What is GlacierLock?
GlacierLock is a Windows backup manager that verifies every file using dual MD5 + SHA-256 hashing, detects ransomware patterns before backup, and maintains a tamper-evident audit log. It is built for prosumers, IT professionals, and forensic examiners who need documented proof that their data is intact. The backup engine is powered by Robocopy and supports three modes: Mirror, Smart Snapshot (with hardlink versioning), and Independent Snapshot.
What does GlacierLock do that Windows built-in backup doesn’t?
Windows backup copies files. GlacierLock copies files and then proves they arrived intact. Every file is dual-hashed (SHA-256 + MD5), the audit log is tamper-evident and hash-chained, ransomware patterns are checked before every run, and S.M.A.R.T. drive health is monitored continuously. Windows backup has no verification, no anomaly detection, and no audit trail.
Does GlacierLock verify backup integrity?
Yes. GlacierLock computes both SHA-256 and MD5 hashes for every file it copies, then verifies the destination matches the source. This happens on every file, every backup run — not a spot check or a sample. If a single byte is different, you know immediately. This dual-hash approach means that even if an attacker could produce a collision in one algorithm, producing a simultaneous collision in both is computationally infeasible.
What hashing algorithms does GlacierLock use?
GlacierLock uses SHA-256 as its primary integrity hash and MD5 as a secondary verification hash. Both are computed for every file on every backup run. This dual-hash approach aligns with NIST IR 8387 requirements for digital evidence preservation and the judicial authentication standard established in Lorraine v. Markel (2007).
Does GlacierLock detect ransomware?
GlacierLock runs a pre-backup safety scan that checks for active Windows Defender threats, suspicious I/O patterns, VSS state anomalies, and known ransomware file extensions against a live threat intelligence feed. If the environment looks compromised, the backup pauses and alerts you instead of faithfully copying encrypted files. GlacierLock is not a security product — it is a backup product with pre-backup environment verification.
What is a smart snapshot backup?
Smart Snapshot is GlacierLock’s default backup mode. It creates dated snapshot folders on your destination drive and uses hardlinks for unchanged files, which means each snapshot looks like a complete backup but only consumes disk space for files that actually changed. This gives you full version history with minimal storage overhead.
Does GlacierLock work with network drives (NAS)?
Yes. GlacierLock supports UNC paths for both source and destination. You can back up to a NAS, a network share, or any SMB-accessible path. Network destinations are validated at profile creation and checked before every backup run.
Does GlacierLock work with BitLocker encrypted drives?
Yes. GlacierLock detects BitLocker-encrypted drives and works with them when they are unlocked. If a destination drive is locked, GlacierLock will alert you before the backup runs rather than failing silently.
Does GlacierLock support Windows 10?
Yes. GlacierLock supports Windows 10 and Windows 11.
What is the difference between GlacierLock and Pro?
GlacierLock ($99 one-time) is a complete backup tool: unlimited profiles, scheduling, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, ransomware detection, chain-of-custody PDF reports, ARGUS full natural language queries, and the Forensic Delivery Package. Pro ($24/month or $249/year) adds the full ARGUS AI intelligence layer: behavioral baseline engine, AI-enhanced anomaly detection, pre-backup risk assessment, automated restore testing, and cloud audit sync. GlacierLock backs up and verifies your data. Pro understands your data.
What is ARGUS?
ARGUS is GlacierLock’s built-in intelligence layer. It lives on your dashboard and understands your entire backup history. At every tier, ARGUS provides a session brief when you launch, answers natural language questions about your backups, explains every error code in plain English, and flags anomalies using rule-based analysis. At the Pro tier, ARGUS connects to your AI provider and gains behavioral analysis, pre-backup risk scoring, and an agentic restore planner that can locate and recover a file from a natural language description. ARGUS is always active. At the Lite tier it runs on rule-based logic. At Pro it thinks.
How does ARGUS AI work?
ARGUS supports six AI providers: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT-4o, and Google Gemini via your own API key (BYOK), plus local inference via llamafile (Phi-4 Mini running entirely on your hardware), Ollama, and LM Studio. ARGUS automatically selects the best available provider — cloud first if configured, then local. Every AI feature degrades gracefully to a rule-based equivalent if no provider is active. The product works perfectly without any AI configured. AI is additive, never required.
Does GlacierLock send my data to the cloud?
No. Your backup data never leaves your machine. If you configure a cloud AI provider, your API key is used for queries about your backup metadata — no file content is sent. The local AI option runs entirely on your hardware with zero internet dependency. Cloud audit sync (Pro tier) transmits hashed metadata only, not file contents.
What is Source Protection Mode?
Source Protection Mode prevents GlacierLock from writing to source drives during backup operations. This is critical for forensic use cases where evidence drives must remain unmodified. It ensures that the backup process itself cannot alter the data it is protecting.
How is GlacierLock different from a forensic imaging tool?
Forensic imaging tools like FTK Imager create bit-for-bit copies of entire drives for investigation purposes. GlacierLock is a file-level backup tool that verifies integrity through dual hashing and maintains a chain-of-custody audit trail. They serve different purposes: imaging captures everything on a drive for forensic analysis, while GlacierLock protects specific files with ongoing verification and monitoring.
How much does GlacierLock cost?
Lite is free forever (1 profile, manual runs). GlacierLock is a one-time $99 purchase — own it forever, no subscription. Pro is $24/month or $249/year (save 17%) and includes the full ARGUS AI intelligence layer and cloud audit sync.
What is the GLAS audit log?
GLAS (GlacierLock Audit System) is a hash-chained, append-only audit log stored in a local SQLite database. Every backup event is recorded and linked to the previous record by its SHA-256 hash, making the chain tamper-evident. At the Lite tier, GLAS records are readable inside the app. At the GlacierLock tier, you can export the full log as a chain-of-custody PDF and generate a Compliance Narrative — a plain-English description of your backup process suitable for audit or legal review.
What is the Forensic Delivery Package?
The Forensic Delivery Package is a GlacierLock tier feature that creates a hash-verified archive of your backup alongside a Delivery Manifest PDF. The recipient can verify the integrity of every file they received using GlacierLock Verify — a free standalone tool — without needing a GlacierLock license. It provides documented proof that files arrived unaltered from source to recipient.
What is VSS open-file backup?
VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) lets GlacierLock back up files that are locked by other applications — Outlook .pst files, SQLite databases, files held open by running software. Without VSS, those files would be skipped or produce errors. VSS is a GlacierLock tier feature, opt-in via Settings, and requires Administrator privileges. If VSS fails for any reason, GlacierLock falls back to the live source path silently — the backup always runs.
What is the USB drive trigger?
The USB drive trigger is a GlacierLock tier feature that automatically starts a backup profile when a specific drive is connected. GlacierLock identifies the drive by its serial number, so it only fires for the exact drive you configured — not any USB device. Useful for portable drive workflows where you want backups to run the moment you plug in your destination.
What does ARGUS tell me about drive health?
At the Lite tier, ARGUS surfaces S.M.A.R.T. basics for every connected drive: status, temperature, and reallocated sector count. At the GlacierLock tier, ARGUS shows full S.M.A.R.T. attribute history, predictive failure alerts, a capacity trend projection, and can generate a Drive Health Passport PDF — a formatted report of your drive’s health history. Pro adds AI-enhanced failure prediction and risk scoring.
What is the 3-2-1 Strategy Advisor?
The 3-2-1 Advisor analyzes your configured backup profiles against the 3-2-1 rule — three copies, two media types, one offsite. At the Lite tier, it shows an advisory display of your current coverage. At the GlacierLock tier, it provides specific configuration guidance: which profiles to add, which destinations to change, and what your current exposure is if your primary drive fails today.
What does Pro add beyond the GlacierLock tier?
Pro activates the full ARGUS AI layer: a behavioral baseline engine that learns your normal backup patterns and flags deviations, AI-enhanced ransomware risk scoring via AlienVault OTX live threat intel, pre-backup AI risk assessment before every job, an agentic restore planner (describe a file in plain English and ARGUS locates and recovers it), Integrity Patrol for continuous between-backup file monitoring, automated restore testing with pass/fail reports, and cloud audit sync that corroborates your GLAS chain to Cloudflare R2 for multi-machine verification. Pro is the tier for environments where a backup failure has serious consequences.