WO2004021197A1 - Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2004021197A1
WO2004021197A1 PCT/US2003/026993 US0326993W WO2004021197A1 WO 2004021197 A1 WO2004021197 A1 WO 2004021197A1 US 0326993 W US0326993 W US 0326993W WO 2004021197 A1 WO2004021197 A1 WO 2004021197A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
malicious code
code
detection routines
program
handling system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2003/026993
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Mark Eric Obrecht
Michael Anthony Alagna
Charles Andrew Payne
Original Assignee
Wholesecurity, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US10/231,557 external-priority patent/US7748039B2/en
Application filed by Wholesecurity, Inc. filed Critical Wholesecurity, Inc.
Priority to EP03791906A priority Critical patent/EP1546891A4/en
Priority to AU2003265813A priority patent/AU2003265813A1/en
Publication of WO2004021197A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004021197A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F21/00Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
    • G06F21/50Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
    • G06F21/55Detecting local intrusion or implementing counter-measures
    • G06F21/56Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
    • G06F21/566Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system.
  • Malicious code is computer software code that is executed by an information handling system, typically a computer (but it can also be a Personal Digital Assistant, embedded system, or other information handling device), and can be used for malicious purposes, such as damaging, altering or using the system without permission or knowledge of the system's owner or user, even if the code also has legitimate purposes.
  • malicious code such as trojan horses, remote control software, keystroke loggers, spyware, worms, viruses, and monitoring software. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system, in which various shortcomings of previous techniques are overcome.
  • Malicious code detection code is executed by an info ⁇ nation handling system.
  • the malicious code detection code includes detection routines.
  • the detection routines are applied to executable code under investigation.
  • the detection routines associate weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines. It is determined whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines.
  • Figure 1 is a system block diagram of an information handling system for detecting malicious code, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 is a process diagram of a detection architecture of a malicious code detection program, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Description
  • FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an information handling system 10 (or "computer” or “computer system” or “machine”) for detecting malicious code, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • an information handling system 10 or "computer” or “computer system” or “machine” for detecting malicious code, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the present disclosure describes some of the most common forms of malicious code, the present disclosure relates to all forms of malicious code.
  • Malicious code is computer software code that is executed by an information handling system and can be used for malicious purposes, such as damaging, altering or using the system without permission or knowledge of the system's owner or user, even if the code also has legitimate purposes.
  • a remote control program can be used by a system administrator to perform legitimate operations on another user's computer, but the remote control program may nevertheless be considered malicious code, because it can also be used for malicious purposes.
  • Code is embodied in the form of one or more executable instructions and/or their associated operands for an information handling system ("programs” or "computer programs"), according to a variety of techniques, such as an independent program, a library, a thread, a routine or subroutine, or an operating system component, any of which can be written in any computer programming language (e.g., scripting languages, interpreted languages, compiled languages, assembly languages or machine code).
  • Malicious code is stored in any computer-readable medium, such as a hard disk drive, floppy diskette, CD-ROM, DND or memory.
  • malicious code has one or more states, such as active, inactive, executing (or " • running"), not executing, hidden or visible.
  • the malicious code detection program is operable to detect malicious code, irrespective of the malicious code's states, and irrespective of the computer-readable media storing the malicious code.
  • Trojan horses are a particular type of malicious code. The trojan is executable code that exists in a variety of different forms.
  • trojans are instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module.
  • a trojan is a form of malicious code that enables a person to remotely control someone else's computer.
  • the person who remotely controls the computer is known as the "Evil Farmer” (or “hacker") while the person whose computer is being remotely cor +rri11 ed is known as the "Innocent Victim" (or "victim”).
  • BackOrif ⁇ ce2000, SubSeven, ⁇ etL U z, cjid OptixPro are all examples of trojans. Trojans are sometimes referred to as "back-doors” or "hacker back-doors.”
  • trojans have two components, the client program (trojan client) that is executed by the evil hacker's computer and the server program (trojan server) that is executed by the innocent victim's computer.
  • client program that is executed by the evil hacker's computer
  • server program that is executed by the innocent victim's computer.
  • Some trojans have only a trojan server that can be remotely controlled through manually entered commands rather than through the programmatic interface of a trojan client.
  • Some types of malicious code can be detected by examining the binary code image of the program during its execution or the binary code image of the program when it is stored on a storage device.
  • Many malicious code programs can be identified by a unique bit or byte pattern.
  • the unique bit or byte pattern can include the entire image of the program while it is stored in memory or while it is stored on disk.
  • the signature can also be a bit or byte pattern that is a portion of the program in memory or on disk. Once the unique sequence has been identified, a signature can be developed to identify the sequence. The signature is often the bit or byte pattern itself or it is in the form of a checksum.
  • trojan servers While such an approach may be effective for preventing some trojan infection, the approach does not however detect trojan servers once they are already installed on a computer. Such an approach does not detect many trojan servers because trojans do not exhibit their most characteristic behaviors while they are being loaded or installed, but rather they come alive and exhibit their malicious behavior after they have been loaded and installed.
  • Remote control software such as pcAnywhere and VNC
  • VNC Remote control software
  • remote control is another type of malicious code, which has much of the same functionality as trojans.
  • These programs allow for remote administration (via a "client” on a host personal computer (“PC")) of a target PC that is executing the "server” portion of the program.
  • a goal of a trojan is to be stealth and transparent to the innocent victim, so as to remotely control the PC or other machine.
  • a goal of remote controls is to allow a trusted remote user to administer the machine for efficiency purposes.
  • remote controls can also be used by an evil hacker to remotely control a machine that is "infected" by the unauthorized remote control, in a stealthy and malicious manner.
  • keyloggers are another type of malicious code.
  • the keylogger is executable code that can exist in one of many forms. For example, some forms of keyloggers can be instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module.
  • a keylogger is a form of malicious code that enables a person to obtain the actual "punched" keystrokes from an infected computer.
  • a record of the keystrokes usually exists in the form of a file " on the file system, which stores the "punch for punch” results of what was typed at the keyboard.
  • some keyloggers provide capability for e-mailing (to an e-mail address) a record of the captured keystrokes, in order to share access and remotely identify the typed characters. Alternate access mediums are sometimes used for obtaining a record of the keystrokes, such as physical access to the infected system, e-mailing a file to a configured e-mail account, or "backdoor" access to the machine via a trojan.
  • a keylogger is a software application (e.g., which may be, but is not necessarily, a standalone application) that exists in a machine's operating system.
  • Monitoring software is another type of malicious code, which has many similarities to keyloggers. In many respects, monitoring sof 3 performs operations that are similar to a keylogger. Monitoring software is often used to monitor a wide range of the computer's activity. For example, monitoring software is useful for a person to obtain a recorded log of actions that children, a spouse, friends, co-workers and others perform on their computers. Unlike keyloggers, monitoring software is often, but not always, purchased from a software vendor and installed by the computer's owner to achieve a new layer of surveillance over the computer owner's machine.
  • Spyware is an Internet term for advertising supported software ("adware"). Spyware differs from other malicious code, because spyware has legitimate purposes, in addition to potentially malicious purposes. Spyware is installed in a computer, according to a variety of techniques. Spyware's primary purpose is the gathering of marketing and statistical information about a user's electronic behavior, together with the reporting of such information via the infected machine's Internet connection to one or more collection servers via the Internet. According to the privacy policies of many advertising companies that develop and distribute spyware, no sensitive information (or other information that identifies the individual user) is authorized to be collected from the user's computer. Such a policy is helpful to allay possible concerns regarding invasion of privacy or malicious purpose. Nevertheless, such policies are not always adopted or followed. Many spyware examples contain a "live" server program executed by the machine, which is capable of sending personal information and web-surfing habits to a remote location. Accordingly, spyware is also covered by the present disclosure, because spyware can be used for malicious purposes.
  • Spyware has resulted in congestion of internet web pages, as an increasingly large number of vendors create and distribute spyware via Internet sites that attract visitors.
  • Spyware has also become a popular technique for shareware authors to profit from a product, other than by selling it directly to users. For example, if a user prefers, it can freely install an application bundled with spyware, instead of purchasing a license to the application.
  • Several large media companies offer to place banner advertisements in software products, in exchange for a portion of revenue from sales resulting from the software products' display of the banner. This technique has increased in popularity, because users can avoid paying for the software products, and the software product developers receive money from alternate sources. If the user is annoyed by the banners, the user is usually given an option to remove them by paying a regular licensing fee for the software products.
  • Worms are another type of malicious code that exists in a variety of different forms. For example, some (but not all) forms of worms are instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module. Worms are distributed ("spread") via a computer network, such as the internet. From the computer network, they penetrate a computer's memory, calculate network addresses of other computers, and send copies of themselves to such addresses for additional replication. Worms often exploit OS, application or service vulnerabilities to propagate themselves and penetrate remote machines. Worms have various purposes, designs, propagation media, and techniques for exploiting vulnerabilities.
  • worms may deposit a "payload," which performs some or no operation. Frequently, this payload includes a trojan or keylogger. Examples of worms are Code Red and Sircam. Worms are convenient vehicles for evil hackers to distribute other types of malicious code.
  • Viruses are another type of malicious code that can exist in a variety of different forms, such as macro viruses, boot sector viruses, and parasitic viruses.
  • some (but not all) forms of viruses are instantiated in executable code are as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module.
  • Some viruses merely replicate by inserting (or attaching) themselves to a medium, in order to infect another program, boot sector, partition sector, or document that supports macros. But many viruses additionally inflict a large amount of damage on the machine. On the machine, viruses may deposit a payload, which performs some or no operation. Frequently, this payload includes a trojan or keylogger.
  • Malicious code such as trojans, keyloggers, worms and viruses
  • the evil hacker often uses tl ' aocent victim's computer to perform these malicious activities, in order to harm the innocent victim's associated organization (e.g., company or government). Accordingly, such malicious code can harm a computer system, irrespective of whether the computer system belongs to an individual or an organization.
  • hiformation handling system 10 includes one or more of: a central processing unit (CPU) 12, memory 14, input/output (I/O) devices, such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and associated controllers, collectively designated by a reference numeral 16, a hard disk drive 18, or other storage devices or media drives, such as a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, and memory device, collectively designated by a reference numeral 20, and/or various other subsystems, such as a network interface card or wireless communication link (collectively designated by a reference numeral 22), all interconnected, for example, via one or more buses (shown collectively as a bus 24).
  • Examples of information handling systems are a personal computer system, a personal digital assistant, a thin client device, a thick client device, or similar information handling device.
  • the information handling system (LHS) 10 is configured with a suitable operating system for installing and executing instructions from one or more computer readable media 26, such as a hard disk drive, floppy diskette, CD-ROM, DVD, or memory.
  • Information handling system 10 may further be configured for communicating with another information handling system 28 (e.g., through a network 30 via a suitable communication link or links).
  • the operating system of THS 10 may optionally include instructions for installing and executing programs, and for downloading information via network 30.
  • the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure maybe practiced over an intranet, the internet, virtual private network, or other suitable communication network.
  • the technique for malicious code detection is implemented in the form of computer software, the computer software including instructions executable by the CPU of a computer system, such as an innocent victim's computer system.
  • the instructions include suitable program code processable by the computer system for performing the various functions as described herein.
  • the various functions as discussed herein can be programmed using programming techniques well known in the art.
  • One technique for detecting malicious code includes a technique for detecting the portion of the malicious code that resides on a target computer system, such as an innocent victim computer system.
  • a target computer system such as an innocent victim computer system.
  • all of the malicious code resides on the innocent victin " imputer system.
  • trojans and remote controls only the server portion of the malicious code resides on the innocent victim's computer system.
  • the procedure can be embodied in a computer program, such as a malicious code detection program.
  • the malicious code detection program detects the presence of (and identifies) the malicious code before, during and/or after the malicious code executes on the victim's computer system.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of a malicious code detection program 40 that is executed by the information handling system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the malicious code detection program 40 includes detection routines 42 and a scoring algorithm 44.
  • the detection routines 42 operatively couple to the operating system 46 of the computer system under investigation via application programming interfaces (APIs) 48.
  • APIs application programming interfaces
  • the detection routines also access process behavior information (e.g., data) 50 and binary image information 60, according to the particular requirements of a corresponding detection routine, further as discussed below.
  • the malicious code detection program operates as follows.
  • the malicious code detection program executes at any time, on an as-needed basis, a periodic basis, a random basis, another scheduled basis, or on an event driven basis in response to a particular event according to the particular requirements of a given situation, h the illustrative embodiments, the malicious code detection program includes instructions for the information handling system to examine characteristics and behaviors of the information handling system's instructions and/or data.
  • the malicious code detection program includes instructions for the information handling system to evaluate the information handling system's instructions and/or data to determine whether such instructions and/or data are valid code (i.e., non-malicious) or malicious code or any one or more types.
  • the malicious code detection program includes respective detection routines, sets of weights, and weighted scoring algorithms for detecting one or more types of valid code and/or one or more types of malicious code.
  • the malicious code detection program 40 contains detection routines 42, including valid program detection routines 52 and malicious code detection routines 54.
  • the valid program detection routines 52 include one or more routines identified by v 1 ⁇ v 2 , v 3 , ... , V M in Figure 2.
  • the valid program detection routines 52 are configured to determine whether the program under investigation has characteristics and behaviors usually associated with a valid program.
  • the malicious code detection routines 54 include ⁇ ⁇ it more routines identified by ti , t , t 3 , ... , t ⁇ in Figure 2.
  • the malicious code detection routines 54 are configured to determine whether the program under investigation has characteristics and behaviors usually associated with a malicious code program.
  • the valid program detection routines 52 and the malicious code detection routines 54 are configured to gather a variety of characteristic and behavior information from the information handling system in a variety of ways, such as: (a) examining the program itself; (b) accessing information from the operating system 46 using application programming interfaces (APIs) 48 to the operating system (including documented APIs and/or undocumented API's); (c) kernel and/or device driver interfacing; and/or (d) direct access to resources of the information handling system such as memory, network connections, storage media, and/or other devices.
  • APIs application programming interfaces
  • the detection routines 42 gather such information by examining one or more of (a) a binary image 60 or (b) a library or other information (e.g., tables showing a program's network connection activity) that indicates the aforementioned characteristics and behaviors, such as process behavior information 50.
  • a detection routine 42 can be configured to account for the following.
  • a malicious code detection routine 54 determines whether the program being examined is logging keystrokes. Since there are many different ways for a program to log keystrokes, one or more of the malicious code detection routines 54 can be configured to examine the program under investigation to determine whether the program is using any of a number of different mechanisms for logging keystrokes. Detection routines may output many different types of results, such as numeric values, boolean values, counts or lists.
  • the malicious code detection program 40 further includes a scoring algorithm 44.
  • the scoring algorithm calculates two scores, namely a valid program score 56 and a malicious code score 58. In an alternative embodiment, the scoring algorithm calculates the valid program score 56, but not the malicious code score 58. h another alternative embodiment, the scoring algorithm calculates the malicious code score 58, but not the valid program score 56.
  • a weight, Wi is associated with the routine and that weight contributes positively to the valid program score 56.
  • the weight indicates (a) the detection routine's importance, (b) the extent to which the particular behavioral trait being measured by the detection routine is present, and (c) the extent to which the behavioral trait contributes to the determination of whether the program is valid or malicious.
  • the information handling system performs any one or more of a variety of operations, such as performing an arithmetic or algebraic operation on the combination of the weight and the result of the detection routine or simply assigning the combination a numerical value.
  • a weight, W j is associated with the routine and that weight contributes positively to the malicious code score 58.
  • the scoring algorithm 44 includes an algorithm that has an algebraic formula for determining the two scores 56 and 58.
  • the scoring algorithm is dependent on the valid program detection routines 52 and the weights, Wi, associated with each valid program detection routine, in addition to, the malicious code detection routines 54 and the weights W j , associated with each malicious code detection routine.
  • the algebraic formula or equation can also be made arbitrarily complex (e.g., associating additional weights to one or more to combinations of detection routines 42.
  • the scoring algorithm 44 includes an algebraic equation defined as a sum of weighted values.
  • the algebraic equation for the valid program detection routines can include an equation as given by:
  • more complex forms of the scoring algorithm 44 can be implemented in the form of more sophisticated algebraic formulae. If a program under investigation exceeds a valid program score threshold, V thres , then it is determined that the program is a valid program. If that program exceeds a malicious code score threshold, T th r es , then it is determined that the program is a malicious code program. If a program is deemed to be valid using the valid algorithm, then it is sometimes eliminated from consideration as a malicious code program. Executable code and/or programs under investigation may also have some of the characteristics and behaviors of valid programs and some of the characteristics and behaviors of malicious code.
  • the technique identifies the program in another category of suspicious programs or anomalous programs.
  • the technique for detecting malicious code on a computer system includes executing a malicious code detection program on the computer system.
  • the malicious code detection program includes detection routines.
  • the malicious code detection program applies the detection routines to programs on the computer system.
  • the detection routines are assigned weights that are factored by a scoring algorithm to determine a composite score based on the results of the detection routines and their associated weights. For example, a malicious code detection routine has a weight associated with it, such that if the malicious code detection routine determines that a given code under investigation is a malicious code program, then the weight is applied positively towards the malicious code score for the code under investigation.
  • the malicious code detection program determines whether one or more programs are valid or malicious as a function of the weights assigned to the detection routines.
  • the technique is configured to detect malicious code on a computer having an operating system.
  • the technique includes executing a malicious code detection program on the computer.
  • Detection routines of the malicious code detection program are configured to gather information about programs on the computer system.
  • the detection routines include at least one selected from the ip consisting of (a) examining each executable code or program itself and (b)searching for information about each executable code or program in the operating system.
  • examining code or a program can include examining a binary image of the same, wherever the binary image may reside, within the LHS or in computer readable media accessible to the TJHS.
  • the detection routines further consist of valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
  • the malicious code detection program applies the detection routines to the programs on the computer system.
  • the detection routines assigns weights to respective programs under test as a function of a respective detection routine.
  • the malicious code detection program determines whether a program is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines. Determining whether the program is a valid program or malicious code involves the scoring of an execution of each detection routine as a function of a respective weight. A scoring algorithm is used to identify a program as malicious code in response to a valid score and a malicious code score, as discussed herein.
  • the technique for detecting malicious code on a computer system includes executing detection routines, the detection routines having been configured to examine at least one selected from the group consisting of characteristics and behaviors of programs on the computer system.
  • the detection routines can be configured to access process behavior information of a program on the computer system.
  • the characteristics and behaviors may include one or more of logging keystrokes, saving a display screen view, uploading files, downloading files, executing programs, and controlling a display screen of the computer system.
  • weights are assigned as a function of the examined characteristics and behaviors, the assigned weights indicative of a valid program or malicious code as a function of respective detection routines. Also, the technique determines whether a program is malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines.
  • the detection routines include valid program detection routmes and malicious code detection routines.
  • the valid program detection routines are configured to determine whether the program exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with a valid program.
  • the malicious code detection routines are configured to determine whether ' " irogram exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with malicious code.
  • the technique for detecting malicious code is implemented in the form of a computer program. The computer program is executed on a desired computer system for detecting any potential malicious code on the computer system. Execution of the computer program continues until all active programs on the computer system have been tested and evaluated. Alternatively, other criteria may be established for a duration of testing with the malicious code detection program.
  • execution of the malicious code detection program can be configured to occur in response to one or more of a random initiation and a periodic initiation.
  • the malicious code detection program includes a small program configured for being delivered quickly, as well as, for being executed quickly.
  • the malicious code detection program can be delivered to the innocent victim's computer over a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Internet, intranet, or any other global computer network 30.
  • the malicious code detection program may also be delivered via suitable computer readable media, such as, media 26 shown in Figure 1.
  • the technique of the present embodiments identifies a malicious code program when executing on a computer system.
  • the technique for identifying a malicious code program is suitable for combination with other techniques, such as a technique for detecting infection, resulting in a more robust computer system malicious code protection implementation.

Abstract

Malicious code detection code is executed by an information handling system (10). The malicious code detection code includes detection routines (54). The detection routines (52) are applied to executable code under investigation. The detection routines associate weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines. It is determined whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING MALICIOUS CODE IN AN INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM
Background
The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system.
Malicious code is computer software code that is executed by an information handling system, typically a computer (but it can also be a Personal Digital Assistant, embedded system, or other information handling device), and can be used for malicious purposes, such as damaging, altering or using the system without permission or knowledge of the system's owner or user, even if the code also has legitimate purposes. There are many different types of malicious code, such as trojan horses, remote control software, keystroke loggers, spyware, worms, viruses, and monitoring software. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system, in which various shortcomings of previous techniques are overcome.
Summary
Malicious code detection code is executed by an infoπnation handling system. The malicious code detection code includes detection routines. The detection routines are applied to executable code under investigation. The detection routines associate weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines. It is determined whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines.
It is a technical advantage that various shortcomings of previous techniques are overcome.
Brief Description of the Drawing
Figure 1 is a system block diagram of an information handling system for detecting malicious code, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 2 is a process diagram of a detection architecture of a malicious code detection program, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Description
FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an information handling system 10 (or "computer" or "computer system" or "machine") for detecting malicious code, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure describes some of the most common forms of malicious code, the present disclosure relates to all forms of malicious code.
Malicious code is computer software code that is executed by an information handling system and can be used for malicious purposes, such as damaging, altering or using the system without permission or knowledge of the system's owner or user, even if the code also has legitimate purposes. For example, a remote control program can be used by a system administrator to perform legitimate operations on another user's computer, but the remote control program may nevertheless be considered malicious code, because it can also be used for malicious purposes. Code is embodied in the form of one or more executable instructions and/or their associated operands for an information handling system ("programs" or "computer programs"), according to a variety of techniques, such as an independent program, a library, a thread, a routine or subroutine, or an operating system component, any of which can be written in any computer programming language (e.g., scripting languages, interpreted languages, compiled languages, assembly languages or machine code).
Malicious code is stored in any computer-readable medium, such as a hard disk drive, floppy diskette, CD-ROM, DND or memory. During operation of an information handling system, malicious code has one or more states, such as active, inactive, executing (or "running"), not executing, hidden or visible. In the illustrative embodiments, the malicious code detection program is operable to detect malicious code, irrespective of the malicious code's states, and irrespective of the computer-readable media storing the malicious code. Trojan horses ("trojans") are a particular type of malicious code. The trojan is executable code that exists in a variety of different forms. For example, some (but not all) forms of trojans are instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module. A trojan is a form of malicious code that enables a person to remotely control someone else's computer. The person who remotely controls the computer is known as the "Evil Hacker" (or "hacker") while the person whose computer is being remotely cor+rri11ed is known as the "Innocent Victim" (or "victim"). BackOrifιce2000, SubSeven, ΝetLUz, cjid OptixPro are all examples of trojans. Trojans are sometimes referred to as "back-doors" or "hacker back-doors."
Most trojans have two components, the client program (trojan client) that is executed by the evil hacker's computer and the server program (trojan server) that is executed by the innocent victim's computer. Some trojans have only a trojan server that can be remotely controlled through manually entered commands rather than through the programmatic interface of a trojan client.
There are many ways to infect a computer with a trojan including sending the innocent victim the trojan server disguised as a valid program, copying the trojan server onto the innocent victim's computer, or exploiting a vulnerability in the innocent victim's computer to place the trojan server on the computer.
Several techniques exist that are effective for detecting some forms of malicious code. For example, some types of malicious code can be detected by examining the binary code image of the program during its execution or the binary code image of the program when it is stored on a storage device. Many malicious code programs can be identified by a unique bit or byte pattern. The unique bit or byte pattern can include the entire image of the program while it is stored in memory or while it is stored on disk. The signature can also be a bit or byte pattern that is a portion of the program in memory or on disk. Once the unique sequence has been identified, a signature can be developed to identify the sequence. The signature is often the bit or byte pattern itself or it is in the form of a checksum. A detection program can then search for a malicious code program using the signature to identify the unique bit or byte sequence. Trojans, however, may be configurable to have no easily identifiable signature. Trojans may have configuration parameters that change the bit or byte sequences in the program and make it difficult or impossible to provide a unique signature. Various tools can be used to reconfigure a trojan, so that it will not have a known signature. Another technique used to identify trojans examines the behavior of a trojan server while the trojan server is loaded and installed on a computer. With such a technique, a loaded and installed program is first placed into a sandbox, which includes a restricted area on the computer where the program (e.g., trojan server) can be examined safely. While such an approach may be effective for preventing some trojan infection, the approach does not however detect trojan servers once they are already installed on a computer. Such an approach does not detect many trojan servers because trojans do not exhibit their most characteristic behaviors while they are being loaded or installed, but rather they come alive and exhibit their malicious behavior after they have been loaded and installed.
Remote control software ("remote control"), such as pcAnywhere and VNC, is another type of malicious code, which has much of the same functionality as trojans. These programs allow for remote administration (via a "client" on a host personal computer ("PC")) of a target PC that is executing the "server" portion of the program. A goal of a trojan is to be stealth and transparent to the innocent victim, so as to remotely control the PC or other machine. By comparison, a goal of remote controls is to allow a trusted remote user to administer the machine for efficiency purposes. Nevertheless, remote controls can also be used by an evil hacker to remotely control a machine that is "infected" by the unauthorized remote control, in a stealthy and malicious manner. Moreover, even if a remote control is operated by a trusted legitimate user, the remote control can also be used by malicious individuals if proper security precautions are not taken (e.g., password protection, authentication, encryption). Accordingly, remote controls can be used for malicious purposes, so the present disclosure relates to them as well. Keystroke loggers ("keyloggers" or alternatively "keyboard loggers") are another type of malicious code. The keylogger is executable code that can exist in one of many forms. For example, some forms of keyloggers can be instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module. A keylogger is a form of malicious code that enables a person to obtain the actual "punched" keystrokes from an infected computer. A record of the keystrokes usually exists in the form of a file "on the file system, which stores the "punch for punch" results of what was typed at the keyboard. Also, some keyloggers provide capability for e-mailing (to an e-mail address) a record of the captured keystrokes, in order to share access and remotely identify the typed characters. Alternate access mediums are sometimes used for obtaining a record of the keystrokes, such as physical access to the infected system, e-mailing a file to a configured e-mail account, or "backdoor" access to the machine via a trojan. Sinred, Fearless KeySpy, and TeeJayEm KeySpy are examples of keyloggers. Typically, a keylogger is a software application (e.g., which may be, but is not necessarily, a standalone application) that exists in a machine's operating system.
Monitoring software is another type of malicious code, which has many similarities to keyloggers. In many respects, monitoring sof 3 performs operations that are similar to a keylogger. Monitoring software is often used to monitor a wide range of the computer's activity. For example, monitoring software is useful for a person to obtain a recorded log of actions that children, a spouse, friends, co-workers and others perform on their computers. Unlike keyloggers, monitoring software is often, but not always, purchased from a software vendor and installed by the computer's owner to achieve a new layer of surveillance over the computer owner's machine.
Spyware is an Internet term for advertising supported software ("adware"). Spyware differs from other malicious code, because spyware has legitimate purposes, in addition to potentially malicious purposes. Spyware is installed in a computer, according to a variety of techniques. Spyware's primary purpose is the gathering of marketing and statistical information about a user's electronic behavior, together with the reporting of such information via the infected machine's Internet connection to one or more collection servers via the Internet. According to the privacy policies of many advertising companies that develop and distribute spyware, no sensitive information (or other information that identifies the individual user) is authorized to be collected from the user's computer. Such a policy is helpful to allay possible concerns regarding invasion of privacy or malicious purpose. Nevertheless, such policies are not always adopted or followed. Many spyware examples contain a "live" server program executed by the machine, which is capable of sending personal information and web-surfing habits to a remote location. Accordingly, spyware is also covered by the present disclosure, because spyware can be used for malicious purposes.
Spyware has resulted in congestion of internet web pages, as an increasingly large number of vendors create and distribute spyware via Internet sites that attract visitors. Spyware has also become a popular technique for shareware authors to profit from a product, other than by selling it directly to users. For example, if a user prefers, it can freely install an application bundled with spyware, instead of purchasing a license to the application. Several large media companies offer to place banner advertisements in software products, in exchange for a portion of revenue from sales resulting from the software products' display of the banner. This technique has increased in popularity, because users can avoid paying for the software products, and the software product developers receive money from alternate sources. If the user is annoyed by the banners, the user is usually given an option to remove them by paying a regular licensing fee for the software products.
Spyware is not illegal, but it raises vai " privacy issues for certain users. Such privacy issues are raised when the spyware tracks and sends information and statistics via a private Internet connection that operates in the "background" of the user's PC, using a server program that is installed on the user's PC. In a written privacy statement, legitimate adware companies will disclose the nature of such information that is collected and transmitted, but the user is typically unable to actually control it.
Worms are another type of malicious code that exists in a variety of different forms. For example, some (but not all) forms of worms are instantiated in executable code as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module. Worms are distributed ("spread") via a computer network, such as the internet. From the computer network, they penetrate a computer's memory, calculate network addresses of other computers, and send copies of themselves to such addresses for additional replication. Worms often exploit OS, application or service vulnerabilities to propagate themselves and penetrate remote machines. Worms have various purposes, designs, propagation media, and techniques for exploiting vulnerabilities. On the machine, worms may deposit a "payload," which performs some or no operation. Frequently, this payload includes a trojan or keylogger. Examples of worms are Code Red and Sircam. Worms are convenient vehicles for evil hackers to distribute other types of malicious code.
Viruses are another type of malicious code that can exist in a variety of different forms, such as macro viruses, boot sector viruses, and parasitic viruses. For example, some (but not all) forms of viruses are instantiated in executable code are as one or more programs, computer files, threads inside other programs, plugins or shared modules loaded by other programs, or modules loaded into operating system kernel memory in the manner of a device driver or loadable kernel module. Some viruses merely replicate by inserting (or attaching) themselves to a medium, in order to infect another program, boot sector, partition sector, or document that supports macros. But many viruses additionally inflict a large amount of damage on the machine. On the machine, viruses may deposit a payload, which performs some or no operation. Frequently, this payload includes a trojan or keylogger.
Malicious code, such as trojans, keyloggers, worms and viruses, can be used by evil hackers to disrupt the normal operation of the innocent victim's computer, to spy on the innocent victim, to steal money from the innocent victim, or to steal intellectual property from the innocent victim. The evil hacker often uses tl ' aocent victim's computer to perform these malicious activities, in order to harm the innocent victim's associated organization (e.g., company or government). Accordingly, such malicious code can harm a computer system, irrespective of whether the computer system belongs to an individual or an organization. hiformation handling system 10 includes one or more of: a central processing unit (CPU) 12, memory 14, input/output (I/O) devices, such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and associated controllers, collectively designated by a reference numeral 16, a hard disk drive 18, or other storage devices or media drives, such as a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a DVD drive, and memory device, collectively designated by a reference numeral 20, and/or various other subsystems, such as a network interface card or wireless communication link (collectively designated by a reference numeral 22), all interconnected, for example, via one or more buses (shown collectively as a bus 24). Examples of information handling systems are a personal computer system, a personal digital assistant, a thin client device, a thick client device, or similar information handling device.
In one embodiment, the information handling system (LHS) 10 is configured with a suitable operating system for installing and executing instructions from one or more computer readable media 26, such as a hard disk drive, floppy diskette, CD-ROM, DVD, or memory. Information handling system 10 may further be configured for communicating with another information handling system 28 (e.g., through a network 30 via a suitable communication link or links). The operating system of THS 10 may optionally include instructions for installing and executing programs, and for downloading information via network 30. The illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure maybe practiced over an intranet, the internet, virtual private network, or other suitable communication network.
According to one embodiment, the technique for malicious code detection is implemented in the form of computer software, the computer software including instructions executable by the CPU of a computer system, such as an innocent victim's computer system. The instructions include suitable program code processable by the computer system for performing the various functions as described herein. The various functions as discussed herein can be programmed using programming techniques well known in the art.
One technique for detecting malicious code includes a technique for detecting the portion of the malicious code that resides on a target computer system, such as an innocent victim computer system. For some forms of malicious code, such as keyloggers and Viruses, all of the malicious code resides on the innocent victin " imputer system. For other forms of malicious code, such as trojans and remote controls, only the server portion of the malicious code resides on the innocent victim's computer system. The procedure can be embodied in a computer program, such as a malicious code detection program. The malicious code detection program detects the presence of (and identifies) the malicious code before, during and/or after the malicious code executes on the victim's computer system.
Figure 2 illustrates an architecture of a malicious code detection program 40 that is executed by the information handling system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The malicious code detection program 40 includes detection routines 42 and a scoring algorithm 44. The detection routines 42 operatively couple to the operating system 46 of the computer system under investigation via application programming interfaces (APIs) 48. The detection routines also access process behavior information (e.g., data) 50 and binary image information 60, according to the particular requirements of a corresponding detection routine, further as discussed below.
In one embodiment, the malicious code detection program operates as follows. The malicious code detection program executes at any time, on an as-needed basis, a periodic basis, a random basis, another scheduled basis, or on an event driven basis in response to a particular event according to the particular requirements of a given situation, h the illustrative embodiments, the malicious code detection program includes instructions for the information handling system to examine characteristics and behaviors of the information handling system's instructions and/or data.
The malicious code detection program includes instructions for the information handling system to evaluate the information handling system's instructions and/or data to determine whether such instructions and/or data are valid code (i.e., non-malicious) or malicious code or any one or more types. The malicious code detection program includes respective detection routines, sets of weights, and weighted scoring algorithms for detecting one or more types of valid code and/or one or more types of malicious code.
The malicious code detection program 40 contains detection routines 42, including valid program detection routines 52 and malicious code detection routines 54. The valid program detection routines 52 include one or more routines identified by v1} v2, v3, ... , VM in Figure 2. The valid program detection routines 52 are configured to determine whether the program under investigation has characteristics and behaviors usually associated with a valid program. The malicious code detection routines 54 include ~~ ~ it more routines identified by ti , t , t3, ... , t^ in Figure 2. The malicious code detection routines 54 are configured to determine whether the program under investigation has characteristics and behaviors usually associated with a malicious code program.
In one embodiment, the valid program detection routines 52 and the malicious code detection routines 54 are configured to gather a variety of characteristic and behavior information from the information handling system in a variety of ways, such as: (a) examining the program itself; (b) accessing information from the operating system 46 using application programming interfaces (APIs) 48 to the operating system (including documented APIs and/or undocumented API's); (c) kernel and/or device driver interfacing; and/or (d) direct access to resources of the information handling system such as memory, network connections, storage media, and/or other devices. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, the detection routines 42 gather such information by examining one or more of (a) a binary image 60 or (b) a library or other information (e.g., tables showing a program's network connection activity) that indicates the aforementioned characteristics and behaviors, such as process behavior information 50. For example, a detection routine 42 can be configured to account for the following.
Many trojans, keyloggers, remote controls and monitoring software programs log keystrokes on the innocent victim's computer and transmit the keystroke information from the innocent victim's computer to the evil hacker's computer. In one embodiment, a malicious code detection routine 54 determines whether the program being examined is logging keystrokes. Since there are many different ways for a program to log keystrokes, one or more of the malicious code detection routines 54 can be configured to examine the program under investigation to determine whether the program is using any of a number of different mechanisms for logging keystrokes. Detection routines may output many different types of results, such as numeric values, boolean values, counts or lists. The malicious code detection program 40 further includes a scoring algorithm 44. In the illustrative embodiment, the scoring algorithm calculates two scores, namely a valid program score 56 and a malicious code score 58. In an alternative embodiment, the scoring algorithm calculates the valid program score 56, but not the malicious code score 58. h another alternative embodiment, the scoring algorithm calculates the malicious code score 58, but not the valid program score 56.
If the result of a valid program detection routine 52 indicates that the characteristic or behavior of the program being examined was i1 " of a valid program, then a weight, Wi, is associated with the routine and that weight contributes positively to the valid program score 56. A weight, Wi, is assigned to each valid program detection routine, for i = 1 to M, where M is the number of the valid program detection routine.
The weight indicates (a) the detection routine's importance, (b) the extent to which the particular behavioral trait being measured by the detection routine is present, and (c) the extent to which the behavioral trait contributes to the determination of whether the program is valid or malicious. To determine the value that results from combining the weight with the results of the detection routine, the information handling system performs any one or more of a variety of operations, such as performing an arithmetic or algebraic operation on the combination of the weight and the result of the detection routine or simply assigning the combination a numerical value.
If the result of a malicious code detection routme 54 indicates that the characteristic or behavior of the program being examined was that of a malicious code program, then a weight, Wj, is associated with the routine and that weight contributes positively to the malicious code score 58. A weight, Wj, is assigned each malicious code detection routine, for j = 1 to N, where N is the number of the malicious code detection routine.
According to one embodiment, the scoring algorithm 44 includes an algorithm that has an algebraic formula for determining the two scores 56 and 58. The scoring algorithm is dependent on the valid program detection routines 52 and the weights, Wi, associated with each valid program detection routine, in addition to, the malicious code detection routines 54 and the weights Wj, associated with each malicious code detection routine. The algebraic formula or equation can also be made arbitrarily complex (e.g., associating additional weights to one or more to combinations of detection routines 42.
In one embodiment, the scoring algorithm 44 includes an algebraic equation defined as a sum of weighted values. For example, the algebraic equation for the valid program detection routines can include an equation as given by:
M
VALID SCORE = ∑Wt,
where Wj = weight of a valid detection routine Vj for i = 1 to M.
Similarly, the algebraic equation for the malicious code detection routines can include an equation as given by: MALICIOUS CODE SCORE = ∑Wj,
7=1 where Wj = weight of a malicious code detection routine tj for j = 1 to N. hi another embodiment, more complex forms of the scoring algorithm 44 can be implemented in the form of more sophisticated algebraic formulae. If a program under investigation exceeds a valid program score threshold, Vthres, then it is determined that the program is a valid program. If that program exceeds a malicious code score threshold, Tthres, then it is determined that the program is a malicious code program. If a program is deemed to be valid using the valid algorithm, then it is sometimes eliminated from consideration as a malicious code program. Executable code and/or programs under investigation may also have some of the characteristics and behaviors of valid programs and some of the characteristics and behaviors of malicious code. If a program does not exceed either threshold or if a program does not have a significant difference between the valid program score 56 and the malicious code score 58, then according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the technique identifies the program in another category of suspicious programs or anomalous programs.
In one embodiment, the technique for detecting malicious code on a computer system includes executing a malicious code detection program on the computer system. The malicious code detection program includes detection routines. The malicious code detection program applies the detection routines to programs on the computer system. The detection routines are assigned weights that are factored by a scoring algorithm to determine a composite score based on the results of the detection routines and their associated weights. For example, a malicious code detection routine has a weight associated with it, such that if the malicious code detection routine determines that a given code under investigation is a malicious code program, then the weight is applied positively towards the malicious code score for the code under investigation. Also, the malicious code detection program determines whether one or more programs are valid or malicious as a function of the weights assigned to the detection routines.
In another embodiment, the technique is configured to detect malicious code on a computer having an operating system. The technique includes executing a malicious code detection program on the computer. Detection routines of the malicious code detection program are configured to gather information about programs on the computer system. The detection routines include at least one selected from the ip consisting of (a) examining each executable code or program itself and (b)searching for information about each executable code or program in the operating system. For example, examining code or a program can include examining a binary image of the same, wherever the binary image may reside, within the LHS or in computer readable media accessible to the TJHS. In addition, the detection routines further consist of valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
The malicious code detection program applies the detection routines to the programs on the computer system. In response to a detection of a valid program or malicious code, the detection routines assigns weights to respective programs under test as a function of a respective detection routine. Also, the malicious code detection program determines whether a program is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines. Determining whether the program is a valid program or malicious code involves the scoring of an execution of each detection routine as a function of a respective weight. A scoring algorithm is used to identify a program as malicious code in response to a valid score and a malicious code score, as discussed herein. In yet another embodiment, the technique for detecting malicious code on a computer system includes executing detection routines, the detection routines having been configured to examine at least one selected from the group consisting of characteristics and behaviors of programs on the computer system. For example, the detection routines can be configured to access process behavior information of a program on the computer system. In addition, the characteristics and behaviors may include one or more of logging keystrokes, saving a display screen view, uploading files, downloading files, executing programs, and controlling a display screen of the computer system.
Subsequent to execution of one or more of the detection routine, weights are assigned as a function of the examined characteristics and behaviors, the assigned weights indicative of a valid program or malicious code as a function of respective detection routines. Also, the technique determines whether a program is malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines.
In the embodiment of the previous paragraph, the detection routines include valid program detection routmes and malicious code detection routines. The valid program detection routines are configured to determine whether the program exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with a valid program. The malicious code detection routines are configured to determine whether '" irogram exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with malicious code. hi one embodiment, the technique for detecting malicious code is implemented in the form of a computer program. The computer program is executed on a desired computer system for detecting any potential malicious code on the computer system. Execution of the computer program continues until all active programs on the computer system have been tested and evaluated. Alternatively, other criteria may be established for a duration of testing with the malicious code detection program. For example, execution of the malicious code detection program can be configured to occur in response to one or more of a random initiation and a periodic initiation. According to another embodiment, the malicious code detection program includes a small program configured for being delivered quickly, as well as, for being executed quickly. The malicious code detection program can be delivered to the innocent victim's computer over a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Internet, intranet, or any other global computer network 30. The malicious code detection program may also be delivered via suitable computer readable media, such as, media 26 shown in Figure 1.
While not stopping an infection of the computer system with malicious code programs, the technique of the present embodiments identifies a malicious code program when executing on a computer system. The technique for identifying a malicious code program is suitable for combination with other techniques, such as a technique for detecting infection, resulting in a more robust computer system malicious code protection implementation.
Where the foregoing disclosure mentions that code performs an operation, it is understood that the information handling system performs the operation in response to the information handling system's execution of the code.
Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a wide range of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some features of the embodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:
1. A method for detecting malicious code in an information handling system, comprising: executing malicious code detection code (MCDC) on the information handling system, the MCDC including detection routines; applying the detection routines to executable code under investigation, the detection routines associating weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines; and determining whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection routines include valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying comprises: applying the detection routines to gather information about the executable code under investigation by at least one of the following: examining the code or program; and searching for information in the information handling system about the code or program.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code includes scoring the execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights .
5. The method of claim 4, wherein scoring includes configuring a scoring algorithm to identify code under investigation as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
13. A method for detecting malicic )de in an information handling system, comprising: executing malicious code detection code (MCDC) on the information handling system, the MCDC including detection routines for gathering information about executable code under investigation, the detection routines including at least one of the following: (a) examining the code or program and (b) searching for information in the information handling system about the code or program, the detection routines including valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines; applying the detection routines to the executable code under investigation, the detection routines associating weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of at least one of the detection routines; and determining whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines, wherein determining whether the code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code includes scoring an execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights, and wherein scoring includes configuring a scoring algorithm to identify code under investigation as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
21. A method for detecting malicious code on a information handling system, comprising: executing detection routines, the detection routines examining at least one of the following: characteristics and behaviors of executable code under investigation; assigning weights as a function of the examined characteristics and behaviors, the assigned weights indicative of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines; and determining whether executable code under investigation is malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the detection routines include valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
23. The method of claim 21 , wherein the valid program detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with a valid program; and wherein the malicious code detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with malicious code.
24. The method of claim 21 , wherein deteπnining whether the executable code under investigation is malicious code includes scoring the execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein scoring includes using a scoring algorithm for identifying executable code as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the scoring algorithm determines a valid program by a summation of weights of the valid program detection routines being greater than a valid program weight threshold, and a malicious code by a summation of weights of the malicious code detection routine having a summed value greater than a malicious code weight threshold.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the scoring algorithm determines an anomalous program by the summation of weights of the valid program detection routines and the summation of weights of the malicious code detection routines both having sums greater than respective thresholds, or less than the respective thresholds.
28. The method of claim 21, and comprising: operatively coupling the detection routines to an operating system of the information handling system via application programming interfaces (APIs).
29. The method of claim 21, wherein the detection routines access process behavior information of executable code under investigation.
30. The method of claim 21, wherein the characteristics and behaviors include at least one of the following: logging keystrokes, saving a display screen view, uploading files, downloading files, executing programs, and controlling the display screen.
31. The method of claim 21 , wherein the detection routines access mformation about the executable code under investigation from an operating system of the information handling system via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and the detection routines gather information from executable code or a program by examining a binary image of the executable code or program, the characteristics and behavior of the executable code or program, and any other related code or programs used by the executable code under investigation.
32. The method of claim 21, and comprising: delivering malicious code detection code (MCDC) containing the detection routmes to the information handling system in a small compact code module via at least one of the following: a computer network, Internet, intranet, extranet, modem line, and prepackaged computer readable storage media.
33. The method of claim 21, wherein execution of the MCDC occurs in response to at least one of the following: a random initiation, an event driven initiation, and a periodic initiation.
34. The method of claim 21, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
35. The method of claim 21, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
36. The method of claim 21, wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
37. The method of claim 21, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
38. The method of claim 21 , wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
39. The method of claim 21 , wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
40. The method of claim 21 , wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
41. A computer program stored on computer-readable media for detecting malicious code in an information handling system, the computer program including instructions processable by the information handing system for causing the mformation handling system to: execute malicious code detection code (MCDC) on the information handling system, the
MCDC including detection routines for gathering information about executable code under investigation, the detection routines including ~ '"ist one of the following: (a) examining the executable code or program; and (b) searching for information in the information handling system about the executable code or program, the detection routines including at least one of valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines; apply the detection routines to the executable code under investigation, the detection routines associating weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of at least one of the detection routines; and determine whether code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines, wherein determining whether the code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code includes scoring an execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights, wherein scoring includes configuring a scoring algorithm to identify code under investigation as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
42. The computer program of claim 41, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
43. The computer program of claim 41 , wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
44. The computer program of claim 41, wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
45. The computer program of claim 41, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
46. The computer program of claim 41, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
47. The computer program of claim 41 , wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
48. The computer program of claim 41, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
49. A computer program stored on computer-readable media for detecting malicious code in an information handling system, the computer program including instructions processable by the information handling system for causing the mformation handling system to: execute detection routmes, the detection routines examining at least one of the following: characteristics and behaviors of executable code under investigation; assign weights as a function of the examined characteristics and behaviors, the assigned weights indicative of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines; and determine whether executable code unJ~~ -"ivestigation is malicious code as a function of the assigned weights.
50. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the detection routines include valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
51. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the valid program detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with a valid program; and wherein the malicious code detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with malicious code.
52. The computer program of claim 49, wherein determining whether the executable code under investigation is malicious code includes scoring the execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights.
53. The computer program of claim 52, wherein scoring includes using a scoring algorithm for identifying executable code as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
54. The computer program of claim 53, wherein the scoring algorithm determines a valid program by a summation of weights of the valid program detection routines being greater than a valid program weight threshold, and a malicious code by a summation of weights of the malicious code detection routine having a summed value greater than a malicious code weight threshold.
55. The computer program of claim 54, wherein the scoring algorithm determines an anomalous executable code under investigation by the summation of weights of the valid program detection routines and the summation of weights of the malicious code detection routines both having sums greater than respective thresholds, or less than the respective thresholds.
56. The computer program of claim 49, and comprising instructions processable by the information handling system for causing the information handling system to: operatively couple the detection routines to an operating system of the information handling system via application programming interfaces (APIs).
57. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the detection routmes access process behavior information of executable code under investigation.
58. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the characteristics and behaviors include at least one of the following: logging keystrokes, saving a display screen view, uploading files, downloading files, executing programs, and controlling the display screen.
59. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the detection routines access
5 information about the executable code under investigation from an operating system of the information handling system via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and the detection routines gather information from executable code or a program by examining a binary image of the executable code or program, the characteristics and behavior of the executable code or program, and any other related code or programs used by the executable code under
ID investigation.
60. The computer program of claim 49, comprising instructions processable by the information handling system for causing the information handling system to: deliver malicious code detection code (MCDC) containing detection routines to the information handling system in a small compact code module via at least one of the following: a 15 computer network, Internet, intranet, extranet, modem line, and prepackaged computer readable storage media.
61. The computer program of claim 49, wherein execution of the MCDC occurs in response to at least one of the following: a random initiation, an event driven initiation, and a periodic initiation. 0
62. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes a troj an horse.
63. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
64. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes a 5 keystroke logger.
65. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
66. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
67. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
68. The computer program of claim 49, wherein the malicious code includes 0 monitoring software.
69. An information handling system, comprising: a memory; a processor; and computer-readable code stored by the memory and processable by the processor for detecting malicious code, the computer-readable code including instructions for causing the processor to: execute malicious code detection code (MCDC) on the information handling system, the MCDC including detection routines for gathering information about executable code under investigation, the detection routines including at least one of the following: (a) examining the executable code or program and (b) searching for information about the executable code or program in the information handling system, the detection routines including valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines; apply the detection routines to the executable code under investigation, the detection routines assigning weights to respective executable code under investigation in response to detections of a valid program or malicious code as a function of at least one of the detection routines; and determine whether executable code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines, wherein determining whether the code under investigation is a valid program or malicious code includes scoring an execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights, and wherein scoring includes configuring a scoring algorithm to identify executable code under investigation as malicious code in response to at least one of a valid score and a malicious code score.
70. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
71. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
72. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
73. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
74. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
75. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
76. The information handling system of claim 69, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
77. An information handling system, comprising: a memory; a processor; and computer-readable code stored by the memory and processable by the processor for detecting malicious code on the information handling system, the computer-readable code including instructions for causing the processor to: execute detection routines, the detection routines examining at least one of the following: characteristics and behaviors of programs; assign weights as a function of the examined characteristics and behaviors, the assigned weights indicative of a valid program or malicious code as a function of the detection routines; and determine whether executable code under investigation is malicious code as a function of the weights assigned by the detection routines.
78. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the detection routines include valid program detection routines and malicious code detection routines.
79. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the valid program detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with a valid program; and wherein the malicious code detection routines determine whether the executable code under investigation exhibits at least one or more characteristics and behaviors associated with malicious code.
80. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein determining whether the executable code under investigation is malicious code includes scoring the execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights.
81. The information handling system of claim 80, wherein scoring includes using a scoring algorithm for identifying executable cc ' s malicious code in response to a valid score and a malicious code score.
82. The information handling system of claim 81, wherein the scoring algorithm determines a valid program by a summation of weights of the valid program detection routines being greater than a valid program weight threshold, and a malicious code by a summation of weights of the malicious code detection routine having a summed value greater than a malicious code weight threshold.
83. The information handling system of claim 82, wherein the scoring algorithm determines an anomalous executable code under investigation by the summation of weights of the valid program detection routines and the summation of weights of the malicious code detection routines both having sums greater than respective thresholds, or less than the respective thresholds.
84. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the characteristics and behaviors include at least one of the following: logging keystrokes, saving a display screen view, uploading files, downloading files, executing programs, and controlling the display screen.
85. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the detection routines access information about the executable code under investigation from an operating system of the information handling system via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and the detection routines gather information from executable code or a program by examining a binary image of the executable code or program, the characteristics and behavior of the executable code or program, and any other related code or programs used by the executable code under investigation.
86. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the computer-readable code includes instructions for delivering the MCDC containing detection routmes to the information handling system in a small compact code module via at least one of the following: a computer network, Internet, intranet, extranet, modem line, and prepackaged computer readable storage media.
87. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein execution of the MCDC occurs in response to at least one of the following: a random initiation, an event driven initiation, and a periodic initiation.
88. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
89. The information handling syste " claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
90. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
91. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
92. The mformation handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
93. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
94. The information handling system of claim 77, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
95. A method for detecting malicious code in an mformation handling system, comprising: executing malicious code detection code (MCDC) on the information handling system, the MCDC including detection routines; applying the detection routines to code under investigation, the detection routines associating weights to respective code under investigation in response to detections of malicious code as a function of the detection routmes; and determining whether code under investigation is malicious code as a function of the weights associated by the detection routines.
96. The method of claim 95, wherein the applying comprises: applying the detection routines to gather information about the code under investigation by at least one of the following: examining the code under investigation; and searching for information in the infonnation handling system about the code under investigation.
97. The method of claim 95, wherein determining whether the code under investigation is malicious code includes scoring the execution of the detection routines as a function of the weights, wherein scoring includes configuring a scoring algorithm to identify the code under investigation as malicious code in response to a malicious code score.
98. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes a trojan horse.
99. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes remote control software.
100. The method of claim 95, wher ' 'he malicious code includes a keystroke logger.
101. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes spyware.
102. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes a worm.
103. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes a virus.
104. The method of claim 95, wherein the malicious code includes monitoring software.
PCT/US2003/026993 2002-08-30 2003-08-26 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system WO2004021197A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP03791906A EP1546891A4 (en) 2002-08-30 2003-08-26 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
AU2003265813A AU2003265813A1 (en) 2002-08-30 2003-08-26 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10/231,557 2002-08-30
US10/231,557 US7748039B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2002-08-30 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US10/647,644 2003-08-25
US10/647,644 US7832011B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2003-08-25 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004021197A1 true WO2004021197A1 (en) 2004-03-11

Family

ID=31980957

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2003/026993 WO2004021197A1 (en) 2002-08-30 2003-08-26 Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US7832011B2 (en)
EP (1) EP1546891A4 (en)
AU (1) AU2003265813A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2004021197A1 (en)

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7331062B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2008-02-12 Symantec Corporation Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
US7509679B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2009-03-24 Symantec Corporation Method, system and computer program product for security in a global computer network transaction
US7519998B2 (en) * 2004-07-28 2009-04-14 Los Alamos National Security, Llc Detection of malicious computer executables
US7739337B1 (en) 2005-06-20 2010-06-15 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for grouping spam email messages
US7748039B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2010-06-29 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7832011B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2010-11-09 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
WO2010142545A1 (en) * 2009-06-10 2010-12-16 F-Secure Corporation False alarm detection for malware scanning
US7941490B1 (en) 2004-05-11 2011-05-10 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting spam in email messages and email attachments
US8010609B2 (en) 2005-06-20 2011-08-30 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for maintaining reputation lists of IP addresses to detect email spam
US8145710B2 (en) 2003-06-18 2012-03-27 Symantec Corporation System and method for filtering spam messages utilizing URL filtering module
CN102523223A (en) * 2011-12-20 2012-06-27 北京神州绿盟信息安全科技股份有限公司 Trojan detection method and apparatus thereof
US8271588B1 (en) 2003-09-24 2012-09-18 Symantec Corporation System and method for filtering fraudulent email messages
EP2255329A4 (en) * 2008-02-01 2012-12-26 Qualcomm Inc Keyword tracking for microtargeting of mobile advertising
US8904536B2 (en) 2008-08-28 2014-12-02 AVG Netherlands B.V. Heuristic method of code analysis
US9098333B1 (en) 2010-05-07 2015-08-04 Ziften Technologies, Inc. Monitoring computer process resource usage
CN106992992A (en) * 2017-05-24 2017-07-28 南京中孚信息技术有限公司 A kind of Trojan detecting method based on communication behavior

Families Citing this family (110)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2004055632A2 (en) * 2002-12-13 2004-07-01 Wholesecurity, Inc. Method, system, and computer program product for security within a global computer network
US7392543B2 (en) * 2003-06-30 2008-06-24 Symantec Corporation Signature extraction system and method
US7548968B1 (en) 2003-12-10 2009-06-16 Markmonitor Inc. Policing internet domains
US7480655B2 (en) 2004-01-09 2009-01-20 Webroor Software, Inc. System and method for protecting files on a computer from access by unauthorized applications
US8627458B2 (en) * 2004-01-13 2014-01-07 Mcafee, Inc. Detecting malicious computer program activity using external program calls with dynamic rule sets
US7913302B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2011-03-22 Markmonitor, Inc. Advanced responses to online fraud
US7457823B2 (en) 2004-05-02 2008-11-25 Markmonitor Inc. Methods and systems for analyzing data related to possible online fraud
US8041769B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2011-10-18 Markmonitor Inc. Generating phish messages
US7992204B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2011-08-02 Markmonitor, Inc. Enhanced responses to online fraud
US7870608B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2011-01-11 Markmonitor, Inc. Early detection and monitoring of online fraud
US20070299915A1 (en) * 2004-05-02 2007-12-27 Markmonitor, Inc. Customer-based detection of online fraud
US9203648B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2015-12-01 Thomson Reuters Global Resources Online fraud solution
US8769671B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2014-07-01 Markmonitor Inc. Online fraud solution
US20050268112A1 (en) * 2004-05-28 2005-12-01 Microsoft Corporation Managing spyware and unwanted software through auto-start extensibility points
WO2006039208A2 (en) * 2004-09-22 2006-04-13 Cyberdefender Corporation Threat protection network
US7441273B2 (en) * 2004-09-27 2008-10-21 Mcafee, Inc. Virus scanner system and method with integrated spyware detection capabilities
US20060075494A1 (en) * 2004-10-01 2006-04-06 Bertman Justin R Method and system for analyzing data for potential malware
US7533131B2 (en) 2004-10-01 2009-05-12 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for pestware detection and removal
US20060075490A1 (en) * 2004-10-01 2006-04-06 Boney Matthew L System and method for actively operating malware to generate a definition
US7287279B2 (en) 2004-10-01 2007-10-23 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for locating malware
US7480683B2 (en) * 2004-10-01 2009-01-20 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for heuristic analysis to identify pestware
US8499350B1 (en) * 2009-07-29 2013-07-30 Symantec Corporation Detecting malware through package behavior
US7882317B2 (en) * 2004-12-06 2011-02-01 Microsoft Corporation Process isolation using protection domains
US8020141B2 (en) 2004-12-06 2011-09-13 Microsoft Corporation Operating-system process construction
US7451435B2 (en) * 2004-12-07 2008-11-11 Microsoft Corporation Self-describing artifacts and application abstractions
US7600232B2 (en) * 2004-12-07 2009-10-06 Microsoft Corporation Inter-process communications employing bi-directional message conduits
US20060230039A1 (en) * 2005-01-25 2006-10-12 Markmonitor, Inc. Online identity tracking
US20060212931A1 (en) * 2005-03-02 2006-09-21 Markmonitor, Inc. Trust evaluation systems and methods
US20060212836A1 (en) * 2005-03-15 2006-09-21 Nokia Corporation Personalized user interfaces for presentation-oriented web services
US20060212940A1 (en) * 2005-03-21 2006-09-21 Wilson Michael C System and method for removing multiple related running processes
US7565695B2 (en) * 2005-04-12 2009-07-21 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for directly accessing data from a data storage medium
US7346611B2 (en) * 2005-04-12 2008-03-18 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for accessing data from a data storage medium
US20060277183A1 (en) * 2005-06-06 2006-12-07 Tony Nichols System and method for neutralizing locked pestware files
US8452744B2 (en) * 2005-06-06 2013-05-28 Webroot Inc. System and method for analyzing locked files
US8849968B2 (en) * 2005-06-20 2014-09-30 Microsoft Corporation Secure and stable hosting of third-party extensions to web services
US20090144826A2 (en) * 2005-06-30 2009-06-04 Webroot Software, Inc. Systems and Methods for Identifying Malware Distribution
CA2613083A1 (en) * 2005-07-01 2007-01-11 Markmonitor Inc. Enhanced fraud monitoring systems
US20070016951A1 (en) * 2005-07-13 2007-01-18 Piccard Paul L Systems and methods for identifying sources of malware
US8272058B2 (en) 2005-07-29 2012-09-18 Bit 9, Inc. Centralized timed analysis in a network security system
US7895651B2 (en) 2005-07-29 2011-02-22 Bit 9, Inc. Content tracking in a network security system
US8984636B2 (en) 2005-07-29 2015-03-17 Bit9, Inc. Content extractor and analysis system
US20070067842A1 (en) * 2005-08-08 2007-03-22 Greene Michael P Systems and methods for collecting files related to malware
US8161548B1 (en) 2005-08-15 2012-04-17 Trend Micro, Inc. Malware detection using pattern classification
US20070073792A1 (en) * 2005-09-28 2007-03-29 Tony Nichols System and method for removing residual data from memory
US20070074289A1 (en) * 2005-09-28 2007-03-29 Phil Maddaloni Client side exploit tracking
US7712132B1 (en) * 2005-10-06 2010-05-04 Ogilvie John W Detecting surreptitious spyware
US7996898B2 (en) * 2005-10-25 2011-08-09 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for monitoring events on a computer to reduce false positive indication of pestware
US20070094496A1 (en) * 2005-10-25 2007-04-26 Michael Burtscher System and method for kernel-level pestware management
US8074231B2 (en) 2005-10-26 2011-12-06 Microsoft Corporation Configuration of isolated extensions and device drivers
US20070094733A1 (en) * 2005-10-26 2007-04-26 Wilson Michael C System and method for neutralizing pestware residing in executable memory
US20070094495A1 (en) * 2005-10-26 2007-04-26 Microsoft Corporation Statically Verifiable Inter-Process-Communicative Isolated Processes
US20070094726A1 (en) * 2005-10-26 2007-04-26 Wilson Michael C System and method for neutralizing pestware that is loaded by a desirable process
US20080281772A2 (en) * 2005-11-30 2008-11-13 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for managing access to storage media
US8255992B2 (en) * 2006-01-18 2012-08-28 Webroot Inc. Method and system for detecting dependent pestware objects on a computer
US20070168694A1 (en) * 2006-01-18 2007-07-19 Phil Maddaloni System and method for identifying and removing pestware using a secondary operating system
US8418245B2 (en) * 2006-01-18 2013-04-09 Webroot Inc. Method and system for detecting obfuscatory pestware in a computer memory
US20070168285A1 (en) * 2006-01-18 2007-07-19 Jurijs Girtakovskis Systems and methods for neutralizing unauthorized attempts to monitor user activity
US7721333B2 (en) * 2006-01-18 2010-05-18 Webroot Software, Inc. Method and system for detecting a keylogger on a computer
US20070169198A1 (en) * 2006-01-18 2007-07-19 Phil Madddaloni System and method for managing pestware affecting an operating system of a computer
US8196205B2 (en) * 2006-01-23 2012-06-05 University Of Washington Through Its Center For Commercialization Detection of spyware threats within virtual machine
US7840958B1 (en) * 2006-02-17 2010-11-23 Trend Micro, Inc. Preventing spyware installation
US20070203884A1 (en) * 2006-02-28 2007-08-30 Tony Nichols System and method for obtaining file information and data locations
WO2007106826A2 (en) 2006-03-13 2007-09-20 Markmonitor Inc. Domain name ownership validation
US8079032B2 (en) * 2006-03-22 2011-12-13 Webroot Software, Inc. Method and system for rendering harmless a locked pestware executable object
US9171157B2 (en) * 2006-03-28 2015-10-27 Blue Coat Systems, Inc. Method and system for tracking access to application data and preventing data exploitation by malicious programs
US8201243B2 (en) * 2006-04-20 2012-06-12 Webroot Inc. Backwards researching activity indicative of pestware
US20070250818A1 (en) * 2006-04-20 2007-10-25 Boney Matthew L Backwards researching existing pestware
US8181244B2 (en) * 2006-04-20 2012-05-15 Webroot Inc. Backward researching time stamped events to find an origin of pestware
US20070261117A1 (en) * 2006-04-20 2007-11-08 Boney Matthew L Method and system for detecting a compressed pestware executable object
US7945956B2 (en) * 2006-05-18 2011-05-17 Microsoft Corporation Defining code by its functionality
US20070294396A1 (en) * 2006-06-15 2007-12-20 Krzaczynski Eryk W Method and system for researching pestware spread through electronic messages
US20080010326A1 (en) * 2006-06-15 2008-01-10 Carpenter Troy A Method and system for securely deleting files from a computer storage device
US20070294767A1 (en) * 2006-06-20 2007-12-20 Paul Piccard Method and system for accurate detection and removal of pestware
US8032898B2 (en) 2006-06-30 2011-10-04 Microsoft Corporation Kernel interface with categorized kernel objects
US7996903B2 (en) 2006-07-07 2011-08-09 Webroot Software, Inc. Method and system for detecting and removing hidden pestware files
US20080028466A1 (en) * 2006-07-26 2008-01-31 Michael Burtscher System and method for retrieving information from a storage medium
US8578495B2 (en) * 2006-07-26 2013-11-05 Webroot Inc. System and method for analyzing packed files
US20080028462A1 (en) * 2006-07-26 2008-01-31 Michael Burtscher System and method for loading and analyzing files
US8190868B2 (en) 2006-08-07 2012-05-29 Webroot Inc. Malware management through kernel detection
US7590707B2 (en) * 2006-08-07 2009-09-15 Webroot Software, Inc. Method and system for identifying network addresses associated with suspect network destinations
US8065664B2 (en) * 2006-08-07 2011-11-22 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for defining and detecting pestware
US8171550B2 (en) * 2006-08-07 2012-05-01 Webroot Inc. System and method for defining and detecting pestware with function parameters
US20080127352A1 (en) * 2006-08-18 2008-05-29 Min Wang System and method for protecting a registry of a computer
US7769992B2 (en) 2006-08-18 2010-08-03 Webroot Software, Inc. File manipulation during early boot time
US8056134B1 (en) 2006-09-10 2011-11-08 Ogilvie John W Malware detection and identification via malware spoofing
US20080086638A1 (en) * 2006-10-06 2008-04-10 Markmonitor Inc. Browser reputation indicators with two-way authentication
US8789063B2 (en) 2007-03-30 2014-07-22 Microsoft Corporation Master and subordinate operating system kernels for heterogeneous multiprocessor systems
US20080301816A1 (en) * 2007-06-01 2008-12-04 Ting David M T Method and system for handling keystroke commands
WO2008151321A2 (en) * 2007-06-08 2008-12-11 The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York Systems, methods, and media for enforcing a security policy in a network including a plurality of components
US8019700B2 (en) * 2007-10-05 2011-09-13 Google Inc. Detecting an intrusive landing page
US9015842B2 (en) * 2008-03-19 2015-04-21 Websense, Inc. Method and system for protection against information stealing software
US8769702B2 (en) * 2008-04-16 2014-07-01 Micosoft Corporation Application reputation service
US20090313700A1 (en) * 2008-06-11 2009-12-17 Jefferson Horne Method and system for generating malware definitions using a comparison of normalized assembly code
US8745703B2 (en) * 2008-06-24 2014-06-03 Microsoft Corporation Identifying exploitation of vulnerabilities using error report
US9626511B2 (en) * 2008-08-26 2017-04-18 Symantec Corporation Agentless enforcement of application management through virtualized block I/O redirection
US8621625B1 (en) * 2008-12-23 2013-12-31 Symantec Corporation Methods and systems for detecting infected files
US8635694B2 (en) * 2009-01-10 2014-01-21 Kaspersky Lab Zao Systems and methods for malware classification
US11489857B2 (en) 2009-04-21 2022-11-01 Webroot Inc. System and method for developing a risk profile for an internet resource
WO2011002818A1 (en) * 2009-06-29 2011-01-06 Cyberdefender Corporation Systems and methods for operating an anti-malware network on a cloud computing platform
US8443448B2 (en) * 2009-08-20 2013-05-14 Federal Reserve Bank Of New York System and method for detection of non-compliant software installation
US8595840B1 (en) 2010-06-01 2013-11-26 Trend Micro Incorporated Detection of computer network data streams from a malware and its variants
TWI442260B (en) * 2010-11-19 2014-06-21 Inst Information Industry Server, user device and malware detection method thereof
US9323928B2 (en) 2011-06-01 2016-04-26 Mcafee, Inc. System and method for non-signature based detection of malicious processes
USD845978S1 (en) * 2013-01-23 2019-04-16 Yandex Europe Ag Display screen with graphical user interface
US10152591B2 (en) 2013-02-10 2018-12-11 Paypal, Inc. Protecting against malware variants using reconstructed code of malware
RU2015136393A (en) 2013-02-10 2017-03-15 ПэйПэл, Инк. METHOD AND PRODUCT FOR PROVIDING SECURITY SAFETY WITH PREDICTING A PRODUCT AND EVALUATING EXISTING SECURITY PRODUCTS
US9805099B2 (en) * 2014-10-30 2017-10-31 The Johns Hopkins University Apparatus and method for efficient identification of code similarity
US9619649B1 (en) * 2015-03-13 2017-04-11 Symantec Corporation Systems and methods for detecting potentially malicious applications
US10380339B1 (en) * 2015-06-01 2019-08-13 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Reactively identifying software products exhibiting anomalous behavior
CN106657095B (en) * 2016-12-29 2020-07-28 北京安天网络安全技术有限公司 Method and system for identifying unknown remote control trojan horse

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5537540A (en) * 1994-09-30 1996-07-16 Compaq Computer Corporation Transparent, secure computer virus detection method and apparatus
US5802277A (en) * 1995-07-31 1998-09-01 International Business Machines Corporation Virus protection in computer systems
US6393568B1 (en) * 1997-10-23 2002-05-21 Entrust Technologies Limited Encryption and decryption system and method with content analysis provision
WO2002103533A1 (en) * 2001-05-22 2002-12-27 Worldcom, Inc. System and method for malicious code detection
US20030033536A1 (en) * 2001-08-01 2003-02-13 Pak Michael C. Virus scanning on thin client devices using programmable assembly language

Family Cites Families (53)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US677346A (en) * 1900-12-10 1901-07-02 William J Estes Vehicle-top.
US5121345A (en) * 1988-11-03 1992-06-09 Lentz Stephen A System and method for protecting integrity of computer data and software
US5440723A (en) * 1993-01-19 1995-08-08 International Business Machines Corporation Automatic immune system for computers and computer networks
US5956481A (en) * 1997-02-06 1999-09-21 Microsoft Corporation Method and apparatus for protecting data files on a computer from virus infection
US5970405A (en) * 1997-02-28 1999-10-19 Cellular Technical Services Co., Inc. Apparatus and method for preventing fraudulent calls in a wireless telephone system using destination and fingerprint analysis
SE510393C2 (en) 1997-06-26 1999-05-17 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M Method and apparatus for detecting an unauthorized user access to a communication network
US20050081059A1 (en) * 1997-07-24 2005-04-14 Bandini Jean-Christophe Denis Method and system for e-mail filtering
US5919257A (en) * 1997-08-08 1999-07-06 Novell, Inc. Networked workstation intrusion detection system
US5983348A (en) * 1997-09-10 1999-11-09 Trend Micro Incorporated Computer network malicious code scanner
US6357008B1 (en) * 1997-09-23 2002-03-12 Symantec Corporation Dynamic heuristic method for detecting computer viruses using decryption exploration and evaluation phases
US6088804A (en) * 1998-01-12 2000-07-11 Motorola, Inc. Adaptive system and method for responding to computer network security attacks
WO1999050734A1 (en) 1998-03-31 1999-10-07 At & T Corp. A method of and apparatus for computer security using a transmitting location device
US6870546B1 (en) * 1998-06-01 2005-03-22 Autodesk, Inc. Protectable expressions in objects having authorable behaviors and appearances
US6260021B1 (en) * 1998-06-12 2001-07-10 Philips Electronics North America Corporation Computer-based medical image distribution system and method
US6182227B1 (en) * 1998-06-22 2001-01-30 International Business Machines Corporation Lightweight authentication system and method for validating a server access request
US6161130A (en) * 1998-06-23 2000-12-12 Microsoft Corporation Technique which utilizes a probabilistic classifier to detect "junk" e-mail by automatically updating a training and re-training the classifier based on the updated training set
US6266774B1 (en) * 1998-12-08 2001-07-24 Mcafee.Com Corporation Method and system for securing, managing or optimizing a personal computer
US6499109B1 (en) * 1998-12-08 2002-12-24 Networks Associates Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for securing software distributed over a network
US6330588B1 (en) * 1998-12-21 2001-12-11 Philips Electronics North America Corporation Verification of software agents and agent activities
US6560632B1 (en) * 1999-07-16 2003-05-06 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for managing files in a distributed system using prioritization
US6772346B1 (en) * 1999-07-16 2004-08-03 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for managing files in a distributed system using filtering
US7089591B1 (en) * 1999-07-30 2006-08-08 Symantec Corporation Generic detection and elimination of marco viruses
US6523120B1 (en) * 1999-10-29 2003-02-18 Rstar Corporation Level-based network access restriction
US6775780B1 (en) * 2000-03-16 2004-08-10 Networks Associates Technology, Inc. Detecting malicious software by analyzing patterns of system calls generated during emulation
US6842861B1 (en) * 2000-03-24 2005-01-11 Networks Associates Technology, Inc. Method and system for detecting viruses on handheld computers
US6973577B1 (en) * 2000-05-26 2005-12-06 Mcafee, Inc. System and method for dynamically detecting computer viruses through associative behavioral analysis of runtime state
US20030159070A1 (en) * 2001-05-28 2003-08-21 Yaron Mayer System and method for comprehensive general generic protection for computers against malicious programs that may steal information and/or cause damages
US7162649B1 (en) 2000-06-30 2007-01-09 Internet Security Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for network assessment and authentication
US7069589B2 (en) * 2000-07-14 2006-06-27 Computer Associates Think, Inc.. Detection of a class of viral code
GB2366692B (en) * 2000-08-31 2002-08-14 F Secure Oyj Virus protection in an internet environment
EP1360585A4 (en) * 2001-02-14 2008-04-30 Invicta Networks Inc Systems and methods for creating a code inspection system
US7603703B2 (en) * 2001-04-12 2009-10-13 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for controlled distribution of application code and content data within a computer network
CN1147795C (en) * 2001-04-29 2004-04-28 北京瑞星科技股份有限公司 Method, system and medium for detecting and clearing known and anknown computer virus
US20020174137A1 (en) * 2001-05-15 2002-11-21 Wolff Daniel Joseph Repairing alterations to computer files
AU2002339746A1 (en) 2001-05-18 2002-12-03 Imprivata Inc. System and method for authentication using biometrics
US6963978B1 (en) * 2001-07-26 2005-11-08 Mcafee, Inc. Distributed system and method for conducting a comprehensive search for malicious code in software
US7210168B2 (en) * 2001-10-15 2007-04-24 Mcafee, Inc. Updating malware definition data for mobile data processing devices
US6944772B2 (en) * 2001-12-26 2005-09-13 D'mitri Dozortsev System and method of enforcing executable code identity verification over the network
US6836272B2 (en) * 2002-03-12 2004-12-28 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Frame buffer addressing scheme
US20030236836A1 (en) * 2002-03-21 2003-12-25 Borthwick Ernest Mark System and method for the design and sharing of rich media productions via a computer network
US7509679B2 (en) * 2002-08-30 2009-03-24 Symantec Corporation Method, system and computer program product for security in a global computer network transaction
US7748039B2 (en) * 2002-08-30 2010-06-29 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7331062B2 (en) * 2002-08-30 2008-02-12 Symantec Corporation Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
US7832011B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2010-11-09 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
WO2004055632A2 (en) 2002-12-13 2004-07-01 Wholesecurity, Inc. Method, system, and computer program product for security within a global computer network
US20050137980A1 (en) * 2003-12-17 2005-06-23 Bank Of America Corporation Active disablement of malicious code in association with the provision of on-line financial services
US7457823B2 (en) * 2004-05-02 2008-11-25 Markmonitor Inc. Methods and systems for analyzing data related to possible online fraud
US7441273B2 (en) * 2004-09-27 2008-10-21 Mcafee, Inc. Virus scanner system and method with integrated spyware detection capabilities
US7287279B2 (en) * 2004-10-01 2007-10-23 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for locating malware
US7480683B2 (en) * 2004-10-01 2009-01-20 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for heuristic analysis to identify pestware
US7533131B2 (en) * 2004-10-01 2009-05-12 Webroot Software, Inc. System and method for pestware detection and removal
US7739337B1 (en) * 2005-06-20 2010-06-15 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for grouping spam email messages
WO2007106826A2 (en) * 2006-03-13 2007-09-20 Markmonitor Inc. Domain name ownership validation

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5537540A (en) * 1994-09-30 1996-07-16 Compaq Computer Corporation Transparent, secure computer virus detection method and apparatus
US5802277A (en) * 1995-07-31 1998-09-01 International Business Machines Corporation Virus protection in computer systems
US6393568B1 (en) * 1997-10-23 2002-05-21 Entrust Technologies Limited Encryption and decryption system and method with content analysis provision
WO2002103533A1 (en) * 2001-05-22 2002-12-27 Worldcom, Inc. System and method for malicious code detection
US20030033536A1 (en) * 2001-08-01 2003-02-13 Pak Michael C. Virus scanning on thin client devices using programmable assembly language

Cited By (24)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8156552B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2012-04-10 Symantec Corporation Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
US7509679B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2009-03-24 Symantec Corporation Method, system and computer program product for security in a global computer network transaction
US7748039B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2010-06-29 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7832011B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2010-11-09 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7331062B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2008-02-12 Symantec Corporation Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
US7930751B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2011-04-19 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US8931097B2 (en) 2002-08-30 2015-01-06 Symantec Corporation Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
US8145710B2 (en) 2003-06-18 2012-03-27 Symantec Corporation System and method for filtering spam messages utilizing URL filtering module
US8271588B1 (en) 2003-09-24 2012-09-18 Symantec Corporation System and method for filtering fraudulent email messages
US7941490B1 (en) 2004-05-11 2011-05-10 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for detecting spam in email messages and email attachments
US7519998B2 (en) * 2004-07-28 2009-04-14 Los Alamos National Security, Llc Detection of malicious computer executables
US7739337B1 (en) 2005-06-20 2010-06-15 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for grouping spam email messages
US8010609B2 (en) 2005-06-20 2011-08-30 Symantec Corporation Method and apparatus for maintaining reputation lists of IP addresses to detect email spam
EP2255329A4 (en) * 2008-02-01 2012-12-26 Qualcomm Inc Keyword tracking for microtargeting of mobile advertising
US8904536B2 (en) 2008-08-28 2014-12-02 AVG Netherlands B.V. Heuristic method of code analysis
WO2010142545A1 (en) * 2009-06-10 2010-12-16 F-Secure Corporation False alarm detection for malware scanning
US8914889B2 (en) 2009-06-10 2014-12-16 F-Secure Corporation False alarm detection for malware scanning
US9098333B1 (en) 2010-05-07 2015-08-04 Ziften Technologies, Inc. Monitoring computer process resource usage
US10003547B2 (en) 2010-05-07 2018-06-19 Ziften Technologies, Inc. Monitoring computer process resource usage
WO2013091534A1 (en) * 2011-12-20 2013-06-27 北京神州绿盟信息安全科技股份有限公司 Trojan detection method and device
CN102523223A (en) * 2011-12-20 2012-06-27 北京神州绿盟信息安全科技股份有限公司 Trojan detection method and apparatus thereof
US9596248B2 (en) 2011-12-20 2017-03-14 NSFOCUS Information Technology Co., Ltd. Trojan detection method and device
CN106992992A (en) * 2017-05-24 2017-07-28 南京中孚信息技术有限公司 A kind of Trojan detecting method based on communication behavior
CN106992992B (en) * 2017-05-24 2020-02-11 南京中孚信息技术有限公司 Trojan horse detection method based on communication behaviors

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20040064736A1 (en) 2004-04-01
AU2003265813A1 (en) 2004-03-19
EP1546891A4 (en) 2007-09-05
US7832011B2 (en) 2010-11-09
EP1546891A1 (en) 2005-06-29

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US7832011B2 (en) Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7509679B2 (en) Method, system and computer program product for security in a global computer network transaction
US8931097B2 (en) Method, computer software, and system for providing end to end security protection of an online transaction
JP6370747B2 (en) System and method for virtual machine monitor based anti-malware security
US7748039B2 (en) Method and apparatus for detecting malicious code in an information handling system
US7665139B1 (en) Method and apparatus to detect and prevent malicious changes to tokens
Ho et al. PREC: practical root exploit containment for android devices
US20130227691A1 (en) Detecting Malicious Network Content
Bhardwaj Ransomware: A rising threat of new age digital extortion
Wajahat et al. A novel approach of unprivileged keylogger detection
Baliga et al. Automated containment of rootkits attacks
US20240045954A1 (en) Analysis of historical network traffic to identify network vulnerabilities
Ahmed et al. Survey of Keylogger technologies
McIntosh Intercepting ransomware attacks with staged event-driven access control
Baliga et al. Paladin: Automated detection and containment of rootkit attacks
Kono et al. An unknown malware detection using execution registry access
Filiol Viruses and malware
Etaher et al. Understanding the threat of banking malware
Delaney The effectiveness of antivirus software
Hong et al. New malware analysis method on digital forensics
Lacombe et al. Rootkit modeling and experiments under Linux
Nielson Host Security Technology
Alsmadi et al. The ontology of malwares
Malhotra et al. Computer Malwares Influencing The Cyber World: A Quantitative Purview
Mettrick Virtual machine detection through Central Processing Unit (CPU) detail anomalies

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NI NO NZ OM PG PH PL PT RO RU SC SD SE SG SK SL SY TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG UZ VC VN YU ZA ZM ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LU MC NL PT RO SE SI SK TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 2003791906

Country of ref document: EP

WWP Wipo information: published in national office

Ref document number: 2003791906

Country of ref document: EP

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: JP

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Country of ref document: JP