What is Heuristic Analysis And How It Works?

What is Heuristic Analysis?

Heuristic analysis is a technique of detecting viruses by analyzing the code for suspicious properties.

Traditional virus detection methods identify malware by comparing the code of a program with the code of known virus types that have previously notice, analyzed, and register in a database, known as signature detection.

Cybercriminals continually develop new threats, and heuristic analysis is one of the few methods used to deal with the sheer volume of these new threats to see daily.

Furthermore, heuristic analysis is one of the few methods capable of fighting polymorphic viruses, a term for malicious code that is constantly changing and adapting. The its analysis incorporates advanced security solutions offered by companies like Kaspersky to detect new threats can cause damage, without the need for a specific signature.

How does Heuristic Analysis Work?

Heuristic analysis can use different techniques. A heuristic method, known as static heuristic analysis. And involves breaking down a suspicious program and analyzing its source code. This code compares to other known viruses in the heuristic database if a certain percentage of the source code matches something in the its database, the code flag is a possible threat.

Another method is know as dynamic heuristics. When scientists want to analyze something suspicious without endangering society. They store the substance in a controlled environment, such as a secure laboratory, and conduct the tests there. The heuristic analysis follows a similar process, but in a virtual world.

Separate the program or part of the dubious code in a practice virtual machine or sandbox. And let the antivirus program test the code and recreate what  if the dubious document were to run. It examines each command as it active and looks for suspicious behavior. Such as self-replication, overwriting of files, and other common virus practices.

Possible Problems

Heuristic analysis is ideal for identifying new threats. To be effective, its must be carefully tune to achieve the best possible detection of new threats without generating false positives in completely harmless codes.

So its tools are often just one of the weapons in a sophisticated antivirus arsenal. They are typically uses in conjunction with other virus detection methods, such as signature scanning and other proactive technologies.