Drop Windows 7 Support Yes/No ???

DavidXanatos

DavidXanatos

Administrator
Staff member
I wonder can we drop Windows 7 support with the next build?
According to the updater stats its about 1,2% of Sandboxie users that still use windows 7.
 
How many users are those 1.2%?

Engagement in this forum does not seem to be high enough, but if anyone cares about Windows 7 support, please make yourself be heard.

Does the end of support for 32bit Windows happen at the same time, or are there more users that would be hit by that?

Mozilla is going to support Firefox ESR 115 for Windows 7 (and others) at least until September 2025. Having a still supported browser that gets security updates, could be the only reason, I can see, support can be justified. Firefox is the last major browser that gets security updates. When there are no browsers for Windows 7, there might be other reasons to stick with it, but those users could stick to the last version of Sandboxie that still supports Windows 7.
 
About 1 000 out of 80 000, that said the download count is 300 000 so there are many users not checking for updates hence the real numbers may be as high as 4 000 users.
32-bit users are like 100 out of 80 000, so not more then 400 in total.

VS2022 can neither build windows 7 nor 32 bit drivers so booth are to be dropped or retained at the same time.

No limit for the windows 10 version except for only supporting 64 bit versions.

What I may want to drop would be windows 10 on ARM64 support as then we could have a joined x64/arm64 plus setup what would be nice.
The reason for this is that windows 11 on ARM64 can run x64 code while windows 10 can not, hence the installer would only have a x64 Sandman + Qt and and booth x64 and arm64 core components, as most of the size is the Qt framework such a joined installer would be expedient.


The EWDK needed to build Windows 7 compatible drivers is 16 GB in size so downloading that as part of the CI build is impractical.
 
Thank you for the information. I made the thread featured and sticky, so more users might see it.

Since you are asking if Windows 7 support is still needed, it appears that you are willing to provide "custom" builds of Sandboxie-Plus. (Someone asked if MajorPrivacy could be available for Windows 7, and it is at least considered as a possibility.) Those "custom" builds could miss out on changes and features, only being build when some big bugs, like security issues, got fixed.

Raising the official support to Windows 10 64bit and newer is reasonable.
 
I think since 1.15.12 should work well on 7 for the foreseeable future lets see if Firefox drops support in September as announced or if they extend it once more.
 
Windows 7 compatibility should be definitively kept. I have already written the reasons here. Also keep in mind that not everybody is using the updater. I'm Win7 user and you don't have me in your stats, because I'm simply updating offline only and don't allowing the Sandboxie network access at all.
But for me personally major bug fixes, Win7 specific bug fixes (like the Win7 extended kernel compatibility), and application compatibility is enough. I don't need new features much. Also I should mention I'm using the Sandboxie Classic version only. I don't need the features in the Plus one.
 
I'm using Windows 7. :geek:

📌The objective user base (especially in specific markets)

The unique characteristics of the Chinese market

Statistics: By 2024, Windows 7 will still account for 10-15% of the market share in China (global average < 3%), with some industries (manufacturing, education, and government) reaching as high as 30%.

📌Hardware limitations: A large number of older industrial equipment (such as CNC machine tools and medical equipment) are only compatible with Windows 7 drivers, making upgrade costs prohibitive.

Enterprise customers rely on

Critical business systems (such as bank ATMs and factory MES systems) cannot be quickly upgraded to new systems due to lengthy certification processes.

📌A 2021 Kaspersky report shows that 73% of global healthcare providers still use equipment running outdated operating systems.
A Cynerio survey indicates that 80% of medical imaging equipment still relies on operating systems such as Windows 7/XP.

For these institutions, upgrading often means replacing the entire hardware that is deeply integrated with the equipment, which is prohibitively expensive. As a result, many private businesses and public sector organizations remain on Windows 7 or earlier. 💯
 
Hi everyone,

I understand the discussion around possibly dropping Windows 7 support in the next release, but I wanted to chime in to express that I still have use cases for Sandboxie on Windows 7, and I’d appreciate it if support could be continued.

While I see that Windows 7 usage is declining, for those of us who still rely on it, the functionality Sandboxie provides is essential. Many of us are working with older hardware or in environments where upgrading the OS isn't immediately feasible, and removing support would significantly affect our workflows. Additionally, for some of us, Windows 7 is still the go-to OS because it’s inherently more privacy-focused by design. With proper security measures in place, it remains a fully functional and reliable system.

I completely respect the desire to move forward with newer systems, but I’d ask that we consider keeping Windows 7 support for at least a bit longer, especially given how useful this tool is for those who need to run older software in a secure manner.

If continued support after the proposed end of support date in August 2025, in line with Firefox discontinuing Win7 support, proves to be too much of a challenge, I’d like to recommend that the code for the Legacy Sandboxie Binaries (including the premium features) be released. This would allow the community to take over, work on it, or fork it as needed, ensuring that Windows 7 users can still benefit from the tool even if official support is no longer feasible.

Thanks for considering this, and being willing to ask for community feedback before making an important change like this.
 
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Hello all,

I am also still using Windows 7 on my (only and old) machine and am dependent on Sandboxie as my main security solution. While the eventual upgrade to newer hardware that would support a current OS seems inevitable, right now my reasons for holding on to Win 7 are 1) that I am fond of it and 2) funds.

While I fully understand that you do need to weigh required workload vs. number of users who'd benefit from you providing further Win 7 support, I am hoping that you'd extend it for a little while longer. I also really appreciate that you are asking users for feedback before making a decision in this matter, thanks much. Generally, I just want to add that Sandboxie is a fantastic piece of software that I'd never go without.
 
I just registered in order to complete this questionaire :)

Yep, I use Windows 7. I've used Windows 10 and it's a turd. If I move on it will likely be Linux, but I'm not yet at that stage. Of course, things are starting to not be compatible, although VxKex sorts out quite a few.

I use Sandboxie mainly for two things:
1. Try stuff out without having to do backup/restore or mess with a VM (which wouldn't be close to my actual setup anyway).

2. Force apps to go where they don't want. For instance, my system drive holds only critical apps (that is, those necessary to boot the PC) so it's quick and easy to backup/restore. So why on Earth does Garmin want 15GB of it to dump a map I'm not interested it? With Sandboxie I can force that off to a more appropriate drive, leaving my system drive in peace.

3. (Because I can't count) The ability to run apps with different configs. Again using Garmin as an example, I have personal satnavs but also support a charity's vehicle satnavs. I don't want my configuration settings to pollute the charity's satnavs (different vehicle types for a start) so I use Sandboxie to force different configs depending on whose satnavs I'm dealing with.

I accept that recent apps are likely not to work, and with apps that just fail because they need a W10 feature that's not here, I have no problem. I am not expecting support for them. What I really hate with a passion is those apps where the developer has actively stopped them even starting up because they don't want me to use W7 or something. Let it try, please, and it if works it works while if it doesn't.. well, too bad.

So, I would like to keep updating Sandboxie because it's a great util (and I've been a user for a looong time - just never needed to get onto a forum or support). But I accept that keeping it supporting an obsolete OS is harder to do, and at some point you have to decide to move on. Sandboxie will still work as it is now, we just won't get any new features. Much as I'd like to continue getting updates (and paying the fee!) I'm not going to hold it against you if that doesn't happen. It's been a great ride and still is.
 
I registered so I can comment here. Thank you for asking us for feedback.

Please don't totally abandon Windows 7 users if you can continue support. I don't change to newer Windows or Mac because it's extremely expensive, I would need a new computer, and I'm on a poverty income. The big difficulty of learning Linux (especially as a neurodivergent person) has stopped me from switching to it for now, and I can't trust my government not to abuse the data stolen from users by newer Windows. Plus, as a disabled person with big sensory differences, I can barely cope with some things in Windows 11 (which we use at work). Just re-learning the UI from scratch every time Windows 11 or Office randomly changes has driven me to tears many times.

You may not have me in your download statistics either, because the direct download-widget-thing (through the Classic program) stopped working several years ago. I still get update notices, but every time I try to use the updater I am told that the website can't be contacted*. For years, I thought it was abandonedware and stopped trying. I still can't get regular updates but I depend on Sandboxie for security so I really wish to be able to update it with new security needs/bug fixes. *(Please help.)

I use Classic and personally I have no need for Plus or new features. But I do need a user-friendly installer because I am NOT computer savvy. I was barely even able to register because I can't understand your captchas, and hcaptcha's "accessibility" cookies aren't accessible either.




If you cannot find time to continue support, please do release info that brilliant programmers can use to fork a Windows 7 support (I don't really know what that means but it sounds good.) I know I need to buy new hardware and learn Linux sometime soon, but I can't handle it right now.
 
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I have several older friends who use SB Classic on win 7 and for whom an upgrade to win 10 or above would a strain on their budget. So, I would ask you to please continue win 7 support as long as is feasible.

Regardless of what you ultimately decide on this issue, thank you for your stewardship of this indispensable software!
 
It was brought to my attention that apparently Qt6 fails on Windows 10 LTSB 2016, and also the Sandboxie Driver built with VS2022 does not load on Windows 10 LTSC 2019 which has support until 2029, so I am looking into finding a solution to the driver build issue which may possibly work for 7 as well.
 
It's so bad that i'm still using win7 at 2007-2025, i know i must update my system to 10 or 11, but microsoft keep losing safety and reliability these years, that makes people like me very unpleasent, but at the end, we're must go to new age, just need time to say goodbye to the past.

anyway, thank you for all these years of FOSS, whatever you guys drop or keep win7 supports, we are with your side.
 
DavidXanatos said:
It was brought to my attention that apparently Qt6 fails on Windows 10 LTSB 2016, and also the Sandboxie Driver built with VS2022 does not load on Windows 10 LTSC 2019 which has support until 2029, so I am looking into finding a solution to the driver build issue which may possibly work for 7 as well.
Click to expand...
Sandboxie-Plus-x64-v1.15.12 worked in Windows LTSC 2019,
but v1.16.x will not work in Windows LTSC 2019.
This problem also bothered me.
 
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I expect to continue using Windows 7 well into the future. If I have to abandon Windows 7, I would seriously consider moving to Linux. I would pay a reasonable fee for a Windows 7 operational Sandboxie Plus but would prefer a one time payment for unlimited use of a given version.
 
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