Patent ID: 7765400

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for tracking a state of infection of a file in response to receiving notice that the state of infection of the file was identified, the method comprising: employing a processor to execute computer-executable instructions, stored in a computer-readable storage medium, to perform at least the following acts: determining if a file index value for the file is contained in a database, wherein the database contains file index values associated with deleted files; if a file index value for the file is not contained in the database: obtaining a file index value for the file; inserting the file index value in the database; and setting a value of a variable associated with the file index value to represent the state of infection of the file, wherein the variable represents a state of infection with malware, the state of infection includes one of an infected state, a free-from-infection state, or an unknown state; and if the state of infection of the file is unknown, analyzing the file with a set of antivirus software applications to determine if the file contains malware, wherein each antivirus software application in the set of antivirus software applications is registered with a security service application.