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Multicore CPUs are already ten-a-penny, but who woulda thunk they’d soon be appearing in cellphones, cars and HD TV players and that they could hold the key to eliminating computer viruses?
According to NEC, its new technique for running software in separate processes on each core of a multicore CPU [Subscription link] opens the door to stopping a virus before it spreads throughout any internet-connected device.
The firm’s unnamed technology is designed to spot a viral infection in any one of the software processes and to shut down operations in that core immediately. This prevents the virus from spreading to the rest of the system while allowing the device as a whole to carry on working.
Anti-virus software can then tackle the problem in isolation or hold it in place until any updates needed can be downloaded from the internet.
NEC’s aim in making online devices safer is to encourage device makers to buy its multicore chips and use them in future products, but if it stops viruses in their tracks then it’s all fine by us.
(Via Nikkei; Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)
10:27 AM 
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