Recently Microsoft added a powerful new tool called Windows Sandbox. It’s available in WIndows 10 and 11. The Sandbox allows users to launch a quick virtualized, isolated and non persistent Windows environment. This can be incredibly useful for a variety of tasks, such as testing untrusted or potentially malicious software, visiting questionable websites, trying out new programs and configurations, or even as a development environment.
In the past, I’d use Virtualbox or Vmware based virtual machines for tasks like these. But those vm’s are persistent, and I’ve found it much better to use Windows Sandbox for quick actions.
One of the most significant benefits of Windows Sandbox is that it is completely isolated from the host system. This means that any changes made or files downloaded while in the Sandbox do not persist on the host system. This provides an added level of security and protection, as it ensures that any potentially harmful software or malware cannot affect the host system.
When you open the Windows Sandbox, you will be presented with a clean, fresh installation of Windows. This can be useful for testing software or configurations without any pre-existing settings or files.