Storage device having function for coping with computer virus

Abstract

A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus which has the ability to prevent infection with a computer virus and properly deal with infection with a computer virus, comprises: an infection management table used to manage files stored on a disk to see if the files are infected with viruses; a table registering unit for receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on a disk is infected with a virus, and for registering the result in the infection management table; a judging unit that when a use request is made externally for a file stored on the disk, references the infection management table so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus; and a prohibiting unit that when the judging unit judges that a file is infected with a virus, prohibits the use of the file.

We claim: 
     
       1. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit; and   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus.   
     
     
       2. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein said virus checker is designed to be run by said storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus. 
     
     
       3. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , wherein said virus checker is designed to be activated at intervals of a specific period. 
     
     
       4. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , wherein said virus checker is designed to be activated in response to a command instruction. 
     
     
       5. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , wherein when a writing request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disk, said table registering unit judges that a file which is stored on said disk and is a source of the writing request is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       6. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 5 , further comprising an invalidating unit that when a writing request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disk, invalidates the writing request. 
     
     
       7. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 5 , further comprising a determining unit for determining through interactive processing whether the use of a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit should be permitted, wherein said prohibiting unit does not prohibit the use of a file which is permitted by said determining unit. 
     
     
       8. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 5 , further comprising a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk, a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about due to modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning the differential information brought about due to modification, and a file registering unit for merging original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk. 
     
     
       9. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 5 , further comprising a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given. 
     
     
       10. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , when a writing request is issued for an executable file stored on said disk, said table registering unit judges that a file which is stored on said disk and is a source of the writing request is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       11. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , wherein when the size of a file is varied by running the file, said table registering unit judges that the file, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       12. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , wherein although a file stored on said disk is judged to be an executable file in terms of the file name, if the file is declared to be a data file, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       13. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a determining unit for determining through interactive processing whether the use of a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit should be permitted, wherein said prohibiting unit does not prohibit the use of a file which is permitted by said determining unit. 
     
     
       14. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 25 , further comprising an invalidating unit that when a writing request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disk, invalidates the writing request. 
     
     
       15. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 14 , further comprising a dedicated writing unit for executing writing for a system startup area stored on said disk, wherein when a writing request is issued for the system startup area stored on said disk, if the writing request specifies the use of said writing unit, said invalidating unit does not invalidate the writing request. 
     
     
       16. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk, a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about due to modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification, and file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk. 
     
     
       17. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given. 
     
     
       18. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 26 , further comprising a permitting unit for determining through interactive processing whether a writing request made for a file, which is registered as a virus-infected file by said table registering unit and is running, should be permitted. 
     
     
       19. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 18 , wherein when a writing request is permitted by said permitting unit, if a file that is a destination of the writing request is rewritten, said table registering unit judges that the file which is stored on said disk and is the destination of the writing request is infected with a virus and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       20. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 18 , further comprising a determining unit for determining through interactive processing whether the use of a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit should be permitted, wherein said prohibiting unit does not prohibit the use of a file which is permitted by said determining unit. 
     
     
       21. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 18 , further comprising a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk, a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about due to modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning the differential information brought about due to modification, and a file registering unit for merging original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk. 
     
     
       22. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 18 , further comprising a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given. 
     
     
       23. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein said virus checker is designed to be activated at intervals of a specific period. 
     
     
       24. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein said virus checker is designed to be activated in response to a command instruction. 
     
     
       25. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein when a writing request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disk, said table registering unit judges that a file which is stored on said disk and is a source of the writing request is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       26. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein when a writing request is issued for an executable file stored on said disk, said table registering unit judges that a file which is stored on said disk and is a source of the writing request is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       27. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein when the size of a file is varied by running the file, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       28. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , wherein although a file stored on said disk is judged to be an declared to be a data file, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit. 
     
     
       29. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a determining unit for determining through interactive processing whether the use of a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit should be permitted, wherein said prohibiting unit does not prohibit the use of a file which is permitted by said determining unit. 
     
     
       30. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit manages original information that is confirmed not to be infected with a virus by said virus checker, and said second managing unit manages differential information brought about due to modification which is confirmed not to be infected with a virus by said virus checker.   
     
     
       31. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein as for a file which is stored on said disk, of which original information is not registered in said first managing unit, and of which differential information brought about due to modification is not registered in said second managing unit, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus and registers the fact in said infection management table unit.   
     
     
       32. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit manages original information of said virus checker, and said second managing unit manages differential information brought about due to modification concerning said virus checker and history information concerning the differential information brought about due to modification.   
     
     
       33. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 32 , wherein said generating unit generates said virus checker at the time of running said virus checker. 
     
     
       34. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages differential information brought about due to modification, further comprising a decoding unit for decoding encoded data managed by said first and second managing unit, and an encoding unit for executing inverse conversion that is inverse to conversion performed by said decoding unit.   
     
     
       35. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk; and   a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an executable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given.   
     
     
       36. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk; and   a restoring unit for deleting a virus-infected file, which is registered in said infection management table unit, from said disk, activating said file registering unit, thus restoring the file, and then registering the restored file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages differential information brought about due to modification, further comprising a decoding unit for decoding encoded data managed by said first and second managing units, and an encoding unit for executing inverse conversion that is inverse to conversion performed by said decoding unit.   
     
     
       37. A storage device having the function of coping with a computer virus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk;   a restoring unit for deleting a virus-infected file, which is registered in said infection management table unit, from said disk, activating said file registering unit, thus restoring the file, and then registering the restored file on said disk; and   a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given.   
     
     
       38. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit used to manage files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   a table registering unit for receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and for registering the result in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit that, when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk, references said infection management table unit so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus;   a prohibiting unit that, when said judging unit judges that a file is infected with a virus, prohibits the use of the file, wherein when a writing request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disk, said table registering unit judges that a file which is stored on said disk and is a source of the writing request is infected with a virus, and registers the fact in said infection management table unit; and   a file registering unit for merging original information of a file managed by a first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning a file which is managed by a second managing unit so as to produce a produced file, and for registering the produced file on said disk.   
     
     
       39. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit used to manage files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   a table registering unit for receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and for registering the result in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit that, when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk, references said infection management table unit so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus;   a prohibiting unit that, when said judging unit judges that a file is infected with a virus, prohibits the use of the file;   a saving unit for saving a virus-infected table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area;   a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given; and   a file registering unit for merging original information of a file managed by a first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning a file which is managed by a second managing unit so as to produce a produced file, and for registering the produced file on said disk.   
     
     
       40. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit used to manage files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   a table registering unit for receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and for registering the result in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit that, when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk, references said infection management table unit so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus;   a prohibiting unit that, when said judging unit judges that a file is infected with a virus, prohibits the use of the file;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a produced file, and for registering the produced file on said disk;   a restoring unit for deleting a virus-infected file, which is registered in said infection management table unit, from said disk, activating said file registering unit, thus restoring the file, and then registering the restored file on said disk.   
     
     
       41. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit used to manage files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   a table registering unit for internally receiving a result of detection from a virus checker which internally detects that a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, and for registering the result in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit that, when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk, references said infection management table unit so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus;   a prohibiting unit that, when said judging unit judges that a file is infected with a virus, prohibits the use of the file; and   a file registering unit for merging original information of a file managed by a first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning a file which is managed by a second managing unit so as to produce a produced file, and for registering the produced file on said disk.   
     
     
       42. A method of storing a computer program on a computer storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising the steps of:
 managing files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus;   registering the result of detection;   referencing said infection management table unit so as to judge if the file is infected with a virus when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk;   prohibiting the use of the file when judging that a file is infected with a virus;   judging that a stored file on said disk is a source of the use request infected with a virus and registering when the use request is issued for a system startup area stored on said disks;   merging original information of a file managed by a first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning a file which is managed by a second managing unit so as to produce a produced file; and   registering the produced file on said disk.   
     
     
       43. A method of storing a computer program on a computer storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising the steps of:
 managing files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus;   registering the result of detection;   judging if the file is infected with a virus when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk;   prohibiting use of the infected file when judging that a file is infected with a virus;   saving a virus-infected table and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area;   reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given;   merging original information of a file managed by a first managing unit with differential information brought about due to modification concerning a file which is managed by a second managing unit so as to produce a produced file; and   registering the produced file on said disk.   
     
     
       44. A method of storing a computer program on a computer storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising the steps of:
 managing files stored on said disk to see if the files are infected with viruses;   receiving a result of detection from a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus;   registering the result of detection;   judging if the file is infected with a virus when a use request is made externally for a file stored on said disk;   prohibiting the use of the file when judging that a file is infected with a virus;   managing original information of files stored on said disk;   managing differential information brought about by modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to the modification;   merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a produced file;   registering the produced file on said disk;   deleting a registered virus-infected file from said disk, thus restoring the file; and   registering the restored file on said disk.   
     
     
       45. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit manages original information that is confirmed not to be infected with a virus by said virus checker, and said second managing unit manages differential information brought about due to modification which is confirmed not to be infected with a virus by said virus checker.   
     
     
       46. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein as for a file which is stored on said disk, of which original information is not registered in said first managing unit, and of which differential information brought about due to modification is not registered in said second managing unit, said table registering unit judges that the file stored on said disk is infected with a virus and registers the fact in said infection management table unit.   
     
     
       47. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit manages original information of said virus checker, and said second managing unit manages differential information brought about due to modification concerning said virus checker and history information concerning the differential information brought about due to modification.   
     
     
       48. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification; and   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages differential information brought about due to modification, further comprising a decoding unit for decoding encoded data managed by said first and second managing unit, and an encoding unit for executing inverse conversion that is inverse to conversion performed by said decoding unit.   
     
     
       49. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk; and   a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an executable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given.   
     
     
       50. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk;   a restoring unit for deleting a virus-infected file, which is registered in said infection management table unit, from said disk, activating said file registering unit, thus restoring the file, and then registering the restored file on said disk,   wherein said first managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages original information, and said second managing unit encodes and manages differential information brought about due to modification, further comprising a decoding unit for decoding encoded data managed by said first and second managing unit, and an encoding unit for executing inverse conversion that is inverse to conversion performed by said decoding unit.   
     
     
       51. A storage device, having the function of coping with a computer virus, which has the ability to deal with infection of a file stored on a disk with a virus, comprising:
 an infection management table unit for registering virus infected files which are stored on said disk;   a virus checker for detecting if a file stored on said disk is infected with a virus, wherein the virus checker is activated at intervals of a specific period or in response to a command instruction;   a table registering unit for registering a result of detection from said virus checker in said infection management table unit;   a judging unit for judging if a file is infected with a virus in response to an external use request externally made for a file stored on said disk by referencing said infection management table unit;   a prohibiting unit for prohibiting use of the externally requested file when said judging unit judges that the externally requested file is infected with a virus;   a first managing unit for managing original information of files stored on said disk;   a second managing unit for managing differential information brought about modification concerning the files stored on said disk and history information concerning said differential information brought about due to modification;   a file registering unit for merging the original information of a file managed by said first managing unit with the differential information brought about due to modification concerning the file which is managed by said second managing unit so as to produce a file, and for registering the produced file on said disk;   a restoring unit for deleting a virus-infected file, which is registered in said infection management table unit, from said disk, activating said file registering unit, thus restoring the file, and then registering the restored file on said disk; and   a saving unit for saving a virus-infected file that is registered in said infection management table unit and virus information concerning the file in an inexecutable area, and a reading unit for reading information saved in said inexecutable area under the condition that permission information for permitting access to said inexecutable area is given.   
     
     
       52. An apparatus, comprising:
 a virus scanner adapted to scan a file stored in a storage device for infection with a virus;   a quarantining device adapted to quarantine the file from non-infected files on the storage device, when the file is infected; and   a converting device adapted to in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibit use of the infected file based upon executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       53. The method according to claim 52 wherein the other storage area as a quarantine is an inexecutable area. 
     
     
       54. An apparatus comprising:
 a storage device adapted to store a plurality of files and a status for each of the files indicating whether each of the files is infected with a virus;   a virus checking device adapted to select a file to be checked for infection with a virus;   a quarantining device adapted to quarantine an infected file on the storage device; and   a converting device adapted to in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibit use of the infected file based upon executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       55. An apparatus, comprising:
 a storage device adapted to store a plurality of files and a status for each of the files indicating whether each of the files is infected with a virus;   a virus checking device adapted for selection of a file to be checked for infection with a virus; and   a converting device adapted to in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibit use of an infected file based upon executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       56. A method, comprising:
 scanning a file for infection with a virus using a computer;   quarantining the file from non-infected files if the file is infected with a virus; and   in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibiting use of the infected file by executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       57. A computer readable storage medium controlling a computer by:
 scanning a file for infection with a virus;   quarantining the file if infected with a virus; and   in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibiting use of the infected file by executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       58. A method comprising:
 scanning a file for infection with a virus using a computer;   isolating the file from non-infected files, if the file is infected with a virus; and   in response to a detection of the infection with the virus prohibiting use of the infected file via executing an encoding process for security that converts the infected file into encoded data,   thereby in response to the detection of the infection with the virus, the infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the infected file was stored.   
     
     
       59. A method for performing an anti-virus operation, the method comprising:
 detecting a virus-infected file in a storage device using a computer;   in response to the detection of the virus-infected file prohibiting use of the virus-infected file based upon converting for security the virus-infected file into encoded data; and   storing the encoded data of the virus-infected file,   thereby in response to the detection of the virus-infected file, the virus-infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the virus-infected file was stored.   
     
     
       60. The method according to claim 59 further comprising:
 executing inverse conversion of said encoded data for restoring the virus-infected file.   
     
     
       61. The method according to claim 59 further comprising:
 registering virus information of the virus-infected file in an infection management table.   
     
     
       62. The method according to claim 61 further comprising:
 outputting the virus information for a virus analysis.   
     
     
       63. The method according to claim 61, further comprising:
 deleting the virus information of the virus-infected file registered in the infection management table through an interactive process.   
     
     
       64. The method according to claim 61 wherein the virus information contains a virus name and a storage location in which the virus-infected file was stored. 
     
     
       65. The method according to claim 59 wherein an operation of said detecting is activated periodically or activated in response to a command instruction. 
     
     
       66. The method according to claim 59 wherein the encoded data is stored in a different storage area from a storage area in which the virus-infected file was stored. 
     
     
       67. The method according to claim 59 wherein the encoded data is stored in a storage area which cannot be accessed readily. 
     
     
       68. A method for performing an anti-virus operation, the method comprising:
 detecting a virus-infected file using a computer;   in response to the detection of the virus-infected file prohibiting use of the virus-infected file by encoding the virus-infected file for security; and   storing the encoded virus infected file,   thereby in response to the detection of the virus-infected file, the virus-infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the virus-infected file was stored.   
     
     
       69. A method for performing an anti-virus operation, the method comprising:
 detecting a virus-infected file in a storage device using a computer;   in response to the detection of the virus-infected file converting for security the virus-infected file into encoded data; and   storing the encoded data of the virus infected file,   thereby in response to the detection of the virus-infected file, the virus-infected file is deleted and the encoded data is stored in another storage area different from a storage area in which the virus-infected file was stored and the converting into the encoded data prohibits use of the virus-infected file.   
     
     
       70. The method according to claim 69, wherein the use comprises executing.