Returnil/Sandboxie

Are these two programs essentially the same? I have read a little on each and kind of lean towards Returnil. I am a relatively safe surfer and I turn my computer off each night. I have no problem with changing from auto update to manual update for my security programs and I expect no problems regarding my email. My operating system is Windows XP Pro. I have Sygate Pro Firewall, TrendMicro AntiSpyware, Symantic AntiVirus and SpywareBlaster as realtime protection and AVG AntiSpyware, SuperAntiSpyware and AVG AntiRootkit on demand. Additionally, A2, BitDefender, and ESS on line. I probably worry way too much. Any replies as always will be very much appreciated and I thank you in advance.

 

Yes, you do.

 

I am using Returnil by itself. I did have Sandboxie but even it slows the web just a little. I did leave Threatfire just for the days that go by before I reboot. My past concern was scanning email and feeling I needed a AV, or not delete the pst file and loose all emails on reboot. Thanks to my nephew I set Outlook back up with Imap instead of pop and it works great. I let them get deleted on the PC on reboot but still have them on the server with Windstream. This is working great and cant find any issues. I figured Threatfire was better at just letting me know if something pops up.

 

Hi jpcummins, Sandboxie is good for isolating/virtualizing your internet facing applications like your browser, IM, email etc. from your system. The sandbox can be emptied at any time without a reboot. You can also select which information can be kept while running the sandbox like your bookmarks. You can also say what the sandboxed program can't do like access My Documents.

Returnil Virtualizes your entire system partition (normally C: ) and when you reboot, all changes are gone. You can run protection all the time or manually with a feature called Session Lock. It's just a fancy name for turning protection on. With protection on, you will need to save anything you want to keep on other partitions or the Virtual Partition if you create one during Returnil's install.

I personally use Sandboxie daily with my browser and only let it save my bookmarks and AdblockPlus updates. I use Returnil with Session lock when I feel unsafe about where I'm going online. I also use Returnil to temporarily install and play with new programs that don't need a reboot. When I'm finished playing, I reboot and the program is gone . They both have more features, but this should give you an idea of what they do.