Modern Malicious Software

Current methods for detection of malicious software rely on large databases of "signatures" for variations of every known computer virus. When such virus infects a system, the antivirus reacts by removing the threat. Such reactive methods leave computer systems defenseless against new, previously unknown attacks. Constant increase in the number of new attacks calls for new proactive methods of detection of modern computer security threats. This book addresses the complexity issues in the design of modern proactive malware detection systems. A distinct biological immunology theme runs throughout this work. Computer viruses are very similar in their manifestation to biological parasites. After first building the basis for understanding how modern malicious software operates, the book then introduces a detailed taxonomy of self-replication behavior in malware with code samples and basic algorithms, describes the application of the self-replication to script viruses and expands the concept to the detection of compiled executable malware. The book completes with description of a novel design of an experimental virtual laboratory for computer and network security analysis and research.