Browser Appliance

[VMTN_Admin]

http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/node/507083

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance was updated to run Firefox 3.6.7 on CentOS 5.5 .

You may now update Firefox 3.6 to the latest release from within the program itself by selecting "Check for Updates..." from the Help menu.

The latest Adobe Flash plugin can be installed from the Terminal using the command:

sudo yum install -y flash-plugin

You will then need to restart Firefox in order to use the Flash plugin.

[russellg]

It refuses to download with message :

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /vmware/Browser-Appliance-3.6.7.zip on this server.

[ChristopheDepre]

This message must have been a transient issue. The download is generally available.

[tangsheungpak1]

I have been using the browser appliance and it is great. It is much more efficient than other appliance I have tried.

Do you know why the serial port does not work and do you know how I can enable it?

I have a program to redirect URL from my browser on the host OS to the VM. I prefer to send the URL over serial port so that I can minimize the network access from the host OS and the appliance.

Thanks

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance does not come with a serial port, but you may add one from the Virtual Machine Settings, with the following options: use physical serial port on the host / output to file / output to named pipe.

For more information, please refer to the VMware documentation at

[tangsheungpak1]

Thanks for your reply, but I already enabled the serial port as you described. That works with another Ubuntu appliance, but does not work with the Browser Appliance.

I attempted to look for the serial port with the dmesg command, but did not find it.

Thanks

[ChristopheDepre]

Also, the serial port has to be enabled in the virtual BIOS (under "Avanced" -> "I/O Device Configuration"). You should then see something like this with the dmesg command:

Serial: 8250/16550 driver $Revision: 1.90 $ 4 ports, IRQ sharing enabled serial8250: ttyS0 at I/O 0x3f8 (irq = 4) is a 16550A 00:08: ttyS0 at I/O 0x3f8 (irq = 4) is a 16550A

[tangsheungpak1]

It worked. Thanks Patrick

[aquasys]

could not get latest tools to install, just refused to install from a root terminal, any ideas

maybe the broweser could be updated with these tools by someone who knows more about this than me

[ChristopheDepre]

No idea. I had no issue installing VMware Tools 8.4.5 (build 324285) in the Browser Appliance 3.6.7 : all compatible pre-built modules were found by the vmware-install.pl script...

[ChristopheDepre]

VMware Tools 8.4.5 (build 324285) is now also included in the CentOS 5.5 + Firefox 3.6.13 Browser Appliance.

Erratum: the README file should read "January 2011" instead of "January 2010"!

[ChristopheDepre]

An updated version with these tools along with Firefox 4 beta 9 is now available (down the page) after clicking the "Download Virtual Appliance" link from the VMware page. The Firefox 4 Beta software should update every few weeks to the latest beta release, and it should eventually update to the final release of Firefox 4 when it will be available. The Adobe Flash plugin can be installed from the Terminal as before (see above).

[aquasys]

thankyou for the update, much appreciated Chris

[MJR201110141]

I have installed Browser Appliance successfully on a Win7 Starter netbook.  All works well except the sound output is very quiet.  Any  suggestions?  The volume is on maximum in my native OS and in Gnome, also on the BBC iPlayer.

Thanks

[ChristopheDepre]

You may try sudo system-config-soundcard from the Terminal, then adjusting Volume Settings from the Sound Test panel.

[MJR201110141]

Thankyou Christopher!

[VMFritze]

How can I install a text editor into Firefox 4 beta 9?

I am a total newbie in Linux, Gnome and all this stuff...

Thanks a lot!

Fiete

[ChristopheDepre]

To install a text editor in the Browser Appliance, open the Terminal and enter the following command:

sudo yum install -y gedit

After installation completes, the Text Editor will be available from the "Applications" menu (under "Accessories").

[VMFritze]

Thanks!

It worked great in the Firefox 4 Beta appliance, but for the 3.6 I only get an error "cannot find a valid url for repo: addons".

Maybe it's because this one is installed on a different machine.

Thx for the great work,

Fiete

[Virthein]

I have installed (browser-appliance feb 8,2012) and everything is working fine except for the sound.

There is almost no sound.

sudo system-config-soundcard does not exist in SL 6.0

Upper right corner: Soundcard  150 %,  10dB,  dummy output

Lower right corner:  Soundcard-> Settings:  Device status connected and connect at power on marked

specify host sound card: Speakers (connexant HD audio).

Speaker output works fine in host OS (Win7),

latest version of VMware player (4.02-591240)

vmware-toolbox output:  version 8.8.0-471268 (450511 19/7/2011) which seems to belong to vmplayer 4.0  !!!   ???

vmware tools for vmware player 4.0.2 does not seem to be availabe yet. I will try to update vmware tools with the packages for 4.0.1 to see if that makes any change.

(see also http://communities.vmware.com/message/1988653#1988653 )

[ChristopheDepre]

Virthein,

I'm not sure what is causing your sound issue, since it works fine for me:

- Host OS is Windows XP,

- Latest version of VMware player (4.02-591240)

- VMware Tools version 8.3.12-559003 (provided by the Browser Appliance 10.0).

Here are my VMware player settings:

- Upper right corner: Soundcard 100% (instead of the default 3%), 0 dB, "Internal Audio Analog Stereo"

- Lower right corner: Soundcard-Settings: Device status "Connected" marked (was not by default) and "Connect at power on" marked; "Use default host sound card" selected. Host sound card is "Microsoft RDP Audio Driver".

Where does your vmware-toolbox output come from?

[Virthein]

Hi Christophe,

My Dummy mistake....  Upper right corner: Dummy output !!!!

Changed it to Internal Audio Analog Stereo output and it works like a gem.

ps.

vmware-toolbox is a console command which opens in X.

Also no need to upgrade vmware tools .

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance 5.0 (featuring Firefox 5.0) is now available. This release is based on the Scientific Linux 6.0 distribution since CentOS 6 has not come out yet.

[zonaguy]

Hey Chris!

Are you the one that made the current browser appliance(Scientific linux with Firefox)? I was wondering why dont you make one with chromium instead of firefox? It would be awesome if you could. I would use it in a heartbeat!

[ChristopheDepre]

You may download the Chromium package for CentOS from Chris Staite at the University of Birmingham and substitute it to Firefox in the current Browser Appliance. To do so, open the Terminal and use the following commands:

curl http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~cxs548/chrome.tar.gz|tar zxf -;

sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox{,-};

sudo ln -s /home/vmware/chrome/chrome-wrapper /usr/bin/firefox

[zonaguy]

Hey Chris!

Do I use THe original CentOS 5.5 and do I use the terminal with three separate commands to get Chrome instead of firefox? Im new to Linux. I greatly appreciate the help. Thank you!

[DSTAVERT]

You should be able to copy and paste the commands into a terminal screen.

[ChristopheDepre]

Those commands are for the current Browser Appliance (version 5.0 based on Scientific Linux 6.0). Yes, you need to execute the three commands in a sequence (copy paste into the Terminal screen and press "enter").

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance was updated to run Firefox 6 on Scientific Linux 6.0 .

To install the latest Adobe Flash plugin, close Firefox and double-click the "Install Flash Player" icon on the Desktop.

[ChristopheDepre]

Although the Virtual Appliance Marketplace listing has now entered read-only mode, updates to the Browser Appliance (currently Firefox 8) are nonetheless available from the 'download' link.

[SimonHF]

I'm just playing with the latest appliance on VMware Workstation 8. Everything seems to work very well. Latest flash installed and works without problems. Only problem is no sound. Any idea how to fix that?

Another quick question: How can I install Chrome as an alternative browser?

And how can I install the CPU monitor panel app?

[SimonHF]

I discovered that for some reason VMware was considering the sound hardware as a removeable device which is wasn't automatically connecting for some reason. After manually connecting then I could play sound on both guest and host simultaneously. Any help with the other questions would be great. Thanks.

[SimonHF]

Another small problem: How can I change the time which is currently set to east coast / Boston? When I set it to west coast (by clicking on the time on the top right) then it changes back to east coast after a few minutes :-(

[SimonHF]

Another question: How can I upgrade VMware tools so that I can use 'unity mode' with the browser appliance? When I try to re-install VMware tools then it refuses unless I first uninstall the existings tools. What is the correct procedure to uninstall the existing VMware tools?

[ChristopheDepre]

SimonHF,

Time synchronization between the virtual machine and the host operating system is the default.

To change this, shutdown your virtual machine and edit the Browser-Appliance.vmx file to get:

tools.syncTime = "FALSE"

[shibu_nyc]

Can you explain to me how you manually connected the sound hardware so you could play sound on both guest and host simultaneously? I have installed the browser appliance on both VMware Workstation (Win7 host) & on Fusion8 (OsX 10.11 host) & I have no sound on either machines. Both machines can play other VMs with sound without issue.

[fcova69]

Hi,

I dowloaded and installed Browser-Appliance.45.2 (OS Centos 7.1) on my ESXi envirnoment.

I'd like to access that machine in a RDP connection from my Windows 10 PC.

Can someone tell me how can I do it without security risks?

I'm not a Linux expert ...

Thanks,

Fabio

[mmm11111111]

Hi i want dowload the Browser Appliance but he can't find the download side

from browser.shell.tor.hu, can i find this image on a other side ?

[slawekowoc]

Hi

I need solution how to upload Browser-Appliance-45.2 to ESX 6.5 host using vCenter.

I can't do that using OVA upload :smileysad:

Regards

SLawek

[ChristopheDepre]

To install Chrome as an alternative browser, download (and save) the 32 bit .rpm package from Google, then enter the following commands in the Terminal:

sudo yum -y install lsb;

sudo rpm -ivh google-chrome-stable_current_i386.rpm;

Chrome will appear under the Applications/Internet menu.

[ish2]

i followed your instructions exactly.. but when using the second cmd.. it replied no such command.. haha

[ChristopheDepre]

To install Chrome as an alternative browser in the latest Appliance (CentOS 6.4), please download the script provided by Richard K. Lloyd and run it in the Terminal:

sudo Downloads/install_chrome.sh

Chrome will appear under the Applications/Internet menu.

[ChristopheDepre]

To install the CPU monitor panel app, enter the following command in the Terminal:

sudo yum -y install gnome-applets

then right click on the panel and choose Add to Panel... System Monitor

[KB0815]

Hi,

I have been using the browser appliance with Firefox for a while and I like it. But is has a small problem. After waking-up a suspended VM the network is disabled and cannot be enabled easily. I tried the 'Enable Networking' menu entry of the network manager applet 0.8.1 on top of the desktop, but it doesn't work. The result of 'ifconfig' is:

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback 
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:240 (240.0 b)  TX bytes:240 (240.0 b)

It seems that the eth0 interface does not get an IP address automatically. Is there a problem in the eth0 configuration, e.g. DHCP?

Best regards

KB

[ChristopheDepre]

KB,

Here is the Terminal command to re-enable the network after the IP address was lost:

sudo /etc/init.d/NetworkManager restart

[rmhibbs]

I have two major problems trying to use the Browser Appliance:

1) The major problem is me!  The last time I worked with a command line system was PC DOS in the mid 80's.  Therefore, I have some idea of using a command line, but absolutely no idea how to proceed with the Browser Applicance.

2) I can't copy/move files from the Appliance to Windows 7.

My host system is Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit.

I have installed VM Player and Browser Applance 8.0 (Browser-Appliance-8.0.7z) and have no problems using FireFox for browsing and using gmail.  However, after downloading an attachment from gmail, I can't get it out to my Win 7 host.

I tried Virtual Machine | Enter Unity    but I get the error message

"The virtual machine cannot enter

Unity mode because:

- Unity is supported on Workstation 6

or later virtual machines only."

I tried "VMware Tools installation" but I don't know enough to follow the instructions at the bottom:

"Mount the virtual CD drive in the guest, launch a Terminal, and use tar to uncompress the installer.  Then, execute vmware-install.pl to install VMware Tools."

I have a DVD icon on the desktop titled "VMware Tools" that has two files:

"manifest.txt" and "VMwareTools-8.8.1-528969.tar.gz"

At this point I am totally lost.  Sorry for being so ignorant.  I would do more research, but I don't even know where to start.

I am curious about the message " ..... support on Workstation 6 or later ...........".  Since the download is dated Nov 10, 2011 I thought I would be relatively current.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

[ChristopheDepre]

To copy files to your host system, you don't need to install VMware Tools (since they are already installed).

The trick is to create an "HGFS Shared Folder" by (shutting down the vm &) editing part of the Browser-Appliance.vmx file so that it looks like this:

isolation.tools.hgfs.disable = "FALSE"

sharedFolder.maxNum = "1"
sharedFolder.option = "alwaysEnabled"
sharedFolder0.present = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.enabled = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.readAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.writeAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.hostPath = "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\VMshare"
sharedFolder0.guestName = "VMshare"
sharedFolder0.expiration = "never"

After you boot the virtual machine, the Windows folder which you have specified on the hostPath line should appear in Linux under Computer ... Filesystem ... mnt ... hgfs so that you can now browse it from the virtual machine!

Be aware that by doing this, you allow malicious files to be copied to your host machine, which defeats the purpose of an isolated environment in which to browse the Web. This is why this feature was disabled by default.

[vmcome]

this trick doesnt work on nov 10, 2011 appliance . probably hgfs doesnt work inside linux .

how can i  enable hgfs in linux system?

[aquasys]

hi rmhibbs

maybe this will help

the lack of unity facility can be fixed  by converting the browser appliance to vmware 7.xx or later using vmware convertor [or wmware workstation itself ver7.xx or later]

you probably already have the latest tools installed [enable automatic updates of your vmplayer or vmworkstation software]

[jftuga]

I was just wondering if there are any plans to keep this appliance updated.  Based on the previous release cycles, it looks like it is just about time for a new release.

Thanks,

-John

[ChristopheDepre]

John,

To get an update to the latest version of Firefox, choose "About Firefox" from the Firefox "Help" menu.

The update should start downloading automatically.

After completion, click on the "Apply Update" button and Firefox will restart into the new version!

For other updates (Linux kernel, VMware Tools), please be patient :smileywink:

[jftuga]

Thanks Chris!

I can be patient. :smileyhappy:

[ChristopheDepre]

Browser Appliance 10.0 is available!

[aquasys]

hi Chris

where is it? sorry couldn't find it at vmware

dean

[ChristopheDepre]

The Virtual Appliance Marketplace (VAM) has been put into read only mode as VMware transitions their listings to the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX). Nevertheless, you should be able to download the update by following the "Download" link on the VAM, or the "Try" link on the VSX...

March 2012 Edit: the VAM link does not work any more.

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance was updated to run Firefox ESR 10.0.9 on CentOS 6.3 . It includes VMware Tools 8.3.17 (build 784891).

To install the latest Adobe Flash plugin, close Firefox and double-click the "Install Flash Player" icon on the Desktop.

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance was updated to run Firefox ESR 24.0 on CentOS 6.4 . It includes VMware Tools 8.3.19.

To install the latest Adobe Flash plugin, close Firefox and double-click the "Install Flash Player" icon on the Desktop.

[SergeyKozlov]

I converted this last version of Browser Appliance(CentOS 6.3, Firefox ESR 10.0.9) with VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Client 5.0.1 in VM for ESXi 3.5i U5.

But unfortunately get an error message at startup "Kernel panic"(see picture in attach).

Perhaps the problem is changing the type of IDE drive to SCSI (controller BusLogic).

How can you rebuild the distribution?

[SergeyKozlov]

I know!

Need kernel from CentOS Plus Repository!

Boot from rescue disk(I use FC17 Installation DVD i686).

chroot /mnt/sysimage

yum --enablerepo=centosplus install kernel*plus* ()

edit /boot/grub/grub.conf

reboot and be happy :smileyhappy:

[ChristopheDepre]

The Browser Appliance was updated to run Firefox ESR 38.3 on CentOS 7.1 . This is a 64-bit virtual machine, so it will run only on 64 bit hosts.

To install the latest Adobe Flash plugin, close Firefox and double-click the "Install Flash Player" icon on the Desktop.

[Smeagul]

Installed the new appliance on VMWare player, OS is Ubuntu 14.04 TLS but have no sound?

Smeagul

[shibu_nyc]

I have the same issue with the appliance. I have installed the browser appliance on both VMware Workstation (Win7 host) & on Fusion8 (OsX 10.11 host) & I have no sound on either machines. Both machines can play other VMs with sound without issue.

[Byrcholk]

I also did not hear any sound.  I am a long time user of the Browser Appliance and wished to upgrade to the latest release, so I spent some time comparing the setup to the previous release (Firefox ESR 24.0, CentOS 6.4). It seems to me that the ALSA volumes in the latest release (Firefox ESR 38.3, CentOS 7.1) are set too low. You can see the volume settings if you type the following in a command-line interface terminal:

    alsamixer --card 0

Press the <Esc> key to return to the command-line interface terminal.

To set the volumes to their maximum (which was the setting in the previous Browser Appliance) type the following  in a command-line interface terminal:

    amixer -c 0 sset 'Master' 100%,100%

    amixer -c 0 sset 'PCM' 100%,100%

Type “exit” (without the quotation marks) to close the terminal.

Use the Alsamixer command again to verify the change.

That “turned the sound on” for me, so I hope it helps others as well.

I’m a big fan of the Browser Appliance, using it on a daily basis for Safe Surfing.

[ChristopheDepre]

Thanks Byrcholk for troubleshooting the sound issue.

The July 2016 update of the Browser Appliance runs Firefox ESR 45.2 on CentOS 7.1 (64 bit) and fixes this issue.

As usual, to install the latest Adobe Flash plugin, close Firefox and double-click the "Install Flash Player" icon on the Desktop.

[ChristopheDepre]

A new version of the Browser Appliance has been released, featuring Firefox ESR 68.11 on CentOS 8.2 (64 bit) and including VMware Tools 10.3.21 (build 14772444). Since it no longer appears to listed in the VMware Marketplace, here is the direct link to download it: http://browser.shell.tor.hu/
The Adobe Flash installation script is no longer included, as the Adobe plugin is now deprecated.

The Browser Appliance 52.8 has also been updated to fix an issue with Firefox upgrades. Thanks to Michael Vincent for bringing the issue to our attention.