Malware detection using assembly and API call sequences

One of the major problems concerning information assurance is malicious code. To evade detection, malware has also been encrypted or obfuscated to produce variants that continue to plague properly defended and patched networks with zero day exploits. With malware and malware authors using obfuscation techniques to generate automated polymorphic and metamorphic versions, anti-virus software must always keep up with their samples and create a signature that can recognize the new variants. Creating a signature for each variant in a timely fashion is a problem that anti-virus companies face all the time. In this paper we present detection algorithms that can help the anti-virus community to ensure a variant of a known malware can still be detected without the need of creating a signature; a similarity analysis (based on specific quantitative measures) is performed to produce a matrix of similarity scores that can be utilized to determine the likelihood that a piece of code under inspection contains a particular malware. Two general malware detection methods presented in this paper are: Static Analyzer for Vicious Executables (SAVE) and Malware Examiner using Disassembled Code (MEDiC). MEDiC uses assembly calls for analysis and SAVE uses API calls (Static API call sequence and Static API call set) for analysis. We show where Assembly can be superior to API calls in that it allows a more detailed comparison of executables. API calls, on the other hand, can be superior to Assembly for its speed and its smaller signature. Our two proposed techniques are implemented in SAVE) and MEDiC. We present experimental results that indicate that both of our proposed techniques can provide a better detection performance against obfuscated malware. We also found a few false positives, such as those programs that use network functions (e.g. PuTTY) and encrypted programs (no API calls or assembly functions are found in the source code) when the thresholds are set 50% similarity measure. However, these false positives can be minimized, for example by changing the threshold value to 70% that determines whether a program falls in the malicious category or not.     

2-Transitivity is Insufficient for Local Testability

A basic goal in property testing is to identify a minimal set of features that make a property testable. For the case when the property to be tested is membership in a binary linear error-correcting code, Alon et al. (Trans Inf Theory, 51(11):4032–4039, 2005) had conjectured that the presence of a single low-weight codeword in the dual, and “2-transitivity” of the code (i.e., the code being invariant under a 2-transitive group of permutations on the coordinates of the code) suffice to get local testability. We refute this conjecture by giving a family of error-correcting codes where the coordinates of the codewords form a large field of characteristic two, and the code is invariant under affine transformations of the domain. This class of properties was introduced by Kaufman & Sudan (STOC, 2008) as a setting where many results in algebraic property testing generalize. Our result shows a complementary virtue: This family also can be useful in producing counterexamples to natural conjectures.     

Effect of reformulated fuel strategy on compression ignition engine compatibility using antioxidant additive and clean Karanja methyl ester

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The present work aims at investigating the compatibility of antioxidant with biodiesel through the tribological assessment of a compression ignition...     

‘Reaching the Parts Other Grants Don't Go?’ Supporting Self-provided Housing in Rural Scotland

Ensuring that rural areas of the UK have sufficient affordable houses in reasonable condition has long challenged policy makers. Previous research shows that rural housing has demand characteristics and faces supply constraints that have proven difficult to balance. The paper reports on the reasons why an innovative subsidy has achieved some success in overcoming barriers to provision in rural Scotland. It is argued that the subsidy has boosted effective demand and tackled a major supply constraint, namely land availability. Empirical material is drawn from a systematic evaluation of the mechanism. The paper concludes with reflections on its implications for the wider literature and for rural housing provision in the evolving financial and political context.     

A chromatographic method for the analysis of propylene glycol fatty acid esters in shortenings containing mono- and diglycerides

A procedure is described for the separation, identification, and quantitative estimation of propylene glycol mono- and diesters of lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids in shortenings and lard containing mono- and diglycerides. Lipid classes are separated on a silicic acid column, and individual esters are estimated by gas chromatography. Analyses of several control mixtures and commercial samples are reported. Recoveries for individual components range from 92 to 105%, and total recoveries range from 96 to 100%.     

Production and characterization of phenolic compounds by flash pyrolysis of palmyra palm

New and renewable fuels are the major alternatives to conventional fossil fuels. Biomass in the form of agricultural residues is becoming popular among new renewable energy sources, especially given its wide potential and abundant usage. This study deals with the characterization of the pyrolysis oil obtained from palmyra palm fruit bunch (Borassus flabellifer) produced by flash pyrolysis in the maximum yield. The pyrolysis oil was analyzed to determine its elemental composition and heating value. The chemical composition of the pyrolysis oil and fractions was investigated using various chromatographic techniques such as Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The bio-oil product was presented as an environmentally friendly green biofuel candidate. The analytical results showed that the pyrolysis bio-oils were very complex mixtures of organic compounds and contained a lot of nitrogenated and oxygenated compounds such as, phenols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, pyridines, amines, ketones, and so on.     

Exergy Analysis of Solar Still with Sand Heat Energy Storage

This paper studies the experimental and exergy analysis of solar still with the sand heat energy storage system. The cumulative yield from solar still with and without energy storage material is found to be 3.3 and 1.89 kg/m², respectively for 8-h operation. Results show that the exergy efficiency of the system is higher with the least water depth of 0.02 m (m_w = 20 kg). Competitive analysis of second law efficiency shows that the exergy efficiency improves the system by 30% than conventional single slope solar still without any heat storage. The maximum exergy efficiency with energy storage material is found as 13.2% and it is less than the conventional solar still without any material inside the basin.