Antivirus Trust-Based Event Monitoring for System Load Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing antivirus systems face inefficiencies in detecting malicious code due to resource-intensive monitoring and analysis, which can cause system freezing and delays, especially when malicious code infiltrates the address space of trusted processes, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate and suspicious actions.

Innovation Solution

A method that dynamically assigns a trust status to objects within a computer system, allowing only essential or critical events to be monitored based on the trust level, thereby reducing the need for comprehensive malware analysis and minimizing resource consumption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If comprehensive monitoring and analysis of all processes is performed to detect malicious code, then detection reliability is improved, but system performance deteriorates causing freezing and delays

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemalicious code detection reliabilityVSAvoidsystem performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating monitoring intensity based on process trust status. Trusted processes receive minimal monitoring (only essential events), while untrusted processes undergo comprehensive critical event monitoring. This localized approach to security monitoring resolves the contradiction by concentrating resources on high-risk areas while maintaining system-wide detection capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the monitoring process into two distinct paths: essential event monitoring for all processes and critical event monitoring for untrusted processes. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliable detection across all processes while optimizing performance by applying intensive monitoring only where necessary.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If comprehensive monitoring of all processes is performed to detect malicious code, then detection precision is improved, but resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebehavior analysis precisionVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by applying different levels of analysis precision to different processes. Trusted processes undergo minimal analysis (essential events only), while untrusted processes receive full precision analysis (critical events). This resolves the contradiction by maintaining high detection precision where needed while reducing overall resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by performing complete critical event analysis only on untrusted processes rather than all processes. This partial application of intensive monitoring maintains detection precision for suspicious code while significantly reducing computational resource consumption compared to universal comprehensive monitoring.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Reliability

If critical events are monitored for all processes, then malicious code detection capability is improved, but system responsiveness deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesuspicious code detection capabilityVSAvoidsystem responsiveness
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by restricting critical event monitoring to untrusted processes only, while trusted processes experience minimal monitoring overhead. This localized approach maintains strong detection capability for malicious code while preserving system responsiveness by avoiding unnecessary monitoring of legitimate processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements partial action by applying comprehensive critical event monitoring only to the subset of untrusted processes rather than all processes. This partial monitoring strategy maintains detection capability for suspicious code while minimizing the time loss and responsiveness impact on overall system performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2881883B1System and method for reducing load on an operating system when executing antivirus operations
Publication Date: 2018.04.11 AO KASPERSKY LAB
  • EP2881883B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2881883B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2881883B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An initial trust status is assigned to a first object, the trust status representing one of either a relatively higher trust level or a relatively lower trust level. Based on the trust status, the first object is associated with an event type to be monitored, where the event type is selected from among: essential events, occurrence of which is informative as to trust status evaluating for an object, and critical events, including the essential events, and additional events, occurrence of which is informative as to execution of suspicious code. Occurrences of events relating to the first object are monitored. In response to the first object being assigned the relatively higher trust level, only the essential events are monitored. In response to the first object being assigned the relatively lower trust level, the critical events are monitored. A need for performing malware analysis is determined based on the trust status of the first object and the event type. In response to determination of the need for performing the malware analysis, the malware analysis for the first object is either performed, or not.