You're most likely to inflict your computer with an unwanted Trojan or virus when you download and open files from unscrupulous websites. It's easily done. Most of us want to test new software, but it's not always wise to just run an installer on your work PC. One option would be to use a sandboxed environment that would enable you to start and open software securely. Close the sandbox and all remnants of the contents will disappear. No files or Registry entries will appear on your PC.

The other option is to run a virtual operating system. If you can get hold of a cheap OEM version of Windows XP, you could use this as your test bed for new software. However, creating your own virtual environment isn't cheap, which is the reason behind VMware Player.

VMware Player 2.0.5 is a free player that will enable you to open pre-designed virtual environments created by tools such as VMware Workstation. You can open Windows, Linux and other operating systems on top of your existing OS.

29 Aug 2008