Non-Native OS Boot for Malware Detection and System Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-virus and tune-up software face challenges in detecting and removing sophisticated malware programs, especially when these programs conceal themselves, and in optimizing computer system performance without requiring frequent reboots or user intervention.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allows a computer to boot a non-native operating system, enabling the detection and removal of malware programs when the native operating system is not operational, using a portable media device to configure the system to reboot into a non-native OS, modify the boot loader to load a custom boot loader, and utilize a scan program to enumerate system configuration data and communicate with a remote server for malware identification and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If anti-virus software scans for malware while the native operating system is running, then the system remains operational and accessible to users, but malware programs can conceal themselves and thwart detection efforts
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs malware scanning and system configuration modifications in advance by booting into a non-native operating system before the native OS starts. This preliminary action occurs when no malware is active, ensuring detection accuracy while avoiding the need for users to experience system unavailability during normal operation.
2Productivity
If tune-up software modifies system configuration while the operating system is running, then performance optimization can be applied, but multiple reboots and user intervention are required
Solution Approach 1:
System configuration modifications are performed in advance during the non-native OS boot phase, before the native operating system starts. This eliminates the need for multiple reboots and user intervention that would otherwise be required after performance optimization changes.
Solution Approach 2:
A non-native operating system serves as an intermediary environment that enables system configuration modifications without affecting the running native OS. This intermediary allows tune-up operations to occur in isolation, preventing conflicts with active applications and eliminating the need for user closure of running programs.
3Reliability
If the system boots into a non-native operating system to scan and modify configurations, then malware detection accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically configures itself to boot into the non-native operating system without requiring user input. The boot configuration is performed autonomously, and the system self-manages the transition, scanning operations, and restoration to the native OS, eliminating the need for users to understand or configure complex boot parameters.
Data Source
AI summary
Modifying system configuration data. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including changing operation of a program on a computer system that comprises a native operating system stored on a long term storage device. In some cases, the changing by: reading system configuration data of the native operating system, the reading by a scan program executed under a non-native operating system booted on the computer system; identifying, by the scan program, the program on the long term storage device; and modifying, by the scan program, the system configuration data of the native operating system such that the change in operating of the program is implemented on a subsequent boot of the computer system under the native operating system.