Microsoft is reportedly planning to introduce a new security feature to Windows 10 designed to let administrators execute programs from unreliable third-party sources in a sandboxed environment. The upcoming feature is called "InPrivate Desktop" and its preview version was uncovered by Bleeping Computer through a Windows 10 Insider Feedback Hub quest.

According to the Feedback Hub description for the feature, InPrivate Desktop for Windows 10 will serve as a "throwaway sandbox for secure, one-time execution of untrusted software." That means the goal of the upcoming feature is to help mitigate risks to the host operating system while an untrusted program is running.

The Feedback Hub quest also indicates that InPrivate Desktop may be coming exclusively to Windows 10 Enterprise in the future starting with build 17718 for all branches. The feature will apparently require at least 4 GB of RAM, 5 GB of free disk space, 2 CPU cores, and hypervisor capabilities enabled in the BIOS.

As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley noted, the feature works like the Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG), which helps to fight malware by confining malicious content and exploits downloaded from the web. Microsoft first announced WDAG in June last year as part of an effort to bolster security for Windows 10.

Microsoft has yet to confirm the new sandbox security feature for Windows 10 and it remains unclear when the tool will launch on the platform. Nonetheless, Foley speculates that InPrivate Desktop will debut as part of a future release for Windows 10 codenamed "19H1".

Source and image: Bleeping Computer via ZDNet