Patent ID: 8533831

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for alternating malware classifiers in an attempt to frustrate brute-force malware testing, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising: providing a group of heuristic-based classifiers for detecting malware, wherein each classifier within the group differs from all other classifiers within the group but has an accuracy rate that is substantially similar to all other classifiers within the group; including the group of classifiers within a security-software product; alternating the security-software product's use of the classifiers within the group in an attempt to frustrate brute-force malware testing by: randomly selecting and activating an initial classifier from within the group; performing a plurality of malware scans with the activated initial classifier; after performing the plurality of malware scans with the activated initial classifier, detecting completion of a select interval; upon detecting completion of the select interval, replacing the initial classifier with an additional classifier randomly selected from within the group; upon completion of an additional interval, replacing the additional classifier with another classifier randomly selected from within the group.