Sandboxie…the Key to Safe Surfing

Besides the obvious solution of not using the Internet, the greatest protection you can have today again malware in your computer is “Sandboxie,” an amazing software product that protects you from almost all the nasty things the bad guys can throw at you.

To put it as simply as possible, you run your browser or any other program for that matter, inside a “sandbox”, created by Sandboxie.  You work as normal and if you come across a site that loads your computer with viruses or spyware, they cannot get out of the sandbox to attack your system.  Sandboxie actually creates a false computer system inside the sandbox that lets the malware think it is changing your system. But in reality, it has done nothing to affect you. 

It is forever trapped inside the sandbox and periodically you can dump the contents of the sandbox and it is gone forever.  Your system is safe.  If you don’t believe me, watch some of the videos on YouTube that demonstrate how the sandbox works. They loaded up some of the worse viruses they could find and they never got out of the sandbox.

A couple of things you should know…Sandboxie takes a bit of effort on your part to learn how to use it properly. There are a great many features to it that are not self evident.  Besides the YouTube videos, there are tutorials on the Sandboxie Web site to help you out. 

The other important thing to remember is if you download a program to install on your computer, it is downloaded inside the sandbox.  You must tell the program to take it out of the box so you can install it properly.  The easiest way to do that is to make sure you download software to your desktop.  Then, Sandboxie will automatically ask you if you want to move it out of the box. If you say yes, the downloaded program’s icon will appear on the desktop.

Another cool feature is that you can right click on any software you want to run inside its own sandbox.  On the menu will be an item that lets you chose to run it sandboxed.  I find I am doing that more and more.

Right now I have my Firefox browser and my instant messenger running in permanent sandboxes.  My AVG daily scans show that all the spyware I get on a daily basis stuck inside the Sandbox (and is removed by AVG).  I have the instant messenger set to empty the sandbox completely every time I close it down.          

Sandboxie is not free…it costs $29.95.  But for your dollars you get a lifetime of free upgrades and can load it up on as many computers as you want.  You can also use it free for life, but paying for it gives you some extra bonuses…the most important being able to run any software you chose in a permanent sandbox.  Believe me when I say that is worth it.

You can read more about it and download the trial version at the Sandboxie Website.  As I said, I also recommend going to YouTube to watch some demo videos. Just do a search on Sandboxie.

Also, my favorite security geek, Steve Gibson (the man who first discovered spyware), did an entire podcast on it with Leo LaPorte. Steve is the most skeptical of all security gurus, but he loves it. Part of the show includes and interview with the creator of Sandboxie, Ronen Tzur. 

Bottom line is that Sandboxie offers the safest way to surf the Internet free of worry.  PS – It works in Windows 7 also.