Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Matthew I Braverman

Adrian Mihail Marinescu

Marc E Seinfeld

Michael Todd Kramer

Scott Field

Omar H Shahine

George Cristian Chicioreanu

Gil Gordon

The present invention provides a system, method, and computer-readable medium that opportunistically install a software update on a computer that closes a vulnerability that existed on the computer. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, when antivirus software on a computer identifies malware, a method causes a software update that closes the vulnerability exploited by the malware to be installed on the computer. The method includes identifying the vulnerability exploited by the malware, using a software update system to obtain a software update that is configured to close the vulnerability; and causing the software update to be installed on the computer where the vulnerability exists.

System and method of opportunistically protecting a computer from malware

The present invention provides a system, method, and computer-readable medium for identifying and removing active malware from a computer. Aspects of the present invention are included in a cleaner tool that may be obtained automatically with an update service or may be downloaded manually from a Web site or similar distribution system. The cleaner tool includes a specialized scanning engine that searches a computer for active malware. Since the scanning engine only searches for active malware, the amount of data downloaded and resource requirements of the cleaner tool are less than traditional antivirus software. The scanning engine searches specific locations on a computer, such as data mapped in memory, configuration files, and file metadata for data characteristic of malware. If malware is detected, the cleaner tool removes the malware from the computer.

System and method of efficiently identifying and removing active malware from a computer

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide protection for anti-malware software programs (also referred to herein as anti-malware) that is in addition to the protection that currently exists. In particular, instead of only protecting anti-malware programs from malware attacks by attempting to detect the malware software programs (also referred to herein as malware) before they can accomplish their malicious task, embodiments of the present invention obfuscate, or hide, the anti-malware and/or files associated with the anti-malware. Obfuscating files makes it difficult for malware to locate the information needed to accomplish its malware tasks. Additionally, because obfuscation makes file location difficult, malware that attempts to overcome this protection technique will likely include or use a detection engine.

Method and system for protecting anti-malware programs

Message attachment processing is described. In an implementation, a method is described in which each of a plurality of message attachments are processed to generate a corresponding unique identifier such that each message attachment that matches, one to another, has a matching unique identifier. A determination is then made whether a number of matching unique identifiers exceeds a threshold, and if so, a corresponding message attachment is communicated for further processing.

Systems and methods for processing message attachments

A testing device for determining the condition of hardware and/or software components of a computing (target) device is disclosed. The testing device includes a memory component, at least one connector and I/O software suitable for enabling the testing device to communicate with a target device as though the testing device is a peripheral component of the target device. Preferably, the connector is a USB connector. Also, preferably, the memory component includes an unwritable section and a protected section as well as a writable section.

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Matthew I Braverman