Google subsidiary introduces tool to scan Flash files

VirusTotal, a subsidiary of Google, launched an online tool Monday that can scan Flash files and display their properties. That way, the tool would help to recognize an attack.

With Swfknife it is possible to upload Flash files and see their properties. For example, a program’s script can show which ActionScript variant has been used, whether it is encrypted, and whether it exhibits suspicious behavior.

Swfknife could also detect any suspicious links that the Flash file contains. In addition, it would be possible to see whether a file first maps the operating system before it is executed, VirusTotal writes on its blog.

The subsidiary of Google comes with the free security tool, because according to the company Flash is regularly the target of malicious parties. In April, for example, a vulnerability in Flash made it possible to manipulate memory objects in recent Internet Explorer versions. This made it possible to circumvent security mechanisms such as dep and aslr.

Google acquired VirusTotal two years ago for an undisclosed sum. The subsidiary focuses on developing anti-malware tools for use on the Internet, using more than fifty anti-malware engines. In May, VirusTotal released an uploader that allows OS X users to check suspicious files.