Run Your Applications Securely with Sandboxie

16 April 2009 2 Comments

Google Chrome browser boasts of an innovative security feature called Sandbox by the virtue of which, it was the last browser standing after the first day of Pwn2Own 2009 security contest. So, how about getting this feature in other applications also? Here’s the answer in form of a must have security enhancement for Windows PCs, Sandboxie.

To define in a simple words, Sandbox is an isolated space where applications runs without affecting other data on computer. Google Chrome runs in sandboxed environment. So, if an attacker exploits a browser, there are minimal chances of other data being tampered on HDD. You can run your applications in sandboxed mode using Sandboxie. Here’s a graphic illustration from their official site.

As you can see from the graphic above, Sandboxie runs programs in an isolated space which prevents other applications from being affected. It’s a mere 500 KB download and can run on Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista all 32-bit versions. Also 32-bit Windows 7 build 7000 is partially supported by Sandboxie version 3.36. Here is a screenshot of this application.