Security system for computers
AssigneeFAC Systems Inc.
InventorFarid A. Chouery
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A security system designed to trap computer viruses is described. The system storage has an external alarm configured to monitor the time every file takes to load by monitoring the drive activity LED of the storage device. The document storage location is hidden and can optionally be accessed via password. If a virus spends an unexpected amount of time attempting to access storage the alarm will trigger. Downloads and other untrusted files are stored in quarantine storage. Documents can only be transferred from the quarantine storage to the system storage via a copy and paste program.
Claims20
A system for providing a secure computing environment within a computer, comprising:
- a system storage device for use by a computer and configured to store system files;
- a drive activity monitor coupled to an activity indicator configured to indicate when the system storage device is accessed;
- and
- an alarm circuit coupled to the drive activity monitor and the system storage device, wherein the alarm circuit is configured to store an expected load time for one or more files stored on the system storage device, and is configured to disconnect the system storage device from the computer based on information collected by the drive activity monitor.
A method for protecting a computer system from malware, comprising:
- receiving a notification identifying a file to be loaded from a protected storage location;
- retrieving an expected load time for the file;
- detecting an activation of a disk drive with a disk activity detection circuit that detects an attempt to access the protected storage location;
- comparing an actual load time for the file to the expected load time;
- and
- performing a protective action when the actual load time does not match the expected load time.
A system for providing secure storage of computer files, comprising:
- storage means for storing a set of monitored files;
- an activity indicator light for indicating an attempt to access the storage means;
- and
- means for monitoring the activity indicator light, configured to store expected load times for the set of monitored files and to indicate the presence of malware upon detection of an indication by the activity indicator light that does not match an indication of an allowable attempt to access the storage means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.