Date: 30 Mar 1994 11:09:29 -0700 (MST) From: Chris McDonald Subject: Product Test, PT-57, Norton Utilities for Macintosh To: orvis@icdc.llnl.gov Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT [To]: cmcdonal@wsmr-emh34.army.mil [Cc]: smendoza@arl.army.mil Apparently-To: orvis@icdc.llnl.gov ----- Forwarded message # 1: Date: Wed, 30 Mar 94 11:01:32 MST From: Chris McDonald To: cmcdonal@wsmr-emh34.army.mil Subject: Product Test, PT-57, Norton Utilities for Macintosh ****************************************************************************** PT-57 March 1994 ****************************************************************************** 1. Product Description: The Norton Utilities for Macintosh is a commercial program for backup, data recovery and data protection. This product test addresses version 2.0. 2. Product Acquisition: The program is available from Symantec Corp., 10201 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014-9854. The initial list price was $149.00. There are numerous mail order services which offer single copies at significantly reduced costs, or which have bundled the program with other data protection software for even greater savings. Symantec Corp. does have site licenses available. Their customer service number is (800) 441-7243 for the United States and Canada; the FAX number is (408) 255-3344. 3. Product Tester: Chris Mc Donald, Computer Systems Analyst, Directorate of Information Management, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002-5506, DSN: 258-7548, DDN: cmcdonal@wsmr-emh34.army.mil. 4. Product Test: a. Norton Utilities for Macintosh was initially released in May 1992. I obtained my copy from MacWarehouse in late 1992, and have used it in a working environment since that time. Each of the individual components has been tested on several different Macintosh platforms running either System 6.0.5, System 6.0.7, or System 7.0. b. The program comes with an excellent document, "Using the Norton Utilities for Macintosh", and has two separate start-up emergency disks to address specific models/disk drives. The installation procedure allows one to omit specific utilities and/or to customize the program. c. The program includes these elements. (1) Directory Assistance II - - a system extension for the Save, Save As, and Open dialog boxes used by most Macintosh application programs. (2) DiskLight - - monitors activity on hard disks and floppies to let you know what's going on during long loads and saves. (3) Fast Find - - a substitute to Apple's Find which can search in the background; once found a file can be launched or moved to the desktop for viewing and editing of many file attributes. (4) Floppier - - an application to copy and format floppy disks. (5) FileSaver - - control panel to protect the hard disk from accidental formatting and from severe directory damage. (6) KeyFinder - - shows every character of a selected font in a table; clicking a character reveals what key combination is needed to get it. (7) Layout Plus - - customizes the Finder (does not work with System 7, which incorporates most of these features). (8) Norton Backup - - backup tool with data verification, error correc- tion codes, file compression. (9) Norton Disk Doctor - - disk diagnosis and recovery tool. (10) Norton Disk Editor - - examination and manipulation of directory structure, file attributes, etc.; view files, search for lost data, and repair damaged files. (11) Norton Encrypt - - two types of data encryption: FasCrypt, a proprietary scheme; and the Data Encryption Standard (DES). (12) Norton Partition - - creates and manages soft partitions on hard disks. (13) Speed Disk - - defragments files, consolidates free space on a disk, and organizes files more effectively. (14) UnErase -- application to recover erased and/or lost data. (15) Volume Recover - - recovers formatted disks. (16) Wipe Info - - overwrites/sanitizes files and disks, to include the free space on disks. d. The documentation for version 2.0 is thorough, but can be intimidating. The sheer number of utilities along with the scope of available options demands that a user read the documentation before installation and before doing anything serious with the more complicated applications. e. The Installer program performed as documented during all tests. There were no anomalies or problems encountered. f. Tests of the disk repair and file recovery tools were impressive. Norton Disk Doctor, FileSaver, and UnErase performed as advertised. It was apparent, however, that there were situations where a more experienced and technically knowledgeable user would have had an advantage in fully utilizing the capabilities of each application. Although the documentation provides an entire chapter on diagnosing problems, one needs practice in my opinion to reach a comfort level with all the features provided in Norton Disk Doctor and in UnErase. Tests confirmed that the automatic installation of the FileSaver extension is essential. FileSaver creates a separate copy of critical catalog information, and optionally keeps track of deleted files and Finder Comments. This makes recovery from a crash quicker and more reliable. It also improves the recoverability of deleted files. I did not have the opportunity to test Volume Recover in the absence of a condition requiring its use. g. Norton Backup provides a multitude of defined options. It supports data compression, verification during backup, and a host of backup selection 2 features. One can choose to backup material changed after or before a specific date; one can exclude applications, documents, and/or system files from the backup; and one can automate the backup with a Scheduler. h. Backup and restore operations performed as documented. I had no opportunity to attempt a restoration of a crashed hard disk from a backup set. i. Norton Disk Editor displays and allows one to modify the bits and bytes on a disk. It displays critical parts of a disk (i.e., boot blocks, catalog trees), and generally allows one to easily examine the contents of a disk. Tests confirmed that many of the application's capabilities might appeal more to the expert user. On the other hand, I found the Editor extremely easy to use and of immeasurable assistance in audit and in recovery operations. It was also a valuable tool to confirm the effectiveness of various erasure and sanitization program routines. j. Norton Encrypt offers the capability to protect a single document or entire folders. As mentioned previously, one can choose either the proprietary FasCrypt, or a DES implementation. All encryption tests were successful in "scrambling" the information such that it was undecipherable without the password key. Attempts to find the encryption key with Norton Disk Editor were unsuccessful. Bruce Schneier has conducted more exhaustive tests of the strength of the DES implementation, and has concluded that to the best of his knowledge it is secure (reference "MacWorld", February 1993). Although the documentation does not identify the specific mode of DES implementation, Mr. Schneier's article states that it is not the most secure as defined in Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 81. k. Norton Partition allows one to create a separate partition with the options to password protect and to automatically encrypt the entire partition. The options include a feature for "emergency access" or "backdoor" in the event one forgets the password. The documentation provides a brief overview as to how this feature might work, and still afford adequate security. Of more interest is a selection in the Advanced Options dialog box which allows one-time emergency access to all password-protected partitions on the current volume. Since there is still some debate over the utility of soft partitions, and since "backdoors" provoke many heated discussions, I chose not to test this extension and desk accessory. l. Wipe Info performed as documented to sanitize files, folders and entire disks. The operations were efficient, and easy to perform. Attempts to recover information with the Norton Disk Editor and with UnErase were unsuccessful. I did find that the names of files might be recovered from the database in the Desktop. However, unless there is some reason that the name of a file/folder/disk is sensitive, this should not present a problem. If it is, then renaming of the item before sanitization is an alternative. 5. Product Advantages: a. Norton Utilities offers an excellent selection of applications in one program. The product can appeal to a wide range of users with varying skill 3 levels. The design and interfaces of the respective components makes them easy to use. b. The documentation at version 2.0 was good to excellent in my opinion. c. Data recovery tools, encryption capabilities, and sanitization routines have become essential requirements in many environments. The program appears to satisfy those demands. 6. Product Disadvantages: a. As mentioned earlier, while the applications offer on-line help, one must read the documentation to avoid potential difficulties and to fully utilize the various components. Even if one addresses this issue in a large organization by standardizing the installation configuration, a support staff might still be a good idea as well as user training. b. Certain applications may result in conflicts with other INITs. While I did not encounter any conflicts during my tests over the last fifteen months, it is impossible for the vendor to completely eliminate this potential. c. There may be certain components which will be redundant in situations where organizations or individuals have already purchased comparable software to perform an operation (e.g., backup, encryption, sanitization). d. Government organizations in particular will generally require some type of independent certification of the DES implementation and of the sanitization routine. This may add some delay to the full utilization of the program. 7. Comments: Readers may refer to these reviews for additional information on Norton Utilities for Macintosh: (1) "MacWeek", 06.29.92; (2) "PCWeek", May 4, 1992; and (3) "MacWorld", February 1993. [The opinions expressed in this evaluation are those of the author, and should not be taken as representing official Department of Army positions or a commercial endorsement.] FOR FURTHER REFERENCE: PRODUCT TEST NUMBER PRODUCT PT-13 MACSAFE II PT-29 SECURE DELETE PT-32 MACTOOLS PT-33 FORT KNOX PT-35 FOLDERBOLT PT-37 VIPER PT-38 EMPOWER II PT-46 CITADEL PT-62 FLAMEFILE PT-72 ultraSECURE 4 5 ----- End of forwarded messages