The present invention relates to a proxy device, computer program product
and method for performing malware scanning of files stored within a file
storage device of a computer network. The computer network has a
plurality of client devices arranged to issue access requests using a
dedicated file access protocol to the file storage device in order to
access files stored on the file storage device, with the proxy device
being arranged so as to intercept access requests issued to the file
storage device. The proxy device comprises a first interface for
receiving an access request issued by one of the client devices to the
file storage device using the dedicated file access protocol, and a
second interface for communicating with the file storage device to cause
the file storage device to process the access request. Further,
processing logic is provided for causing selected malware scanning
algorithms to be executed to determine whether the file identified by the
access request is to be considered as malware. This approach removes the
dependency of the malware scanning process on the operating system and/or
vendor of the file storage device.