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Win32 MSIX packages are minimally sandboxed by default. Mostly just in that it virtualizes some file system and Registry changes to ensure the package is clean to uninstall.

It doesn't stop Win32 apps from doing crazy Win32 things (unfortunately), but it's still a step up from MSI/EXE installs in general.

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MSIX only enforces a sandbox if an application doesn’t elect to use the restricted capabilities that allow it to run without. File system and registry virtualization can be disabled quite easily with a few lines in the package manifest, as well as a host of other isolation features.

This is a good thing, and it makes MSIX a usable packaging format for pretty much any application under the sun - but nobody should assume a MSIX package is safe just because it’s a MSIX package.

Now with Project Reunion making it official that both worlds are getting merged, I look forward that with time the minimal Win32 sandbox acquires full sandboxing capabilities.

I see current MSIX limitations for Win32 just as means to incrementally steer developers into it, while not introducing too many breaking changes (as WinRT happened to be).

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