Disabling Networking in Windows Sandbox in Windows 10

Introduction

Windows Sandbox is a feature introduced in Windows 10, starting from version 1903, that allows users to run applications in an isolated and disposable environment. This feature is particularly useful for testing untrusted software or browsing potentially dangerous websites without risking the security and integrity of the host operating system.

One important aspect of using Windows Sandbox is the ability to control the network connectivity within the sandboxed environment. By default, Windows Sandbox is configured with networking enabled, allowing internet access from within the sandbox. However, there may be scenarios where disabling networking in Windows Sandbox becomes necessary, either for security reasons or to simulate a network-disconnected environment.

In this article, we will explore how to disable networking in Windows Sandbox in Windows 10, providing practical examples and instructions adapted for the Windows environment.

Examples:

To disable networking in Windows Sandbox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open a Command Prompt or PowerShell session on your host Windows 10 machine.

2. Run the following command to list the available Windows Sandbox instances:

wsl --list

3. Identify the specific Windows Sandbox instance you want to disable networking for. Note down the instance name or ID.

4. Run the following command to disable networking for the identified Windows Sandbox instance:

wsl --set-version <sandbox_instance_name> 1

Replace <sandbox_instance_name> with the name or ID of the Windows Sandbox instance.

5. Once the command completes, networking will be disabled for the specified Windows Sandbox instance.

These steps demonstrate how to disable networking in Windows Sandbox using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) command-line tool. By setting the version of the Windows Sandbox instance to 1, networking is effectively disabled within the sandboxed environment.