Run Windows apps in a sandbox

Don’t want an app to access the rest of your system? Run it in a sandbox, instead. Matt Hanson explains how.

When downloading files from the internet, there’s always the risk that you may download a program that’s actually a virus. Sometimes, even downloading a safe file comes with additional software you didn’t ask for, which installs itself and plays havoc with your system — changing default settings or switching the home page of your web browser, for example. To ensure these apps don’t damage your system, you can run them in what is known as a sandbox. This runs them separately from the rest of Windows, which means the program won’t access important files and make changes. Running a program in a sandbox is quite advanced, but the Sandboxie app makes it easy.