SandboxIE & installations

Hello,

I do not use AV for some months and things go well.

But I have a question: I am reading many users install programs inside a sandbox. It seems that only I cannot do that. Most times (if not all) that I install something on a sandbox, it doesn't run properly afterwards. There are some functions of the newly installed proggy disabled (if not all). Is this normal?

 

Hi ssj100,

I use FD-ISR for testing programs, but I was curious how others test programs on a sandbox. Your reply suffice though, i.e. few programs installed properly sandboxed.

 

mike- salam.

sandboxie by it's nature is made to isolate programs running within it from the rest of the system and therein lies its highly effective approach to security.

programs vary in respects to the different elements on the system that they need to modify in order to function correctly. the more a program needs to change on a system, the more difficult it will be be to get said program to function properly within sandboxie.

of course, sandboxie is highly configurable, and if you manually edit the config file, you can allow access to files, folders, and registry keys, but then this compromises what sandboxie was made for in the first place. the more things you allow direct access to, the greater the risk to your security as regards sandboxed programs.

naturally, sandboxie is not going to afford you the same ability to test applications as a full system copy as fdisr or a memory virtualization application such as returnil - each are geared in a different way and function towards different ends. understanding the abilities and limitations of your programs goes a long way obviously, in knowing what you can do with them.

chrome

 

Hi Mike,

I use VirtualBox for testing programs, as opposed to a sandboxing method. I'm running an XP Pro guest O/S in it. It's awesome virtualizing software. Once I'm done testing a particular program, or in some cases malware , I can instantly revert back to a current, pristine snapshot and start over again at my leisure.

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

If you wish to test software without it actually being on your real system apart from the VM method mentioned another option is to use Symantec SVS which is a sort of application virtualization.Again though although many programs will install this way there are some exceptions.

 

My experience has been, don't expect programs that hook deeply into the OS to work in SBIE. Antivirus, Firewall, HIPS and similar tools are good examples of what often fails in SBIE. Installing hardware, like a game controller of something in SBIE also fails a lot.

What it does do well though are tools and utilities that you want to try out. Small games usually work, like maybe a new solitair game or something. I have installed many shareware programs in SBIE to try thier functionality without cluttering my real system. If it does not work in SBIE than I use a vm.

Sul.