Computer Hygiene Rating via OS and App Attribute Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security technologies lack an effective method to accurately evaluate the hygiene of a computer, which is crucial for determining its propensity to attract malware, impacting the operation of security products.
Innovation Solution
A method that analyzes attributes of the operating system and application software to assign weights to state variables, determining a hygiene rating indicative of the computer's malware attraction propensity, using a hygiene monitor that communicates with a server for reputation-based security services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional security products are used without hygiene evaluation, then basic security functions are provided, but the ability to accurately assess malware attraction propensity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The hygiene evaluation system is segmented into distinct components: a hygiene monitor that collects and analyzes security-related attributes, a rating generator that processes attributes into hygiene ratings, and a reputation service that utilizes these ratings. This segmentation allows for precise hygiene assessment while maintaining modular architecture that manages complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hygiene monitor as an intermediary component that acts as a bridge between the operating system/application software and the security products. This intermediary collects security attributes, analyzes them, and generates hygiene ratings without requiring fundamental changes to existing security products, thus improving measurement precision while controlling complexity.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive security attributes are analyzed to improve hygiene rating accuracy, then malware attraction propensity assessment is enhanced, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hygiene monitor continuously monitors and pre-processes security attributes in the background, maintaining an up-to-date profile of the system's security state. This preliminary action ensures that when hygiene ratings are needed, the assessment can be performed quickly using pre-analyzed data, thus improving accuracy without significant time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms multiple security attributes into a simplified hygiene rating parameter that captures the essence of malware attraction propensity. By changing parameters from multiple detailed attributes to a consolidated rating score, the system achieves comprehensive assessment accuracy while reducing processing time for actual security decisions.
3Productivity
If hygiene ratings are implemented for reputation-based security services, then security management is improved, but system complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hygiene rating system is designed as a universal component that can be integrated with multiple different security products and applications. The rating generator and monitor can serve various security functions including malware protection, system hardening guidance, and security awareness, thus improving overall security management efficiency while using a single multi-functional system rather than multiple specialized tools.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for evaluating hygiene of a computer are described. In some examples, attributes of an operating system on the computer are analyzed to assign values to operating system state variables. Attributes of application software installed on the computer are analyzed to assign values to application software state variables. Weights are assigned to the operating system state variables and the application software state variables based on the respective values thereof. A hygiene rating for the computer is determined based on the weights, the hygiene rating indicative of the propensity of the computer to attract malware.