Returnil Virtual System: PC Security Through Virtualization Technology

Software & hardware virtualization is a very hot IT topic nowadays, when the economic crisis is causing a downturn on spendings and investments. Moreover, environmentalists constantly warned of global warming and environmental pollutions. Why does people talk about virtualization in parallel with these two issues? The answer is because virtualization is a very good solution towards handling both.

Personally, i had done some homework on virtualization, and thus i used this software in my university's presentation. Glad to have get top marks for it...:)

Virtualization technology allows a business to run multiple computers over a single virtualized server, which allows a business to spend less and operate at more or less the same efficiency. Other forms of virtualization includes application virtualization, desktop virtualization and many more. Just a couple of years back, virtualization extended into the home user arena; many software were created to cater home users' needs to virtualize their desktop and overcome the barriers of hardware and software restriction over the host PC. One of the categories i noticed is towards providing security through virtualization. Which turns the focus back to today's main topic.

Today, i'm introducing you to a security software which utilizes technology representing the true example of the virtualization genre. The software is called Returnil Virtual System, a "not-so-contemporary antivirus" of the next generation.


Returnil Virtual System is developed by Returnil SIA, a private Latvian-based company which aims in delivering what they called is a "cure to the computer virus problem". The company is founded in 2006 and their mission is to deliver a world-class software to secure and stable personal computer backed upon by friendly customer service.


Returnil successfully applied virtualization technology in computer security by cloning a system partition in memory to create a virtualized computering environment for users. Whatever has happened in the virtual environment will not be saved to the hard disk; whether you downloaded something from the internet, have a virus infected your pc, leaving lots of browsing history after browsing the internet....all will be gone as soon as you restarted the PC. After restarting the PC, the virtualized environment is reloaded and thus, no changes are made to your PC, including virus and malware attacks.


Here are the benefits and positives of using Returnil Virtual System:

1. Forever preventing viruses from invading your PC as long as the System Protection is on!

2. Decreases the PC hardware's wear and tear because nothing has changed in the hard drive!

3. Decrease the likelihood of computer system errors and fragmentation!

4. Uses minimun amount of RAM and system resources in protecting your PC!

5. Very simple to use, with no virus signature update required!


Returnil comes with the Personal Free Edition for non-commercial home users and a paid-for Premium Edition for businesses. It comes in many language support so it is rather user-centric.

My evaluation on the software after testing its effectiveness are generally positive: The software is as advertised; very light on system resources usage, and is compatible with my antivirus and firewall protection. During the installation, i need to allocate a certain amount of system partition for Returnil to clon it into RAM for system virtualization. Installation is pretty fast and direct. The user interface is mature, clean and easy to use as well.

Screenshot of the Returnil Virtual System graphical user interface. Its interface are customizable through the Preference section.

The software's effectiveness is immediate: i did a simple experiment by moving all my folders around the PC, deleting files and shortcuts permanently and uninstalling softwares. Then i did a restart and voila! Everything are all back in place; the icons and files i deleted or moved are all intact at their original position!

Next, i use some REAL malware for security testing. I purposely downloaded some very nasty, hard-pushed malwares from the internet (i had to turn off my Kaspersky because it keeps on ringing alarms that my PC is infected LOL) and leave it at there. Again i did a restart and voila! Those malwares are gone without a trace!

Everything that i had downloaded when the System Protection is ON need to be placed in a folder which is virtualization-proof, where the contents will not be affected even after a restart. When i wanted to shift some of my files to a better position, delete some stuffs which i no longer use and do some virus database update (my Kaspersky still needs update, after all...:)), i have to turn off the System Protection and do a restart....which after all the fuss, i needed to turn on System Protection again and restart into the virtualized environment.


At the end of the day, i DO recommend this virtualization-based security software to the following computer users:

1. Users who are begginers or novice towards using a computer.

2. Users who did a lot ot software testing such as installing and uninstalling a software

3. Users who are frustrated with their antivirus hogging system resources

4. Users who basically just use the computer for gaming and internet surfing-with no downloads


To download the FREE Personal Edition of Returnil Virtual System, click here.

To visit the Returnil Official Website and learn more about the software, click here.