Information on MS Office and Sandboxie

[Northeast]

Hi all,

I hope someone can help me answer a couple of questions. I can't find my MS Office XP software, but I have an older version of MS office 2000 and 97. I just want to know if older MS Office software like 2000 or 97 are vulnerable to use, and if I run a word, excel, access doc that was created in a later version as in office XP, 2007 would I be able to display it in office 2000, 97. Also if I create a document in office 2000 can I display it in XP, 2007 or a later office version (in other words can both older MS office and newer MS office versions can read one another).

Question on Sandboxie I want to install the software but I like to know if sandboxie has any conflict's with program's or other software. How do I install it and how do I set up the program to run.

thanks

[.: L' arc :.]

 You can open Microsoft Office 2007 generated docs, slideshows, etc by saving it under Compatibility Mode. How:

Click Office Icon > Save as > Word (or Excel, etc) 97-2003 Document > Save dialog box appears..

 All older version files can be opened by the later version. 2007 can open all versions.

[YoKenny]

Sandboxie Forums
http://www.sandboxie.com/phpbb

[micky77]

Personally, I would not run an old version.You can get Open Office for free, it can read microsoft documents.
Regarding SandBoxIE, basically, it is very simple.When you install the program,an icon appears on your desktop.Double click on it, your default browser, then opens sandboxed.You can add icons for any program you want to run sandboxed.
I have the paid version, its not only worth every penny, its priceless ( imho )
With the paid version, you have the option to force programs to open boxed.
These are my options, first the default box, is set to auto delete on closure. Certain programs are set, so they are forcibly opened sandboxed., ( you can disable this by simply right clicking on the tray icon,and disable  'forced' programs )
Only certain programs are allowed acces to the net, from the box, so even if you downloaded a keylogger, that named itself firefox.exe, because firefox is already running, a second instance downloaded, could not run in the box
You can recover files from the box.You can scan the contents of the box with anti malware programs, including online scanners.
You can set drives to open boxed, so malware from flash drives, cd's etc open sandboxed.
You can have several boxes with different rules, so you could have a box with no web access allowed.
I have boxes set for inexperienced users of my family, that have no recovery options, they are not allowed to take things from the box.
The list is endless.
You will find lots of info at the site posted by Yokenny.
Obviously S.B will not protect an already infected pc. Also once you take a file out of the box, you are exposed.Its important to scan the box, and run any programs boxed before recovering.SB is very good here for programs that require a reboot to run.
Here are a few snapshots

[Pedro Hin]

There are always going to be increased risk using older versions of software. I personally have no worries about using Office 2000 - that's what I have on my PC right now.

In order to open Office 2007 docx , xlsx , pptx (no, you can't open new Access Database with Office 2000) download Compatibility Pack from here - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en .

Also, 2007 Compatibility pack works best with Office 2000's service pack 3 installed first. Office 2007 Compatibility pack won't work with Office 97.

As far as your 'forward compatibility' concerns, Office 2007 will open Office 2000 doc , xls , ppt without any trouble. I need to rant about this for a second--

Office 2007 will have an ominous looking 'Compatibility Mode' in the title bar when you have an earlier version of a document open. This is put there to scare people into converting their old documents to the newer version, to prevent them from somehow losing some formatting or other hard work. This marketing tactic has been used by Microsoft since Office 1997 -- don't let it fool you. When it comes to office productivity apps, nothing sells an upgrade like fear, ignorance and peer pressure.

I have not worked with MS-Access, so I do not know if Office 2007 will force an upgrade of a 2000 database.

[CharleyO]

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I have to agree with Micky about OpenOffice ... it is the perfect replacement for MS Office and it is free.


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[micky77]

Anyone who is thinking of buying Sandboxie, there is an offer, on 20th Oct, to get it for half price.

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/sandboxie-personal-license/

[Northeast]

Hi all,

Thank for ur help and feedback.

Hi Micky, thanks for ur help as I have never heard of openoffice nor would I though it will be free as I search in filehippo and they had a 136mb file for download and it said open source and then went to download.com and had a free version that was 150mb which is strange and never knew it would be compatible with MS as MS upgrade there office software every 3 years to get people to buy there products as I don't have the money to keep upgrading. I will download sandboxie and give the free version a try first to see if the program does not conflict with my firewall or other programs.

Thanks Pedro hin for ur information as I was not sure if new or older versions can read one another as MS finds ways to prevent compatibility so they force u to buy the upgrade office. I give openoffice a try first and if that does not workout well I install office 2000 and follow ur guide.

And thanks to okenny and charleyO for ur help too.

I will start download it later on to save me money in buying MS office which I did during the 90's.



thanks for ur help and I appreciate it.

[CharleyO]

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You are welcome, Northeast.   


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[spg SCOTT]

...I give openoffice a try first and if that does not workout well I install office 2000 and follow ur guide.

Personally, I feel that the best way to try this out would be to use the portableapps version.
It will install to a single folder, and is run from there. If you so choose that you want rid of it, then you can simply delete the folder, easy

http://portableapps.com/apps/office/openoffice_portable

apparently it is a smaller download also...

-Scott-

[Northeast]

Hi Spg Scott,

Thanks for ur link, I will download it and give it a try as I don't want to spend too much money on buying or upgrading MS office as they bring out new versions every 3 to 4 years. As long if it is compatible with MS office I'll be happy to use it.

What I'm thinking is if Openoffice brings out new version every 6 months or 1 years would that mean I will have uninstall and install the new version or will the program let me update to the newer version without uninstalling. Because downloading every new version is well over 100mb.

[mkis]

There are a few versions of Microsoft Office 2000.

I think in total Microsoft Office 2000 Standard, Professional, and Premium as well as Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business. The version can make a difference - although update / upgrade service is available in all versions, the process can be a bit drawn out and a bit hit and miss at times, depending on circumstances of install or running state or software environment, etc. Generally, clean install and then straight on to update via Microsoft download center will return a good outcome where there should be no increased risks. Although I do prefer to go custom install and exclude the loading of Outlook and associated modules (this can also be done through - for example in XP - Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel ->Add/Remove Windows components).

Outlook modules can be a problem I have found, so I stick to my own email providers (standalone email service).

I have Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business (2 disk set) which I no longer use as it is too big and chunky. If this is your Office 2000 then I would say passable, but perhaps a bit less stable, a bit too sprawling to be covered satisfactorily by the update service. I recall Small Business to be a bit hit and miss and a bit more work to do in updates procedure. And it can come without Powerpoint.

I also have 2000 premium (single disk) which I liked, and even preferred over 2003 and 2007, especially when I wanted to work quickly and randomly - particularly when I wanted to pop in and out of Word and Excel. Very very snappy compared to later releases. I found good update outcomes with Premium (=SP3) - returned stable and complete working platform, and I couldn't see any added security risks. Much the same performance as XP Office 2002, which is still a very good desktop option (see screenshots below - shows XP Office updates in installed programs in Control Panel on this computer). For myself, I didn't find recent Office desktop 2007 (and including Enterprise and the like) suitable or even necessary for my use. But that's just me.

I am guessing Offices 2000 Standard and Professional to be very similar to 2000 Premium. So if any of these 3 is your 2000 program, Northeast, I would say go right ahead. Clean install, choose custom as preference and exclude Outlook (unless you wish not to), and let Microsoft download center locate yr updates, or prompt it to find them if you need to. I doubt that you will need to spend any more $$ as long as yr Office program is good.

Edit - this post has been edited. BTW, updates to Outlook have come as part of package but no real bother, albeit I will look to remove them now (anyway).

[Alan Baxter]

What I'm thinking is if Openoffice brings out new version every 6 months or 1 years would that mean I will have uninstall and install the new version or will the program let me update to the newer version without uninstalling. Because downloading every new version is well over 100mb.

Yes, updating to a new version does require a large download.  I don't think there's any way around that.  OpenOffice.org is updated by installing the new version without uninstalling the old one first.

[Northeast]

Hi,

Does any sandboxie users out there know how to add programs (browsers ect) into the sandboxie folder and also under
"Delete Contents" when clicking the delete button is it safe to delete those folders.

thanks

[Alan Baxter]

Does any sandboxie users out there know how to add programs (browsers ect) into the sandboxie folder and also under
"Delete Contents" when clicking the delete button is it safe to delete those folders.

Right-click the program's icon or Start menu item and select Send To > Sandboxie.  "Delete Contents" is always safe.  It only deletes the contents of the Sandbox.  Don't be afraid to use the Sandboxie help system and ask any further questions in the Sandboxie forums.  They're both quite good.  Thats where I got my information from.
http://www.sandboxie.com/