What’s a Windows user to do? Between the most recent zero-day exploit to affect Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox recently named as the most vulnerable application on the Windows platform, even with all Windows updates installed, virus protection and the current version of your browser, you can still end up with a nasty malware infection.
That’s exactly what inspired developer Ronen Tzur several years ago. He wrote an application called Sandboxie which protects your computer by using the “sandbox” concept. Basically, Sandboxie allows you to open your browser (or any program) in a virtual environment. You use your program normally, then when you close it, this also closes your virtual environment. No changes (spyware infections or anything) are saved to your computer. Your computer is back to the state it was before you ran the program under Sandboxie.
Privacy
While Sandboxie keeps your computer secure, you still need to be concerned about privacy. Running a program under Sandboxie basically gives it “read only” permission to your computer. So there’s a possibility that a malicious piece of software in a browser could be used to “read” files on your computer. A good way to protect yourself is to use Firefox with the NoScript add-on.
Caveat
Also, be aware that if your sandboxed session gets infected, you are vulnerable while that session is running. So if your session gets infected with a keylogger, for example, it could be recording keystrokes (like passwords) and sending them off somewhere–just something to keep in mind.
Takeaway
Sandboxie is an effective way to maintain your Windows computer’s security when using any application. Sandboxie is very unobtrusive, and once you close an application running in its virtual space, you are back where you started.
For secure and private web browsing, you can protect yourself by combining Firefox with NoScript and running it under Sandboxie.
Sandboxie is a free download. After 30 days, you’ll see some nagware screens, but it will still work. A lifetime personal license is available for 22 Euros.
Photo: Brit
Have a look at Sandboxie–you really could be laughing (cautiously) when you hear about the next big browser vulnerability.