Viral cure could ‘immunise’ the internet

A cure for computer viruses that spreads in a viral fashion could immunise the internet, even against pests that travel at lightning speed, a mathematical study reveals.

Most conventional anti-virus programs use "signatures" to identify and block viruses. But experts must first analyse a virus before sending out the fix. This means that rapidly spreading viruses can cause widespread damage before being stopped.

Some researchers have developed artificial "immune systems" that automatically analyse a virus meaning a fix can be sent out more rapidly. In practise, however, computer viruses still tend to spread too quickly.

Now Eran Shir, and colleagues at Tel-Aviv University in Israeli, have applied network theory to the problem, and believe they have come up with a more effective solution.

Part of the problem, the researchers say, is that countermeasures sent from a central server over the same network as the virus it is pursuing will always be playing catch-up.

They propose developing a network of "honeypot" computers, distributed across the internet and dedicated to the task of combating viruses. To a virus, these machines would seem like ordinary vulnerable computers. But the honeypots would attract a virus, analyse it automatically, and then distribute a countermeasure.

Full Story: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8403