Patent ID: 7165076

Claim:
A method for detecting unauthorized modifications to an executable file that is capable of operating on a number of platforms, the method comprising: receiving a request, at a given machine that the executable file has been installed on, to derive a machine independent unique identifier for the executable file that uniquely identifies the executable file across a number of platforms; identifying portions of the executable file modified as a result of installation of the executable file on the given machine, so that those portions of the executable file that comprise machine-specific modifications can be excluded during calculation of the machine independent unique identifier; deriving the machine independent unique identifier by performing a calculation on remaining portions of the executable file, such that said calculation excludes at least the identified portions of the executable file modified as a result of installation of the executable file on the given machine; and detecting future unauthorized modifications to the executable file regardless of which platform the executable file is installed on using the machine independent unique identifier to test whether the executable file has changed.