In the IT world, the terms “sandbox” or “sandboxing” are becoming increasingly common. But what is sandboxing exactly and how is it used? Sandbox technology allows you to create an isolated test environment within a system. In this way, certain actions can be performed by a program, without it being able to cause damage to the hardware. Sandboxing is essentially about protecting your operating system by shielding it from faulty code or malware. In both software development and cyber security, sandboxing is now considered a standard practice as it provides large companies the protection required to avoid system damage and cyberattacks.
The concept of sandboxing is nothing new; it emerged during the development of the first PC systems. In the 1970s, programmers used sandboxes for test purposes and simulations. They wanted to find out whether certain code could work within a closed environment. Initial security mechanisms like Hydra did not only protect expensive hardware, but had other advantages: Sandboxing technology made it possible to record problems which would have arisen without isolation.
Nowadays, certain programs not only enable you to catch and redirect access to your registration database, but using virtual machines (VMs), you can even simulate an entire computer.