Web User - UK (2019-07-10)

46 10 - 23 July 2019

What weliked:
If you’rea regularWeb
Userreader, you could be
forgivenfor rollingyour
eyesatthe fact that
we’ve recommended
Sandboxie again – aswe
haveinevery round-upof
sandbox softwaresince the program
was releasedin 2004. However, the fact
isthatthere’s stillnothing out there that
can rival it. Our SilverandBronzeAward
winnershavetheir merits but theycan’t
holda candletoSandboxie.
Sowhatmakesit sogood? For
starters, Sandboxie isa propersandbox
tool. Onceyou’velaunchedit and
chosenwhich programtoruninit,
anythingthatprogramdoes issafely
containedinthe sandbox where it can’t
affectthe restofyourPC. You can use
Sandboxie totestsoftwareyou’renot
sureabout, andtakeyourbrowser to
dodgycorners ofthe web without
havingtoworry thatsomething nasty
will infectyourPC. There are a few
preconfigured options thatyou can
launchquickly,suchasone thatopens a
browser within Sandboxie,but the
softwareiseasy touse,with a toolthat
letsyou explore yourStart menuitems
oryourentirePCfor thingsyou can run
within its confines. Anythinggoes.

Whenyou

download

Sandboxie,

you may

get the

impression

thatthere

isn’t a free

version.The

singlehome

userlicence

costs $20.95

(around

£16.53) per

year, and

while welove

Sandboxie,that’s a lot ofmoney for

something you may use only

occasionally. However, the 30-daytrial

version continues toworkbeyondthe

30 days, with justa fewlimitations anda

nag screen, which isfineif you don’t use

it often enoughtojustify payingfor it.

How it canbeimproved:

Sandboxie’s interface hasn’t changed

muchinall the years we’ve beenusing

it. Fromits Windows 95 menus toits

tiled wallpaper, it hides its quality and

usefulnessbehinda façade ofold-

fashioneddesign.Also,the iconinthe

notificationareathatyou use tocontrol

it launcheswith Windows, soyou may

OURVERDICT

Even if you use Windows 10 Pro or

Enterpriseand have Microsoft’s

built-insandbox tool, Sandboxie is

worth considering.It’s the most

thoroughsoftware for running

programs in a fenced-off

environmentwhere they can’tharm

the rest of your PC. However, it isn’t

perfect: its interface looksdated

and you may feel guiltyabout

stretching out the trial version.

Microsoft included a handy

sandboxingtoolinthe

latestWindows 10update,

but inexplicablyleftit out

ofthe Homeedition that

mostofususe.Don’t worry,

Homeusers, because

Andy Shawhas testedsix

ofthe bestalternativesthat

evenWindows 10Pro and

Enterpriseusers may prefer

Best free sandbox

software

Sandboxie|www.sandboxie.com|★★★★

FEATURES★★★★★ PERFORMANCE★★★★★ EASE OF USE★★★★

Wh

Sa

findits constantpresenceannoyingif

you don’t use the toolveryoften.