Kaspersky Lab: a virus scan

Kaspersky Lab has patented a virus scanning method that can significantly speed up scans.

Complete system scans with anti-virus software are lengthy in most cases. Although there are configuration options that can exclude various files from scans, such as extensions, this is often not the most effective solution. A complete virus scan is often either a slow process or does not guarantee adequate security.

Kaspersky Lab has decided to patent a method that can significantly speed up virus scans while providing risk-based protection. The essence of the procedure is that the security software evaluates the files from several points of view and only checks them when they are really needed. The application also takes into account the size, format, structure of the files and their place of origin (source). That is, if a file comes from a website, an email, or an instant messenger, it basically marks it as suspicious and scans it accordingly.

The Kaspersky Lab method must be said to be a revolutionary novelty, as other companies are likely to use similar procedures. However, because developers are often reluctant to talk about the details of the methods included in their antivirus applications, it is not possible to know exactly how much Kaspersky's rivals are affected by the patent. In any case, the company believes it has competitors who use the proprietary method.

Kaspersky Lab has also patented another technique that can be associated with protection against rootkits.