Sophos makes SANDBOXIE a FREEWARE!!

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  1. Posts : 26
    Windows 10 Professional x64
       #1

    Sophos makes SANDBOXIE a FREEWARE!!


    Good news people...
    Sophos has decided to make Sandboxie free again, and it will be eventually open-source!

    Click HERE for the homepage.

    Sophos is excited to announce that we are making Sandboxie a free tool, with plans to transition it to an open source tool.
    This new evolution of Sandboxie is one we are enthusiastic about, but that does not mean this was an easy decision to make. Sandboxie has never been a significant component of Sophos’ business, and we have been exploring options for its future for a while.
    Frankly, the easiest and least costly decision for Sophos would have been to simply end of life Sandboxie. However, we love the technology too much to see it fade away. More importantly, we love the Sandboxie community too much to do that. The Sandboxie user base represents some of the most passionate, forward thinking, and knowledgeable members of the security community and we didn’t want to let you down.
    After thoughtful consideration we decided that the best way to keep Sandboxie going was to give it back to its users – transitioning it to an open source tool. We will release more information about the open source project as we continue to work on the details.
    Until the open source transition is completed we have decided to make all restricted features of Sandboxie completely free.
    edit:
    it no longer asks for activation since the registration scheme has been completely removed!
    all features are enabled.
    Last edited by Kamala; 11 Sep 2019 at 06:44.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #2

    Hi folks
    Sounds good -- perhaps though the business managers at Sophos missed a trick here --they should have sold it to Ms to replace the Microsoft almost non functioning version of Sandbox -- or perhaps they are too rich and don't need the money !!!. I'd certainly got the sales team on the case if that were me -- Open source is fine of course provided development keeps fairly standard and you don't get forks all over the place --this is a complex product.

    Anyway will be tempted to give this a go -- remember though it's not actually a Virtual machine but it should enable people to test out stuff that needs to be run on Real hardware when a VM isn't sufficient for testing.

    One thing though does Sandboxie have enough persistence so that you can test software and configurations that require a re-boot -- that was a major problem with Ms's Sandbox (among others like lack of configurability of the HDD space and location etc).

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    Windows 10 pro
       #3

    jimbo45 said:
    One thing though does Sandboxie have enough persistence so that you can test software and configurations that require a re-boot
    I don't think it does.
    But Sandboxie is not mainly a test-software program. It's first and foremost a security program and as such it excels.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 26
    Windows 10 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #4

    jimbo45 said:
    One thing though does Sandboxie have enough persistence so that you can test software and configurations that require a re-boot -- that was a major problem with Ms's Sandbox (among others like lack of configurability of the HDD space and location etc).

    Cheers
    jimbo



    if the software requires reboot... do not clear your sandboxie... reboot... and run it in sandboxie :)
    you really don't need to reboot your real OS,unless you have given the sandboxied program to access some real resources on the actual OS, then reboot might be required, but not necessarily...
    (by choosing in sandbox run from start menu,or just browse to sandboxie directory and launch the installed software from it's directory,or wherever it installs the launch file..)
    all should be there..
    sandboxie content stay in there over the reboots, until you clear the sandbox yourself.
    ofcourse it's never 100% guaranteed everything works in it...

    edit:
    personally i think the open-source thing will be a great thing,eventho there will be probably a ton of forks of it...
    but once people find the "right" people, developing it.. i'm sure we will hear about it, in here :)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #5

    Kamala said:
    if the software requires reboot... do not clear your sandboxie... reboot... and run it in sandboxie :)
    you really don't need to reboot your real OS,unless you have given the sandboxied program to access some real resources on the actual OS, then reboot might be required, but not necessarily...
    (by choosing in sandbox run from start menu,or just browse to sandboxie directory and launch the installed software from it's directory,or wherever it installs the launch file..)
    all should be there..
    sandboxie content stay in there over the reboots, until you clear the sandbox yourself.
    ofcourse it's never 100% guaranteed everything works in it...

    edit:
    personally i think the open-source thing will be a great thing,eventho there will be probably a ton of forks of it...
    but once people find the "right" people, developing it.. i'm sure we will hear about it, in here :)
    Hi there

    Thanks for the info --yes I meant re-booting the Sandbox(Sandboxie) not the Host OS of course. Another issue which seems OK is that this doesn't need a "Hypervisor" to run --so you don't need to have HYPER-V services so could run on Windows HOME, also it shouldn't stop VMWare / VBOX running as well if required (outside the Sandbox).

    Worth looking at.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 6
    Windows 10 pro
       #6

    Kamala said:
    you really don't need to reboot your real OS,unless you have given the sandboxied program to access some real resources on the actual OS
    But then the program is making changes outside the sandbox.
    I thought Jimbo45 was talking about OS reboot, and that would be (I think) due to changes outside the sandbox.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 396
    Windows 10 Pro
       #7

    I tried it once or twice back in the XP days. I liked the concept but found, at the time, too many buggy issues and then of course it was no longer free.

    If it really does become open-source that could be a wonderful thing for developers and users alike.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 655
    Windows 10 Home
       #8

    jimbo45 said:
    ..yes I meant re-booting the Sandbox(Sandboxie) not the Host OS of course. Another issue which seems OK is that this doesn't need a "Hypervisor" to run --so you don't need to have HYPER-V services so could run on Windows HOME, also it shouldn't stop VMWare / VBOX running as well if required (outside the Sandbox).

    Worth looking at.

    Cheers
    jimbo
    Hi Jimbo, programs you install in a sandbox, you can keep them for as long as you want. If it is a program that doesn't require a computer reboot, the sandboxed installation will likely go well. On the other hand, if the program you want to try is one that needs a computer reboot to install properly, then installing it sandboxed wont work. Also keep in mind that Sandboxie is a restrictive program, so, if you try to install complicated programs, programs that install services, drivers, etc, the sandboxed installation wont work. For security, Sandboxie doesnt allow programs to install drivers, etc. Remember that. So, don't be discouraged or surprised if something you want to try installing it sandboxed, dont install.

    Personally, most of the programs I run sandboxed are programs that are installed on the host and run sandboxed automatically every time they run. I mostly use Sandboxie for security. I use Sandboxie very little for testing programs. If you like to use Sandboxie for testing programs, I recommend you start with something simple something that probably will install fine. Something you wont have a problem installing, so you get a taste of how it works. I ll give you a couple of ideas. You could install a beta version of Firefox in one sandbox, and use it for testing. So, you ll have one version of Firefox unning on your host and another one in a sandbox. You could try Irfanview or Libre Office. This are easy programs for Sandboxie.

    On your post, you mentioned the Hypervisor. You might like to check this audio from 2008, is an interview of Sandboxies original developer (Ronen Tzur aka tzuk), in the interview he and Leo from grc talk about the Hypervisor, VMs and Sandboxie.

    The interview starts at minute 33:55

    http://twit.cachefly.net/audio/sn/sn0172/sn0172.mp3

    Or get it here, Episode #172

    GRC | Security Now! Episode Archive



    - - - Updated - - -

    Rubi said:
    I tried it once or twice back in the XP days. I liked the concept but found, at the time, too many buggy issues and then of course it was no longer free.

    If it really does become open-source that could be a wonderful thing for developers and users alike.
    You can try it now. Is working great in W10 18362.356.



    - - - Updated - - -

    For people who never used Sandboxie or used the free version, this change of Sandboxie going free and eventually open source might be a good thing but personally, I have doubts. Going open source is better than becoming abandonware but I dont feel too confident things are going to work out fine. A few years back, Sophos acquired Invincea who had purchased SBIE years earlier. Sophos never cared about Sandboxie. For Sandboxie, falling in the hands of Sophos was the worst thing that could ever happen to the software and to us long time users.

    But I guess there is still hope. You guys who never tested Sandboxie, this is your chance. Its working very nice in W10. To this moment Sandboxie supports up to build 18362. So, it wont work on Insiders builds. Also, Metro apps or Edge, are not compatible with Sandboxie.

    My main purpose for using Sandboxie is security. And thats exactly what I gotten ever since that day in 2009 when I became a Sandboxie user. Choosing to use Sandboxie is the smartest decision I ever taken related to using the computer and the internet. Becoming a Sandboxie user radically changed my computer and internet experience for the better. No more infections. For me, is like they don't exist. Its been over 10 years like that. Enjoy it.

    Bo
    Last edited by bo elam; 11 Sep 2019 at 19:11.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 128
    WIN 10
       #9

    Hello @bo elam !

    I hope this is the best place to post this Sandboxie request for you.

    Would you kindly critique this article:

    Sandboxie review - Application isolation for experts
    Updated: September 14, 2019


    I personally would appreciate your take on the author's analysis... which could also prove to be of much value to many existing as well as potential new Sandboxie users.


    Thank you much in advance, @bo elam !


    ~ Alan
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 655
    Windows 10 Home
       #10

    ab1kenobee said:
    Hello @bo elam !

    I hope this is the best place to post this Sandboxie request for you.

    Would you kindly critique this article:

    Sandboxie review - Application isolation for experts
    Updated: September 14, 2019


    I personally would appreciate your take on the author's analysis... which could also prove to be of much value to many existing as well as potential new Sandboxie users.


    Thank you much in advance, @bo elam !


    ~ Alan
    Hi Alan. I just read the article you linked. I know the guy who wrote it but I wasn't aware he had written this article. I wonder why he hasn't posted it at Wilder's, that would have been the natural thing for him to do. Perhaps, he doesn't want to read opinions about what he wrote on Sandboxie from the Sandboxie community/full time Sandboxie users. It doesn't make much sense, but that's the only explanation I can come up with as to why he hasn't posted the article at Wilder's.

    Anyway, about the article. I am going to talk about the title he used for the article, "Application isolation for experts", IMO, that's a bad title for an article on Sandboxie. With all due respect to MrK, Sandboxie was designed to be an easy to use application sandbox. It was designed so people with little knowledge about Window or Sandboxie could install the program, start using it right away, and learn it as you go. But at the same time, Sandboxie gives users many Sandbox settings to make things as restricted or relaxed in the sandbox as you want. This settings are very attractive as they allow users to restrict or relax what programs are allowed to do in the sandbox but new users, beginners, don't have to change this settings when they first start using SBIE.In fact, some users go years without ever changing any settings. They don't even know they exist. To use Sandboxie, you don't have to change settings from default and certainly, you don't have to be an expert.

    The Default setting sandbox was beautifully designed by Tzuk (original developer), to make things work fluently in the sandboxed environment. He created the default settings sandbox to be tight and restricted, very secure, but at the same relaxed enough to make most commonly used and popular programs to work in the sandbox without the user having to do anything. This is one of the beauty's about Sandboxie. You install Sandboxie, you run your browser, your PDF reader or videos, and things run sandboxed perfectly well without you having to do anything, in fact, things should work pretty much the same as when you are not running this same programs sandboxed, this is due to the fluent interaction between programs that run sandboxed and the outside environment. All of this is by design. Sandboxie was created to be easy, and it is easy. Users sometimes get into trouble with SBIE by complicating things themselves. This doesn't happen when users follow the KIS principle (Keep it simple) with Sandboxie.

    To new users I always recommend, after installing Sandboxie, to change only three settings from default. And you are ready to go. After you learn more about Sandboxie, you change more. But not before. If you install Sandboxie, and on day one, you want to know everything about it and start changing settings and you dont know what you doing, and then a program you run cant connect to the internet or doesn't run, thats the users fault, because he is making changes in settings without knowing whats being changed. So, new users, you have to be patient. And use Sandbox settings on default, for at least a few days or weeks.

    Below, I list the three changes I recommend making after installing Sandboxie, anything else, do it later and make sure you know what you are doing before doing the change.

    1. Set sandbox (contents) to delete automatically when you close the sandboxed program. By default, sandbox contents are retained, this is something thats good for some activities and/or programs that you run sandboxed, but for your everyday browser, thats not good, specially if you use it for sensitive activities (banking, purchases) as well as regular browsing. You don't want to mix regular and sensitive browsing all in the same browsing session, and thats exactly what you are doing if you dont delete content. Delete content is probably the most important Sandbox setting.

    2. For convenience, you go to Sandbox settings and allow bookmarks for your browsers to be saved out of the sandbox. Personally, I would find it highly inconvenient if we were not able to save bookmarks out of the sandbox.

    3. For convenience, you go to Sandbox settings and set the recovery of files you download so they are saved out of the sandbox. Again, we want security, thats what we use Sandboxie for, but me personally, I want convenience and usability as well. With Sandboxie, you dont have to trade one for the other. You can have both, high security and convenience, both at the same time.

    This is very important here. One of the keys for my success with Sandboxie has been that, always, when I create a new sandbox, I try to achieve via Sandbox settings a balance between security and usability. Sandboxie allow you to achieve this balance but you have to get into it, my goal is always when creating and setting up sandboxes is to make them as tight and restricted as possible, as secure as possible, but without losing any usability or convenience. And you dont have to. I try to strike a balance between security and convenience and achieve it. When my programs run sandboxed, they run the same, they feel the same as if they were not running sandboxed. This is part of the beauty of this great program. So, don't over restrict, because if you do, you ll get errors and things can get to become annoying and inconvenient. And it wouldn't be Sandboxies fault, but your fault for over restricting.

    Under "Settings and more settings", MrK said in the article and I quote: "I noticed that you have the option to save files to your unsandboxed folders, and therein lies the problem. If you allow a bad file through, then you will eventually use it in an unrestricted manner".

    See here, what he sees as a problem (saving files). I see as a must have option. Anyway, if someone dont want to allow files out of the sandbox, it doesnt have to be done. By default, nothing gets out of the sandbox. You have to allow it out for a file to get out.

    He also said and I quote: "If you allow a bad file through, then you will eventually use it in an unrestricted manner" That works out the same as if you are not using Sandboxie. If you run a file out of he sandbox and the file is infected, you get infected. But he is missing something. You dont have to stop using Sandboxie just because a file has been recovered out of one sandbox. I never stop using SBIE. When I am using the computer, I am using SBIE. The only time I dont use SBIE is when the computer is idle or I am doing Windows updates, or updating the browser or another program.

    Most files and programs that run in my computer, they run sandboxed every time they run during their lifetime in my computers. The only thing that changes is in which sandbox the file is gonna run. And is all done automatically, set up to be done that way with no thinking required.

    Anyway, regardless of whether you are using SBIE or not, we have to download files sometimes. You just have to be careful with what you download and execute. And if you are going to depend on Sandboxie, the key is not to run files unsandoxed. Personally, I am extremely careful with what I download and install, specially whats done outside the sandbox. This is so because this is the only time when my computers are vulnerable. If I execute a file unsandboxed, thats when my computers are vulnerable.

    I don't use antiviruses or scanners or anything else other than Sandboxie (and NoScript) for security but I keep my computers static, they dont change, I dont have the urge to install or try programs. I enjoy using computers and use them as we used to use old TVs or radios, you turn them on and off and not worry or ponder about malware or infections. This is due because of how I use Sandboxie and my computers. .


    Hey Alan, I can go on and on but I think what I wrote already is more than plenty and covers in general the article.

    Nice seeing you. Greetings

    Bo
    Last edited by bo elam; 24 Sep 2019 at 00:02.
      My Computer


 

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