UPDATED 14:32 EDT / FEBRUARY 13 2017

INFRA

HP’s new security software turns every browser tab into an isolated sandbox

HP Inc. may have exited the breach prevention market after splitting from its enterprise technology arm in 2015, but helping customers keep their personal computers secure remains a priority.

The technology giant today unveiled a new piece of software called Sure Click that aims to protect users of its business-class EliteBook laptop lineup from online threats. The tool is based on software from Bromium Inc., an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup that specializes in endpoint protection. Its main claim to fame is a virtualization platform based on Xen, the hypervisor powering the world’s top public clouds, that has been optimized to run on consumer devices.

The Bromium Microvisor can break up an application into virtual machines that are isolated both from one another and the operating system below. If a user needs to multiple PDF documents, for example, then the software will launch each file in its own separate instance to prevent the spread of malware. Sure Click applies the same concept to browser sessions.

The tool automatically splits off every Internet Explorer or Chrome tab that a user opens into a dedicated sandbox that HP claims is isolated all the way down to the hardware level. As a result, any malware that happens to find its way into the browser window would have to break out of the virtual machine before being able to target the operating system, an impassable barrier for most online threats. When a user closes the compromised tab, the virtual machine is deleted and the malware goes with it.

HP will first make Sure Click available for downloaded on its EliteBook x360 1030 G2 sometime in the spring and then plans to make the technology a “standard feature” of the laptop series. The capability should appeal both to consumers who use the company’s machines in their personal lives and businesses that want to protect employees from hackers. Within the latter group, Sure Click should be particularly welcome for smaller firms that can’t afford many of the sophisticated breach prevention tools used by their larger peers.

Image courtesy of HP

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