MAPMon: A Host-Based Malware Detection Tool

In order for financial-motivated malware programs such as spyware, virus and worm to survive after system rebooted, they have to modify entries in auto start extensibility points (ASEPs), system calls or system files on a comprised system. We call these system resources which a malware program could attack once it intrudes a host as malware attacking points (MAPs). Based on this observation, we design and implement MAPMon, a monitoring mechanism to detect any suspicious change of malware attacking points. This paper describes the design and implementation tradeoff of the MAPMon tool. The effectiveness of the MAPMon tool for malware detection is evaluated by using real-world malware programs including those that do not have signatures.