Macrium Image Guardian

Macrium Image Guardian Overview

Macrium Image Guardian protection architecture

Macrium Image Guardian protecting backups in a networked environment

In the above illustration, the PC sharing the backup repository (Shared Volume) has a full install of Macrium Reflect, including MIG. A local drive is shared over the network and MIG has been enabled on that drive in the Macrium Reflect user interface.

The other PC’s on the network can backup to this shared drive and do not require MIG to be installed. Backup file write access is automatically granted to Macrium Reflect 7.1, and later, write access for earlier versions of Macrium Reflect and other processes will fail. 

The PC hosting the share with MIG installed can be used as a standalone Macrium Reflect installation. The protected drive will prevent unauthorised access to backup files on that drive if the local PC creates backups to the protected volume.

Protected File Access

Macrium Image Guardian will protect all existing local backup files from unauthorised modification or deletion. All such activity will be blocked with error 0x80070510 - Storage policy block. 

Protected File Types

The following file extensions are protected by Macrium Image Guardian.

Windows File operations on Macrium Backup files

Macrium Image Guardian will block opening of backup files for modification or delete, The following lists some of the operations and special considerations if you are maintaining the location and life of Macrium backup files outside of Macrium Reflect.

1. Windows Explorer Copy. New backup files can be created on a protected volume as the result of a Windows Explorer copy operation. 
   
   Copying a file to the same folder as the original will be blocked on local file systems. Duplicate files in the same folder is undesirable and should be avoided. The identity of the backup file will be duplicated and this can lead to unpredictable results in Macrium Reflect.   
   
   

2. DOS Commands. COPY, MOVE, and XCOPY.  These commands will succeed where the result of the operation is a new file. Overwriting or deleting existing backup files files will fail.
   
   

3. RoboCopy. RoboCopy.exe can copy, move and synchronise folders.  For more information on RoboCopy parameters please see here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(v=ws.11).aspx
   
   Some RoboCopy parameters may perform delete file and overwrite operatons on your backup files and have special functionality in MIG if the 'Allow RoboCopy to sync and move backup files on protected volumes' option is enabled: 
   
   
   

   
   

   Parameter	Rule
   /MOVE /MOV	If the source folder is on a protected volume then the /MOVE /MOV parameters will only delete backup files in the source folder if the destination folder is also on a protected volume. This ensures that existing files cannot be moved to an unprotected volume and compromised.
   /MIR /PURGE	If the target folder is on a protected volume then the the /MIR  /PURGE parameters will only delete backup files in the target folder if both of the following conditions are true: The source folder is a backup destination in any saved backup definition xml file. The target folder is not a backup destination in any saved backup defintion xml file This ensures that the synchronisation operation cannot inadvertently, or otherwise, delete files in a folder that is used as a backup destination in Macrium Reflect.
   All overwrite operations	If the result of any parameter is to overwrite an existing backup file on a protected volume then this will only be allowed if the target folder is not a backup destination in any saved backup definition xml file.

   RoboCopy and Network Shares

   If the source of a /MOVE /MOV or target of a /MIR /PURGE operation is a MIG protected volume on a network share then all delete operations are blocked. This is because RoboCopy 'Rules' can only be applied if the Windows session that's opening the files is the same Windows session that's running RoboCopy. In the case of a network share, the remote computer is opening the files and will block all delete operations.

   
   
   

   
   
   

Installing Macrium Image Guardian

MIG is an optional component in the Macrium Reflect installer, It is selected by default and is available for Windows 7 and above in all editions of Macrium Reflect except for the Free Edition. 

After installation, if MIG has automatically protected any local back drives for existing backup definitions then the following message box is displayed the first time Macrium Reflect is started:

Activating Macrium Image Guardian

MIG is active directly after installation and will automatically protect backup destination drives.

To turn MIG on or off, take the 'Other Tasks' > 'Macrium Image Guardian Settings..' menu option:

Macrium Image Guardian Events

To view Image Guardian windows events, take the 'Other Tasks' > 'Macrium Image Guardian Settings..' menu option and select the 'Events' tab:

Enabling and Disabling MIG on NTFS Volumes

MIG can be enabled or disabled on any NTFS volume by using the 'Actions' menu in the Macrium Reflect main window.

A MIG shield indicates that a volume is protected: