A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods and systems for blocking computer viruses in computer Email and Email attachments. This method could be used on any transfer of data between any two devices.
B. Description of the Prior Art
One of the most serious threats to Internet Commerce is the threat of a coordinated attack on the Internet system by a foreign government or terrorist which could launch hundreds of viruses at the same time, causing a complete shutdown of the Internet system. In addition there are computer hackers who are constantly devising viruses which are capable of blocking private and commercial systems, causing millions of dollars in damage to commerce and an enormous cost of repairing the damage for the average user.
A number of systems have been designed to screen and block viruses, however, they only work after the virus has been identified and an identifier has been installed on user computers. When new viruses or worms are introduced, the current systems do not stop them. In addition, since there are so many viruses to check for, the process takes a lot of computer time and must be updated regularly.
One such virus is the “I Love You” letter which was felt worldwide and caused 8.7 billion dollars according to research from Computer Economics. An article in the July 200 Popular Science Magazine (page 48) the “Love Bug” is relatively lightweight, from a technical perspective. More recently, two worms were released that caused major commercial disruption. Over one million computers were affected, it stopped some railroad and complicated registration at colleges.
The proliferation of computers in the workforce today has significantly increased the importance of electronic data storage. The loss of which can lead to unacceptable disruptions of operations.
In response, data recovery methods have been implemented such as the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,487. A system is disclosed for a protected data storage medium. The protected data storage medium includes a storage medium that includes a protected area. In addition, the protected data storage includes a controller that is capable of controlling access to the storage medium. Other related systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,889,943; 5,964,889; 6,338,141; and 6,591,362.