Researchers develop new self healing software that fights against malware

Scientists have created a new software that not only detects and eradicates never-before-seen viruses and other malware, also but also has a self healing feature that automatically repairs any damage they've caused and even prevents malware from infecting the same machine ever again.

The new software called A3, or Advanced Adaptive Applications, has 'stackable debuggers' that run multiple de-bugging applications on top of each other. The software looks inside the virtual machine while it is running and constantly monitors for any out-of-the-ordinary behavior in the pc. The application is designed to protect servers or similar business-grade computers that run on the Linux operating system and has been demonstrated to protect military applications as well.

A3 software was co-developed by Massachusetts-based defense contractor, Raytheon BBN, and funded by DARPA's Clean-Slate Design of Resilient, Adaptive, Secure Hosts program. The A3 software suite was demonstrated to DARPA in September by testing it against the notorious Shellshock exploit known as the Bash Bug. The A3 software was able to detected and repair the Shellshock attack on a web server within four minutes.

Eric Eide, the research associate professor of computer science who led the A3 project team along with computer science associate professor John Regehr, said: "It's pretty cool when you can pick the Bug of the Week and it works." He added, "A3 technologies could find their way into consumer products someday, which would help consumer devices protect themselves against fast-spreading malware or internal corruption of software components. But we haven't tried those experiments yet."

Source: University of Utah research

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Silky Malhotra

Silky Malhotra loves learning about new technology, gadgets, and more. When she isn’t writing, she is usually found reading, watching Netflix, gardening, travelling, or trying out new cuisines. View Full Profile