ReHIPS

If you're a security-orientated type of user, then there's a fairly high likelihood that you know what sandboxing or application containerization mean.

In just a few words, a sandbox app's main purpose is to improve the overall security of your system by isolating any piece of software and preventing it from making permanent changes to your computer's system.

You may know some of the most popular apps for sandboxing like Sandboxie, GeSWall, and even Toolwiz Time Freeze, but now, there's a new app of this sort that wants to make a name for itself: ReHIPS.

Even though this host-based intrusion prevention system should yield the same results as some of the apps above, it features a slightly different core functionality.

For example, unlike most other sandboxing apps, ReHIPS does not use rootkit techniques, kernel-mode hooks, or splicing, for that matter. Instead, it uses your computer's system built-in access control elements to ensure solid app isolation and overall stability.

Getting started with this app is practically effortless, thanks to its typical streamlined and wizard-based installer, and working with it should be just as easy. Before we go even further, it's worth pointing out that this is a very well-documented application, so if you run into any sort of "trouble," the Help section is readily accessible from the upper right corner.

You can start off and sandbox any app by simply using the Explorer contextual menu, with which the app smoothly integrates. You are bound to discover that the sandboxed apps are surrounded by a red border, and, you'll also notice that the UI is designed to be as non-intimidating and as intuitive as possible, with just a few sections on display and only two work modes.

In Simple mode, you only get to choose the protection level with thresholds ranging between Disabled, Learning, Permissive, Standard, and Expert. On the other hand, the Advanced mode offers you the possibility to manage isolated programs, block, inspect, or allow "Child Program" access and duration, as well as view the app's activity logs.

ReHIPS is without a doubt a very attractive alternative to some of the other intrusion system apps out there. It may not be the most popular or the most feature-packed app of this sort, but with its overall simplicity and strong security orientation, ReHIPS is definitely worthy of your attention if you're currently testing apps and you want to ensure your computer's system integrity.