Sandboxie Plus
David Xanatos • SecurityApplication
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Sandboxie Plus is a powerful, open-source sandboxing solution designed for Windows operating systems, creating an isolated virtual environment where applications can run without making permanent changes to your local or mapped drives. This secure space is ideal for testing untrusted programs, safely browsing the web, and preventing malicious software from affecting your system.
By intercepting changes to both your files and registry settings, Sandboxie Plus ensures that any operations performed within the sandbox are contained, making it virtually impossible for software to reach outside its boundaries. It also traps cached browser items, ensuring that browsing history and other side-effects disappear when the sandbox is discarded.
In This Post
Quick Start & Pro Tips
Quick Start: Running Your First Program Sandboxed
- After installation, right-click on any program’s executable file or shortcut.
- From the context menu, hover over Run Sandboxed and select DefaultBox.
- The program will launch within the isolated environment, often indicated by a yellow border around its window or a hash mark in the taskbar icon.
How This Would Help: This allows you to safely test untrusted applications or browse the web without risking permanent changes to your system, as all modifications are contained within the sandbox.
Configuring Forced Programs for Automatic Sandboxing
- Open the Sandboxie Plus main interface (SandMan.exe).
- Navigate to Sandbox Settings for a specific sandbox (e.g., DefaultBox).
- Go to the Program Start section and then Forced Programs.
- Use Add By Name or Add By File to select applications (like your web browser) that you want to always run sandboxed automatically.
How This Would Help: Automatically forcing frequently used applications, especially web browsers, into a sandbox enhances your security by ensuring that any potential threats encountered during browsing or daily use are isolated and cannot affect your host system.
Enabling Immediate Recovery for Important Files
- In Sandboxie Plus, right-click on your desired sandbox (e.g., DefaultBox) and select Sandbox Options.
- Under Recovery Options, check Show file recovery window when emptying sandboxes and Check sandboxes auto-delete status when Sandman starts’.
How This Would Help: This setting ensures that if you download or create important files within a sandbox, Sandboxie Plus will prompt you to recover them to your host system before the sandbox contents are deleted, preventing accidental data loss.
Download Sandboxie Plus
File size: Less than 30 MB
OS support: Windows
Windows
What You Need
Minimum
- OS: Windows 7, 8.1, 10, 11 (64-bit)
- Processor: 1 GHz or higher
- RAM: 2 GB
- Disk Space: 50 MB free disk space
Recommended
- RAM: 4 GB
Technical Specifications
| Software Name | Sandboxie Plus |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.17.5 |
| License | Freemium (Open Source for non-commercial use, paid certificates for advanced features and commercial use) |
| File Size | Less than 30 MB |
| OS Support | Windows |
| Language | English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese (Multi-language) |
| Developer | David Xanatos (Xanasoft) |
| Homepage | https://sandboxie-plus.com/ |
| Changelogurl | https://sandboxie-plus.com/go/changelog |
| Last Updated | May 3, 2026 |
Main Features
- Isolated Operating Environment: Sandboxie Plus creates a secure, isolated virtual space on your Windows system, allowing you to run applications and install software without affecting your actual operating system. This prevents unwanted changes and system modifications.
- Prevents Permanent System Changes: Any operations performed within a sandbox, including file creations, modifications, and registry changes, are contained. This ensures that untrusted programs cannot make permanent alterations to your computer’s files or settings.
- Intercepts File and Registry Modifications: The software actively intercepts and redirects all file and registry write operations to the isolated sandbox. This sophisticated mechanism makes it virtually impossible for sandboxed applications to escape their confined environment.
- Traps Browser History and Cookies: When browsing the web within a sandbox, all cached items, cookies, and browsing history are trapped. Upon deleting the sandbox, these temporary files and privacy-sensitive data are completely removed, ensuring a clean browsing session.
- Support for Multiple Sandboxes: Sandboxie Plus allows users to create and manage multiple isolated sandboxes simultaneously. This enables running different applications in separate, secure environments for enhanced organization and security.
- Network Firewall per Sandbox: Each sandbox can be configured with its own network firewall, leveraging the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP). This provides granular control over network access for sandboxed applications, adding an extra layer of security.
- Snapshot Manager: The integrated Snapshot Manager allows you to take snapshots of any sandbox. This feature enables quick restoration of a sandbox to a previous state, which is highly useful for testing or reverting unwanted changes.
- Modern Qt-based User Interface: Sandboxie Plus features a modern, intuitive Qt-based user interface, offering a more user-friendly experience and supporting all the advanced features added since the project became open source.
Setup Instructions
Installation Steps
- Click the download button above to get the installer for your operating system.
- Locate the downloaded .exe file and double-click to run the installer. Administrative privileges are required for installation.
- Follow the on-screen installation wizard, accepting the license agreement and choosing your installation preferences.
- Complete the setup. You can choose to start the UI with Windows or add Run Sandboxed to the Windows Explorer context menu for quick access.
Compatibility: Compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11. ARM64 is also supported.
Problem Solving
- Issue: Installation fails → Solution: Ensure you run the installer as an administrator.
Common Questions
Is Sandboxie Plus free to use?
Sandboxie Plus is open-source and available as a freemium product. The basic sandboxing features are free for non-commercial use. Advanced functionalities and commercial use require a paid support certificate.
What are the system requirements for Sandboxie Plus?
Sandboxie Plus primarily supports 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows 11, including ARM64 platforms. A minimum of a 1 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended), and 50 MB of free disk space are generally required.
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