1. A method comprising: receiving at least one portion of an input string of data; producing, using a security processor, a fingerprint of the portion of the input string of data; comparing, using the security processor, the fingerprint of the portion of the string of data to at least one predefined fingerprint of at least one predefined substring, wherein the predefined substring includes a portion of at least one predefined pattern of interest, and wherein the predefined pattern of interest is representative of a computer virus; and if the fingerprints match, initiating pattern recognition on the input string of data to determine if the input string of data is a computer virus.