-226-8582
[log in to unmask]
Yelena Friedman
<Yelena_Friedman@SIU To: [log in to unmask]
H.EDU> cc: (bcc: Yelena Friedman/SIUH)
Sent by: Medical Subject: ? Security software
Libraries Discussion
List
<[log in to unmask]
UFFALO.EDU>
12/14/2005 11:55 AM
Please respond to
Yelena Friedman
Dear colleagues,
some time ago we tried to install Deep Freeze software on out library PCs.
It worked pretty well during the trial. However, our IS Dept. didn't give a
permission to install Deep Freeze on all computers. The decision was based
on the following statement:
"...The reason this software can not be installed is that is prevents
security patches and anti-virus updates from being installed. This would
be a problem with any such type of software. Many of these applications
require the ability to create temporary files, and configurations when in
use (IDX, PACS, PHS,etc). In locking these computers down in such a
stringent fashion, we will impact the operations of hospital based
applications..."
I'm wondering if anyone experienced a similar problem and could resolve it.
Do you know about any other software that can perform similarly to Deep
Freeze. i.e. erase any newly installed files and programs after restarting
a PC? I know that Windows XP allows an administrator to restore a computer
to a specific point in time. But I don't have administrator's authority
and it's not that straightforward. Can anyone suggest a better solution?
Many thanks in advance.
Yelena Friedman, MLS, AHIP
Director, Medical Library
Staten Island University Hospital
475 Seaview Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
Tel: 718-226-9545
Fax: 718-226-8582
[log in to unmask]
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