Intel has announced Accelerated Memory Scanning, which is a fancy way of naming a technology that enables virus scanning with GPU power. And Windows 10 is the first to use it.
Basically, the deal is that virus scanners will be able to rely on graphics chips in order to look for malware on Windows computers — essentially reducing the footprint on system performance, speeding up the process overall, and also offering battery life improvements.
Most notably on devices like laptops.
Intel expects the processor load from this switch to drop from 20% all the way down to just 2%, compared to antivirus applications that used CPU power to perform scans.
Microsoft, as you may expect, is the first company to use the Accelerated Memory Scanning technology and will bake the technology into Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection that is available to enterprises as part of Windows 10.
Hopefully, this trickles down to consumers and end users, as well.
The chip giant has also announced its Advanced Platform Telemetry, which is a new system that helps block advanced threats and reduces false positives. It relies on telemetry and machine learning algorithms, with Intel revealing noticeable performance improvements here too.
This increased focus on security comes at a time after the company was besieged by hardware issues that plagued its processors recently.
The Meltdown and Spectre fiasco is still fresh, affecting Intel processors launched in the last two decades. The company worked intensively with industry partners these last few months to roll out a range of patches to address these flaws and keep users safe.
But advancements like GPU virus scanning are, nevertheless, very much welcome.
