Setting up the Brave extension

The extension sends a suspicious address to Guard.ch without loading the target page in Brave. The page opens in an isolated cloud browser and streams into a tab. Alongside it, live analysis shows requests, redirects, cookies, storage activity, trackers and contacted third parties for as long as the investigation runs.

Nothing is sent until you choose to investigate, using the right-click menu, toolbar button or keyboard shortcut.

What it adds to Brave

• Open in Guard.ch appears in the right-click menu for links and also works on selected text, such as a URL in a ticket. If both are present, the link takes priority.
• A toolbar button opens a field for pasting addresses. Its menu also contains an optional workspace SSO setting and a link to your Guard.ch dashboard.
• A keyboard shortcut. Ctrl+Shift+G (Cmd+Shift+G on macOS) sends the current tab's page into an investigation. Rebind it at brave://extensions/shortcuts.

Install it

The extension is free to install. Starting an investigation requires an active Guard.ch plan or trial:

1. Open the Guard.ch extension on the Chrome Web Store.
2. Click Add to Chrome (the button keeps Chrome's name inside Brave) and confirm with Add extension.
3. Optional: click the puzzle icon in the toolbar and pin Guard.ch Companion, so the paste box stays within reach.
4. Right-click a link and choose Open in Guard.ch to try it.

To inspect what you install, download the packed build, unzip it, open brave://extensions, switch on Developer mode and choose Load unpacked with the unzipped folder. A manual install does not update itself; the store one does.

What a launch does

Each launch opens a Guard.ch tab, where the target page loads in an isolated cloud browser and appears as a live stream. The tab uses your existing Guard.ch sign-in.

If you are signed out, the tab takes you to Guard.ch sign-in first. A managed installation can send you straight to your company sign-in. Investigations require an active plan or trial. Guard.ch explains this in the tab if neither is available.

Supported addresses

The extension only starts an investigation when it can clearly recognise the address. It accepts:

• Full addresses with http:// or https://.
• Bare domains such as example-shop.com; https:// is assumed in front.
• IP addresses and localhost, with or without a port.
• Selected text containing any of these addresses; surrounding whitespace is ignored.

Managed rollout

IT can install the extension centrally through Brave policies and include the workspace sign-in slug. On managed devices, launches then go through your Microsoft sign-in. An existing Microsoft session can skip an extra prompt, and new Guard.ch accounts can be created on first sign-in.

For centrally managed devices, follow the browser-specific steps under Configure extensions in your workspace settings. The SSO guide shows how to set up Microsoft sign-in. If you install the extension yourself, open its toolbar menu, choose Workspace SSO and enter your workspace sign-in slug. A value set by IT takes priority and appears read-only in the popup.

Private windows

Extensions stay out of Brave's private windows until you allow them, so the right-click item will not appear there at first. Open brave://extensions, choose Details on Guard.ch Companion and allow it in private windows. Extensions do not run in Brave’s private windows with Tor. For a link in a Tor window, use a regular Brave window to start the investigation. You must install the extension separately in each Brave profile.

What it can and cannot do

The extension does not record browsing activity or read page content. Its launch permissions cover the context menu, local error notifications, momentary access to the active tab when you fire the shortcut, and storage for the optional Workspace slug. A content script is limited to the Guard.ch sign-in entry page and only reads the policy-managed slug to route managed users through company SSO.

The investigation runs in our cloud. The target page does not load in Brave; you only see the browser stream. The extension makes no analysis or API requests of its own. It simply opens a Guard.ch tab.

Works with

Brave

Install

Chrome Web Store; free extension, plan or trial for investigations (Brave is Chromium)

Permissions

Context menu, notifications, active-tab access on invocation, Workspace-slug storage, Guard.ch sign-in entry page

Languages

English and German, following the browser language

Network calls

No fetch or API calls; it only opens or redirects Guard.ch tabs

Target page runs

In an isolated cloud browser, never on your endpoint

Troubleshooting

Common problems and how to fix them:

“That isn't a URL Guard.ch can open.” Check the text you selected or pasted. Guard.ch accepts full web addresses, domain names, IP addresses and localhost. Remove any extra words and try again.

“There's no page to investigate in this tab.” The keyboard shortcut needs a real page in the active tab. A blank new tab or a browser-internal page has nothing to hand over; use the toolbar popup instead.

The right-click item is missing. Three usual causes: a private window where the extension is not yet allowed (see above), a different Brave profile (each profile installs its own extensions), or a managed browser whose policy blocks store installs, in which case IT rolls the extension out centrally.

The shortcut does nothing. Another extension claimed Ctrl+Shift+G first, or the binding was cleared. brave://extensions/shortcuts shows who owns which key and lets you rebind it.

The tab lands on a sign-in screen. Expected when the browser is signed out: sign in once and relaunch. On a managed install it usually means the pushed slug does not match the workspace's sign-in link. The rollout wizard in the dashboard shows the exact value to push.

The tab shows an upgrade screen. You're signed in, but your account has no active plan or trial. Extension launches are part of the paid product: start the trial, or ask a workspace manager for a seat.

Other entry points

Every entry point leads to the same Guard.ch investigation. See the integrations page for other options and the product page for what live analysis shows.