However, Chromium does include support for several open-source codecs, such as WebM and Opus, which are designed to be free and open to use. These codecs are not as widely used as the proprietary codecs, but they are still supported by many websites and online services.

Chrome, like most major browsers, benefits from automated security updates and patching. In order to initiate an update, users need only restart their device.

This is of absolutely critical importance, especially considering the recent major uptick in zero-day vulnerabilities affecting web browsers.

With Chromium, on the other hand, updates are not included in the build. Instead, Chromium relies on a manual update mechanism that allows users to manually check for updates and install them. The obvious concern with this is that users may not always be aware of the latest security vulnerabilities and zero-days.

the period from when Chrome issues a patch for a known exploit , Chromium users remain vulnerable through the patch gap and until whenever they manage to manually update their browser.

As an extremely popular open-source project, Chromium is large, complex and always-changing. It consists of many interconnected components, and making changes to the code or configuration can result in unintended interactions between these components that can lead to security vulnerabilities or stability issues.

For example, the sandbox feature isolates the browser from the operating system, which helps prevent malware and other threats from infecting the system should a user stumble upon these threats.

Additionally, the browser is rigorously tested and reviewed by a team of experts to identify and fix any security vulnerabilities or stability issues — and this is done in a continuous, dedicated fashion.

However, by virtue of being an open-source, living code-base, Chromium leaves itself open to easy modification from anyone inclined to do so. While the ability to modify the code or configuration of Chromium is an essential aspect of open-source projects, doing so can also compromise the security and stability of the browser.

Even seemingly small changes can have a cascading effect on the rest of the code, leading to unforeseen interactions that could result in security vulnerabilities or stability issues.

For example, a modification to the way that Chromium handles input could inadvertently open up a security vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Similarly, a change to the way that Chromium interacts with the operating system could cause stability issues that result in crashes or other errors.

Another critical difference between these two browsers is that, unlike Chromium, each new version of Chrome undergoes additional testing and quality assurance before being released to the public. This means that Google Chrome users may experience fewer bugs and stability issues than Chromium users.

Additionally, Google Chrome has a larger development team dedicated to maintaining and improving the browser, which can lead to more frequent updates and bug fixes. Altogether, these differences help to ensure Chrome users enjoy a more stable, secure browsing experience than Chromium users.

And while the lay person may struggle to distinguish between the two browsers on the surface level, under the hood they have significant differences. In the end, despite their many similarities, Chromium and Chrome are very different applications.

In combination with the explosive growth in web app use, and the rapid proliferation of connected devices, the hybrid work revolution has whipped up a perfect storm of cyber threats — and the web browser is at the center of the storm.

These enterprise-grade, Chromium-based web browsers are designed for the security needs of the enterprise, not the consumer. The web browser has long been the security sinkhole of enterprise infrastructure. While email is often cited as the most common entry point, malware often enters via the browser and is more difficult to prevent.

It is this last item — humans — that is the problem, and we need to be protected against ourselves. This is especially true as SaaS applications grow in usage, not to mention that every piece of hardware seems to come with a web server and therefore a browser to configure it.

These use cases are aided and abetted by the increasing number of work-from-home staffers who depend on more browser-based apps, thanks to the pandemic. Yes, web browsers have security settings to protect your privacy and to enable you to browse sites more anonymously.

Turning up security settings will prevent your users from conducting business on many websites, either blocking pop-ups that are needed to navigate some business site, stopping forms from collecting important information, or making your browsing session miserable in some other fashion.

Some vendors have taken the recommendations of the Global Privacy Control to heart and have developed their own browser extensions that help guard your individual privacy. All these browsers are better but still not good enough for business uses. Instead, a different type of tool is needed to manage an entire browser collection.

Enter the secure browser, which is available in a variety of configurations that can help IT managers get a better handle on stopping attackers from getting a foothold inside our networks. Island has a product but declined to participate. Because of their ubiquity, secure enterprise browsers have a demanding must-have feature collection if they are going to be given serious consideration.

Before you start an evaluation, you need to understand how these browsers work and how they will be managed. First, they require a robust and granular collection of security controls to be able to work with the widest possible collection of websites and cloud services. This needs to happen from a central management platform that can apply a collection of firewall-like rules and policies across the entire user population.

This includes several broad categories:. Second, any browser needs to integrate with existing security products such as identity management, cloud applications security posture, single sign-on SSO , and VPNs. Next, the browser must come in several different packaging options.

Note that few of these products offer additional support for Android, iOS, or Linux clients. Our summary chart lists which vendor does which option. No one vendor covers all these situations completely, so you must understand the gaps and what potential harm that could translate into.

While all these products run crafted Chrome versions, they typically employ Linux virtual machines. The good news is that the secure browsers are close to parity with a standard desktop browser and running close to the most current Chrome versions, thanks to the results reported by the HTML5test.

com site. The biggest issue to implement these browsers will be staffing and support. This starts with integration into your other security products and onboarding and training your users how to browse the web under the newer and hopefully more secure regime.

This will be a significant load on your own internal support resources to handle the various helpline calls from confused or frustrated users when they encounter unexpected results from their browsing experience. We ran into several issues during our tests and had trouble getting timely answers from all four vendors.

Finally, there is the price. Only one vendor, Appaegis, has complete pricing transparency. Appaegis Enterprise Web Access Browser offers a managed Windows and Mac client that runs an instance of Linux Chrome Dev inside your existing local browser, but in a protected environment.

It has a wide collection of polices, access roles, and applications that are configured similar to a firewall. Multi-factor authentication MFA is an option but not enabled by default. It also collects logs on user access, applications and other details, and offers secured SSH and RDP from the browser.

It has a main dashboard that looks a lot like an SSO tool to launch your protected web applications. There is API integration with Okta and Azure AD identity management services and various key vaults at AWS, Azure, HashiCorp and Keeper.

The browser obtained the highest score of any secure browser on the HTML5test site of Authentic8 has been in the secure browser business for more than eight years and continues to enhance its product and widen its services offerings.

It can provide two-way full isolation and integrate it into your existing workflows and provide a wide collection of security policies that offer fine-grained control over protecting your apps and your data. Silo offers two different client downloads: thick client and thin client.

Both can be managed centrally and via an API connection, all of which kick off Linux-based sessions running Chrome Dev The browser received a score of and the extension got from HTML5Test.

While the vendor did not reveal pricing specifics, two plans are available: on a per user or per hourly consumption basis. Perception Point acquired Hysolate and has incorporated its features into its Advanced Browser Security product line.

ChromeOS has some specific enterprise-only account types Kiosk, public accounts that are controlled via policies. Those policies are usual user policies, though they have their own user ID namespace when retrieved from DMServer.

Chrome on these systems can be configured to receive machine-wide cloud-based policy from DMServer. It is a user policy, but it would be applied to all users.

Organization admins can configure particular extensions for the user. Such extensions have to define the schema of the configuration in their manifest. When a ChromeOS device is cloud-managed, there is a limit on policy size. As such configuration can be relatively large, it is not provided as a part of user policy.

Instead, user policy will only include URL and hash signature for external data, and browser will fetch that data, validate its signature, validate the data against the schema from extension manifest, and provide the extension with such configuration. The same approach is used for other large objects that can be set via policies e.

background wallpapers or printer configuration. Each policy has two or more owners to minimize the risk of becoming orphaned when the author moves away from it.

These codecs are not as widely used as the proprietary codecs, but they are still supported by many websites and online services. Chrome, like most major browsers, benefits from automated security updates and patching.

In order to initiate an update, users need only restart their device. This is of absolutely critical importance, especially considering the recent major uptick in zero-day vulnerabilities affecting web browsers.

With Chromium, on the other hand, updates are not included in the build. Instead, Chromium relies on a manual update mechanism that allows users to manually check for updates and install them.

The obvious concern with this is that users may not always be aware of the latest security vulnerabilities and zero-days. the period from when Chrome issues a patch for a known exploit , Chromium users remain vulnerable through the patch gap and until whenever they manage to manually update their browser.

As an extremely popular open-source project, Chromium is large, complex and always-changing. It consists of many interconnected components, and making changes to the code or configuration can result in unintended interactions between these components that can lead to security vulnerabilities or stability issues.

For example, the sandbox feature isolates the browser from the operating system, which helps prevent malware and other threats from infecting the system should a user stumble upon these threats. Additionally, the browser is rigorously tested and reviewed by a team of experts to identify and fix any security vulnerabilities or stability issues — and this is done in a continuous, dedicated fashion.

However, by virtue of being an open-source, living code-base, Chromium leaves itself open to easy modification from anyone inclined to do so. While the ability to modify the code or configuration of Chromium is an essential aspect of open-source projects, doing so can also compromise the security and stability of the browser.

Even seemingly small changes can have a cascading effect on the rest of the code, leading to unforeseen interactions that could result in security vulnerabilities or stability issues. For example, a modification to the way that Chromium handles input could inadvertently open up a security vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Similarly, a change to the way that Chromium interacts with the operating system could cause stability issues that result in crashes or other errors. Users can see if Chrome browser is managed by an organization by:. Opening Chrome. At the top right, selecting More.

Checking the bottom of the menu. You can find the step-by-step guide here. Visit the Google Chrome Enterprise Help Center to browse support topics or get help from the Chrome community. If you have an enterprise support plan , you can also chat, email, or call a Google Expert for direct support.

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Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The most trusted. Preferred by the workforce Chrome Enterprise is where millions of business users get work done every day, across all different devices and operating systems. Learn more. Managed and secured by IT. Explore cloud management.

The enterprise browser is where work happens Explore Chrome Enterprise. Get the complimentary report. Built to meet your business needs For over a decade, Chrome has supported millions of organizations with more secure browsing — while pioneering a safer, more productive open web for all.

Scaled security Chrome offers scaled and fast protections that keep your company's data safe, thanks to signals from billions of users worldwide. Secure browsing with Chrome.

This is especially true as SaaS applications grow in usage, not to mention that every piece of hardware seems to come with a web server and therefore a browser to configure it.

These use cases are aided and abetted by the increasing number of work-from-home staffers who depend on more browser-based apps, thanks to the pandemic. Yes, web browsers have security settings to protect your privacy and to enable you to browse sites more anonymously.

Turning up security settings will prevent your users from conducting business on many websites, either blocking pop-ups that are needed to navigate some business site, stopping forms from collecting important information, or making your browsing session miserable in some other fashion.

Some vendors have taken the recommendations of the Global Privacy Control to heart and have developed their own browser extensions that help guard your individual privacy. All these browsers are better but still not good enough for business uses.

Instead, a different type of tool is needed to manage an entire browser collection. Enter the secure browser, which is available in a variety of configurations that can help IT managers get a better handle on stopping attackers from getting a foothold inside our networks.

Island has a product but declined to participate. Because of their ubiquity, secure enterprise browsers have a demanding must-have feature collection if they are going to be given serious consideration. Before you start an evaluation, you need to understand how these browsers work and how they will be managed.

First, they require a robust and granular collection of security controls to be able to work with the widest possible collection of websites and cloud services. This needs to happen from a central management platform that can apply a collection of firewall-like rules and policies across the entire user population.

This includes several broad categories:. Second, any browser needs to integrate with existing security products such as identity management, cloud applications security posture, single sign-on SSO , and VPNs.

Next, the browser must come in several different packaging options. Note that few of these products offer additional support for Android, iOS, or Linux clients. Our summary chart lists which vendor does which option. No one vendor covers all these situations completely, so you must understand the gaps and what potential harm that could translate into.

While all these products run crafted Chrome versions, they typically employ Linux virtual machines. The good news is that the secure browsers are close to parity with a standard desktop browser and running close to the most current Chrome versions, thanks to the results reported by the HTML5test.

com site. The biggest issue to implement these browsers will be staffing and support. This starts with integration into your other security products and onboarding and training your users how to browse the web under the newer and hopefully more secure regime. This will be a significant load on your own internal support resources to handle the various helpline calls from confused or frustrated users when they encounter unexpected results from their browsing experience.

We ran into several issues during our tests and had trouble getting timely answers from all four vendors. Finally, there is the price. Only one vendor, Appaegis, has complete pricing transparency. Appaegis Enterprise Web Access Browser offers a managed Windows and Mac client that runs an instance of Linux Chrome Dev inside your existing local browser, but in a protected environment.

It has a wide collection of polices, access roles, and applications that are configured similar to a firewall. Multi-factor authentication MFA is an option but not enabled by default. It also collects logs on user access, applications and other details, and offers secured SSH and RDP from the browser.

It has a main dashboard that looks a lot like an SSO tool to launch your protected web applications. There is API integration with Okta and Azure AD identity management services and various key vaults at AWS, Azure, HashiCorp and Keeper.

The browser obtained the highest score of any secure browser on the HTML5test site of Authentic8 has been in the secure browser business for more than eight years and continues to enhance its product and widen its services offerings.

It can provide two-way full isolation and integrate it into your existing workflows and provide a wide collection of security policies that offer fine-grained control over protecting your apps and your data. Silo offers two different client downloads: thick client and thin client. Both can be managed centrally and via an API connection, all of which kick off Linux-based sessions running Chrome Dev The browser received a score of and the extension got from HTML5Test.

While the vendor did not reveal pricing specifics, two plans are available: on a per user or per hourly consumption basis. Perception Point acquired Hysolate and has incorporated its features into its Advanced Browser Security product line. This happens in near real time — a matter of seconds.

Perception Point managed clients use this dashboard to report on users and devices, along with policies and logs. The vendor has constructed an online demo of its dashboard here. It received a score of from HTML5Test, running Chrome on Linux.

Implementation-wise, these policies can have complex structure, and are usually accessed via DeviceSettingsProvider or its wrapper CrosSettings. User policies are bound to user accounts, so a personal account on an enterprise-enrolled device would be affected only by device policy, while an enterprise-owned account on a personal device would only be affected by user policy for that account.

ChromeOS has some specific enterprise-only account types Kiosk, public accounts that are controlled via policies. Those policies are usual user policies, though they have their own user ID namespace when retrieved from DMServer.

Chrome on these systems can be configured to receive machine-wide cloud-based policy from DMServer. It is a user policy, but it would be applied to all users. Organization admins can configure particular extensions for the user. Such extensions have to define the schema of the configuration in their manifest.

When a ChromeOS device is cloud-managed, there is a limit on policy size. As such configuration can be relatively large, it is not provided as a part of user policy. Instead, user policy will only include URL and hash signature for external data, and browser will fetch that data, validate its signature, validate the data against the schema from extension manifest, and provide the extension with such configuration.

The same approach is used for other large objects that can be set via policies e. background wallpapers or printer configuration. Each policy has two or more owners to minimize the risk of becoming orphaned when the author moves away from it.

At least one of the owners listed for a policy needs to be an individual, preferably one with a chromium. org or google. com account. This is to ensure that some external organizations like the translators team can more easily reach out in case of questions. At least one of the owners should be a reference to an OWNERS file or a Google Group.