1. A method comprising: scanning files in a scan area of a storage device for malicious code wherein the storage device is subdivided into the scan area and a protected area, the protected area being securely configurable between a read-only state and a writeable state wherein the configuration is under the control of a security system having a secure memory which is inaccessible to code executed under an operating system; activating a first security measure of the security system to convert the scan area to the protected area; and authenticating the first security measure, wherein the authentication executes out of the secure memory.