Edinburgh Napier University

  This paper describes a framework for detecting self-propagating email viruses based on deterministic system calls derived from associated email client’s dynamic link libraries (DLLs). Our research approach is based on the principle that a key objective of an email virus attack is to eventually overwhelm a mail server and clients with large volume of email traffic. A virus achieves this by propagating to other email addresses in the infected email client inbox, alongside activating its payload. In doing this, the virus executes certain malicious processes, resulting in the creation of abnormal system calls via related DLLs. Our research effort advances Stephen Forrester earlier contribution that proved normal and abnormal system calls from a email client in a Unix platform could be differentiated, by describing a framework on how to monitor and detect abnormal system calls in real-time from an email application.