Even if a computer has installed the latest anti-virus software, if a previously unknown virus were to surface, that computer would still be at risk. China's largest security software vendor, the Beijing Jiangmin New Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (Jiangmin SciTech), announced on June 9 that it has created China's first software that can kill unknown viruses.

Not only can this software "filter" 98% of unknown viruses, it can also effectively prevent the 2% of viruses that slip through its dragnet to "hibernate and re-emerge".

Using the characteristics of known viruses to build a depository of computer viruses is the most commonly used method by most anti-virus software. But this type of defensive strategy would be of no avail when it confronts previously unknown viruses. Jiangmin SciTech's new software includes four core technologies, killing unknown viruses, wiping out Trojan Horse virus, preserving information confidentiality and warning of viruses. When the software checks and kills the more than 90,000 known viruses, it also automatically identifies unknown viruses and reminds the computer user to take appropriate preventive measures.

Even though killing unknown viruses is a major breakthrough, it still cannot completely replace the traditional feature code virus-killing technology. Both complement each other. Therefore, Jiangmin SciTech will put both techniques into one product, signifying that China's anti-virus software has initially formed a complete preventive system that can handle known and unknown viruses as well as actively defend and use feature codes for virus cleansing.

(chinanews June 10, 2005)