Sandboxie Acquired by Invincea

Hopefully Sb gets the continuing tlc it deserves. It's just that the screenshot might indicate otherwise, depending on how one interprets it.

 

Bo Elam, it may very well be old, I would have no idea. However, what it tells me is that they don't think all that highly of Sandboxie and that they can do it better.

Kjdemuth, every forum gets their spam. And the way it is done these days, it can be difficult to keep control over it.

 

The screen doesn't tell the truth about Sandboxie but it doesn't say nothing about what there intentions are with SBIE.

Bo

 

Invincea's partnership with Dell where they will include their FreeSpace subscription solution on 20+ million pc's per year speaks volumes about the endorsement of their product. It seems clear especially considering the financial magnitude of the Dell partnership, they will place most of their focus and energy on FreeSpace only.

The way I see it, Invincea is looking at Sanboxie as a "stepping stone", of sorts, for users to "upgrade" to their FreeSpace solution. Because on one hand we see the promising for Sanboxie users quote:

This is an encouraging sign for Sandboxie proponents.

...however, on the other hand we see:

Follow the yellow brick "pathway" to FreeSpace. Yay!

...and:

It's kind of like they're implying: "Sandboxie is fine, but we really expect and recommend you upgrade to FreeSpace. I suppose if they do continue its development and don't force customers to upgrade from it, then all is fine. I get the feeling they'll incorporate a daily nag pop-up that recommends an upgrade to FreeSpace Hopefully I'm wrong.

source: -http://www.invincea.com/2013/12/invincea-announces-acquisition-of-sandboxie/

 

That looks like what they are saying to me, yes. As you said though, it's a somewhat positive sign for Sandboxie. I'll make a prediction here and see what goes down. The free version will cease to exist or be so nagging or have ads to not be worth it. The paid version will go up in subscription price and have plenty of helpful reminders that it is the red-headed stepchild to the real deal, FreeSpace. Whether one considers that a win for Sandboxie is up to them.

 

They haven't said much but they said the free version will continue to be available.

Bo

 

It will be nag or adware then I'm sure. I may sound like I'm begging to be right and want Sandboxie to die, but that isn't the case at all. Less options and competition is always bad, no matter what industry you are in. But from a business standpoint and for a buyout, it makes no sense to leave things just as they are, you know what I mean? They already had a product of their own that I'm sure they quite like selling, so something inevitably has to change.

 

Now, that it's been established that Sandboxie users have been under Invincea's umbrella since 2013, my concerns are what access did they have to the end user. Remember, the main reason that everyone installed Sandboxie was because they wanted "Security & Privacy", but since Invincea has been at the helm of things, we don't know what that is. We don't know what arrangements or contract agreements were discussed as to end-user access or information. And yes, I know that most were using the free version and some will say that you shouldn't complain because it's free. But we do have that right.

Now let's take a look at Invincea, you could say that it's the brainchild of DARPA to be a commercial entity. It's not hidden, just look them up and read for yourselves:

Invincea:
http://www.invincea.com/company-overview/

Invincea offers virtual browser technology to protect computers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060404520.html

Since the mass exposure of NSA's Prism and other government practices, we should be very concerned about our security and privacy. Just some food for thought for those that would like to know more.

 

I don't have a crystal ball and didn't claim I was offering any proof of anything. It's my opinion, like everyone else in the thread. Agreed on the NSA stuff, we have plenty of threads ongoing for that as it is.

 

I didn't derail this with NSA, please re-read what I wrote. My concern is with user "Security & Privacy" which is what legally comes into play here.

 

Some of what has been posted is historical precedent, as demonstrated by previous corporate acquisitions. Beyond that, based on the adage that history often repeats itself, many have drawn conclusions. But not everything posted in this thread is speculation, Pete.

Announce what? Their plans? Aren't they already engaged in that? And isn't it plausible to expect them to be less than straightforward as they continue to announce new plans? Sort of like Comodo and BOClean, before BOClean had to walk the plank.

I suspect that more than a few will not be complaining, Pete, but will be tooting their own horns in a raucous rendition of "I Told You So, Didn't I?" As for me, whatever the outcome, I can assure you that I will not be complaining nor saying it is wrong. My sentiments then will be exactly like they are now... I love Sandboxie but this stuff happens.

Agree!

 

You should know that not everyone feels the same as you do about the US government and it practices. I know is fashionable to be anti US right now but personally, I am not concerned about the NSA and what they do or Invincea doing research work for the US government.

Sure, if you are a bad guy, you got to be careful with what you say and write over the telephone and emails but the NSA don't need programs like SBIE to carry their work. Who the new owners are don't bother me. What they do with Sandboxie is my only concern.

Bo

 

Will this carry over to Sandboxie?

Invincea Privacy Policy

 

There is a link between the NSA and Invincea.

National Security Agency's Information Assurance Directorate Wins 2012 National Cybersecurity Innovation Award

non-persistent desktop browsing (NPDB)

 

I would imagine so, yes.

 

Talking about "FACTS" Comodo removed some of their old installers. there is old versions of Comodo which you can no longer download. Sandboxie will go the same way old versions will be removed.

 

With all the recent news about NSA I wouldn't find it surprising.

 

There's no way we can know what if anything the NSA has to do with SandBoxie being sold. Who knows, maybe SandBoxie protected users privacy too well and is being killed for that reason. Maybe it is to get a good competitor out of the way. Maybe Tzuk got tired of keeping up with all the changes in Windows and wants to relax. Maybe the feds made him an offer he doesn't dare refuse. If the NSA is involved, it's doubtful that we'd ever get the truth anyway. Users who are concerned about this possibility should keep copies of the pre-Invincea installers and pay very close attention to changes in the next version, if there is a next version.

It's no different than it's been with most other applications. Just because a new version adds a new feature or ability, it doesn't make the previous one ineffective. Contrary to what many have been conditioned to believe, newer isn't always better and constant change isn't always a good thing. There's quite a few apps whose development stopped that are still used, and are just as effective now as they were when they were developed. SandBoxie may be one of those apps if no major flaws are found. Time will tell.

 

Actually I thought that Sandboxie in default, out of the box mode could let you access just about anything if you're malware and had read rights. So I doubt the NSA was worried. Besides, they tap the ISPs and the undersea cables, programs like that aren't going to interfere with that kind of data interception. I believe it to be business as usual in the corporate world. One guy got offered a truck full of cash, and a corporation got to take the technology from another good product and either add it to theirs, or just remove any outside competition. It doesn't matter so much that Sandboxie survives, it is under their control now to do as they wish with it. That may have been the only thing they desired all along.

 

Since this thread is not about SBIE beta releases or new version releases, it would be wrong for me to respond to you in extended detail, but I will say that a GREAT many of tzuk's betas and stable releases incorporate fixes. I am not talking about when "a new version adds a new feature or ability". Tzuk found himself having to change SBIE when other programs changed, and when Windows issued updates. This is where the problem with letting it "stand on its own" will rear its head. It seems to me that tzuk was constantly massaging Sandboxie, and I don't think he was adding the proverbial bells and whistles. It has been VERY common for people on the SBIE forum, when trying to help others who were experiencing issues, to suggest that they install the latest beta, in case it fixed the problem. This is an example of why some posters are concerned that a "barely maintained" Sandboxie, or even a less frequently maintained Sandboxie, can be a problem.

 

I agree, although I believe that with XP, Vista, Win7/8 there shouldn't be any serious problems in the near future. I don't know about Win 8.1, and I'm glad I couldn't upgrade Win 8 to it under these circumstances.

I also like to think that if SB really disappears, somebody else will probably create something similar, maybe Invincea itself might be available for home users (I might be wrong, but I read somewhere on their website that one has to buy minimum 10 licenses...)

 

This is correct.

Here they write, concerning FreeSpace: "Special pricing starting from $49.99 per user":
http://www.invincea.com/get-protected/small-business/

and when you click there on the button "Buy Now" you will see in the order form that the number of users cannot be changed to less than 10. (So the minimum price is 499,90 $ per year.)

 

Good catch. Not only that, but the product (FreeSpace) isn't even Windows 8 ready yet. They don't exactly look be keeping pace with the latest greatest Windows releases