sandboxing

I feel my trip to find protection for my pc at home and on the road is a sandboxing program.
VM are too hard for me and there are some many opinions about a/v suites and firewalls.
Sandboxing seems ez to use and quite safe from the tutorials I have been watching.
Please comment and thank you.

 

It isn't as safe as a VM, but a popular one is Sandboxie.

 

VMs are best but if you are relying on a wireless connection, as when on the road, they are pretty useless as they don't have a wireless adapter, or at least none of the free ones do.

 

I use Virtualbox fairly regularly and only have wireless connections.

I've done the same with VMWare Player.

 

Yes, I got that completely wrong. Setting the VM's adapter to NAT allows the VM to use the host's network adapter irrespective of wired or wireless. :-o

 

>>Sandboxie is what I had in mind as x$ allows you to apply it to as many pcs as you want for life. Do you think it bolsters the protection especially when on the road or is it a over kill?

 

I think it depends on the user, really. While it might be overkill for me, a person who never gets viruses or other malware, it could be appropriate for someone who does have those problems.

 

I can understand that having a VM you have no need for the sandboxing.
I am very conservative but was just wondering if it was a viable idea not having a VM yet using the web while away from home and the router.
I know it is subjective and was looking for an opinion from one who has used sandboxing. We will see if there is a sand boxer.

 

Ok peterr, I have used Sandboxie and never had a problem with it, but I only used it with IE8, then got rid of it when I installed Comodo Security (free version),and Comodo sandboxes my browser, so I so far have no need for Sandboxie as of yet, but like I said I used it with IE8 without any problems, but I'm also a very careful web surfer.

 

Hi Nick
This is so timely.
I was about to obtain the product but did a recheck of compatibility and even the company states there are issues with Win 8. It sound s as though you were lucky not to experience it. You did run it with Win 8, correct?

How are you doing with Comodo and Win 8? I heard it employs sandboxing.

Peter

 

Peterr, also keep in mind that IE 10 and Chrome browsers have their own sandboxes by default.

 

Hey peterr, I'm mainly still running Win XP at the moment, but I have a small group of friends who do the experimental work for me on Win 7 and Win 8. They test out what I need on their computers and I repair anything they or their family needs in exchange. The only effect Sandoxie had on Win 8 was a slight hesitation and it did freeze a very few times, but that's all, and I'm sure those bugs will be fixed shortly . All 4 that use Win 8 are testing Comodo to compare effects, and so far none have experienced any problems. Sorry I can't tell you more, but I hope this helps you some.

 

Peterr, Adrynalyne has a valid point. Using either one of those seems to answer your sandbox question.

 

>>Could you please explain a bit further how MSIE congaing some type of sandbox is helping me as opposed to Sandboxie?
Thanks?

 

IE as a sandboxed app is only for that app alone. Sandboxie allows for additional apps that normally wouldn't be sandboxed, to be, well...sandboxed


There is also the debate as to who has the best sandbox method. However, IE 10 is supposed to have a pretty good sandbox. Of course, nothing is perfect.

 

Hi Adrynalyn

I understand your messages and thank you.
I found a link that may interest you but not surprise you.
Peter

http://www.scmagazine.com/down-go-c...-win-8-at-pwn2own-hacker-fest/article/283356/

 

>>I am old so surf very conservatively. Email, information and some minor reading.
I was curious if you have tried Comodo security suite with Win 8 MSIE 10?

 

>>I tried a VM but at my skill level it was difficult. I installed Oracle with Ubuntu, and everything worked well. However, I was not able to find drivers to print and was not sure what was actual and what was virtual.
I seem to have this inability to distinguish which is which when I perform a task to see whether it is completed or when it is isolated or deleted.
I also did not know how to use my email.
I know a VM takes a lot of room and resources, whereas Sandboxie requires less. However, the VM covers everything all the time. I have a 1T hard drive, 6 GB ram, Intel i5, 3.30 GHz.
I am struggling :-o between the two because when I am not behind my router, I do not feel too secure

 

There's another way around all this peter, and that is to use a Linux system, but one with a difference - Puppy Linux. I can imagine your reaction at this suggestion but Puppy is quite remarkable. It can live on a flash drive which you just plug in when needed, it runs entirely in RAM and doesn't make any changes at all to your hard disk unless you ask it to, it's extremely easy to use and lightning fast. The chances of any eavesdropper intruding on your Windows system when using a system like Puppy are miniscule and it provides all the facilities you are likely to need when away from home.

I keep a copy on a flash drive and plug it in to my laptop when needed. It's truly marvellous and I just love it.

 

Hi B
Your suggestion is a valid one and has been suggested to me. I saw a tutorial as to how Mint can be used from within a stick but did not think it would be so useful. Thank you for the reminder as I will go back to the tutorial.
One question, how do you access your own email/mail from within that environment?

 

Hi peter, I'll have to be brief as I'm on a tablet atm and typing is a pita! If your email is kept in a POP3 account in an email client installed in Windows then you can't access it at all in Linux when away from home, and it's not that straightforward in Windows either. But you can use webmail in a browser in both systems, and if you use IMAP rather than POP3 you can access all your mail in webmail, old and new.

 

>>Great to know as I have Outlook.com for one.
My wife uses the ISP email which is POP 3 so I will see if there is a way around this.

 

Yeah, I knew about that. 100,000 dollars is quite a motivator and teams like Vupen Security are as shady (and skilled) as they come (they sell their exploits to the highest bidder, good or bad).

Those kind of guys are not what you will encounter I don't think.

Firefox pays out a lot less if you hack it, which might lead some to draw the conclusion that IE10 is more secure than Firefox....

 

Has your wife tried an IMAP account? Most ISPs support both POP and IMAP. These days though something like Outlook.com or Gmail is a better way to go. Email clients have had their day imo.

 

Hi B - I will see what I can do to get her to change her thinking so we can be more flexible.
She is happy with the current one and can access her email when away.
Btw, I looked at Puppy and it is so much smaller than other programs.
If I can figure it out I will give it a try. I read it all through but need to study it more.
---------------

Hi A - I read your "ramblings" and they well done and interesting. I only miss Win 7 for the Bluetooth I lost, but except for that, I really like Win 8.

 

Hello
I am sorry to belabor this but I have been trying to research a couple of features about Sandboxie but tutorials just show how to rid the pc of malware once you get it.

if you have your browser sandboxed for protection and send email with your regular email program, how does that program work if it is in a virtual mode? I.e., how do you email is the first question? I read the past posts about email again but we have always been able to access our email programs while away from the house. That is not the question. if you have Sandboxie, how is of benefit security wise when you email. Either you are in virtual node or not. I can email out of the sandbox but am not protected or email within the sandbox but the email won't work as it is virtual!

Secondly, I you want to perform or keep any action rather than rid the machine of malware, which is all the tutorials show, how do you do that?
Say you want to install a program, keep a newly created document etc. If done virtually it is not permanent and if the sandbox is not involved it is not protected.
It seems as though t is easy to delete something you do not want to delete and I saw no provision for retrieving it.
Thank you

 

Hi peter, don't know whether this will help or not as I've never used any sandbox type program but I do use virtual machines a lot. When you use a virtual machine the vm creates a file on your hard disk which represents a hard disk, and everything is stored on/in that file, the vm's OS, any software you install in the vm, and any files you create within the vm - including emails. So whatever you do in a virtual environment IS stored, but you can only access it when you re-enter the vm environment.

HTH

 

I wish I could do as you do with VM's - they are the ultimate answer.

The last time I tried, I noticed that Oracle installs on the hard drive but Ubuntu can just be deleted.

I have not given up on the Linux on a stick idea that you suggested.

The more I study Sandboxie the less I like it especially with a 64 bit machine.

This is not work or frustrating for me and I am slowly getting bits and pieces and will actually do something when ready.

 

VMs can be really useful but for your purposes Linux on a stick is a better solution.

That's true. Anyone who can login to your account can delete any of your files, including your VM's. That's one of the advantages of keeping your Linux system on a stick - it's safe. I really would encourage you to have a go with Puppy as it's well within your capabilities, meets your security needs and is a delight to use.

 

You brought up a point I never considered about invasion.
I was talking about something having to be on the hard drive but never thought about invasion due to my ignorance of the subject matter.

I found a tutorial where puppy can be installed directly into the stick without a cd or dvd.