Method and system for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner
First Claim
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1. A method for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner operable to scan data for viruses, the method comprising:
- defining a processor utilization value;
running the virus scanner;
temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner such that usage of the processor is generally limited to said processor utilization value;
wherein defining a processor utilization value comprises defining a maximum value and temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner limits said processor utilization value to said maximum value;
wherein a control thread is executed over a sampling period;
wherein suspending the running of the virus scanner comprises suspending the virus scanner for a suspend time period equal to the sampling period multiplied by one minus the maximum value.
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Abstract
A method for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner operable to scan data for viruses. The method includes defining a processor utilization level and running the virus scanner. The running of the virus scanner is temporarily suspended so that usage of the processor is generally limited to said processor utilization value.
64 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner operable to scan data for viruses, the method comprising:
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defining a processor utilization value;
running the virus scanner;
temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner such that usage of the processor is generally limited to said processor utilization value;
wherein defining a processor utilization value comprises defining a maximum value and temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner limits said processor utilization value to said maximum value;
wherein a control thread is executed over a sampling period;
wherein suspending the running of the virus scanner comprises suspending the virus scanner for a suspend time period equal to the sampling period multiplied by one minus the maximum value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner comprising:
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a virus scanner operable to scan data for viruses;
a processor operable to execute a scanner thread to scan the data; and
a controller configured to temporarily suspend execution of the scanner thread to limit processor utilization by the virus scanner;
wherein a processor utilization value is defined by defining a maximum value and temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner limits said processor utilization value to said maximum value;
wherein a control thread is executed over a sampling period;
wherein suspending the execution of the virus scanner comprises suspending the virus scanner for a suspend time period equal to the sampling period multiplied by one minus the maximum value. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer program product embodied on a computer readable medium for limiting processor utilization by a virus scanner, comprising:
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computer code that defines a processor utilization value;
computer code that runs the virus scanner;
computer code that temporarily suspends running of the virus scanner so that usage of a processor is generally limited to the processor utilization value; and
a computer readable medium that stores said computer codes;
wherein said processor utilization value is defined by defining a maximum value and temporarily suspending running of the virus scanner limits said processor utilization value to said maximum value;
wherein a control thread is executed over a sampling period;
wherein suspending the execution of the virus scanner comprises suspending the virus scanner for a suspend time period equal to the sampling period multiplied by one minus the maximum value. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification