A sandbox is a virtual or isolated testing environment that allows users to run programs or open files without affecting the application, system, or platform on which they run. Sandboxes are used in both web development and cybersecurity to safely test, monitor, and experiment with software. The term "sandbox" is derived from the idea of children who do not play well together, so each is given their own sandbox to play in alone).

In cybersecurity, a sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs to mitigate system failures and/or software vulnerabilities from spreading). It is often used to execute untested or untrusted programs or code, possibly from unverified or untrusted third parties, suppliers, users, or websites, without risking harm to the host machine or operating system). Sandboxing protects an organizations critical infrastructure from suspicious code because it runs in a separate system. It also allows IT to test malicious code in an isolated testing environment to understand how it works as well as more rapidly detect similar malware attacks.

In web development, sandboxing usually involves a development server and a staging server. The development server is separated from the production environment but may need basic network access. Developers use sandboxes to test new software or updates. It ensures that any potential bugs, errors, or issues in the latest software don’t affect the stable running versions. It also prevents unintentional security vulnerabilities from being exploited.

Some of the use cases for sandboxes include the following:

• Online judge systems to test programs in programming contests)
• New-generation pastebins allowing users to execute pasted code snippets on the pastebins server)
• Security research. Information security professionals use sandboxes for
• Testing new software applications and updates without affecting the live environment

Sandboxing is an important feature of the Java programming language and development environment, where the sandbox is a program area and set of rules that programmers need to use when creating Java code -- called an applet -- that is sent as part of a webpage. Sandboxing also complements other security programs, including behavior monitoring and virus programs. It offers added protection against certain strains of malware that an antivirus program may not detect.

The setup of a sandbox environment will depend on how it is going to be used. Usually, sandboxes are run on virtual machines, which emulate a computer but use software resources instead o...