With over 560,000 new malware samples detected daily and over 1 billion already in circulation, organizations around the world face a significant challenge in securing their systems. Many businesses utilize multiple anti-malware engines for superior threat detection, but this strategy also creates a new challenge: keeping all those engines updated.
OPSWAT is a global leader in providing Multiscanning technology that leverages 30+ leading anti-malware engines to proactively detect over 99% of malware by using signatures, heuristics, and machine learning. To ensure a seamless and secure experience, keeping these engine updates delivered securely is crucial. We are committed to simplifying this process and ensuring your multi-engine defenses receive the latest security updates as soon as they become available.
Understanding Anti-malware Updates
Your anti-malware software relies on two key components working together:
- Core Engine: This sophisticated component functions as the analytical engine of your anti-malware software. It continuously monitors system activity, scrutinizing files, programs, and network traffic for any deviations from normal behavior that might signal a potential malware attack. Think of it as a highly trained security analyst constantly on guard, identifying and understanding potential threats.
- Definition Files: These dynamic files act as a comprehensive threat database, containing the latest signatures for known malware variants. Just as mugshots and descriptions are used to identify criminals, the core engine utilizes these signatures to recognize and neutralize malicious threats before they can compromise your system's integrity. Regular updates to these definition files are crucial for maintaining robust protection.
Frequent Updates, Seamless Delivery
Definition files are crucial for keeping your anti-malware software effective. However, keeping them up to date presents several challenges due to the sheer volume and variety involved.
- Scaling for Variety: OPSWAT supports updates from over 30 different anti-malware engines, each with its own format and update method. Our system needs to be adaptable to handle this diverse range efficiently.
- Data Deluge: The sheer volume of update data, potentially reaching gigabytes daily, requires efficient processing and distribution to avoid bottlenecks.
- Offline Systems: Not all environments have consistent internet access. Providing offline update solutions is critical for maintaining security in these situations.
- Update frequency: Depending on the engine, updates may be deployed as often as every 15 minutes to once a day. Some antivirus programs update their databases continuously, while others update daily.
- Global Reach, Local Speed: Delivering updates quickly and reliably to a vast user base worldwide requires a robust and geographically distributed infrastructure.
Building a Better Updater
At OPSWAT, we go beyond simply delivering updates. We've invested in building a sophisticated update system that addresses these challenges directly.
- Our system utilizes a distributed architecture, allowing it to scale effortlessly. Adding new anti-malware engine updates becomes a breeze, ensuring you have access to the latest protection regardless of the engine you use.
- Containerization allows us to handle different operating systems efficiently, optimizing resource usage and cost-effectiveness.
- Updates are delivered quickly and reliably through a network of strategically placed servers around the world via a Global Content Delivery Network (CDN), ensuring swift updates no matter your location.
- Rather than connecting with 30+ AV engine vendors and granting each of them special exceptions to firewall rules or adding them to allowlists, you can access updates to all of them from a single source.
- We cover multiple regions worldwide, including China. The distributed traffic volume is around 15TB daily.
Secure and Reliable Update Deployment
While secure connections (HTTPS, SFTP) are standard practice when partnering with anti-malware vendors, OPSWAT adds an extra layer of security for your peace of mind. Our robust validation system ensures the integrity and effectiveness of every update you receive.
- Integration Testing: Updates undergo automated testing to guarantee compatibility with your anti-malware engine.
- Multiscanning (Multi-Engine Malware Scan): We scan updates with over 30 engines to identify potential threats, ensuring you're protected from both malware and false positives.
- Digital Signature: We prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by generating a meta descriptor file with the SHA-256 hashes of all files in the update.
This meta descriptor file is signed with a private key. Clients such as MetaDefender Core and My OPSWAT, when consuming this meta descriptor file, will use the public key to validate it, ensuring the file is from OPSWAT and has not been tampered with.
Your security is our top priority. We're constantly innovating to ensure your anti-malware software stays ahead of the curve while reducing the cost, time, and friction associated with maintaining a robust security system. Talk to our experts to learn more about how OPSWAT can improve your security posture and take the hassle and guesswork out of keeping your security solutions updated.
