Patent ID: 7523501

Claim:
A method of providing computer worm protection, comprising: being notified of a security hole; developing a worm pattern based on the security hole, wherein a structure of the worm pattern that is likely to be taken by a computer worm in order to take advantage of the security hole is created; updating a computer worm database with the worm pattern; receiving a data packet at an input port; parsing said data packet into a parsed data word; comparing a portion of said parsed data word to a computer worm identifier data word retrieved from the computer worm database, wherein the computer worm identifier data word includes a worm characteristic portion functionally descriptive of said computer worm and a defense portion indicative of said computer worm defense action; declaring a hit when said parsed data word substantially matches said computer worm identifier data word; and in response to said hit, providing a specific worm defense action based upon said computer worm identifier data word; and wherein the computer worm database is updated immediately with the worm pattern without the need for installing a security patch, thereby avoiding the possibility of being infected during an installation process.