Sandboxie is meant for running programs independently from the rest of the system, as if they were in a “separate box”. This means that once the application running separately is closed, the changes it has made are automatically erased. This is particularly useful as malware protection, because, even if the program is infected, it will not be able to do any damage to your system. So, if you sandbox your web browser, you can feel free to visit any site without worrying about malware and privacy issues. Another use of this application is for program testing, by either reviewers or developers, which eliminates the need to use a virtual machine.
Using the program is very easy. During installation, the program will create a desktop shortcut to run a protected instance of your browser, but you can also run any other application by simply right-clicking on the desired program’s icon and use the option “Run Sandboxed”. This way, you will hardly ever need to use the Sandboxie’s graphical interface, which is a sort of control panel from where you can set the preferred options. Unfortunately, this interface is not very attractive.
Perhaps you think that Sandboxie’s free version is quite limited and the price for the complete version is somewhat high. Let me tell you that there are applications that can do something similar to what Sandboxie does. Some of them allow you to freeze your whole system in time and get back to the starting point afterwards. In addition, some antivirus apps can automatically detect suspicious programs and offer to run them in a sandbox. However, I do find Sandboxie’s method a lot easier.
Protect your organization against malware intrusions with next-gen antivirus.
This program lets you block pornography, gambling, or specific websites.
Comments (5)
What's new in this version:
Version 3.42 improved support for Windows 7 and Windows Media Player 12 and support for environment variables changed within the sandbox...