Patent ID: 6941478

Claim:
A system for providing protection from an exploit to a device connected to a network, comprising: a content filter that receives a message that is directed to the device; a message tracker that is coupled to the content filter and is configured to perform actions, including: determining a size of a message component associated with the message; if the size is less than or equal to a pre-determined size; identifying the message as unscanned; if the size exceeds the pre-determined size, then: determining a first value associated with the message, and if the first value is the same as a stored second value associated with the message, identifying the message as a scanned message; if the size exceeds the pre-determined size, then: determining the first value associated with the message, and if the first value is different from the stored second value, identifying the message as unscanned; and a scanner component that is coupled to the message tracker and that is configured to receive the unscanned message and to determine whether at least one element of the message includes an exploit.