Patent ID: 8353038

Claim:
A computer implemented method for protecting non-structured storage of system configuration information, the method comprising the steps of: detecting, by a computer, a plurality of attempts by a plurality of processes occurring over a period of time, each detected attempt comprising an attempt by a specific process of the plurality to write specific content to a specific file that contains system configuration information, wherein the specific content is executable; wherein over the period of time a plurality of attempts by a plurality of processes to write content to at least one file that contains system configuration information are detected; for each specific detected attempt by a specific process to write specific content to a specific file that contains system configuration information, redirecting, by a computer, the specific detected attempt to write content to a copy of the specific file that contains system information, such that the specific content is written to the copy of the specific file that contains system configuration information; for each specific redirected attempt by a specific process to write specific content to a specific file that contains system configuration information, analyzing, by a computer, the specific process and the specific content that was written to the copy of the specific file that contents system configuration information; for each specific redirected attempt by a specific process to write specific content to a specific file that contains system configuration information, determining, by a computer, whether to incorporate the specific content into the specific file responsive to results of analyzing the specific process and the specific content; wherein at least some specific analyzed content associated with at least one specific analyzed process is incorporated into at least one specific file that contains system configuration information and at least some specific analyzed content associated with at least one specific analyzed process is not incorporated into at least one specific file that contains system configuration information; responsive to determining to incorporate the specific content into the specific file, writing the specific content to the specific file, and writing annotations to the specific file identifying at least the specific process that performed the writing of the specific content to the specific file and when the writing of the specific content to the specific file was performed; and responsive to subsequently determining not to incorporate the specific content into the specific file, using the annotations to remove the specific content.