System LifeGuard Reviewer's Comments

System LifeGuard 2 from NeoByte Solutions is low-priced, easy-to-use PC system utilities software, yet the program doesn't offer the tools or support necessary to make the product an optimal value.

Ease of Use:  

System LifeGuard 2 has simple, intuitive navigation sections: Clean My Computer, System Configuration, Backup My Data, Advanced Features and Restore Deleted Files in Error.

Ease of Setup:  

We had no complications installing System LifeGuard 2.

Maintenance/Diagnostics:  

In the Clean My Computer section, System LifeGuard 2 allows you to scan for junk files; you can also customize the scan to find specific file extensions.

System LiveGuard 2 uses a severity rating guide as a safety net, for example:

• Green – 100% safe to clean, delete
• Yellow – Warning: carefully check files before removing
• Red – Critical files: files vital to your system that may cause problems if removed.

The maintenance tools available include an Add/Remove Programs tool, a Startup Manager, a hard drive cleaner, a Secure Deletion tool and Internet cleaning tools. System LifeGuard does not, however, offer a Manage Running Processes tool and many helpful diagnostic tools available on other PC system utilities software programs.

Repair/Recovery:  

System LifeGuard 2 has an easy-to-use backup program that offers both remote and local backups.

The Registry Cleaner did not score well. The first time we tried to clean our registry, the program crashed the computer. The second time the program worked well. We found the registry cleaner quite basic though, not offering many options to identify potential problems or to customize scans.

Once the registry is scanned, the software provides a list of errors. But these aren't divided into categories and you can't double-click on an error to go directly to the registry location (both common options in other utility software programs).

There is an Old Files tool that lets you display the amount of time lapsed since a given file was last used (by days, weeks, months or years). You can also perform a Secure Deletion, which can be restored, or use the shredder tool that meets US government standards for file deletion-making recovery impossible.

Optimization:  

System LifeGuard 2 has few optimization capabilities, few personalization options and no defrag tool (simply a link to your Windows default defrag option).

Feature Set:  

Additional System LifeGuard 2 features include a Shutdown Manager and a Scheduler, which allows you to schedule registry, folder and junk files cleaning, application launching and Internet privacy maintenance.

Help/Support:  

NeoByte Solutions provide few help and support options for System LifeGuard 2. Program icons each have small question marks; clicking these opens a help section for that feature. But many of these links didn't work or simply took us to a generic help screen. NeoByte Solutions also offer a FAQs page-but with only six questions-and email support.

Summary:  

Although System LifeGuard 2 by NeoByte Solutions is inexpensive and easy to use, its inability to offer more helpful tools and its lack of support make it a poor choice. In short, if this product is your lifeguard, you'd better know how to doggie-paddle.