Patent ID: 7761605

Claim:
A network adapter system, comprising: a processor positioned on a network adapter coupled between an end-point computer and a network, the network adapter capable of being installed on the end-point computer; wherein the processor is adapted for virus scanning and content scanning of network traffic transmitted between the end-point computer and the network, the content scanning including scanning for unwanted content other than viruses; wherein the system is operable such that the virus scanning utilizes virus signature files to scan for known types of malicious programs or data; wherein the system is operable such that the virus signature files are stored on non-volatile solid state memory on the network adapter; wherein the processor is user-configured; wherein the processor determines whether received packets are of interest, passes the received packets that are not of interest to the end-point computer, and scans the received packets that are of interest; wherein the system is operable such that a predetermined amount of the received packets are assembled for determining whether the received packets are of interest, the received packets including packets received at the network adapter; wherein the system is operable such that if the received packets that are of interest fail the scanning, an alert is displayed which provides remedy options; wherein the system is operable such that the received packets are of interest based on an associated protocol; wherein the system is operable such that the received packets that are not of interest bypass the scanning; wherein the system is operable such that scanning the received packets that are of interest is prioritized based on a file type associated with the received packets; wherein the bypassing of the scanning includes bypassing a scanner and random access memory (RAM) of the processor, and communicating directly with a network driver of the end-point computer.