SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMPUTER PROTECTION AGAINST MALICIOUS ELECTRONIC MAILS BY ANALYZING, PROFILING AND TRAPPING THE SAME

A system and method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention advantageously provide trapping of suspected electronic mails in dedicated mail address accounts under predetermined control. Trapped e-mails are profiled in order to determine if they contain malicious code. If it is determined that the profiled e-mails include malicious code embedded therein, the e-mails can then be submitted for subsequent analysis identifying the new virus(es) and developing a cure therefor. The profiling functionality serves to determine if a virus is embedded in the trapped e-mails. Using results of the profiling, the network system can, at the minimum, defend itself against damage from mail-borne viruses currently unknown to the virus database therein. Moreover, further analysis of the results of the profiling serves as the basis for developing antivirus countermeasures against the unknown viruses.