US Patent 10574630 Methods and apparatus for malware threat research

Methods for classifying computer objects as malware and the associated apparatus are disclosed. An exemplary method includes, at a base computer, receiving data about a computer object from each of plural remote computers on which the object or similar objects are stored and or processed and counting the number of times in a given time period objects having one or more common attributes or behaviors that have been seen by the remote computers. The counted number is then compared with the expected number based on past observations, and if the comparison exceeds a predetermined threshold, the objects are flagged as unsafe or as suspicious.