Comodo Internet Security

• Introduction To Comodo Internet Security
  • Special Features
  • System Requirements
  • Installation
    • CIS Premium – Installation
    • CIS Pro - Installation And Activation
    • CIS Complete - Installation And Activation
    • Activating CIS Pro/Complete Services After Installation
      • Activating Your License
      • Activating Your Guarantee Coverage
      • Renewal Of Your License
  • Starting Comodo Internet Security
  • The Main Interface
    • The Home Screen
    • The Tasks Interface
    • The Widget
    • The System Tray Icon
  • Understanding Security Alerts
• General Tasks – Introduction
  • Scan And Clean Your Computer
    • Run A Quick Scan
    • Run A Full Computer Scan
    • Run A Rating Scan
    • Run A Custom Scan
      • Scan A Folder
      • Scan A File
      • Create, Schedule And Run A Custom Scan
  • Instantly Scan Files And Folders
  • Processing Infected Files
  • Manage Virus Database And Program Updates
  • Manage Quarantined Items
  • View CIS Logs
    • Antivirus Logs
      • Filtering Antivirus Logs
    • Viruscope Logs
      • Filtering Viruscope Logs
    • Firewall Logs
      • Filtering Firewall Logs
    • Defense+ Logs
      • Filtering Defense+ Logs
    • Website Filtering Logs
      • Filtering Website Filtering Logs
    • Alerts Logs
      • Filtering Alerts Displayed Logs
    • Tasks Logs
      • Filtering Tasks Logs
    • Configuration Changes Logs
      • Filtering Configuration Changes Logs
  • Get Live Support
  • View Active Internet Connections
  • View Sandboxed Processes List
• Firewall Tasks – Introduction
  • Allow Or Block Internet Access To Applications Selectively
  • Stealth Your Computer Ports
  • Manage Network Connections
  • Stop All Network Activities
  • Advanced Firewall Settings
• Sandbox Tasks – Introduction
  • The Virtual Desktop
    • Starting The Virtual Desktop
    • The Main Interface
    • Running Browsers Inside The Virtual Desktop
    • Opening Files And Running Applications Inside The Virtual Desktop
    • Configuring The Virtual Desktop
    • Closing The Virtual Desktop
  • Run An Application In The Sandbox
  • Reset The Sandbox
  • View Active Process List
• Advanced Tasks – Introduction
  • Create A Rescue Disk
    • Downloading And Burning Comodo Rescue Disk
  • Remove Deeply Hidden Malware
  • Submit Files
  • Identify And Kill Unsafe Running Processes
  • Manage CIS Tasks
• Advanced Settings
  • General Settings
    • Customize User Interface
    • Configure Program And Virus Database Updates
    • Log Settings
    • Manage CIS Configurations
      • Comodo Preset Configurations
      • Importing/Exporting And Managing Personal Configurations
  • Security Settings
    • Antivirus Settings
      • Real-time Scanner Settings
      • Scan Profiles
      • Exclusions
    • Defense+ Settings
      • HIPS Settings
      • Active HIPS Rules
      • HIPS Rule Sets
      • Protected Objects
        • Protected Files
        • Blocked Files
        • Protected Registry Keys
        • Protected COM Interfaces
        • Protected Data Folders
      • HIPS Groups
        • Registry Groups
        • COM Groups
      • Sandbox
        • The Sandbox - An Overview
          • Unknown Files - The Scanning Processes
      • Configuring The Sandbox
      • Configuring Rules For Auto-Sandbox
      • Viruscope
    • Firewall Settings
      • Firewall Settings
      • Application Rules
      • Global Rules
      • Firewall Rule Sets
      • Network Zones
        • Network Zones
        • Blocked Zones
      • Port Sets
      • Website Filtering
        • Creating And Modifying Website Filtering Rules
        • Defining And Modifying Website Categories
    • Manage File Rating
      • File Rating Settings
      • File Groups
      • File List
      • Submitted Files
      • Trusted Vendors List
• Comodo GeekBuddy
  • Overview Of Services
  • Activation Of Service
  • Launching The Client And Using The Service
  • Accepting Remote Desktop Requests
  • Chat History
  • Using Free Diagnostic Reports
  • Scanning My PC
  • Uninstalling Comodo GeekBuddy
• TrustConnect Overview
• Chromodo Browser
• Appendix 1 CIS How To... Tutorials
  • Enable / Disable AV, Firewall Auto-Sandbox And Viruscope Easily
  • Set Up The Firewall For Maximum Security And Usability
  • Block Internet Access While Allowing Local Area Network (LAN) Access
  • Block/ Allow Websites Selectively To Users Of Your Computer
  • Set Up The HIPS For Maximum Security And Usability
  • Create Rules For Auto-Sandboxing Applications
  • Password Protect Your CIS Settings
  • Reset Forgotten Password (Advanced)
  • Run An Instant Antivirus Scan On Selected Items
  • Create An Antivirus Scanning Schedule
  • Run Untrusted Programs In The Sandbox
  • Run Browsers Inside Sandbox
  • Run Untrusted Programs Inside Virtual Desktop
  • Run Browsers Inside The Virtual Desktop
  • Restore Incorrectly Quarantined Item(s)
  • Submit Quarantined Items To Comodo For Analysis
  • Enable File Sharing Applications Like BitTorrent And Emule
  • Block Any Downloads Of A Specific File Type
  • Disable Auto-Sandboxing On A Per-application Basis
  • Switch Between Complete CIS Suite And Individual Components (just AV Or FW)
  • Switch Off Automatic Antivirus And Software Updates
  • Suppress CIS Alerts Temporarily While Playing Games
  • Renew Or Upgrading Your License
  • How To Use CIS Protocol Handlers
• Appendix 2 - Glossary Of Terms
• Appendix 3 - CIS Versions
• About Comodo Security Solutions

Unknown Files: The Scanning Processes

• When an executable is first run it passes through the following CIS security inspections:

• Antivirus scan

• HIPS Heuristic check

• Buffer Overflow check

• If the processes above determine that the file is malware then the user is alerted and the file is quarantined or deleted

• An application can become recognized as 'safe' by CIS (and therefore not auto-sandboxed or scanned in the cloud) in the following ways:

• Because it is on the local Comodo White List of known safe applications

• Because the user has rated the file as 'Trusted' in the File List

• By the user granting the installer elevated privileges (CIS detects if an executable requires administrative privileges. If it does, it asks the user. If they choose to trust, CIS regards the installer and all files generated by the installer as safe)

• Additionally, a file is not auto-sandboxed or sent for analysis in the cloud if it is defined as an Installer or Updater in HIPS Ruleset (See Active HIPS Rules for more details)

Files and processes that pass the security inspections above but are not yet recognized as 'safe' (white-listed) are 'Unrecognized' files and sandboxed automatically. In order to try to establish whether a file is safe or not, CIS will first consult Comodo's File Look-Up Server (FLS) to check the very latest signature databases:

• A digital hash of the unrecognized process or file is created.

• These hashes are uploaded to the FLS to check whether the signature of the file is present on the latest databases. This database contains the latest, global black list of the signatures of all known malware and a white list of the signatures of the 'safe' files.

• First, our servers check these hashes against the latest available black-list

• If the hash is discovered on this blacklist then it is malware

• The result is sent back to the local installation of CIS

• If the hash is not on the latest black-list, it's signature is checked against the latest white-list

• If the hash is discovered on this white-list then it is trusted

• The result is sent back to local installation of CIS

• The local white-list is updated

• The FLS checks detailed above are near instantaneous.

• If the hash is not on the latest black-list or white-list then it remains as 'unrecognized'.

• Unrecognized files are simultaneously uploaded to Comodo's Instant Malware Analysis servers for further checks:

• Firstly, the files undergo another antivirus scan on our servers.

• If the scan discovers the file to be malicious (for example, heuristics discover it is a brand new variant) then it is designated as malware. This result is sent back to the local installation of CIS and the local and global black-list is updated.

• If the scan does not detect that the file is malicious then it passes onto the next stage of inspection - behavior monitoring.

• The behavior analysis system is a cloud based service that is used to help determine whether a file exhibits malicious behavior. Once submitted to the system, the unknown executable will be automatically run in a virtual environment and all actions that it takes will be monitored. For example, processes spawned, files and registry key modifications, host state changes and network activity will be recorded. 

•  If these behaviors are found to be malicious, the file is submitted to our technicians for further manual checks and confirmation. If the manual testing confirms it as a malware, then it will be added to the global blacklist which will benefit all users. The results will be sent back to local installation of CIS, file will be quarantined and the user alerted.

• If the manual analysis confirms the file as safe, then it will be added to global whitelist and results sent back to local installation of CIS.