An Introduction and a Quick Guide to Sandboxie

5/13/2014 An Introduction and a Quick Guide to Sandboxie

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An Introduction and a Quick Guide to

Sandboxie

Updated 1. March 2013 - 13:48 by Anupam

Introduction

We are all aware of the dangers of malware infection from the Internet these

days. The danger has always been there, but this has increased a lot more

because people with malicious intents are constantly devising new methods to

infect the systems, and the inexperienced, naive, general-users/elderly/teens

are the most affected by it. Malware infection from the Internet can occur in

many ways, a few of which are:

Downloading a malware infected setup/file from a malicious site

Venturing to a malicious site

Clicking on a bad link in an email, or on a page, or on a bad advertisement

Clicking on links that fool you into believing that there is a malware on the

system and prompt you to install rogue software etc.

Although there are many ways of getting infected by malware it does not mean

that we need to become paranoid, or live in constant fear of the possible

consequences. With a little effort, precaution, and by using common sense we

can easily avoid getting systems infected with malware. Different safe

practices have already been covered in various articles on this site, and can be

read to learn how you can stay safe by following a few guidelines. We will all

agree that precaution is always the best option.

In this article, we are going to learn about an excellent software called

Sandboxie, which will keep you safe while surfing on the Internet.

Table of Contents:

1. Purpose of the article

2. What is Sandboxie?

3. Benefits of Sandboxie

4. Uses of Sandboxie

5. Installation

6. Usage

7. Setting Up Sandboxie

8. Conclusion

9. Related Links

Purpose of the article

The purpose of this article is to make people, especially the general users,

aware of this wonderful software Sandboxie. To general users, Sandboxie

appears a difficult software to use, or even understand what it's about, and its

settings may also seem a bit intimidating. This article is an attempt to explain

about Sandboxie in a very simple way, and to help get it up and running with

only the minimum and necessary changes to its settings. Just a little bit of

patience is required to read through this article, but I am sure it will increase

your knowledge of how to use Sandboxie.

Sandboxie has many settings and, if so desired, with the help of those settings

an experienced user can further enhance and tighten security. But for general

users, these changes are not required. Hence, this article will not cover the

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users, these changes are not required. Hence, this article will not cover the

settings in depth, but only a few necessary ones. Detailed help for Sandboxie is

available on its own site and is very well written.

What is Sandboxie?

Sandboxie is a unique security product based on the principle of sandboxing.

In simple computer terms, a sandbox is an isolated environment for running

programs. The environment will be exactly like the real system, the only

difference being it's isolated from the real system. This technique is also being

used in other programs, such as Google Chrome, and some of the antivirus

software. Inside Sandboxie, the programs will run normally, like they do outside

the sandbox, but whatever changes are made, stay inside the sandbox, and

the actual system remains unaffected by those changes.

Let's say you are running a web browser in Sandboxie. Everything will be done

in the normal way, you can click on links, visit sites, and download files etc,

but, it will all take place in an isolated environment. Therefore, even if you go

to a malicious site, or click on a malicious link, or even download a malicious

file, the actual system will not be affected.

Now suppose while surfing inside Sandboxie, you click on a malicious link, and

start seeing signs of malware infection, and/or the antivirus alerts you about it,

all you have to do is, delete the contents of Sandboxie. That's it. The malware

will be gone, and the system will remain safe, since the malware was not able

to come out of Sandboxie. Nothing can come out of the sandbox environment

until you allow it.

Note: This article is about Sandboxie's free version. The free version misses a

few features - ability to force programs/folders to open in Sandboxie, and

running programs in more than one sandbox at the same time. While these

features are great, but they are not necessary, and the free version of

Sandboxie is quite enough for general and home usage.

After 30 days of usage, the free version of Sandboxie also shows a pop-up

window as a reminder to upgrade to the commercial version, with a 5-second

delay when it starts. But, this is just a small inconvenience which can be

overlooked, considering the excellent security and safety that Sandboxie

provides. Use it for a few days, and you will agree with this.

Benefits of Sandboxie

Sandboxie makes surfing the web really secure and safe: you can always be

relaxed and be sure that no malware can infect your system. Also, while

surfing, various temporary files, cookies, cache, etc, are created and

downloaded to the computer. All the aforementioned remain inside Sandboxie

and can be easily cleaned by deleting the Sandboxie contents, and without

worrying about where to look for them on your computer. Just one click to

delete the Sandboxie contents, and it's all gone.

The biggest benefit is the peace of mind, and assured security, which is

offered by the excellent protection of Sandboxie. Even if you come across a

malware inside Sandboxie, there is no need to panic, because you can be

assured that the malware won't be able to escape to the real system. Deleting

the contents of Sandboxie is all that is required to get rid of any malware

encountered.

Uses of Sandboxie

The main use of Sandboxie is for surfing the web where it keeps the browser

isolated, and the system remains safe from various malware infections.

But, since Sandboxie offers an isolated environment, it can be used to test

software too. The software will run in Sandboxie, and the changes made during

the installation, or its running, will not affect the system. If you do not like the

software, or if it's malicious, all you have to do is delete the contents of

Sandboxie. No changes will be made to the actual system at all. If the

software is safe to use, then you can install the software actually on the

system, by installing it out of Sandboxie.

Installing software in Sandboxie also helps in knowing what files and folders

http://www.sandboxie.com/



the software installs on the system. The files and folders will be created in

Sandboxie, and can be seen, and explored, from within Sandboxie itself. As a

check, if you look for these specific files and folders on your operating system,

you won't be able to locate them because they are simply not there. They are

inside the Sandboxie's isolated space, which shows that the changes made

inside Sandboxie do not affect the actual system.

Installation

Installation of Sandboxie is pretty simple and straightforward. Just run the

setup, and follow the instructions. After installation of Sandboxie it will

generally show a window titled Software Compatibility, where it shows a list of

software for which Sandboxie has made adjustments for compatibility. It is just

for information. Finally, it will show a very short interactive tutorial on how to

use Sandboxie.

On completion of installation, Sandboxie will also place a shortcut named

Sandboxed Web Browser on the desktop, which when clicked, will run the

default web browser of the system, inside Sandboxie. However, if you use a

different browser for your normal everyday work, then a shortcut for it can also

be created very easily, which we will learn about in the next section.

Usage

When Sandboxie is installed and runs, it will show a window titled Sandboxie

Control, as shown in the image below. This is the main Sandboxie window. With

no programs running inside Sandboxie, it will simply show a yellow wedge

shaped icon named Sandbox Defaultbox in the window.

The same yellow wedge shaped icon will be in the system tray too.

When a program is running inside Sandboxie, the main window will show the list

of programs/processes running currently inside Sandboxie, and the icon will

change to yellow with red dots.



The Sandboxie icon in system tray will also change to yellow with red dots.

That's how you know that something is running in Sandboxie.

Now to find if a program is running in Sandboxie or not. Let's say you are

running a web browser in Sandboxie (our prime example for this article). If you

take the mouse cursor towards the top of the web browser (i.e. the title bar),

you will see a yellow border appear around the edges, as shown in the image

below. You will also see a [#] sign on either side of the name of the program in

the title bar on the top, and/or in the taskbar.

These are ways to know, and confirm that the web browser is running in

Sandboxie because otherwise it will simply feel that the web browser is running

normally: you won't notice the difference at all, that's how convenient and

non-intrusive Sandboxie is.

The yellow Sandboxie control icon in the system tray can be used to perform

several operations, which can also be performed from the main Sandboxie

window. Right-clicking the Sandboxie tray icon shows the different operations

that can be performed.

As can be seen from the image, you can run the default web browser, email

client, or any other program you want, sandboxed. You can terminate

programs, delete the contents of Sandboxie, or access the Quick Recovery

(explained later) folders.

The main Sandboxie window can be easily accessed by either double-clicking

the Sandboxie tray icon, or by right-clicking on it, and selecting Show Window.

By default the main Sandboxie window is in Programs mode, which means it will

show the list of programs/processes running inside Sandboxie. To view the files

and folders created inside Sandboxie, you can switch the mode by clicking View

--> Files and Folders, from the menu.

Terminating programs

Individual programs running inside Sandboxie can be closed normally. But they



Individual programs running inside Sandboxie can be closed normally. But they

can also be closed all at once, by just a few clicks:

Right-click on Sandboxie tray icon (see image above), and click on

Terminate Programs.

It will show a warning that this action won't save the state, or data of

those programs.

Click Yes, if you are sure, and all the programs inside Sandboxie will be

terminated.

This is especially helpful if you encounter a malware while running programs

inside Sandboxie. In such situations, also remember to delete the Sandboxie

contents, after terminating the programs, which will get rid of any malware

inside. Alternatively, just deleting the contents of Sandboxie (explained next)

will also terminate the programs, and immediately empty Sandboxie.

Programs can also be terminated from the main Sandboxie window by clicking

from the menu:

Sandbox --> DefaultBox --> Terminate Programs.

Deleting Sanboxie contents

To delete Sandboxie contents:

Right-click on the Sandboxie icon in the system tray (see image above),

and hover cursor over DefaultBox.

Click on Delete Contents.

The Delete Contents window will pop up, and it will show the files to be

recovered (explained later), if any, from Sandboxie, with a summary of

numbers of files and folders inside Sandboxie, and the total size.

Click on the Delete Contents button to delete the Sandboxie contents. Any

programs running inside Sandboxie will be terminated immediately, and the

contents of Sandboxie will be deleted too.

The same can also be achieved from the main Sandboxie window, by clicking

from the menu:

Sandbox --> DefaultBox --> Delete Contents.

Remember to delete the contents of Sandboxie on a regular basis, because the

files and folders created inside Sandboxie can keep on accumulating, taking up

hard disk space.

Sandboxie contents can also be set to delete automatically via settings

(explained here).

Running programs in Sandboxie

Running programs in Sandboxie is very easy, and can be done in several ways:

The simplest method is to right-click on any program icon/shortcut that

you want to run, and choose Run Sandboxed from the context menu -

that's how simple it is.

Another method, discussed a bit earlier, is right-clicking the Sandboxie

control icon in the system tray, clicking DefaultBox, and then choosing the

appropriate option to run the desired program.

Yet another, albeit long method, is to open the main Sandboxie window,

and from the menu, click on Sandbox --> DefaultBox --> Run Sandboxed,

and then choose an appropriate option.

Creating shortcuts for sandboxed programs

Creating a shortcut for a sandboxed program is also pretty easy. Just follow

these steps:

In the main Sandboxie window, from the menu, click Configure.

Click on Windows Shell Integration.

Windows Shell Integration window will pop up showing different Sandboxie

settings, in different blocks (see image below).



settings, in different blocks (see image below).

Under the block titled Shortcut Icons, click the Add Shortcut Icons button

A window will show up briefly explaining what this action does, and how to

create shortcut. Click OK.

Another window named Run Sandboxed will pop up showing DefaultBox, in

the box underneath - simply click OK.

A menu list will be shown somewhat similar to the start menu list, from

where you can choose the program for which you want to create the

shortcut.

That's it, the shortcut for the sandboxed program will be created on the

desktop. Whenever you double-click that shortcut, the corresponding program

will automatically run in Sandboxie.

Setting Up Sandboxie

We will cover a few important settings for Sandboxie in this final section.

As mentioned earlier, Windows Shell Integration window shows some of the

Sandboxie settings (see image above). By default, all the settings here are

enabled, and it's better to let them remain as they are. Still, if you feel the

need, you can change the settings. Like, under the "Shortcut Icons" block, the

checkboxes can be unchecked, in case you do not want a desktop shortcut for

the sandboxed default web browser, or its quick launch icon.

Let's move on to other settings of Sandboxie. These settings can be accessed

from the menu of the main Sandboxie control window by clicking:

Sandbox --> DefaultBox --> Sandbox Settings.

There are many settings here, but we will cover only the necessary ones. The

rest can be configured by reading the Sandboxie help on its website, or by

going through them yourself. Most of them are for advanced use, and so we do

not need to change all of them.



Settings

A small tip: To avoid clicking Apply repeatedly, to apply the settings before

moving to another page, the checkbox named, Apply changes when switching

to another page can be checked. It is located at the bottom of the Settings

window, on the left (as shown in the image above). This will automatically save

the changed settings on the current page, when you move to the next page of

settings.

The first section of settings that we will cover can be seen under Recovery.

Let's first try and understand what exactly recovery is.

As mentioned earlier in the article, nothing can come out of Sandboxie, until

you allow it. For instance, you downloaded a file from the Internet while surfing

with a web browser inside Sandboxie, and you would like to save it on the

computer. The downloaded file is presently inside the sandbox, and since the

changes inside Sandboxie do not reflect on the system, to actually save it on

the computer, you need to take that file out of Sandboxie. This process of

taking the file out of Sandboxie is called recovery.

A little hint of caution here: Since nothing can come out of Sandboxie, unless

you allow it to, you should be careful while performing a recovery, and make

sure that the file being recovered is not malicious. Sandboxie offers protection

from malware by providing an isolated space for programs to run in, but to take

something out of Sandboxie is a decision that rests solely in the hands of the

user - so please be careful.

Now on to the Recovery settings. There are two types of recovery, as

explained below:

1. Quick Recovery

On selecting Quick Recovery, a list of pre-selected folders can be seen in the

box (please refer to Settings image above). These folders are selected by

Sandboxie as the most common folders where files are generally saved by

users. If you save files to these folders ... great! If you save to any other

folder on the system, then that folder can be added to the list by clicking on

the Add Folder button, browsing to the desired folder, and selecting it. As can

be seen, in the Settings image, I have added D:\Downloads folder to the list,

since I normally download files there. Folders can be removed from the list by

selecting a folder, and clicking the Remove button.

So, whenever you need to recover files from Quick Recovery folders, you have

to invoke it, as described below:

Right-click the Sandboxie control icon in the system tray.

Click on DefaultBox --> Quick Recovery.

The Quick Recovery window will show the list of files to be recovered (see

image below).

Select the files.

To save them in the same corresponding folder on the system, click on the

Recover to Same Folder button.

If you want the files to be saved in any other folder - apart from the

corresponding folder - click on the Recover to Any Folder button, and

browse and select the desired folder.



Quick Recovery will also be invoked when you try to delete the contents of

Sandboxie. It's a way of reminding you to recover your files before the

Sandboxie contents are deleted, after which the files cannot be recovered.

2. Immediate Recovery

Immediate Recovery is an extension of Quick Recovery. While Quick Recovery

has to be initiated explicitly, or will be invoked when you try to delete

Sandboxie contents, Immediate Recovery is invoked as soon as a file gets

downloaded, or is saved by any program inside Sandboxie, in the pre-selected

folders of Quick Recovery.

So, as soon as a file is saved in those pre-selected folders, the Immediate

Recovery window will pop up (please refer to image below), with the first box

showing the list of files, and the second box providing options, to save to the

corresponding folder on the system, or to recover to any other folder. The files

and appropriate option can be selected, and pressing the Recover button will

take the files out of Sandboxie and actually save it on the computer. Quite

simple, isn't it?

Sandboxie contents can be set to delete automatically. This can be done by

enabling a setting found under the Delete section of settings, from:

Delete --> Delete Invocation

Here, the checkbox for Automatically delete contents of sandbox can be

checked, to enable the setting. As explained on the settings page itself,

enabling this setting will delete the contents of Sandboxie automatically when

the last program that is running inside Sandboxie is closed. Please take note of

the above statement, in case you want to enable this option. Do not use this

setting, in case you want to monitor the files and folders inside Sandboxie,

even after closing all programs. This setting however, will not delete the

contents of Quick Recovery folders automatically, and Quick Recovery will be

invoked, in case there are any files there for recovery, when Sandboxie is

about to delete the contents.

Another checkbox can be seen under this section for Never remove this

sandbox or delete its contents, which when enabled, will protect deletion of

Sandboxie contents, but this setting will not be needed under normal

cicumstances.



Next, we will change a few settings for the web browsers. As already

explained, the changes made inside Sandboxie are not reflected in the system;

therefore, we have to make some changes for the web browsers so that when

we save bookmarks, or passwords, they are reflected back and actually saved,

and not lost after we delete Sandboxie contents. So, we have to allow direct

access to these from Sandboxie. Although this compromises security a bit, still,

it's a low risk compromise for a bit of convenience.

You can always choose not to allow direct access, but you will then have to

remember to make the desired changes out of Sandboxie. Always remember,

changes made inside Sandboxie will be lost when Sandboxie contents are

deleted. So, if you want to make changes to a program, perform those changes

out of Sandboxie. For example, if you want to install add-ons for Firefox, or,

change its settings, you should do it outside Sandboxie.

Sandboxie provides settings for various popular browsers like Firefox, Google

Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Maxthon, Seamonkey, Waterfox, and Pale

Moon, although not all settings are available for all browsers. These settings

can be accessed from the Applications section of the settings by clicking on

Applications --> Web Browser, and then clicking on the appropriate browser

name to change its settings (please refer to the Settings image).

The way to change the settings is the same for all browsers; therefore, we

just need to understand them for one browser.

Let's take Firefox. There are several settings for Firefox: you will see a plus

sign inside a pair of square brackets, [+], next to Allow direct access to

Firefox/Waterfox/Pale Moon phishing database, which means that this setting

has already been enabled by Sandboxie.

We want to allow direct access to bookmarks and to passwords, so select and

double-click the appropriate setting. Alternatively, selecting the setting with a

mouse click, and clicking the Add button will have the same effect of enabling

the setting. So, to allow direct access to the Firefox passwords, select Allow

direct access to Firefox passwords, and double-click it. This will put a plus sign

against it, inside the square brackets, indicating that it has been enabled. The

procedure is the same for any other setting, for any other browser, which you

want to enable, or disable.

Conclusion

I hope this article helps you to get to know Sandboxie, and understand about

it, and helps you in setting it up easily, and using it.

If there are any suggestions or feedback about this article, please feel free to

share them.

If there are any questions, or you want to learn more about Sandboxie, please

post in the freeware forum, where other Sandboxie users will help and guide

you. There are many knowledgeable members on the site and forum, who use

Sandboxie and are more than willing to help you.

Just a little note: Sandboxie is not a replacement for security software, like

antivirus, or anti-malware programs. Therefore, it is advised to keep the

system updated and patched, and also install a good antivirus, and keep it

updated. While Sandboxie will keep you safe while browsing inside it, but it's

still advisable to follow good and safe surfing practices, and make it a part of

your habit.

Enjoy your safe and secure browsing experience with Sandboxie. Be safe.

Happy Sandboxing!

Related Links

Detailed help for Sandboxie is available on its website, here:

http://www.sandboxie.com/index.php?HelpTopics

The site has a number of resources to learn all about Sandboxie in detail, listed

on the above page.

Sandboxie has been chosen as the top pick for the Best Free Browser

Protection Utility review, here:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/freeware-forum/

http://www.sandboxie.com/index.php?HelpTopics

An Introduction and a Quick Guide to Sandboxie

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