EVERYONE Should Try this Program!

[Mike Rochip]

Sandboxie should make every other form of antimalware protection obsolete.

 

Sandboxie

 

THANK YOU! Humpty for mentioning it enough times that I finally tried it!

 

The best way to see how effectively it isolates your web surfing from impacting your PC is to run CCleaner after browsing for an hour or two. I guarantee the results will surprise you.

[krit86lr]

Remind me to try that next weekend when I have time. I believe that you have a good reason to suggest it so strongly.

[Humpty]

Glad you like it so far Mike.

 

Just a coupla tips on Sandboxie.

 

The desktop shortcut "run default web browser under Sandboxie" can be renamed to your browser and change the icon to the appropriate browser.

 

I have a couple of partitions and use one for Sandboxie's top level folder as C drive won't be fragmenting as much.

 

I usually open all my FF tabs outside the sandbox and also enter my login details to the forums I visit and never clean the cache outside the sandbox to keep that info in FFs cache.

 

That way if you empty the sandbox and start FF anew sandboxed, the cache with all the login info and tabbed sites are resandboxed which helps speed up browsing and login details are kept as well.

 

You can set SB to auto empty or point CC to clean it.

 

I have a hidden quicklaunch shortcut to open FF outside the sandbox.

 

As with most software some users do have probs but most users are just fine.There is a help forum with the author of Sandboxie coming in to help with any probs.

 

Might add that I still run Kav latest just to be sure and I like to see that av icon sitting there near the clock.LOL.

 

Oopsies forgot to add that if your firewall has a prob remembering that your browser is running sandboxed -

 

go to the Sandboxie installation folder, and copy "SandboxieHelper.dll" to your c:\ drive (or your main system drive)

[Mike Rochip]

@Krit

It is a really remarkable program. I was going to post a detailed review but I'm trying to cut down on my long, rambling posts.

 

@Humpty

Thanks for the tips! I had a lot of trouble at first because during installation I didn't understand how to set the default configuration [i think that's what it said]. After running the installation again I set a default browser during that step and now it's working great.

 

The only drawbacks to Sandboxie IMHO are the very sparse installation instructions and lack of info posted on the website. I didn't know about the forum. I'll check that out.

 

When you said that you were confident enough that you dropped ZoneAlarm I knew I had to try it! ZA seems to make too many decisions on its own even though I have everything but the essentials set to Ask. It grants access to a lot of stuff I never would had I been asked to allow or block the program. Kind of defeats the purpose of a firewall if you can't control it.

 

Hopefully people will give Sandboxie a try and not get too frustrated. It's a little confusing at first but it's well worth the effort to figure it out.

 

Thanks again .

 

Edit> Where is the sanboxie forum located? I can't seem to find it.

[Humpty]

Yep,take a bit of time to get used to it and it should work out fine.

 

Sandboxie help forum

 

FAQ

[Eldmannen]

Sandboxing is a pretty interesting computer security concept, and I am sure that it is very good too.

 

The Sandboxie website is butt ugly.

 

Haven't tried it yet, would if it was more libre and came with source code.

[Humpty]

Umm,err Eldmannen,I know you'll probably hit the roof but there is a nag screen to consider donating after 30 days.

[Eldmannen]

Umm,err Eldmannen,I know you'll probably hit the roof but there is a nag screen to consider donating after 30 days.

 

Oh, I am glad I haven't tried it yet. Now that I know, I definitly will not try it.

I cant stand nagware.

[Andavari]

Now that I know, I definitly will not try it.

I cant stand nagware.

 

Ditto!

[Humpty]

Hey come on fellas.

 

They give me the shirts as well but considering the protection SB provides it is a minor inconvenience.

 

I'm sure Andavari and Eldmannen have decent backup programs so why not give it a workout and visit some nasty sites.

 

If I could just go to my local pc shop and pay cash over the counter I would do it today.

 

Don't have any credit cards and will not post any other banking details online.Am I paranoid - yep!

[Andavari]

so why not give it a workout and visit some nasty sites.

 

Give what a work out?

[Humpty]

Above the navel please Andavari.LOL

 

[mfenech]

Give what a work out?

 

Cart before horse

[Eldmannen]

Don't have any credit cards and will not post any other banking details online.Am I paranoid - yep!

 

A little paranoia never killed anyone.

An ounce of paranoia is healthy.

[Mike Rochip]

Thanks again for the tips Humpty .

 

I made the default browser Firefox and replaced the Sandboxie Quick Launch icon with Firefox's. That was a great idea. No I don't have to worry about forgetting to run Firefox in the sandbox.

 

I created a new partition 'S' and named the volume Sandboxie. Makes it fast and easy to see what's actually in the sandbox.

 

But could you explain how to do the following? It sounds like doing what you say will mean I won't have to sort through all the recoverable files when I close Sandboxie to update the bookmarks and other changes made when Firefox was Sandboxed. But I'm not sure how to do what you're recommending. You might want to type slowly and use small words so I can keep up .

I usually open all my FF tabs outside the sandbox and also enter my login details to the forums I visit and never clean the cache outside the sandbox to keep that info in FFs cache.

 

That way if you empty the sandbox and start FF anew sandboxed, the cache with all the login info and tabbed sites are resandboxed which helps speed up browsing and login details are kept as well.

More questions:

Do you have more than one Sandbox? When would it be a good idea to have more than just the default one?

Is the Quick Launch icon you created for Firefox a regular shortcut and how do you mean it's hidden?

I don't think ZoneAlarm is having any issues with Sandboxie but is there something I should keep an eye out for?

 

I appreciate all your time and advice.

[Humpty]

No expert here and still learning a bit myself.

 

In the quicklaunch area near the start button I have 6 items where only 3 show with those >> pointing to the hidden other 3.

 

That is where I have the FF icon hidden to launch it outside the sandbox.(got teenage kids LOL)

 

What I meant about opening all my FF tabs outside the sandbox was that I open all my trusted favourite sites with login details entered in the forums I visit outside the sandbox.

 

These are the items I want to keep in FF's cache so as to speed up browsing.

 

Emptying the sandbox cleans out everything and when you start a new session of FF sandboxed your cached favourites (temp inet files) and login details are resandboxed as well.

 

You know when you clean FF's cache with Ccleaner things are a bit slower as your favourite sites need to be recached.

 

If there are updates to FF or my extensions I do these inside the sandbox first to make sure they are working ok then open FF outside and apply the changes there.

 

I think you can save new bookmarks from within the sandbox but I haven't had a need to use that as yet.

 

I have only ever run with one sandbox.Suppose you could open another to tryout new programs.

 

Anyway we are both on learning curves here where, down the road a bit, I'm sure I'll be asking you for advice.