Sandboxie

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Sandboxie Plus (fork)[a]
Original authorRonen Tzur[1]
DeveloperDavid Xanatos[2]
Initial release26 June 2004; 21 years ago (2004-06-26)
Stable release
Plus 1.16.8, Classic 5.71.8 / 24 November 2025; 6 months ago (2025-11-24)[3]
Repositorygithub.com/sandboxie-plus/Sandboxie
Written inC, C++
Engine
    Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
    Operating systemWindows 7 and later
    PlatformIA-32, x86-64 and ARM64
    Size2.2–19.9 MB
    Available in+18 languages[4]
    TypeSecurity software
    License

    Sandboxie is an open-source OS-level virtualization solution for Microsoft Windows.[10][11][12] It is a sandboxing solution that creates an isolated operating environment in which applications can run without permanently modifying the local system.[10][13] This virtual environment allows for controlled testing of untrusted programs and web surfing.[13][14][15]

    After various ownership transitions (Sophos[16][17][18] acquired Invincea[1][19][20] which acquired Sandboxie from the original author, Ronen Tzur), Sophos eventually dropped support and released the code as open-source.[21] The day after the Sophos announcement, a third-party developer known as David Xanatos forked the open-source project[a][2][22] and expanded it later with Sandboxie Plus.[23]

    History

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    Sandboxie was initially released in 2004 as a tool for sandboxing Internet Explorer. Over time, the program was expanded to support other web browsers and eventually, arbitrary apps.[24]

    In December 2013, Invincea announced the acquisition of Sandboxie.[1] The original developer Ronen Tzur further announced he would no longer be involved with the program.[19][20]

    In February 2017, Sophos announced the acquisition of Invincea.[16][17][18] Invincea posted an assurance in Sandboxie's website that for the time being Sandboxie's development and support would continue as normal.[25]

    Version 4.02 introduced support for Windows 64-bit[26] with the exception of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, which was never supported.[27]

    Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP2 were supported up to version 5.22, after which their support was dropped.[28][29] In September 2019, Sandboxie version 5.31.4 was released under a freeware license "with plans to transition it to an open source tool". The previous commercial license still applied to customers with active licenses until their license expired.[30]

    Downtime

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    In April 2019, the official site was shut down, preventing downloads, installations and purchases, which prompted the creation of a temporary forum in the company's own domain.[31]

    In May 2019, the official site returned with the original forums permanently shut down in favor of Sophos' own forums,[31] which were later shut down as well.[32] Between May and September 2019 (when Sandboxie became freeware), the purchase options were still missing.[30]

    In response to the announcement of the closure of the Sandboxie website, software developer David Berdik scraped the site's contents and published the archive on GitHub on May 10, 2020.[33]

    Open-source

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    In April 2020, Sophos released the source code (as the source code-only version 5.40[34]) under the GPL 3.0+ license. Sophos stated that they would no longer be involved in the development of Sandboxie and that the open-source community would have to continue development instead.[21]

    Sandboxie Plus (fork)

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    Sandboxie Plus is a fork of the original open-source code[21] and provides two editions of Sandboxie: Plus and Classic.[22]

    Sandboxie Plus has been in development since early 2020,[23] while the first stable version was made available on 25 December 2021.[35] It includes numerous improvements:

    • ability for more granular access control rules
    • privacy mode sandboxes that protect user data from illegitimate access
    • app compartment mode that provides less isolation but higher compatibility
    • per-sandbox network firewall based on Windows Filtering Platform
    • modern Qt-based UI with dark mode and built-in support for many advanced options
    • per-sandbox snapshots
    • a hardened lockdown mode
    • support for ARM64-based platforms (starting with v1.5.0) [36]

    Although the Classic edition lacks native interface support for Plus features, both editions offer the same security and compatibility fixes. While they remain free for private non-commercial use, a few of the newly developed features are only available to project supporters with a valid "supporter certificate".[37]

    Until version 0.4.5, antivirus software, including Microsoft Defender Antivirus, falsely flagged Sandboxie Plus. To clear this false flag, the Sandboxie Plus developer had to pay Microsoft for a digital certificate, which he raised thanks to donors on Patreon.[38] Version 0.5.0 was the first digitally signed version of Sandboxie Plus.[39] An exception exists for the pre-release versions,[b] which are usually not signed to speed up the release process.[40]

    Reception

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    Sandboxie was included in Brothersoft's 2010 Editors Pick list.[41] In November 2011, Gizmo's Freeware gave Sandboxie a rating of 9 out of 10 stars[42] and included it in their Editors' Choice List as the "Best Free Browser Protection Utility".[43] Softonic has given Sandboxie a rating of 8 out of 10 with Elena Santos stating in her review that "Sandboxie is a handy tool to test untrustworthy software without putting your system in danger."[44]

    See also

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    Notes

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    1. ^ a b Fork (software development)
    2. ^ Technical Preview

    References

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    2. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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    4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
    5. ^ Sandboxie/LICENSE.Classic at master · sandboxie-plus/Sandboxie
    6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
    7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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    19. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). [*]
    20. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). [*]
    21. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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    23. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
    24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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    29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Alt URL
    30. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
    31. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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