Patent ID: 8549644
Filing Date: 2013-10-01
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A system for protecting an electronic device against malware, comprising: a processor comprising one or more processor resources; an operating system configured to execute on the electronic device; a below-operating system trapping module configured to trap an attempted access of one or more of the processor resources that originates from the operational level of the operating system; the trapping module comprising a processor resource control structure configured to identify one or more processor resources for which attempted accesses will be trapped and comprising criteria by which the attempted access will be trapped; wherein the trapping module is configured to trap the attempted access if the attempted access meets the criteria and generate a triggered event based on the attempted access; and a below-operating system handling module configured to access one or more security rules to determine whether the triggered event is indicative of malware; and the handling module and the trapping module operate at a level below all of the operating systems of the electronic device accessing the one or more processor resources; wherein the processor resource control structure comprises criteria for generating the triggered event based on a state of execution of an instruction, the attempted access of the resource comprising the instruction.