Process isolation in computer programming is the segregation of different software processes to prevent them from accessing memory space they don’t have. The concept of sandboxing helps improve the security of the operating system by granting different levels of privileges to certain programs and by restricting the memory that these programs can use. While there are many implementations of sandboxing, it is often used in web browsers to separate multiple tabs and protect the main browser if a process fails. It can be hardware or software based, but both serve the same purpose of limiting access to system resources and keeping programs isolated in their own virtual address space.
Woman doing handstand with a computer
The basic operation of sandboxing involves assigning a process or program a clearly defined virtual address space. This space contains the program and all related data. If the process requires more space, it will be requested from the operating system and allocated if available. In this way, the operating system can prevent two processes from accidentally or intentionally accessing each other’s memory.
Another purpose of sandboxing is to allow programs to run while ensuring that they do not affect vital systems. You can prevent a program from trying to access and modify or change key areas of the operating system. This allows a program to be terminated in the event of a problem without the larger operating system also being terminated.
There are different variations of insulation. One is to assign privileges to the process so that they can access specific resources on a system while protecting others. This is usually done to allow a program to use an Internet connection or printer, while restricting access to a drive or file system.
There are also situations where certain steps can be taken to allow different processes to communicate securely with each other, but still remain independent of each other. Through mechanisms such as interprocess communication (IPC) and shared memory, processes can exchange information but remain restricted to their own memory space. This functionality is important when a process requires information from different management processes belonging to the operating system.
Process isolation is an important software and hardware feature that helps make many technologies possible. Virtual machine servers work with an advanced form of sandboxing based on hardware and software management. Being able to run applets or other scripts from websites safely depends on a process that isolates important system resources. Mobile devices and embedded systems use sandboxing to allow the main hardware to remain secure despite any faulty or malicious software running.
