Faronics Deep Freeze Reviews & Product Details

I like that client install and configuration changes are easily done through the admin console with Faronics Deep Freeze. The software provides the ability to install remotely and manage settings, which is a great benefit. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The server install seems a little antiquated. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It's the ideal software to manage our course laptops. To let them stay clean every time the laptops are turned off and on again Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We use the enterprise version at the moment which makes management more complex. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The ability to wipe session data and essentially restore machine to a clean status. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would like some more audit capabilities built in but I use other software for this. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Deep Freeze takes a snapshot of the computer it's installed on, saves it in a partition, and restores that snapshot every time the computer is rebooted. This is a godsend for school computer labs, and any other situation where users might cause destruction to the OS, such as accidentally downloading malicious files or changing configurations they're not supposed to. One quick reboot and the computer is restored to its former glory.

There are four components to the system: the Seed, which prepares a unit to receive Deep Freeze, the Workstation client, which is installed on PCs to be managed, the Configuration Administrator, which allows you to set policies for your clients, such as when they get Windows Updates or when they shut down, and the Enterprise Console, which is installed on a network server in order to manage clients.

The Seed and Workstation Client need no explanation, they're a simple and quick install like any other executable.

The Enterprise Console is simple to use and understand, and has a lot of other options such as Wake on LAN support, Windows Update, and remote launching apps on the client. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Enterprise Console frequently refresh and it's easy to lose your place in the list. This has been a problem in several version and drives me a bit nuts to be honest. Also, their Wake on LAN solution is a bit hit or miss so if a client is offline or not able to contact the Deep Freeze server, you have basically no control over it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

My first implementation of Deep Freeze was for a couple of public use kiosk systems in a hotel. I was having to do system cleanups from drive-by malware infections on these systems roughly every 3-4 weeks. I installed Deep Freeze on the systems as a test and after 2 years now I have yet to do a cleanup on either system. Very simple to unfreeze the OS to do regular updates and maintenance and freeze it again. Onsite hotel staff can simply reboot a system if a user borks it up and have it back up and running in minutes, no service call needed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

A time-based temporary admin bypass would be helpful, I find that people forget to refreeze the OS if they are allowed to do a simple install task. An auto freeze timeout for a temporary bypass account would be helpful so it would refreeze the OS after X minutes. It would also be handy if the product could be integrated into some existing RMM solutions available currently for a SPOG system. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The software is simple to use and gets feature updates regularly. You can make a hidden thawspace (with Data Igloo, that is included) and redirect windows logs or registry keys for software that needs to dynamically update for licensing purposes. Security is great with this as a reboot clears any data or changes left on the machine. The software also allows you to manage your PCs by shutting them down and turning them back on to save on power usage. You can also send automated messages to users and setup times for windows updates to run. Windows Update features now know if the system is in a pending reboot state after getting an update and will reboot the PC before the maintenance interval. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There isn't much I don't like that hasn't been addressed with updates. It is necessary to keep maintenance as every windows feature update may cause issues. You may need to delay feature updates and upgrade the console before your client PCs, but this is really a Microsoft issue and they have done a good job keeping up. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

this product makes managing multiple PC simple. if your setting up a classroom or lab machines or training room this is a no brainer. this allows you to maintain consistent performance without any additional tasks other than to reboot the machine. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Dont get the standard version as this makes windows updates tedious. if you upgrade to enterprise this will automate patching Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Fast with restoring and rebooting! And I love that it automatically updates and maintained itself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There was no free trial option so I was forced to do a lot of my own research before making the decision. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Deep Freeze works well for monitoring students in a lab environment and for managing PC's. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Setting up classes is a little clunky, the interface could be improved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is simple to use and just works when you need it! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The price can get expensive when you have more than a few stations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.