The secure browser is similar in principle to the 'anonymous browsing' feature seen in Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8, but with the important added facility that the browser code operates on a 'memory sandbox' basis, buffered from other applications running on the host computer.
Dell acquired security appliance specialist KACE earlier this year and Infosecurity asked Rob Meinhardt, KACE's co-founder and now president of the Dell operation, about the free virtual browser.
"It's been in development for about 18 months", he said, adding that a key advantage of the browser for KACE's customers is that the browser interfaces fully with KACE's appliance management software.
"We concluded after some research that a memory sandbox approach [to create a secure browsing environment] was the best way. Browser virtualisation is a secure technology, since it allows users to contain anything they encounter during their internet session and rest the environment when the browser is closed", he explained.
Infosecurity notes that the secure browser is a customised version of Firefox 3.6 with integral plug-ins for Adobe Flash and Reader, and with a'virtual kontainer' designed to create the virtual environment that buffers the browser code from the host PC's memory.
In use, the Dell KACE secure browser is billed as providing an isolated instance of Firefox to secure what has become a common entry point for malware and viruses – internet browsing.
By running the browser in a virtual instance, the company says that the browser – and any activity resulting from its use – are separated from the endpoint keeping the actual computer and operating system free of changes that would normally occur.
"No doubt about it, Internet browsing is one of the number one sources for malware", said Meinhardt, adding that with his firm's secure browser, users can stop malware at its source and trap it - and even provide granular control over browser activity.