Network Appliance Mirrored Data Restoration for Virus Infection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-virus software is costly and complex to maintain, especially for individual users and small networks, as it requires frequent updates to protect against new viruses, and is ineffective against unknown threats.
Innovation Solution
A method using a network appliance to maintain mirrored copies of data, analyzing for viruses, and replacing infected data with pre-infection versions, reducing the need for anti-virus software on individual computers and providing a cost-effective and simplified protection mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional anti-virus software is deployed on each computer, then virus detection capability is improved, but cost and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates virus detection and data restoration capabilities into a single network appliance that serves multiple computers. Instead of each computer running its own anti-virus software, the network appliance centralizes these functions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining protection across the network.
Solution Approach 2:
The network appliance acts as an intermediary between computers and the virus threat. It intercepts data transmissions, performs virus detection, and manages restoration operations centrally, eliminating the need for each computer to independently handle virus protection complexities.
2Reliability
If traditional anti-virus software is deployed on each computer, then virus detection capability is improved, but maintenance cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates virus detection and data restoration capabilities into a single network appliance that serves multiple computers. Instead of each computer running its own anti-virus software, the network appliance centralizes these functions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining protection across the network.
Solution Approach 2:
The network appliance provides universal virus protection services to multiple computers simultaneously. A single appliance with universal detection and restoration capabilities replaces the need for individual anti-virus installations on each computer, reducing licensing and maintenance costs while serving the entire network.
3Reliability
If pre-infection data copies are maintained on the network appliance, then data restoration capability is improved, but storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating and storing copies of data in its uninfected state on the network appliance before infection occurs. These pre-prepared restoration copies are maintained proactively, enabling rapid restoration when viruses are detected without requiring complex real-time analysis or large archives of historical data.
Data Source
AI summary
Post-infection virus protection through data restoration using mirrored data that has been obtained prior to the virus infection. A network appliance in a network mirrors the data of a number of computers in an ongoing manner. An anti-virus module of the network appliance scans data received from a computer to determine whether the computer is infected by a virus. If no virus is identified, the network appliance uses the received data to update a mirrored copy of the computer's data. If, however, the network appliance identifies a virus, the mirrored copy is not updated. Instead, the previous mirrored copy, which represents a pre-infection state of the data, is used to restore the infected computer to its pre-infection state. In this manner, a single copy of an anti-virus utility executed at the network appliance can protect an arbitrary number of computers, which do not require their own anti-virus software.