SystemOK Home Security

Despite the name, Home Security doesn't actually have anything to do with securing your home. The software, which is actually a pair of programs, is more about data protection and being able to recover from various PC problems.

The first part of the software, Keepit, is a fairly standard backup program.

It's simple to use and offers three backup options - you can backup all users' documents, only the current user's documents or archive selected drives and folders from a list.

The selection process is just as simple and there are few options to choose from. Subsequent backups are incremental, so only files that have changed are re-archived.

You can choose where to send the backed-up files to, including USB devices and CDs or DVDs.

It's a competent backup program and the automated reminders of when a backup is due are useful.

The other component is Backontrack. This protects settings rather than documents in a manner similar to System Restore - the free utility that comes with Windows XP.

The program backs up various settings and files that form part of Windows, including the registry, so it can be restored if something goes wrong.

Unlike System Restore, Backontrack can be activated by pressing F7 during the boot sequence, which is useful if Windows won't load.

During testing, we were able to pull out bits of the Registry and then have them restored by the program. It's worth noting that it only works with NTFS formatted drives.

A useful feature within Backontrack is Document Rollback. Should you accidentally save over one of your office files, you can use this tool to resurrect previous versions.

SystemOK sells the Home Security suite as being 'granny-proof'. In this age of silver surfers it may not be the most apt definition of computer novices, but this software is certainly easy to use.

System requirements:
20MB hard disk
NTFS formatted hard drive
Windows XP