Sandboxie License Activation

I know this is a Windows 10 forum, but I was hoping someone could answer a Sandboxie question that's occurring on my WinXP machine. I have an old paid Sandboxie (version 5.06 32-bit), but it's worked for over a decade. I get the following message:

When I click activate, I get this message:

I ignored it at first because I thought it was a mistake, but Sandboxie now blocks webbrowser & also Thunderbird's access to the internet.

Any idea of how I can contact their servers (if they're still running)?

Thanks in advance

Bree said:

Apparently they're not....

Sandboxie - Sandbox software for application isolation and secure Web browsing

Thank you for this information. Well, I guess that's the end of Sandboxie for me in Windows XP. I think the latest version that works on XP is 5.26...I just kept 5.06 because it worked.

das10 said:

I used the 'Offline Sandboxie Activation' method just 3 months ago on an old PC, but as noted by Bree, all the servers are now closed down, and, I also received the same message that you have received just a couple of days ago (I cancelled the message but I don't know if it will come back again or not). Maybe Bo Elam has more information regarding that.

Anyway, the last Sandboxie version for XP is/was 5.22, which still works with Thunderbird 52.0.0.6289, and Firefox 52.9.0.6746, which I think are also the last versions supported on XP.

Also, and just in case you didn't know, the original XP versions of Sandboxie also still work in the 'free' mode; ie. you are restricted to using only one Sandbox at any given time, although you can have multiple configured Sandboxes for different purposes.

Thanks for that information. However, on my XP machine, if I try to run Thunderbird, I get this message:

I only have one sandbox in XP. But unless I disable forced programs, I can't run Sandboxie. If you know of any way I can get around this, I'd appreciate it. Basically, right now, I can't use the internet on my XP machine without taking too many risks.

Sounds like it time to move off of XP.

bo elam said:

Hi phrab. das10 is right, 5.22 is the last official version that works on XP. It cant be downloaded from the official site anymore, so, my advice is to forget about it. And keep using the version you have. The Sandboxie servers are dead now, so, you will not be able to Reactivate the license.

But you still can use Sandboxie. For XP, as I see it, you have two choices. 1. Forget about the license (it is dead now), and get in the habit of using Sandboxie as it was used with the free version of SBIE.

You ll still have same protection, but without things getting done automatically.

You can make things closer to automatic, by creating and using sandboxed shortcuts for your programs. That, and getting in the habit of using a sandboxed version of Windows Explorer will make it easier to sandbox just about anything that runs in your XP.

Using a sandoxed Explorer is a good thing even if you were using the old paid version, so, its good to use one. Think of this, the most secure way to run anything with Sandboxie, is to navigate to the file or program using a sandboxed Explorer. That has always being like that.

And 2. There are right now 2 Sandboxie Open source projects.

Sandboxie Technologies (SBIE Open source) | Wilders Security Forums

Sandboxie Plus (Sbie fork) | Wilders Security Forums

Tom's project won't have anything for XP. But David, did release a version for XP. My XP died about 4 years ago so I haven't tested it or know how well this version works, or if it does work at all. It is a 32 bits version. I thought I had seen or read about a 64 bits version, but I looked around before writing this post and couldn't find it.

If you like to test the XP version (at your own risk), you can download the installer from either link below. If it works for you, you ll end up with what you used to get with the paid version, but without having to reactivate the license. It is free without the need to buy a license.

Sandboxie Acquired by Invincea | Page 252 | Wilders Security Forums

Release Build form the sources released by Sophos . sandboxie-plus/Sandboxie . GitHub

Personally, I havent tested any version released by David. He is using a leaked certificate, Microsoft is not acting as being bother about it but antivirus programs will likely detect his installers as malware.

So, either use Sandboxie as if it was the frre version, or test David's release for XP. Up to you.

Bo

Thanks again Bo. I've downloaded the XP one & will try it out. I have True Image's "Try & Decide", so I can try out the software & then reject any changes to my system, if it doesn't work.

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das10 said:

Phrab: As Bo Elam has said, just use 'Sandboxed Shortcuts' for programs you want sandboxed, as the 'forced program' feature was only available on the fully activated and licenced version.

Got it. Thank you very much for your advice.