Fighting malware and spam

Virus patrol: five years of scanning the USENET

Dmitry O. Gryaznov Network Associates, Inc.

Virus Patrol is an automated distributed system that scans Usenet newsgroups for viruses, Trojans and other malware and sends appropriate warnings via both email and news. Virus Patrol was first designed and launched by the author in December 1996. The author will explain how Virus Patrol works and what it does. He will also present statistics over the years for both Usenet in general and viruses, Trojans, etc. in Usenet in particular. An analysis of trends and patterns will be presented. Usenet as a spreading vector of malware will be discussed.