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My Little Bromium: HP Inc inks security deal to slurp micro-VM slinger

Tech runs browsers in sandbox to humiliate malware

Ink seller HP is buying endpoint security company Bromium, which already comes bundled with some HP computers under the Sure Click brand.

Bromium works by putting every browser into a virtual container, so malware is tricked into thinking it has access to the whole PC when it is really running in a micro-virtual machine.

Any malware picked up from a dodgy website is unable to get out and is deleted when the tab or browser window is shut, or at least that is how it is supposed to function.

Downloaded PDFs, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations are treated in the same way – kept in a silo.

Bromium claims it is better than other "sandbox" products because its VMs are hardware enforced by the PC's central processor.

Users can whitelist sites and downloaded files they are happy with. The financial terms of the buy were not disclosed, and HP said nothing that is worth quoting in this article.

HP has had a tough 2019 in Europe, missing revenue targets for the last three quarters which cost EMEA president Nick Lazaridis his job earlier this month.

The blip was blamed on falling demand for supplies. In Europe, supply revenues fell almost 10 per cent. In turn this was blamed on pesky clone ink makers ruining the market for HP Ink's fabulously priced stuff.

In August, HP CEO Dion Weisler announced his intent to depart on 1 November due to "a family health matter". ®

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