sandboxie-plus/Sandboxie

Waterfox with data protection enabled can't read your profile

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#3790 opened on Apr 5, 2024

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Description

Describe what you noticed and did

  1. Install Waterfox outside of Sandboxie
  2. Enable all templates + force it to run in a sandbox
  3. Start the program, install some addons or something
  4. Close Waterfox
  5. Set the box type to one with data protection
  6. Start Waterfox and notice that it's now using a new profile. What gives?

Well as it turns out, the files "installs.ini" and "profiles.ini" are in this folder: %AppData%\Waterfox

For comparison, for Mozilla Firefox they are in this folder: C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox

For some reason that I can't quite understand, Waterfox seems to care about this file not being included while Firefox doesn't.

Possible solutions I can think of:

Way 1: Change Tmpl.Waterfox=%AppData%\Waterfox\Profiles\*

To

Tmpl.Waterfox=%AppData%\Waterfox\Profiles*

^ Seems to work anyway, then again I've learned over the years that this computer is cursed so I'm gonna do some more testing on this, and I'll edit that in if I figure anything out.

Way 2:

Add the files here:

[Template_Waterfox_Profile_DirectAccess]
Tmpl.Title=#4338,Waterfox
Tmpl.Class=WebBrowser
OpenFilePath=waterfox.exe,%Tmpl.Waterfox%\*
%AppData%\Waterfox\installs.ini
%AppData%\Waterfox\profiles.ini

Way 3:

Add a new template for data protection: [Template_Waterfox_Profile_DirectAccess_DP] Tmpl.Title=#4338,Waterfox Tmpl.Class=WebBrowser OpenFilePath=%AppData%\Waterfox\profiles.ini OpenFilePath=%AppData%\Waterfox\installs.ini

How often did you encounter it so far?

Whenever I run Waterfox with Data Protection

Expected behavior

The files should be included which means Data Protection will work as intended.

Affected program

Latest Waterfox

Download link

https://www.waterfox.net/

Where is the program located?

The program is installed only outside the sandbox.

Did the program or any related process close unexpectedly?

No, not at all.

Crash dump

No response

What version of Sandboxie are you running now?

1.13.4 64-bit

Is it a new installation of Sandboxie?

I just updated Sandboxie from a previous version (I remember which one it is).

Is it a regression from previous versions?

Nope

In which sandbox type you have this problem?

In a hardened sandbox with data protection (red sandbox icon).

Can you reproduce this problem on a new empty sandbox?

I can confirm it also on a new empty sandbox.

What is your Windows edition and version?

Windows 11 Education, but this also happened on Windows 10

In which Windows account you have this problem?

A Microsoft account (Administrator).

Please mention any installed security software

Windows Defender

Did you previously enable some security policy settings outside Sandboxie?

No response

Trace log

No response

Sandboxie.ini configuration

No response

Contributor guide

Tech stack
c
Domain
securitydesktop
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Familiarity with Sandboxie template systemBasic knowledge of Windows file paths
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
50
Research direction
The issue reports that Waterfox fails to retain its profile when Sandboxie's data protection is enabled because the files 'installs.ini' and 'profiles.ini' are not included in the template. Three solutions are proposed in the issue: (1) modify the existing template to expand the path, (2) add direct access for the two files, or (3) create a new template for data protection. Investigate which approach is correct by testing each and verifying that Waterfox profile persists with data protection. Reference the current template definitions in the Sandboxie codebase (likely in the templates directory) and consider any existing Firefox templates for guidance. The maintainer should review and choose the safest solution that maintains compatibility.