Bromium, a new startup by the same braintrust that founded Xen – a popular virtualization platform now owned by industry giant Citrix – is promising their new product, “vSentry” will return computer users to the heady days of pre-virus computing. The basic idea behind this product is basically a combination of virtualization and hardware/software compartmentalization that creates agents called “microvisors” that act as a disposable “mini-computer” that are fired up to do things like read email, surf the web, play games, etc. and are then discarded completely once you have finished with that task. Conceptually, if, during the course of that task, the microvisor was attacked and infected by malware, the malicious code would end up going nowhere in the end, as the agent was dismissed from use. Think of the microvisor as a pair of impermeable, disposable gloves, tossed into the waste bin after every use, without the landfill aftermath.
What this means for you:
Based upon what I could tell, the product is still in the very early stages, and not yet readily available to the average computer user. It’s nice to imagine an internet where you can open an email from a friend, click a strange attachment and not worry about utterly destroying your computer. Even with the best-in-industry anti-malware software installed on your computer, the weakest link is still the operator at the keyboard. Until this product becomes a reality, and gets installed on every computer, vigilance is still your best defense against the wild internet. Always make sure your anti-malware software is installed, updated and WORKING. Always back up your data, and make sure those back ups are good. And if you are ever in doubt about your computer’s security, give us a call!
