Patent ID: 7844700

Claim:
At a network transit point computer, the network transit point computer including a processor and system memory, the network transit point computer connected to a target computer over a computer network, method of identifying malware in a transmission directed to the target computer that is received at the network transit point computer, the method comprising: (a) receiving a packet in the transmission at the network transit point computer; (b) determining if the received packet is a last packet; (c) storing the received packet in a volatile area of computer memory that is configured to be accessed faster than other areas of computer memory; (d) scanning the stored packet for malware; (e) concurrent with the scanning of the packet, the processor immediately forwarding the packet to the target computer when the packet is not the last packet in the transmission such that the packet is forwarded to the target computer even if malware is found in the packet; (f) when the packet is the last packet in the transmission, scanning the complete transmission for malware before forwarding the packet to the target computer such that the last packet is forwarded to the target computer even if malware is found in the packet; and (g) when scanning the packet indicates that the packet contains malware, the processor inserting data indicating that the packet contains malware into the last packet that is forwarded to the target computer to notify the target computer of the malware.