favorites/ bookmarks

[Brrrknee]

I'd had a problem in the simple steps of the tutorial:

Try it now: Mark this page as a favorite. Once marked, look into the Favorites menu. You should see the new entry for this page, TestingTheSandbox.
Now run another instance of your browser, this time without using Sandboxie. The un-sandboxed browser should not have the new entry in its Favorites menu.
After doing this simple task, the unboxed browser did in fact contain the new sand-boxed bookmark. I deleted it there, closed that un-boxed browser and it [the bookmark to sandboxie] was no longer available to the originating, sandboxed browser. (XPP SP2, IE7) sandboxie 3.00.05

I don’t see any specific IE settings that would give a hint at something that would interfere with this… what might be the problem?

[Paul_K]

Did you make any selections in Sandboxie's configuration menus? If not, maybe your downloaded copy of the program had some of the options already selected.

Specifically, double-click the yellow Sandboxie icon in the system tray, and click on Configuration > Sandbox Settings > Set File Copy Options.
Is the "Allow Internet Explorer Full Access to the Favorites Folder (Recommended) checked?

If checked, saving a favorite in the sandboxed IE will save it to the un-sandboxed favorites list too, as you reported. I can't remember that far back, but I think this option used to be un-checked on a downloaded copy of the Sandboxie Install program. Maybe it came already checked, for you?

[BrrrKnee]

I do have all of the options enabled at the lower File Copy Options dialog, except for thunderbird, which I do not use.
I had upgraded to 3.0.8 from my prior, but do not recall if I had set these or if they were default on. I had not changed these after the 3.0.8 update.
If it is a recommended setting, I'd have expected the actions of the program to behave as defined in the "getting started" flow.

However: If this in fact is the case- that is, enabling full access allows persistent changes for the select programs listed [IE, Outlook, etc.] -then another question of mine is answered. I was wondering if I opened my email in a sandbox then close the sandbox, do I still have my sandbox-opened email or did it disappear into the ether? If by having full-access enabled, and this enables the persistence of email, then my answer is the above.

[Paul_K]

The email would persist...
If you are using Outlook or Outlook Express, you have given the sandboxed Outlook or OE full access to your un-sandboxed mail folders. That means that whether you are running the email program sandboxed or un-sandboxed, it will be using the exact same mail folders on your hard drive.

Since the sandboxed email program will access the mail folders located outside of the sandbox, merely opening and reading your emails with the sandboxed program will not make any changes to those emails. Even if you delete the contents of the sandbox, the emails will persist. If you use the sandboxed program to delete an email, it will be deleted from the mail folder and would be gone for the un-sandboxed program, too. Likewise, creating and saving or sending an email in the sandboxed program will result in that email showing-up in the un-sandboxed email program, too.

Try creating and saving an email in the sandboxed program, and then verify that the un-sandboxed version of the program can see it. Then delete it using the un-sandboxed program, and verify that the sandboxed program sees it in the Trash folder.

To make use of the added safety offered by Sandboxie, you should always use the sandboxed version of your email program to access emails, especially new ones. Of course, Sandboxie cannot protect you from things like phishing emails, so caution is still advised when opening any email.