US 2009/0293127 A1Published application

System for Protecting a Computing System from Harmful Active Content in Documents

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsMary Ellen Zurko, Veronica Morales, Robert Congdon

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A system protects a computing device from potentially harmful code in a document by receiving a data structure representation of the document and adding dynamically one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to an editable configuration file. Each definition identifies potentially harmful active content and specifies an action to be performed on that potentially harmful active content if that potentially harmful active content is found in the document. The editable configuration file is parsed to generate a data structure representation of the one or more definitions in the editable configuration file. The data structure representation of the document is compared with the data structure representation of the one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to identify potentially harmful active content within the document. The document is modified to render harmless any identified potentially harmful active content before presenting the document to the computing device.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A computer program product for protecting a computing device from potentially harmful code in a document, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:
computer readable program code configured to receive a data structure representation of the document;
computer readable program code configured to add dynamically one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to an editable configuration file, each definition identifying potentially harmful active content and specifying an action to be performed on that potentially harmful active content if that potentially harmful active content is found in the document;
computer readable program code configured to parse the editable configuration file to generate a data structure representation of the one or more definitions in the editable configuration file;
computer readable program code configured to compare the data structure representation of the document with the data structure representation of the one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to identify potentially harmful active content within the document;
and
computer readable program code configured to modify the document to render harmless any identified potentially harmful active content before presenting the document to the computing device.

4 more elements

A system, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium storing program instructions for protecting a computing device from potentially harmful code in a document;
a processor in communication with the computer readable storage medium to acquire and execute the program instructions, wherein the processor executes the program instructions to:
receive a data structure representation of the document;
add dynamically one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to an editable configuration file, each definition identifying potentially harmful active content and specifying an action to be performed on that potentially harmful active content if that potentially harmful active content is found in the document;
parse the editable configuration file to generate a data structure representation of the one or more definitions in the editable configuration file;
compare the data structure representation of the document with the data structure representation of the one or more definitions of potentially harmful active content to identify potentially harmful active content within the document;
and
modify the document to render harmless any identified potentially harmful active content before presenting the document to the computing device.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.