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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: steveb4546 on March 02, 2011, 08:25:25 AM

Title: Sandbox - what does it affect? File changes?
Post by: steveb4546 on March 02, 2011, 08:25:25 AM
Can't seem to find much in the way of a detailed description of the new autosandbox feature. Understand it creates a virtual machine to run the suspect program on and does not allow permanent changes to the registry but can't figure whether the program can create or modify files and have the changes remain after the process terminates.
Interested in this as it autosandboxed MediaPortal and this seems to have stopped TV recording from occurring. I don't mind it sandboxing as long as it allow the program to write files.
Anyone have any more details on what a sandboxed program can and can't do and whether any of its actions persist after closure?
Title: Re: Sandbox - what does it affect? File changes?
Post by: Sparxx on March 02, 2011, 10:02:56 AM
Can't seem to find much in the way of a detailed description of the new autosandbox feature. Understand it creates a virtual machine to run the suspect program on and does not allow permanent changes to the registry but can't figure whether the program can create or modify files and have the changes remain after the process terminates.
Interested in this as it autosandboxed MediaPortal and this seems to have stopped TV recording from occurring. I don't mind it sandboxing as long as it allow the program to write files.
Anyone have any more details on what a sandboxed program can and can't do and whether any of its actions persist after closure?

Hi.
Sandboxing is the full virtualization of the runned application, so every change you make to this program, every change the program is trying to do to the sistem is actually a virtual change, not a real one, so after the program is stopped , the virtualized session of this program is ended.
The virtualized program is not interacting with the real system.
Title: Re: Sandbox - what does it affect? File changes?
Post by: Lisandro on March 02, 2011, 12:38:04 PM
Everything - files, registry keys, configurations... - are kept into the virtual environment only.
Title: Re: Sandbox - what does it affect? File changes?
Post by: DavidR on March 02, 2011, 04:34:59 PM
@ steveb4546
I would suggest that you change the auto-sandbox settings to Ask. That way it should offer/recommend that you run the program sandboxed, it shouldn't just run it sandboxed.

That way you can decline the suggestion and run it normally, if you know that the application is one you have used before without problem, you trust it (accept any risk, etc.) and comes from a trusted source.