Will Your Next PC Have a Panic Button?

Users with crashed PCs may soon be able to press a "panic button" to summon recovery tools if vendors adopt a new data "bomb shelter" on PC hard disk drives.

Phoenix Technologies, which makes the BIOS that runs at boot-up on most Windows PCs, has designed the software "bunker" and is marketing it to PC vendors for implementation later this year. It sells its new Phoenix Core Managed Environment along with technology to put it on the least-used part of a hard drive, says Bob Gager, Phoenix senior director of product marketing.

The Core Managed Environment is not an operating system but a separate, protected operating environment, Gager says. Because it's not part of Windows, it remains available after a crash and can be used to restore a PC after a user presses the "panic button." Also, PC vendors can configure it to store backups of a user's critical data files as well as tweaks to the OS and applications. It acts in some ways like existing software for rolling back a system, such as Roxio's GoBack or the System Restore function in Microsoft Windows XP.

The difference is that CME stores all of the data in a secure, hidden portion of the hard drive, as protection from mischief or accidental damage. Physically, the data is near the spindle at the center of the hard drive, in a hidden partition, Gager says. Drives equipped with CME will be able to coexist with recovery utilities if a user maintains such software on a system as well.

Advanced Security

An included utility will automatically back up applications and data stored in vendor-specified folders, according to Phoenix. The amount of space allocated to the CME will vary, and is up to PC vendors and licensees of the technology. But Phoenix expects system vendors will use the CME recovery capability as a selling point for their PCs.

Applications stored in CME are not static; users can update them securely with authentication enabled through digital signatures. However, users can't add new applications to the CME. That protects the environment from viruses, although it's conceivable that a determined hacker could write one that hits CME, says David Tractenberg, a Phoenix spokesperson.

Phoenix already supplies BIOS software to many large PC vendors. The additional cost of implementing CME would be modest compared with the savings vendors would realize because of reduced technical support calls, Tractenberg says. He notes that system vendors commonly consider reducing tech support a high priority.

Phoenix also offers a set of system utilities that can be stored in a protected part of the hard drive. With CME, Phoenix is moving that protected space to a safer part of the hard drive and also opening it to applications from other vendors. Antivirus vendor McAfee Security, a division of Network Associates, has said it will make its software available for CME.

PC vendors that include CME in their systems can choose how much space to set aside for it and which applications to put in it. The "panic button," an actual keyboard button, could launch the CME Console, a graphical interface from which a user could choose applications.

Alternate Uses

Not everything in the protected space need be for emergencies or recovery. A PC maker could co-brand the environment with Phoenix and stock it with everyday applications such as a media player or digital photo browsing software, Gager said.

CME was designed partly to address vendors' desire to differentiate their PCs with software, he adds. Phoenix plans to promote the technology so consumers will seek it out in new systems. However, CME is not intended as an alternative to Windows or any other operating system, he says.

Phoenix uses the analogy of a bomb shelter to describe the secure environment.

"You can make it as pretty as you want to, but you're still not going to want live in it full time," Tractenberg says.

Phoenix is offering four versions of CME: CME PC Edition, CME Server Edition, CME IA (Information Appliance) Edition, and CME Embedded Edition. All are available to system makers now. Systems with CME should become available to end users in March or April, according to Phoenix.

Mixed Reaction

Analysts agree the new technology could benefit system vendors, but note that its cost and other issues might deter adoption.

CME could reduce support costs for both vendors and businesses, and make notebooks safer from data theft, says Martin Reynolds, a Gartner analyst. Though he doubts PC buyers will pay extra for the tools in CME, the added feature might tip the balance to a particular vendor's system, he says.

For example, being able to get online using a special browser after a software crash could make it easier for vendors and IT departments to lead a user through diagnosis and recovery, Reynolds says. It might avoid a user having to return a notebook to a vendor or IT department to fix a software problem.

CME also could serve as a pre-boot environment with sophisticated authentication tools such as fingerprint or face recognition, Reynolds said.

Antivirus software in a protected space like CME would be safe from a new breed of virus that specifically targets antivirus applications, says Roger Kay, director of client computing at IDC. Although the program will be safely stored in the CME, users will be able to update the software and its virus definition database as needed.

The problem PC makers may face with CME is that the market is price-sensitive and customers already are "overserved," according to Kay. Many existing tools offer backup, antivirus, and other functions a vendor might put in CME, he said.

Customers would need to understand what the technology could offer if a vendor expects them to choose a PC that offers it, according to Stephen Baker, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group.

"It has to be self-evident to me why I would want to buy it. People don't buy things that have to be explained to them," Baker said.