Patent ID: 8561190

Claim:
A method performed on a local computer that includes antivirus software, the method for closing a vulnerability on the local computer, the method comprising: in response to the antivirus software detecting a presence of malware on the local computer, determining whether to request a remote computer associated with a trusted entity to identify a vulnerability exploited by the malware detected by the antivirus software on the local computer; in response to determining that the remote computer is to be requested: generating a dump file that contains current memory contents of the local computer, including the dump file in a request, transmitting the request to the remote computer associated with the trusted entity that provides a service that identifies vulnerabilities on behalf of other computers, the request comprising malware information identifying the malware detected by the antivirus software on the local computer, causing, in response to the transmitted request, the remote computer to match the memory contents of the local computer as recorded in the dump file to a malware and the vulnerability exploited by the malware, and receiving, from the remote computer associated with the trusted entity, in response to the transmitted request, vulnerability information identifying the vulnerability; in response to determining that the remote computer is not to be requested, identifying, based on information accessible to the local computer, the vulnerability; obtaining a software update from the trusted entity, the software update being designed to close the vulnerability; and causing the software update to be installed on the local computer.