If there is one tool that all Internet users should use, it is VirusTotal, and we are not saying that because it was created by Spaniards. This page is essential for finding viruses and malware in our files, bringing together several services into one to offer the most comprehensive results.
The original version of VirusTotal, created by the company Hispasec from Malaga, I ran several antivirus programs analyze files uploaded by users; This way the user avoids having to install all these programs on their computer. Over time, VirusTotal has evolved and developed its own tools to respond to new cybersecurity threats.
VirusTotal was acquired by Google in 2012 and has since continued to develop malware detection technologies; but now it has taken perhaps the biggest step forward in its history, thanks to Google’s new artificial intelligence, Gemini 1.5.
VirusTotal improves with Gemini
Like other Google projects, VirusTotal is also experimenting with the use of generative AI; but in this case it is even more interesting, because they do not use this technology to show information to the user, but to directly analyze malicious code looking for threats that might be overlooked.
As VirusTotal founder Bernardo Quintero revealed, Gemini 1.5 Pro was able to detect malicious code that, until then, has not undergone any detection in VirusTotal. In other words, AI was able to do what more than 70 tools and antiviruses couldn’t.
During testing, developers entered code and a simple command (or “prompt”), asking Gemini 1.5 Pro to determine whether the file was malicious and display a list of activities and indicators of compromise. The tests were carried out with several “malware” files, including so-called “zero day” files, the vulnerabilities of which had not been made public; but surprisingly, Gemini 1.5 Pro was very accurate every timeshowing reports written in a way that everyone can understand them.
Another surprising detail is Gemini 1.5 Pro’s speed and ability to analyze code. In a single pass, the AI was able to process all the code in record time. between 30 and 40 seconds. This is the big advantage of Gemini 1.5 Pro compared to other AI-based tools tested by developers, which required dividing the code into parts because they were not able to analyze it completely; this in turn caused problems with nonspecific and inferior results.
The results are surprising and VirusTotal believes that Google’s AI has the potential to change the way you fight malware, more efficiently and precisely. But at the same time, remember that this is just the beginning and the field of generative AI is still in its infancy; Therefore, they highlight certain parts of the analysis that can be improved and say they will continue to develop ways to apply these models to cybersecurity.
