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Stardock KeepSafe 1.0

Neil J. Rubenking
 & Neil J. Rubenking Principal Writer, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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- Stardock KeepSafe 1.0
4.0 Excellent

The Bottom Line

KeepSafe protects the files you're actively working on by retaining old versions. It works <i>with</i> your backup strategy, not in place of it. It's easy to configure, yet offers fine-tuning control for advanced users.

Pros & Cons

    • Retains all versions of specified file types.
    • Recovering revisions is easy using context-menu, search, or wizard.
    • Optionally saves a second copy of the revisions on the network drive.
    • Protects only new and changed files.
    • Old versions are stored without compression or "changes-only" technology, so they occupy a lot of disk space.

Stardock KeepSafe 1.0 Specs

Type: Personal
All Specs

Stardock's KeepSafe works as an adjunct to your regular backup strategy to protect your most important files—the ones you're working on right now. Every time you save a changed file, KeepSafe stashes a copy of the previous version in a separate location. The software even integrates with Windows Explorer so that you can instantly access previous versions of files. There are other products that save changed file versions locally—for example, AJC Active Backup, PC Magazine's own InstaBack, and NTI Shadow (which also offers traditional scheduled backup). But KeepSafe's implementation is more thorough and easier to use.

As soon as you install it, the utility starts protecting your Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word documents, as well a few other common file types. It also protects all files in and below the My Documents folder except for excluded file types such as AVI and MP3. You'll want to add any other types that you commonly create or edit, and you may also want to take certain types off the excluded list or add more. If you normally keep your files in a folder other than My Documents, you can mark that folder for protection, with or without subfolders.

KeepSafe creates a database of information about the revisions on your local drive, so you can quickly find old versions. By default, the revisions themselves are also stored on your local drive; if the local drive croaks, you'll lose all those files, so you can optionally define a secondary storage location on your local network. Shadow and AJC allow just one backup destination (local or remote); InstaBack allows two and can also back up to FTP or send changed files via e-mail.—Continue reading

In Recovery
There are lots of ways to recover earlier versions of a file protected by KeepSafe. A context-menu extension lets you right-click on a file and open any version from an age-sorted menu. Launch the program, and you can click the File Search tab to get a list of recent versions or to search files by name, type, date, or even the application that saved them. Start the Recovery Wizard and you get step-by-step help with finding the file version you need. I haven't seen this level of recovery support in other products, though AJC does offer a context-menu link to a list of old versions.

Smart backup programs that send data to online repositories, such as Mozy and Data Deposit Box, minimize the amount of data they have to upload and store by saving only the differences when a file changes. KeepSafe's files are stored locally, so there's no worry about transmitting a lot of data, but your local computer doesn't have the massive capacity of an online backup server farm. I wish the product would incorporate some form of difference-only storage—a feature planned for a future version, according to the company.

KeepSafe does employ a few methods to avoid hogging drive space. By default, it only protects files under 100MB, saves only the five most recent versions, and discards old versions of deleted files after 45 days. You can modify or eliminate any or all of these restrictions, and you can set a minimum for the size of a file that's protected (since even the smallest file takes a whole cluster, usually a 4KB chunk of a drive).

You can also set the program to delete all revisions over a specified age, not just those associated with deleted files. AJC can age out old revisions, too; it can also thin them out—for example, keeping only one revision per day for files older than a week. That's a nice feature that I'd like to see in KeepSafe. But here's a perk I haven't seen in any other product—KeepSafe tracks the application that created each revision. By default, it records revisions made by all applications, but you can tell it to watch only those on a list or all except those on a list. If you're truly obsessive-compulsive, you can tweak all these settings individually for each file type.

One thing I realized immediately when I installed the application is that it's strictly forward-looking. It won't help me at all with older files—not until I change them some way. Also, the five-revision limit doesn't fit my style, since I tend to hit Ctrl+S every few minutes while editing (a habit left over from the days of frequent system crashes). I set the revision tracking limit to its maximum, 50.—Continue reading

Can I Break It?
Being nasty, I tried to break the software. I set it to store revisions both locally and on a network drive and then disconnected that network drive. I created and changed a bunch of files and verified that KeepSafe had stored my revisions locally. Then I experimented for a while with the various ways to get back older versions. Finding and recovering an earlier version is impressively easy!

I reconnected the network and watched the secondary storage folder. Perhaps because it was being watched, nothing happened for several minutes, but then KeepSafe synced the network up with the local set of revisions. That feature will be handy for anyone using a laptop. If you're always connected to the network, you could make a remote drive the primary location and a local folder secondary—just don't make both remote. For another test I renamed a file that had several revisions stored. As expected, the revisions no longer showed up when I right-clicked on the file, but they were still available through KeepSafe's search tab.

KeepSafe is devoted to protecting all versions of the files you're currently working on—a second line of defense after your full backup strategy. It does this one job with single-minded intensity and makes recovering earlier versions a snap. If you've ever saved a bad file over a good one or found your latest version corrupted, you'll appreciate the ability to get that file back just the way it was a minute or a month ago.

More backup software reviews:

Final Thoughts

- Stardock KeepSafe 1.0

Stardock KeepSafe 1.0

4.0 Excellent

KeepSafe protects the files you're actively working on by retaining old versions. It works with your backup strategy, not in place of it. It's easy to configure, yet offers fine-tuning control for advanced users.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

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