Is SandboxIE really a cure-all against malware?

Can it really stop all malware from infecting you? Or is it just another helpful aid? Thanx.

 

No one would claim that Sandboxie is a panacea, least of all Tzuk the program author. The fact is that Sandboxie is a great idea originated by a creative and persevering programmer, but it is very much a work in progress: It is beta software. Those of us who find the program useful (including myself) are participating in an extended beta test. It has been and continues to be a bumpy ride but there are a growing number of people who love this program. There are also a large number of people who hate it! Opinion is sharply divided because, depending on what software you already have installed, a new version of Sandboxie can crash your OS (this happened to me with V 2.1) and force a restore. But software conflicts aside AFAICT Sandboxie really does genuinely 'sandbox' a process and as such it has a multitude of uses and much potential. One last thing, Sandboxie is often described as 'freeware', it actually requires donations to maintain development so if you find it useful give generously!

 

The Windows Disk Protection tool:
• Helps protect operating system files
• Clears changes when the computer restarts
• Automates critical and antivirus updates
• Lets you choose to save changes to disk

Does the above sound like SandBoxIE or DeepFreeze?

Actually, neither! It is really a description of a freeware tool from Microsoft!

Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/overview.mspx

 

I don't have any problem with the philosophy behind Sandboxie, but the idea of working in a virtual environment
is pretty OLD according my readings at Wilders (if you have read those posts of course).
Sandboxie is in beta and that's why I stopped using Sandboxie. I had problems with Sandboxie and it didn't work properly on my computer.

Sandboxie is the result of a one-man-show (Tzuk) and was most probably created/tested on Tzuk's computer, which means that Sandboxie doesn't always work on other computers, like mine and several other users.
I didn't always like the way how these problems were solved to force Sandboxie to work properly.
Some members at Wilders didn't agree with me about this, but after 20 years experience in testing application softwares (NOT security softwares), I learned alot about how to evaluate softwares.
I don't have any experience/knowledge with security softwares, but you can compare them with application softwares to a certain level. After all both are computer programs. BUT I'm not qualified to test a beta version of any security software and certainly not in a technical sense.

I have no doubts about the skills and creativity of Tzuk and he is probably a nice guy, but I put my feelings about the author aside, when I evaluate softwares.
I never judge the author, I judge the software, based on RESULTS and that's the only way to do it right.
Years ago I had a serious discussion with Xerox about a software to develop forms for laser printers and in the end we decided not to buy it, although the software was pretty good and VERY userfriendly, but not good enough.
I have the same opinion about Sandboxie and I'm going to wait until it's out of beta and then evaluate it again.

I'm very interested in any software that works with a virtual environment.
In fact it's the only group of softwares that are closest to my idea of security for less-knowledgeable users, my favorite type of users.
Sandboxie is one of them, but ShadowUser is still my favorite one, because it puts my whole harddisk in a virtual environment.
I'm sure that Sandboxie WILL BE enough for other users. After all we have our a personal preference.
I sincerely hope that Tzuk will succeed in making a trouble-free Sandboxie.
Sandboxie Forum and its beta testers is a very usefull method to make that possible.

 

You are right about that : only for Windows XP.
What about win2000proSP4 users and other versions of Windows ?

 

Hi ErikAlbert,

I don't think its true that "Sandboxie doesn't always work on other computers", Sandboxie will work just fine on any computer. Nearly all problems with Sandboxie arise from a conflict between Sandboxie and some other program. If you're prepared to put in a little time and effort you can discover by a process of elimination which program conflicts with Sandboxie. You can then inform Tzuk and he can put out a new version with the problem fixed: He does this all the time.
It sounds to me like you're looking for a slick, finished software product that has been thoroughly tested. That's perfectly fine. I would suggest you buy software from a large company with a lot of resources rather than a maverick programmer with no resources other than the people who use his program.
I will admit that there have been versions of Sandboxie that didn't seem to have been tested at all before they were released:e.g. Version 1.7 had a fatal conflict with Zonealarm! Testing Sandboxie with the world's most popular free firewall really ought to have been first on the to do list!

 

Sandboxie can stop most(not all) malaware.Happy user here.

 

Sandboxie is, indeed, a great product! When I started testing it, I was using the following security setup for realtime protection:

Antivir PE
Prevx Home
MSAS
Win XP SP2 Firewall
Spyware Blaster

I visited some real nasty XXX sites and crack sites, and didnt get any alerts! I emptied the sandbox. To confirm that I was not infected I ran online scans of Kaspersky and Bitdefender. Also , I used Spybot, Adaware and ewido free to scan my computer. CLEAN!!!! Absolutely Clean!

Great program! Has some petty bugs though. For example: If you use it on a laptop, the touchpad scroller doesnt work in a sandboxed environment.

Overall, a must-have!

 

To be even safer, try http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ plus
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/vm/browserapp.html

 

Thanks for the links to VMware! Umm... 235 mb worth of downloads? I guess Sandboxie is safe enough for me!

 

You can't get safer than running on another (virtual) machine.