Kasm Workspaces

Pros: Cloud service that provides access to applications, desktops and browsers. This allows me to interact with the web without putting my browser/computer at risk. The Sharing feature is very useful for screen sharing without having to join into a web conference application. The ability to launch a desktop to have access to installed applications or to modify files with a full productivity suite is very useful.

Cons: File upload is through the control panel instead of drag-and-drop.
Overall: A great way to leverage the cloud when interacting with the internet to make sure that your computer and data stays safe.

Overall: A great way to leverage the cloud when interacting with the internet to make sure that your computer and data stays safe.

The best price of the available solutions, cloud hosted and browser-based so I don’t have to install any software.

Pros: Secure remote access to corporate applications via browser without having to install a VPN client. Completely browser-based solution so it can be used on untrusted devices to allow secure access to internal applications.

Cons: Cut-and-paste actions have to use the control panel instead of directly through the web session.

Overall: Cost effective way to allow home-based workers to use personal computers to access company resources. Remote desktop sessions ensure employees have the same desktop/application experience from any device at any location via a browser without risking compromises to the internal network.

Pros: Simple and easy to use.

We use it to test suspicious links and it works perfectly!

Cons: You cannot put Kasm behind a reverse proxy subdirectory, only a subdomain.

Overall: Amazing in every way.

Pros: Fast, light weight, and provides great content filtering along with a very fluid interface for browsing the web. I love the fact that It provides a good, usable linux X11 interface.

Cons: Have yet to find anything remarkable for this category.

Overall: Very easy to install, Read the documentation when you set it up. I primarily use it for content filtering for my kids which works great. It is a great solution for an environment where you provide no internet connection to a computer or network and want to provide control over what is accessed on a per user or group basis.

Pros: Kasm lets me quickly and effortlessly "spin up" a solid and secure instance of an isolated app or a full desktop environment INSIDE A WEB BROWSER! How cool is that?!? Performance is excellent, and implementation and setup was quick and easy.

Cons: SSL Setup: I had an initial issue getting an SSL Certificate to provide the proper HTTPS security, but after working with the Kasm Documentation and Google, I was able to solve it fairly quickly.

Lack of diverse Images: This is really not so much as Con as a vision of potential enhancement. The currently available images work very well--very well, but honestly, they are limited. While I absolutely understand that this is still a young project, I'd love to see a large library of isolated app images and more targeted desktop Images. For example, imagine being able to spin up an instance of The GIMP, Audacity, and InkScape added as either isolated app images or all included in a "Media Creation" desktop.

Overall: Disclaimer:
I am using the self-hosted Community version of Kasm, not the paid cloud-based version. That said, I worked with the paid version demo, and it appears to operate and perform identically to my self-hosted install.

Use case:
My use case is as a hobbyist. I'm using Kasm for personal use, as well as evaluation for possible recommendation to clients and colleagues.

Setup:
I'm running Kasm on a Ubuntu LTS Server in a Hyper-V VM on a Windows 10 host. I was also able to easily install Kasm on a RackNerd VPS without issue, but the Windows 10 install will likely be my install of choice. I have Hyper-V experience, so setting up the VM was straight forward.

Setting up Kasm itself was so easy--literally 3 lines of commands. A couple of times I failed to set things up the way I specifically wanted, but it was a simple matter of following Kasm's easy uninstall instructions and then reinstalling.

Use and Performance:
Just open Kasm in your browser, and you are greeted with a clean Dashboard from which you can choose what "Kasms" (specific isolated app or desktop instances) to launch. The Kasms launch very quickly, and performance was great. Performance on the paid version is fast and responsive. Performance on a Self-hosted install is directly related to the underlying platform you are running. My self-hosted "cloud" instance on a RackNerd VPS performs well, but it is slower than the instance on my Windows 10 Desktop at home. This because I have more vCPUs and memory allocated to Kasm at home than are available on my VPS.

Conclusion:
I've played around with remote Linux access "in the browser" solutions such as Guacamole and VNC, and RollApp, and I never found the right balance of ease of setup, ease of use, app selection, and affordability. Kasm really nails it on most fronts....except app selection. In my opinion, the success of Kasm hinges on the ability to provide users with a large selection of pre-built images, and to provide developers with solid, easy instruction on how to build and publicly publish custom images. Crack that nut, and this will be a solid 5-star platform!