Bandwidth Throttling in Browser Isolation Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users with outdated or legacy browsers, or those lacking the skills to keep their browsers updated, are vulnerable to computer attacks, as existing security measures like automatic patching do not completely eliminate risks, especially from zero-day exploits and drive-by download attacks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a surrogate browsing system that provides isolated browsing services by rendering content on behalf of the user, transcoding pages to remove malicious elements, and transmitting safe representations to the client browser, while also offering bandwidth throttling to manage resource usage effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users continue to use outdated or legacy browsers, then ease of operation is maintained, but security reliability deteriorates due to vulnerability to attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a surrogate browser as an intermediary component that runs in isolation and mediates between the user's legacy browser and the web content. The surrogate browser handles rendering and execution of potentially malicious content, while the user's original browser remains unchanged and secure. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining compatibility with legacy browsers while providing modern security protections through the intermediary surrogate browser.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the browsing functionality into two separate components: the user's original browser and the surrogate browser. The surrogate browser is isolated in a separate process or container, allowing it to safely handle untrusted web content while the user's browser remains protected. This segmentation enables legacy browsers to continue operating without updates while security risks are contained in the isolated surrogate environment.
2Reliability
If automatic patching is implemented, then security reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than implementing complex automatic patching systems, the patent uses a surrogate browser as an intermediary that provides security without requiring modifications to the user's original browser. The surrogate browser can be updated independently and transparently, avoiding the complexity of managing patches across diverse legacy browser versions while maintaining security improvements.
3Use of energy by moving object
If bandwidth throttling is applied to manage resource usage, then energy consumption is reduced, but productivity deteriorates due to slower content loading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies bandwidth throttling selectively to specific content types or priorities rather than uniformly to all traffic. High-priority content such as essential page elements receives full bandwidth, while lower-priority content like ads or non-essential resources are throttled. This local differentiation maintains acceptable browsing speed for critical content while reducing overall energy consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Bandwidth throttling in a browser isolation environment is disclosed. A request is received from a client browser executing on a client device to connect to a website. The browser isolation system provides a surrogate browser to facilitate communications between the client browser and the remote resource. A throttle is applied to a portion of content delivered to the client browser in response to the received request.