Sandboxie provides an environment in which programs run safely without making permanent modifications to your system, which protects you against malware and viruses infiltrating it.
All changes made by sandboxed programs are stored in a special folder on the hard disk until they can be restored back into the real system using either tray icon menu or Sandboxie Control.
Protection against malware
Sandboxie creates an isolated space for any program you run on your system, meaning even if you click on an unsafe link or download malware-infected files they won’t affect any other parts of your computer; they will instead simply be deleted once you close out of Sandboxie allowing you to test untrustworthy software without risking its effect on other parts. This enables you to test unreliable programs without risking your entire computer in doing so.
However, some malware programs have been designed to bypass sandboxes. They do so by analyzing user interactions (mouse clicks, scrolling, copy-paste and keyboard use) as well as system specifics (processor characteristics, graphics card capabilities and number of CPU cores running) in order to identify sandboxes and distinguish between the actual system and its copycat sandbox. In order to detect such threats successfully, advanced analysis capabilities such as being able to capture detailed descriptions of artifacts must exist within any sandbox that is capable of detecting such programs.
Alongside advanced features, sandboxes must also communicate analysis results to other security systems in a way that allows them to take corrective actions quickly and efficiently – especially when dealing with malware designed specifically to evade sandboxes (also referred to as embedded malware).
Sandboxie may not replace antivirus software, but it can still help keep your computer secure while testing unfamiliar programs. By providing a closed environment in which to test programs without fearing malicious software or spyware that might infiltrate and harm the machine, Sandboxie allows for safe testing without having to worry about potential dangers like spyware that might invade and cause severe harm to the PC.
Sandboxie provides another layer of defense for your PC against viruses, ransom-ware, zero day threats and other malware infections by running programs in an isolated environment that prevents them from making permanent changes to the operating system or browser – as well as helping navigate unsafe pages online and test software that might infiltrate it with malware.
All changes a sandboxed program makes to your system are temporarily saved in a cache for quick recovery by opening Sandboxie control and selecting Quick Recovery. Cache changes may also be recovered to regular folders by right-clicking a sandbox and selecting Recovery To This Folder option.
Test untrustworthy software
Sandboxes provide a powerful way of testing programs, applications, flaws and viruses without disrupting a system, making them popular with developers for testing new programs or untrusted software before deploying it on production machines. Sandboxes also help companies evaluate risk in applications acquired from new suppliers or from untrustworthy software sources.
This program creates a separate environment on your PC where you can run and install programs, browse the Internet without danger of drive-by downloads and infections, and surf safely. While its unique approach requires some getting used to, its effectiveness speaks for itself.
This version of the program features many new features, such as an enhanced privacy-enhanced file and registry access scheme and temporary sandbox creation for various uses. Furthermore, domain network installations can now utilize this application. Furthermore, improvements were also made to address certain issues with previous versions, including some software being stopped from running within its sandbox, process lock-up issues, and bug fixes that prevented other software from running within it.
Sandboxie provides an intuitive user interface that makes finding and configuring settings effortless. Users can set the size and handling options of their sandbox, as well as set an auto delete function that deletes all downloaded and installed files when the sandbox closes automatically. In addition, users can empty their sandbox instantly either from its tray icon menu or main program window with one click.
Your programs running in a sandbox may appear identical to others on your system at first glance, but when you move your mouse cursor over their window borders you will notice a colored border painted around each program indicating it is sandboxed. Furthermore, all titles running within it feature an “[#]” indicator to make identification easy.
The Sandbox gives you control of whether or not to display indicators in program window title bars at all times instead of only when the mouse cursor hovers over them, permanently or temporarily. You may also choose permanent indicators for windows within your sandbox as well as including its name directly into window titles – these settings may be altered at any time without affecting current sessions of testing.
Recover deleted files
Sandboxing software often includes the feature of recovering files deleted by programs running within it, making testing and uninstalling programs safer without risking permanent loss of any of your data. When data is deleted from within a sandbox it only disappears from Windows or other programs but still physically remains on your hard drive or file system and can often be recovered using third-party file recovery software.
Sandboxie allows you to set “open” and “closed” paths, giving certain programs access or not accessing folders and registry entries outside the sandbox. This can prevent viruses or malicious software from accessing files or the Windows operating system in the sandbox – as well as protecting against malware by keeping sensitive information from being copied into it.
Sandboxie provides more than just program sandboxes – this version also offers a Web browser “sandbox.” This sandbox can be configured to grant or deny access to certain websites and content – useful for testing browser security. Furthermore, Windows components may be blocked so as to isolate this sandbox as much as possible from its host OS.
Alternatively, it can also be used to store temporary files created by programs running within its scope and configured to delete these files automatically after a period of time has elapsed. This can help free your hard drive of unnecessary clutter.
Sandboxie also includes features to minimize various dialog windows, including its settings dialog box and Quick Recovery/Immediate Recovery windows. Furthermore, Sandboxie can detect when files have been deleted from its sandbox contents, alerting the user until the program that removed them has been stopped.
Sandboxie now supports newer versions of Google Chrome and Internet Explorer as well as security software such as Avast! Pro 6 SafeZone browser and BitDefender Anti-Phishing toolbar, and features various bug fixes designed to improve their compatibility. In particular, Sandboxie now supports more recent editions of each program such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Avast! Pro 6. Additionally, compatibility issues between this version of Sandboxie and security tools such as Avast! Pro 6 SafeZone browser or Avast! Pro 6 SafeZone browser has also been enhanced through improvements made.
Easy to use
Sandboxie provides you with a platform to run programs in an isolated space that protects them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your system. Whether it is to test out an application or simply ensure no remnants remain after installing software, Sandboxie gives you the security needed.
Sandboxed applications operate at full speed and write to disk at full capacity; any modifications they create do not affect other areas of the system. This represents a major advancement in computer security as it allows programs to be evaluated for malicious behavior without impacting other areas of the system, as well as acting as an effective way of determining legitimacy of software, enabling security suites to provide more comprehensive analysis than before.
At any point while running programs in sandboxes, their activity can be monitored through a transparent sandbox interface. This creates an illusion that users believe they are working in regular windows; any changes made are simply unmounted upon unmounting (whether manually or at reboot). Imagine writing on paper with an opaque layer covering its surface which looks similar to paper. Traditional privacy and anti-malware tools attempt to locate any writing that was put onto that paper; some even excel at doing this well!
This new version brings many improvements that enhance sandbox security and compatibility, such as improving handling of Windows Explorer thumbcache_*.db files and drag-and-drop functionality with Firefox and Chrome browsers, increasing size of sandbox, making compatibility with more third-party utilities like the Google Japanese IME tool and RoboForm sync possible.
This new version introduces the capability of configuring a RAM disk for use within your Sandboxie environment, which can either be mounted manually or automatically upon reboot. This feature can significantly speed up file access while increasing privacy as all contents of the ramdisk will be erased upon unmounting. However, this feature is only available to those holding a Support Certificate obtained either through contributing to or purchasing from Sandboxie online shop.
