Citrix Remote Browser Isolation vs VirtualBrowser

Citrix Remote Browser Isolation separates web browsing from a user’s device to protect corporate networks from browser-based attacks and provide access to internet-hosted web applications. Users open web apps in a configured browser, while browsing data does not transfer directly between the website and the device. Published browsers support shared-passcode, authenticated, and unauthenticated external web apps. Administrators can set URL allow lists, control clipboard use, printing, kiosk mode, region failover, and client drive mapping, then monitor or disconnect active sessions. Optional activity logging records visited host names, access times, user identifiers, and allowlist status in the customer’s Azure Storage Account; uploads occur hourly rather than in real time. Cloud browsers run on VDAs, with Citrix Cloud managing security and patching. Session history and HTTP-request cache are deleted when sessions end, according to Citrix. Access requires an HTML5-compatible browser, with no downloadable client. Traffic uses TLS 1.2 only. Self-hosted workloads require a customer Azure subscription and specified Citrix and DaaS entitlements.

VirtualBrowser moves browsing into a remote server or virtual container and streams the rendered pages to users. Web code does not run on the user’s computer, and the container and its data are removed when a session ends. Administrators can set site-specific rules for keyboard use, copying and pasting, uploads, downloads, printing, read-only access, and camera or microphone use. The administration console supports remote document previews and watermarks. The product blocks tracking cookies and includes an ad-blocking extension. It also supports online video meetings, including Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex, with controls for cameras, microphones, and screen sharing. Organizations can use SAML or LDAP authentication and route browsing through a proxy. Deployment is available as SaaS hosted in Europe or on customer servers; the on-premise option lists ICAP content-analysis integration. VirtualBrowser is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge across operating systems, and says its browsing security solution is CSPN-certified. It runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web. Pricing is on request.