What are sandbox environments for email?

Sandboxes are isolated environments where suspicious files execute safely. Email security systems detonate attachments in sandboxes, observing behavior for **malware** indicators without risking production systems.

Sandbox analysis reveals: what processes spawn, what network connections occur, what files are created or modified, and what registry changes happen. Malicious behavior visible in sandbox triggers blocking.

Limitations: sophisticated **malware** detects sandboxes and behaves normally until on real systems, analysis takes time potentially delaying email delivery, and not all malicious behaviors manifest in time-limited sandbox runs.