Sandboxie 5.31.6 is out, compatible with W10 1909

phrab said:

Say, Bo. I saw this from the Windows Club...Sandboxie Plus. Haven't tried it & wondered if you knew anything about it.
Sandboxie Plus Review: Run programs in a sandbox

I'm not Bo, but I have been using Sandboxie for a decade, and, I started using Sandboxie Plus some time ago. I can tell you that this "review" (notice the big fat quotes) article that you linked was written by someone who very clearly has no real experience with the program in any way at all. The author of this article doesn't even seem to understand what the File Recovery feature of Sandboxie is for, even though this feature has always been among THE most straightforward ones of Sandboxie, and it still is. Also, I should note that Sandboxie Plus is really nothing more than an optional 'extension' of Sandboxie Classic.

phrab said:

Thanks for your reply & the information! I've been using Sandboxie 5.43.6 (64-bit) for some time. I've noticed that there are times when I click on a link in Thunderbird & Chrome goes to a website, but there are error messages. I've also noticed that there are times when I use Roboform (password manager) to login & it doesn't open a new tab. So I was wondering if Sandboxie Plus had any advantages.

Sandboxie 5.43.6 is an old and outdated version of Sanboxie Classic. Right now the latest version is 5.48.5 from github:
Releases . sandboxie-plus/Sandboxie . GitHub

- - - Updated - - -

Should you run into error messages with the newest version, I suggest that you check for info on the official forum from the author:
Xanasoft - Index page

phrab said:

Thank you for this information. Offhand, can you tell me what advantages you see in Sandboxie Plus 0.7.1 over Sandboxie-Classic-x64-v5.48.5?

Nothing much. I mean, at least not aside from the fact you don't have to tinker with the .ini file anymore, but then, I don't tend to do a lot of that, anyway in the first place so...

I use Sandboxie Classic mostly as an added layer of security to protect my browser, and to run multiple instances of Firefox portable while using multiple different browser/addon configurations. It basically eliminates the need for me to run a full-blown VM (Virtual Machine) just for this one simple purpose, which matters to me because a VM does hurt performance─quite a lot actually─if you, like me, are on a mid-priced laptop and you don't want the cooling fan to spin up loudly, for example.

In the Sandbox Settings, under Program Start, the Forced Folders option lets you specify folders so one of the things that you can do after adding a folder to this list is, put an NTFS junction in that folder in such a way that the target of this junction points to your Firefox portable folder. Doing this will force Firefox portable to be run in sandboxed mode each time when Firefox portable is started via this junction path. The advantage is that starting it via its normal path (i.e., C:\FirefoxPortable in my case) causes it to be run un-sandboxed like normal so that you can then still update/re-configure Firefox portable outside the sandbox.

I have actually set Firefox portable sandboxed as my default browser. This can easily be done by following similar steps to what's been described here:
Register a portable browser and make it the default
To avoid Firefox portable complaining another instance is already running, I have put AllowMultipleInstances=true in a C:\FirefoxPortable\FirefoxPortable.ini file. You can set up multiple sandboxes to allow multiple instances of multiple different browser/addon configurations to be run concurrently in parallel, and use batch scripts to automate all sorts of stuff related to these kinds of usage scenarios─as Sandboxie Classic still also has a command line interface.

I am a bit of a convenience freak (read: often lazy as a rock...) so I also added in a few extra lines of batch code to swap around my shortcuts that I have associated with this type of workflow, and, by using a simple Toolbar─which is just a standard feature of the Windows Taskbar─these shortcuts do not need to be pinned to the Taskbar. So, the 'pinned apps' area doesn't get convoluted by these. (Just the simple act of looking at how some people have set up their Taskbar is enough to make me feel seasick. )

phrab said:

Say, Bo. I saw this from the Windows Club...Sandboxie Plus. Haven't tried it & wondered if you knew anything about it.
Sandboxie Plus Review: Run programs in a sandbox

Hi phrab. Regarding the article on SBIE, I agree with hdmi. The writer is not familiar with SBIE.

About Sandoxie plus. There are 2 versions, Classic and Plus. The Classic is pretty much the same as what we are used to in SBIE. Same features, same UI, same look, same labeling of the features, etc. The plus version is a combination of the old Sandboxie with changes David (the developer) has implemented. All this changes turn old SBIE into what is called Sandboxie Plus.

Personally, I haven't moved to either of David's versions of Sandboxie yet. I will continue using old Sandboxie until it dies or it becomes clunky. As of yet, that hasn't happened. I am using version 5.33.6, I believe this version will be fine with W10 21H1, so still has plenty life. When 5.33.6 dies, I will move on to the Classic version (David's version I recommend if you want to move on from old SBIE). I support David but I am turned off by the unnecessary changes he has put into SBIE which morphs old SBIE into Plus. Plus annoys the hell out of me.

I run all kind of files and programs in SBIE Just about everything that runs in my computers run sandboxed every time they run (this is the main purpose for using SBIE, not nstalling programs for testing as suggested in the article), as long as I can do that with 5.33.6 or the Classic version (developed by David), I will stay away from Plus. FWIW, I hope David continues developing his Classic version.

Bo

bo elam said:

Hi phrab. Regarding the article on SBIE, I agree with hdmi. The writer is not familiar with SBIE.

About Sandoxie plus. There are 2 versions, Classic and Plus. The Classic is pretty much the same as what we are used to in SBIE. Same features, same UI, same look, same labeling of the features, etc. The plus version is a combination of the old Sandboxie with changes David (the developer) has implemented. All this changes turn old SBIE into what is called Sandboxie Plus.

Personally, I haven't moved to either of David's versions of Sandboxie yet. I will continue using old Sandboxie until it dies or it becomes clunky. As of yet, that hasn't happened. I am using version 5.33.6, I believe this version will be fine with W10 21H1, so still has plenty life. When 5.33.6 dies, I will move on to the Classic version (David's version I recommend if you want to move on from old SBIE). I support David but I am turned off by the unnecessary changes he has put into SBIE which morphs old SBIE into Plus. Plus annoys the hell out of me.

I run all kind of files and programs in SBIE Just about everything that runs in my computers run sandboxed every time they run (this is the main purpose for using SBIE, not nstalling programs for testing as suggested in the article), as long as I can do that with 5.33.6 or the Classic version (developed by David), I will stay away from Plus. FWIW, I hope David continues developing his Classic version.

Bo

Sandboxie Plus and Sandboxie Classic aren't really two separate 'versions'. Rather, Sandboxie Plus behaves more like an 'addon' of sorts, which is entirely optional, as Sandboxie Classic can still also be used without having installed the Plus. Whereas if you haven't installed the Classic, the Plus refuses to be installed. To the average user of Sandboxie, adding the Plus does not bring a lot of extra functionality to the table. The look and feel of the Classic is as its name suggests, i.e., it doesn't force drastic UI layout changes nor major functionality overhauls down the user's throat, very unlike the kind of behavior that would appear like it is what makes the computer monkeys @ Mickeysoft really tick. Trust me, Sandboxie Classic does not kill the soul of old Sandboxie. Much to the contrary, it's all about keeping the passion alive, and about knowing how to nurture.

hdmi said:

Sandboxie Plus and Sandboxie Classic aren't really two separate 'versions'.

The truth is that they are two separate versions. Both versions share components and code but...

...there is really no reason to try "hiding the unhidable".

hdmi said:

Trust me, Sandboxie Classic does not kill the soul of old Sandboxie. Much to the contrary, it's all about keeping the passion alive, and about knowing how to nurture.

Thats what I meant when I wrote: "The Classic is pretty much the same as what we are used to in SBIE. Same features, same UI, same look, same labeling of the features, etc."

Bo