How to set up and use Windows Sandbox for securely running applications?

Windows Sandbox is an isolated virtualization environment that allows you to run untrusted executable files without compromising the security of the host operating system. Each time the sandbox is launched, a clean, temporary copy of Windows is created, which is completely destroyed along with all data when the application window is closed.

Before using Sandbox, this feature must be enabled in the system. To do this, open the Windows features dialog, find the Windows Sandbox option, check the box next to it, and then restart your computer. Hardware virtualization must also be enabled in the BIOS.

After restarting, find the Windows Sandbox application in the Start menu and launch it. A standard Windows desktop will open before you in a separate window. You can drag and drop any executable file from your main computer into this window, such as a dubious installer or script, and run it for testing.

Since the sandbox is completely isolated from the host system, any changes made by the software running inside—including viruses, malware, or registry modifications—will not affect your working environment in any way. After closing the window, all files and settings are instantly erased beyond recovery.

To expand the capabilities of the sandbox, you can use configuration files with the `.wsx` extension. They are created in a text editor and allow you to pre-map certain folders from the host into the isolated environment, configure network connections, or execute initialization scripts immediately after the virtual environment starts.