Does your PC security work from home?

According to Symantec, 1 in 13 web requests lead to malware by tricking users into downloading and opening malicious documents. Over 90% of non-browser-based attacks occur from opening files from email attachments, with Microsoft Word documents accounting for over 67% of all malware attacks.

While attacks through the browser remain a threat, a considerable attack surface stretched thin by the need to support legacy applications and application frameworks (i.e., JavaScript, Flash, and Java). Recent security-focused advances to modern browsers have caused attackers to shift their focus to document-based attacks. 

Because more people are working from home today, they inadvertently use unprotected home networks and access increasingly complex applications from vulnerable endpoints. Whereas enterprise networks frequently employ products to shield endpoints from attacks, over 80% of home office routers are vulnerable to potential cyberattacks. 

This increases security risks for organizations, as compromised endpoints could leak sensitive data or even carry malware into the corporate network the next time users connect physically or via VPN. Fortunately, there’s a way out. 

HP Sure Click secures commonly used document types (Microsoft Word and PDF) while delivering a safe and private Chromium-based secure browser. HP Sure Click was initially developed through a collaboration between HP and Bromium, the pioneers of application isolation using micro-virtualization technology. This revolutionary approach uses CPU features in HP machines to automatically isolate each supported application type and each secure browser tab in a micro-virtual machine (micro-VM), protecting the endpoint from malware—even from unknown zero-day attacks that traditional, signature-based antivirus protection applications might miss.

This granular, task-by-task isolation protects users as they work and play, delivering unparalleled security and privacy within a fast, familiar, and responsive user experience. With HP Sure Click, the endpoint device can shrug off browser-borne attacks— malware is blocked from accessing documents, enterprise intranets, even other websites and is automatically erased when the tab is closed, thereby eliminating costly remediation and downtime.

Trap malware in an isolated container  
HP Sure Click helps strengthen security at your PC’s most vulnerable entry points using a different approach: application isolation. Rather than recognizing malware, it opens untrusted websites and files in their isolated virtual containers, called micro-virtual machines (micro-VM).

If there is malicious code present, these micro-VMs trick the malware into VM, malware cannot affect your PC, access your files, or even get into other browser tabs. When the browser tab or Office file is closed, the entire micro-VM is automatically discarded—and the malware trapped within it is deleted. No special training or additional quarantine procedures are needed; close the browser tab or file, and the malware is gone.

Because the secure browser will always open websites in their isolated micro-VMs, you can explore the Internet safely without having to learn a new browser or deal with restrictive whitelisting. Any malware you may encounter is isolated from the rest of the system and destroyed when the browser tab is closed.

Protection for common files
Malware can also be hidden in seemingly innocent files, downloaded from the web, or sent as email attachments. That’s why HP Sure Click extends protection beyond the browser, offering protected viewing for PDFs and complete editing for Microsoft Word documents within a micro-VM.

Unfamiliar files can be opened and are protected with the same hardware-enforced isolation that quarantines suspect websites. If the file is compromised, the malware is contained and prevented from infecting the PC.

HP Sure Click embraces application isolation at its core, utilizing hardware-enforced isolation to protect the enterprise from the inevitability of user errors, unpatched machines, and highly susceptible Internet-facing or partner-accessible devices. We’ve taken the ineffective practice of “bolted-on,” detect-to-protect security and fundamentally shifted to a “built-in” protection model enforced right down at the chipset.

HP Sure Click protects by design without relying on external detection of the unknown or users’ judgment to keep their organizations safe. Instead, HP Sure Click automatically isolates untrusted content, protecting organizations from all potential attacks. Crisis patching is now relegated to the past, stay protected by browsing with the Chromium-based Sure Click Secure Browser.

See why the HP Elite family of laptops, desktops, and convertibles are The World’s Most Secure PCs16 at https://www8.hp.com/us/en/solutions/computer-security.html