System and method for improved protection against malicious code elements

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor perform a method of protecting an execution environment from malicious code elements, the method comprising:

• storing a set of code elements, each code element being executable using an application;
• receiving a file;
• determining whether the file contains an embedded code element;
• in response to the file containing an embedded code element, authenticating the embedded code element based on the stored set of code elements to determine whether the embedded code element is trustworthy;
• and
• in response to an authentication result that the embedded code element is trustworthy, enabling access to the file.

A system for protecting an execution environment from malicious code elements, the system comprising:

• a memory device storing a set of instructions;
• and
• a processor configured to execute the set of instructions to:
• storing a set of code elements, each code element being executable using an application;
• receiving a file;
• determining whether the file contains an embedded code element;
• in response to the file containing an embedded code element, authenticating the embedded code element based on the stored set of code elements to determine whether the embedded code element is trustworthy;
• and
• in response to an authentication result that the embedded code element is trustworthy, enabling access to the file.