Alert before things get installed / saved to a sandbox

[warwagon]

I gave my mom sandboxie, and she understands the usefulness of it, but she gets so mad at sandboxie as do most people and she wants to uninstall it. The reason behind this is that when she saves stuff from Firefox like files, or installs an application she has downloaded, she forgets the applications / files are getting installed / saved in the sandbox and not the regular machine, this frustrates her to no end. She was wondering if there is away to have sandoboxie prompt the user to tell them the application they are going to install / or the file they are about to save will be saved / installed in the sandbox and not the regular machine.

I also gave my friend ben sandboxie and last night I called him to ask him how its working for him, and he said he uninstalled it because it was making him mad. Firefox kept asking him for updates every time he would start Firefox. This is of course be cause we had it setup to empty the sandbox on the exit for Firefox and he doesn't know enough to unsandbox install updates and resandbox. I told him next time I'm there i'll show I'm how to unsandbox Firefox.

You've mentioned in a previous post that not to tell people that sandboxie is hard to use, sandboxie is not hard to use, its the remembering that you are being sandboxed which is the problem, which is why I think an alert would give them a heads up.

[MitchE323]

Well warwagon, it sounds as if you have certainly tried your best to help those folks out. I know that you know all about the "recover folder" route, and probably plan to teach them. The same thing I guess happens to all of us because the exact same thing happens to me. I think that maybe they have to "want" it - because as you and I and most of the people here know already, it's very simple to use.
mitch

[warwagon]

Well warwagon, it sounds as if you have certainly tried your best to help those folks out. I know that you know all about the "recover folder" route, and probably plan to teach them. The same thing I guess happens to all of us because the exact same thing happens to me. I think that maybe they have to "want" it - because as you and I and most of the people here know already, it's very simple to use.
mitch

recovery folder is great but only when the sandbox gets deleted after every session, which doesn't work very well if the sandbox doesn't get deleted.

[SnDPhoenix]

Well maybe OpenFilePath would work better then a RecoverFolder? Also you have to remember, even if tzuk did introduce a "alert" into Sandboxie, then she'd be complaining that "Sandboxie keeps alerting me every few seconds and it's annoying", All she (as well as everyone else) has to do is just use it for a few days, once you get used to Sandboxie, then you'll never forget that your file/program is in a sandbox and not the "real system". Also, you could try forcing Firefox, that way she always knows that when she opens Fx, anything she does with Fx will happen/be in the Sandbox, then she wont have to remember anymore whether app x is in the sandbox or not.

P.S Try not to curse on the forum.

[LittleBig]

MitchE323: you're wrong. Sandboxie is little, fast and handy sandbox software, but not very easy to use. And warwagon spotted two very annoying problem in his first comment. Perhaps annoying only fo users with less knowledge and who is waiting for a install and forget type software. So Sandboxie is all good but not easy to use. If I would like to do, to see, or set something I have to click a lot.

warwagon: you have to find other sandbox software for your mum and friends. It is not too little, not too fast and not free (but very cheap) but very very easy to use really. I don't mention its name here because I respect tzuk hard work.

[LittleBiG]

And don't forget: the software is only about 300k. It is not enough for a high comfort bright and colorful user interface. In this size it is honorable work.

[LittleBiG]

Only one word: alert may be a small window in any corner with automatic disapper (with turn off feature)

[MitchE323]

LittleBig

And warwagon spotted two very annoying problem in his first comment

The first annoying problem is the mom forgets she is sandboxed and gets frustrated. The second annoying problem is the friend is a new user and doesn't realize he can not update the real program this way.
If you consider solving these two to be so high on the list as to warrant a gui change or use a differant program of course that is your right.

My comment meant something entirely differant. In both cases the persons solution was to just uninstall the program. In the case of the friend, WarWagon didn't even find this out until he asked him. The friend didnt call and say please help me. The friend just uninstalled it.

My comment was that they have to want it. That is why SND is correct in that even if you take care of all this, next will be something new that causes them to uninstall it.
mitch

[LittleBiG]

You are totally right. The key word is "want". But I think a well built interface may makes people trying harder. In Sandboxie the average user may feel himself lost. Where can I set things? How can I run non sandboxed my Firefox? Do I have to write things into ini files? and so on. We like Sandbox because we aprreciate its very good functions and we able to throw up some comfortable. (a comment: but I use SandboxToys

[SnDPhoenix]

Dude, first you said mitch was wrong and then you say hes right. Well, anyways, if the GUI bothers you that much, the good news is that coming soon is the new Sandboxie (with new GUI of course), so maybe you'll find the new GUI to be better?

[LittleBiG]

[quote="SnDPhoenix"]Dude, first you said mitch was wrong and then you say hes right. quote]

I disagreed with easy of use only. Thereis no need

[MitchE323]

We are all good LittleBig, easy to use - not easy to use - words only. I actually was trying to address the disappointment felt by Warwagon, that's all. I wasn't trying to solve a problem. He had given his Mom the program, and he had given his best friend Ben the program. He had to call Ben to find out things and it was uninstalled. Trying to pick him up that's all.

I have a tendency to "oversell" Sandboxie when I reccomend it and I guess those people expect too much because of that. But when I sit down at the computer it's "Oh goody, I'm in a sandbox!" so I never forget. I have to remind myself that most folks haven't taken the Blue Pill yet. lol

We are all good friend,
Mitch

[Guest]

Ok, Mitch, I understand.

And do you know why? Because the the taste of the Red Pill is better.

[tzuk]

Isn't anybody here using Immediate Recovery?

warwagon: Open the "Set Automatic Clean-Up Options" window. Make sure the checkbox for My Documents folder is checked. Check the checkbox on the bottom to enable Immediate Recovery.

Start your browser again and download something into My Documents. As soon as the download finishes, Immediate Recovery will pop and ask you to move that file outside the sandbox.

Problem solved, I hope?

It seems to me that Sandboxie already has enough tools to make it easier to use it. The problem is configuring these tools. One of the main goals of "The New Sandboxie Control" is to be smart enough to introduce these tools and enable them for you (as opposed to hiding them as a checkbox in some window).

[warwagon]

Well it happened, at 2:00pm today my mom finally eruppted like a violent volcano and said she wanted sandboxie off her computer. When browsing to my documents in the sandboxie after reolizing she unsuspectinglhy saved information in the sandboxed my documents she exploted.

Oh well I tried.