Browser Isolation via Local VM Screenshots and Interactive Overlays

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Solution Overview

Problem

Centralized browser isolation techniques consume significant CPU resources and introduce latency due to additional network hops, while existing methods for local browser isolation are inadequate in preventing malicious attacks.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a web browser app that executes web pages in a virtual machine isolated from the local device, applying configured security policies, and streaming rendered web pages with interactive objects via video to a display module, using a virtual screenshot module to capture and overlay interactive elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If centralized browser isolation is used to prevent malicious attacks, then security protection is improved, but CPU resource consumption increases and network latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity protectionVSAvoidCPU resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides browser isolation into two segments: a virtual machine component that runs locally on the user's device and a cloud-based component that handles actual web page execution. The local VM segment provides security policies and captures screenshots, while the cloud segment executes the potentially malicious web content. This segmentation allows security protection to be maintained locally without requiring all processing to be centralized, thus reducing CPU resource consumption on both ends while preserving security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If centralized browser isolation is used to prevent malicious attacks, then security protection is improved, but network latency increases due to extra network hops

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity protectionVSAvoidnetwork latency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the browser isolation architecture into local and cloud components, the patent eliminates unnecessary network hops. The local VM component on the user's device communicates directly with the cloud execution environment only when needed for screenshot capture and policy enforcement. Most security operations are handled locally, reducing network latency while maintaining security protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If web pages are executed in a virtual machine isolated from the local device, then protection from malicious attacks is improved, but processing performance decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from malicious attacksVSAvoidprocessing performance

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments processing tasks between the local device and cloud environment. The local VM component handles security policy enforcement and screenshot capture, while the cloud-based virtual machine handles the actual web page execution and rendering. This segmentation allows the local device to maintain high processing performance for security operations while offloading resource-intensive web page execution to the cloud, thus improving both protection and overall processing performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If video streaming is used to display rendered web pages, then local device performance is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelocal device performanceVSAvoidbandwidth consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses screenshot capture as a form of copying the rendered web page content. Instead of streaming the entire video feed continuously, the system captures periodic screenshots of the web page rendering in the virtual machine and transmits these image copies to the local device for display. This copying approach reduces bandwidth consumption compared to continuous video streaming while still providing real-time visual feedback of the web page content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS12531909B2Local browser isolation with video streaming to prevent malicious attacks

Publication Date: 2026.01.20 FORTINET INC

AI summary

A web page is fetched from the data communication network and load to the virtual machine of a web browser app running in a web browser. The web page continuously renders the web page in the virtual machine of the web browser app according to the configured security policies. A virtual screenshot module to continuously take virtual screenshots of the web page rendering, from the web browser app. Interactive objects are identified on the rendered web page, and replica interactive objects generated to overlay the virtual screenshot to allow user interactions with the screenshot in the same manner as the web page. The virtual screenshot is displayed with overlaid objects, on the local device, in a video stream of screenshots sent from the browser app to a display module of the browser frames.