Secure Browser Tech Is Having a Moment

[vtqhtr413]

Content source

https://www.darkreading.com/dr-tech/secure-browser-tech-is-having-a-moment

The rise of cloud applications and infrastructure makes the Web browser the logical place for instituting security controls to protect users from online threats. A growing number of networking and cybersecurity companies are following the trend and jumping into the secure browser and browser isolation markets. Palo Alto Networks, for example, is reportedly in talks to acquire Talon Cyber Security, a provider of local browser isolation technology.

Startups such as Surf Security offer secure enterprise browsers, while consumer cybersecurity firms such as Gen — created by the merger of NortonLifeLock and Avast — and SquareX have begun offering secure browsers to the home market.

The market for finding ways to protect browser-based businesses is heating up, with more companies every quarter attempting to fill the needs of cloud-native businesses, says Paddy Harrington, a senior analyst in Forrester's security and risk group. "With users spending that much time in browsers — whether it's business productivity apps, email, or just personal browsing — if an attacker is going to target that user or endpoint, it'll come through the browser," Harrington says.

Different companies and users may have different requirements, he adds. "There's no one right solution for every user — it's part of the reason why, recently, enterprise browser vendors have been adding a browser security extension to their portfolio," Harrington says. "This gives them better coverage to the enterprise's needs." Secure browser and browser isolation make up an increasingly crowded market.

Secure Browser Tech Is Having a Moment

Cloud adoption is driving secure browsers' moment in the sun as rumors fly that Palo Alto Networks is looking to snap up Talon.

www.darkreading.com

 

[simmerskool]

Is Norton Secure Browser new? Has anyone tried it...

Norton Private Browser | More Secure Browsing for Mac and PC

Norton Private Browser is a free browser for Mac and PC that helps you browse, shop, and message with greater security. Download for free today!

us.norton.com

 

[Jonny Quest]

I installed it as I wanted to see what it was about, but will probably uninstall it soon. I would miss my own extensions, my password manager, uBlock etc. They have their own extension Addon page. Besides, Bitdefender did a very nice job for me recently.

https://addons.norton.securebrowser.com/

Ghacks.net website delivering malware via fake browser update messages

I wasn't sure of the best place to post this. The website ghacks.net has either been hacked or, what is more likely, is a victim of a malvertising campaign. If you visit any webpage there, a few seconds after the page loads, the content gets replaced with a fake browser update message, to try...

malwaretips.com

Install options:

 

[oldschool]

Use Windows Application Guard if you're a Pro user.
Making Microsoft Edge the most secure browser with Windows Defender Application Guard | Microsoft Security Blog

 

[ForgottenSeer 97327]

Edge has three security advantages over other Chromium browsers

1. Windows ApplicationGuard for Edge
This runs your Edge browser in a Virtual Machine environment. This is a big-big-big (@Oldschools tip ) security improvement over any other browser.
2. SuperDuper secure mode
Disabling JIT makes parts of the memory only readable. This by itself reduces the possible attack surface, but this also allows to enable CET.
3. AppContainer
Pity people have to dig into the Edge Policy settings to enable this, but AppContainer is the most restricted integrity level in Windows.
When enabled Edge subprocesses run with lower rights (and lower means more secure) as below side-by-side comparison shows.

 

[Trident]

Not sure why different browsers need to be created and used for different purposes. There was the RockMelt (social browser), Opera for gamers and various other projects with low interest from consumers.

Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, as long as they are up-to-date, have maintained an excellent security track record. It is the security package’s task to further increase the security by blocking malicious websites and in-memory manipulations.
There is zero need for secure browsers.

Chrome and Edge also significantly reduce the chances of downloading malware. Chrome uses Kaspersky Threat Lookup and Edge uses MS SmartScreen Filter.

 

[ForgottenSeer 97327]

Chrome and Edge also significantly reduce the chances of downloading malware. Chrome uses Kaspersky Threat Lookup.

Interesting info, but when I google "Chrome uses Kaspersky Threat Lookup" I don't see any references, do you have a link with additional info?

 

[Trident]

Interesting info, but when I google "Chrome uses Kaspersky Threat Lookup" I don't see any references, do you have a link with additional info?

Not everything can be found with a Google search or ChatGPT query unfortunately.

Kaspersky Cyber Threat Intelligence Services | Kaspersky

Kaspersky Threat Intelligence services supply rich and meaningful context across the entire incident management cycle and in-depth visibility into cyberthreats targeting your organization. Get support from the world-leading threat intelligence analysts.

www.kaspersky.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 97327]

Not everything can be found with a Google search or ChatGPT query unfortunately.

Kaspersky Cyber Threat Intelligence Services | Kaspersky

Kaspersky Threat Intelligence services supply rich and meaningful context across the entire incident management cycle and in-depth visibility into cyberthreats targeting your organization. Get support from the world-leading threat intelligence analysts.

www.kaspersky.com

Thanks, Google is indeed mentioned at Kaspersky Threat Intelligence lookup. It explicitely shows the Chrome logo. Could Chrome's advanced URL protection be based on this?

 

[Trident]

Thanks, Google is indeed mentioned at Kaspersky Threat Intelligence lookup. It explicitely shows the Chrome logo. Could Chrome's advanced URL protection be based on this?

This is the solution datasheet, it does provide URL lookup as well. Not sure if Chrome is configured to lookup URLs or just files at the time of download. It looks like they’ve dumped the Eset relationship.

I would assume URLs are not checked as it may be a bit too expensive for a free product, most likely the advanced protection involves some more privacy-invasive real time analysis and that’s why it’s off by default. Otherwise they would opt for the feeds instead and perform look-ups on their own servers to avoid paying per query.

https://media.kaspersky.com/en/business-security/enterprise/kaspersky-threat-lookup-datasheet.pdf

 

[ForgottenSeer 97327]

This is the solution datasheet, it does provide URL lookup as well. Not sure if Chrome is configured to lookup URLs or just files at the time of download. It looks like they’ve dumped the Eset relationship.

I would assume URLs are not checked as it may be a bit too expensive for a free product, most likely the advanced protection involves some more privacy-invasive real time analysis and that’s why it’s off by default. Otherwise they would opt for the feeds instead and perform look-ups on their own servers to avoid paying per query.

So you think Google only uses the data feed?

 

[Trident]

So you think Google only uses the data feed?

No, I believe they only do hash lookups on downloaded files, the safe browsing may be using either feeds from someone else, or proprietary crawlers and analysis. The enhanced safe browsing most likely submits the website and it undergoes just-in-time analysis on the Google cloud.