How to set up NordLayer Browser

NordLayer Browser is a secure web browser designed for businesses. It simplifies network access for employees while providing administrators with enhanced control, monitoring capabilities, and security features.

To use NordLayer Browser, you must be an existing NordLayer customer and contact our sales team.

Getting started with the NordLayer Browser

1. Log into the NordLayer Control Panel.
2. In the left sidebar, click the NordLayer Browser tab.
3. Click the NordLayer Browser banner.

3. Complete and submit the registration form.

Our sales team will reach out soon to help activate this feature on your NordLayer account

Enabling NordLayer Browser

Once this feature is active on your account, you'll need to set up the NordLayer browser:

1. Log into the NordLayer Control Panel.
2. Click on the NordLayer Browser tab in the left sidebar.

3. Select Routing policies from the expanded menu.
4. Click the Enable Browser button on the NordLayer Browser screen.

To use NordLayer Browser, you must have a default routing policy. You can further customize its behavior using specific routing policies. When prompted, configure the following settings:

5. Create a name for your routing policy
6. Select which teams this policy applies to

7. Specify domains and/or IP addresses for this policy
   1. Choose Any to apply the policy to all destinations
   2. You may also specify individual destinations for granular control (e.g., routing internal resources through a gateway)
8. Choose how traffic should be routed:
   1. Through your organization's gateway with traffic encryption
   2. Direct internet access without traffic encryption
   3. Block access
9. You will also be prompted to configure a fallback route for traffic that doesn't match any existing rules:
   1. Route through your organization's gateway
   2. Route via direct internet access

9. Once you've configured your routing policy, click Apply changes to activate NordLayer Browser for your organization.

Once the Default policy is established, administrators can click the Create new policy button to add as many routing policies as needed. Because policies are evaluated by priority, it is important to drag and drop them into the correct order to match your intended traffic routing.

NordLayer feature availability on NordLayer Browser

Some NordLayer features can be enabled for NordLayer Browser, allowing you to maintain the same functionality you currently use. To enable these features, follow the same process as you would enable them for your NordLayer setup.

Login methods

Supported:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) - you can also use the same authentication on NordBrowser and NordLayer
• Email and password login
• SCIM provisioning

Not supported:

• Biometric authentication

Security configurations

Supported:

• Web protection

Not supported:

• All other NordLayer security configuration options

Device security controls

Device posture security controls are currently unavailable for NordLayer Browser.

Gateway controls

Supported:

• Cloud Firewall - the gateway with the firewall enabled and configured must be used in routing policies.
• Browser-only gateway - you can set up a dedicated gateway exclusively for NordLayer Browser.

Not supported:

• Browser extension controls do not apply to the NordLayer Browser.
• Gateway-level split tunneling.

Server-level configurations

Supported:

• DNS filtering
• Application blocker
• Custom DNS

Onboard your organization to NordBrowser

If you are already using NordLayer, your existing Teams and Members will automatically carry over to NordLayer Browser.

To make the rollout as smooth as possible for your team, we've prepared a short, plain-language guide your users can follow on their own — no IT support required for most setups.

Download guide

The guide walks end users through

• Installing the NordBrowser app.
• Entering their Organization ID and signing in (including 2FA).
• Importing bookmarks and passwords from their old browser.
• Setting NordBrowser as their default browser on Windows and Mac.
• What to do if something doesn't work.

How to use it

• Share the PDF directly with your team, or attach it to your own internal rollout communications
• Add it to your IT knowledge base or onboarding wiki
• Include it in new hire onboarding materials
• Setup takes most users about 10 minutes from install to first sign-in.

Before you share it: make sure each user receives your Organization ID and the NordBrowser download link — they'll need both to complete setup as described in the guide.

Note: In case you have any questions or are experiencing any issues, please feel free to contact our 24/7 customer support team.