iCore Virtual Accounts is free download
OS level virtualization (container-based virtualization) for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
XP.
Program
The program is an isolated
virtual machine
In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardw ...
that runs on top of the existing
hardware and
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
. It allows the user to create multiple
virtual "
accounts" (virtual machines) that can be easily created or deleted without affecting each other's state or the state of the core operating system.
Such machines create and capture the output of a virtual "account" inside a virtual disk. Only the changes to specific files and programs accessible to that virtual account will be stored in the virtual disk attached to that account. One can install programs inside it that will be
sandbox
A sandbox is a sandpit, a wide, shallow playground construction to hold sand, often made of wood or plastic.
Sandbox or Sand box may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Sandbox (band), a Canadian rock music group
* Sandbox ( ...
ed from the entire system, existing only inside the virtual disk. Each virtual account has full dedicated PC functionality with its own processes, files, and applications. This is accomplished by using a virtualization layer in the kernel of the host OS.
In contrast, programs accessible to all users of the computer will be usable in the virtual accounts without taking up space there, but the settings and bookmarks for the users of that account will stay inside the virtual disk.
Technical overview
For every application and/or user, the program is an autonomous
OS, with its own registry, process, files, services and so on.
Software from vendors can run inside a container without modification.
Version compatibility
As of December 20, 2010, iCore only supports
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
.
FAQ
official iCore web site, retrieved 2010-12-20
See also
*Comparison of platform virtualization software
Platform virtualization software, specifically emulators and hypervisors, are software packages that emulate the whole physical computer machine, often providing multiple virtual machines on one physical platform. The table below compares basic i ...
*Operating system-level virtualization
OS-level virtualization is an operating system (OS) paradigm in which the Kernel (computer science), kernel allows the existence of multiple isolated user space instances, called ''containers'' (LXC, Solaris Containers, Solaris containers, Docker ...
*Sandbox (computer security)
In computer security, a sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs, usually in an effort to mitigate system failures and/or software vulnerabilities from spreading. The isolation metaphor is taken from the idea of children w ...
References
External links
*
Virtualization software
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