

Features disabled in the unregistered version include forced programs and folders, force browsers to run in the sandbox and also only one sandbox can be used at once.ĭuring install a “Sandboxed Web Browser” desktop shortcut is created which runs your default web browser in the sandbox. Although Sandboxie is shareware it can be freely used after 30 days with a timed nag window on launch. Sandboxie is the most popular and well known program of this type and is often used by advanced users for testing the behavior of software. All the programs below were tested in Windows 7 and 10 64-bit. Sadly, the popular Avast Free Antivirus used to have a dedicated sandbox option but it’s now only available in paid versions of the software. Here we list 4 free applications that can sandbox programs you want to isolate from your main operating system. Apart from being isolated from any potential harm caused by the sandboxed software, it’s also an excellent try before you install option to keep your system clean from unwanted file and registry changes. Then you can simply empty the sandbox when you are finished to flush the contents of it away. You can also portablize programs to isolate any changes they make from the host system.Īnother easy option is to sandbox a program on demand so only that program is isolated leaving the rest of your system unaffected. Another way is to temporarily virtualize your real operating system so any changes made to it are discarded after a reboot.

One is to use virtual machine software like VirtualBox which runs programs in a virtual operating system. There are several ways of sandboxing a program. A sandbox simply means a way of running a program in an environment which separates it from the host operating system.
