Image forming apparatus, server, control program of image forming apparatus, and control program of server

• US 10,708,459 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2019
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Kazusei, Asai, Yuki, Akita, Katsuhiko, Hashimoto, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Diaby, Moustapha
• Application Number:
  US16/444,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20190394341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 385 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4418 Suspend and resume; Hibernate and awake
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/145 the attack involving the propagation of malware through the network, e.g. viruses, trojans or worms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0088 Detecting or preventing tampering attacks on the reproduction system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00896 using a low-power mode, e.g. standby
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Disclosed is an image forming apparatus that may communicate with a server, which may include: a storage that stores a virus pattern file; and a hardware processor that discriminates, when a transition is made from a state in which power supply to the hardware processor is interrupted to a state in which the power supply to the hardware processor is made, whether the virus pattern file in the storage is a latest version, in communication with the server, includes an updater that updates, when discriminating that the virus pattern file is not the latest version, the virus pattern file to a virus pattern file from the server, discriminates whether a job accepted is a first type of job using data from outside the image forming apparatus or a second type of job using data generated inside the image forming apparatus, and executes the first type after the update by the updater.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus that communicates with a server, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a storage that stores a virus pattern file; and

a hardware processor,

wherein the hardware processor discriminates, in a case where a transition is made from a state in which power supply to the hardware processor is interrupted to a state in which the power supply to the hardware processor is made, whether the virus pattern file stored in the storage is a latest version, in communication with the server,

the hardware processor includes an updater that updates, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file stored in the storage is not the latest version, the virus pattern file stored in the storage to a virus pattern file acquired from the server,

the hardware processor discriminates whether a job accepted is a first type of job using data acquired from outside the image forming apparatus or a second type of job using data generated inside the image forming apparatus, and

the hardware processor executes the first type of job after the update by the updater.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an acceptor that accepts the job before completion of the update by the updater,

wherein the hardware processor executes, in a case where the acceptor accepts the first type of job and accepts the second type of job after the acceptance of the first type of job, the second type of job prior to the first type of job.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first type of job includes at least one of a print job of printing data received from outside the image forming apparatus and an e-mail reception job of receiving an e-mail from outside the image forming apparatus, and

wherein the second type of job includes at least one of a scan job of reading an original image, a copy job of printing the read original image, and an e-mail transmission job of transmitting an e-mail outside the image forming apparatus.

4. An image forming apparatus that communicates with a server, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a storage that stores a virus pattern file; and

a hardware processor,

wherein the hardware processor discriminates, in a case where a transition is made from a state in which power supply to the hardware processor is interrupted to a state in which the power supply to the hardware processor is made, whether the virus pattern file stored in the storage is a latest version, in communication with the server,

wherein the hardware processor includes an updater that updates, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file stored in the storage is not the latest version, the virus pattern file stored in the storage to a virus pattern file acquired from the server, and

wherein the hardware processor executes an external task that is a task of making access outside the image forming apparatus, after the update by the updater.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an operation acceptor that accepts an operation for execution of a specific job including a plurality of tasks including the external task and a general task that is a task of making no access outside the image forming apparatus, before completion of the update by the updater,

wherein the hardware processor executes, when the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file is not the latest version, in a case where the operation acceptor accepts the operation, the plurality of tasks in the specific job in an order of execution changed from an order of execution of the plurality of tasks in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file is the latest version, and

wherein the hardware processor executes at least part of the general task prior to the external task.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the storage further stores sequence information including the order of execution of the plurality of tasks in the case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file is the latest version, in association with possibility of viral infection in a case where each of the plurality of tasks is executed, and

wherein the hardware processor executes the plurality of tasks in the specific job in an order of execution changed, based on the sequence information.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the specific job includes a job of processing data saved in a storage outside the image forming apparatus.

8. A server that communicates with an image forming apparatus, the server comprising:

a storage that stores a virus pattern file, the storage further storing an update history of a virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus;

a hardware processor that discriminates whether the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is a latest version, based on the update history of the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus; and

an update requester that requests, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is not the latest version, the image forming apparatus to update the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus to the virus pattern file stored in the storage,

wherein the hardware processor discriminates, in the case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is not the latest version, whether the image forming apparatus is in a sleep mode,

wherein the server further comprises a recoverer that causes, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the image forming apparatus is in the sleep mode, the image forming apparatus to recover from the sleep mode, and

wherein the update requester requests the image forming apparatus to update the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus, after the recovery by the recoverer.

9. The server according to claim 8, wherein the recoverer causes part necessary for the update of the virus pattern file in the image forming apparatus, to recover from the sleep mode, partially.

10. The server according to claim 8, further comprising:

an update-completion receiver that receives, in a case where the update requester requests the image forming apparatus to update the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus, a notification of update completion from the image forming apparatus,

wherein the hardware processor updates, in a case where the update-completion receiver receives the notification, the update history of the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus stored in the storage.

11. The server according to claim 8,

wherein the hardware processor discriminates, based on an execution history of virus scanning by the image forming apparatus stored in the storage, the virus scanning is required to be executed in the image forming apparatus, after the discrimination by the hardware processor, and

wherein the server further comprises a scan requester that requests, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus scanning is required to be executed in the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus to execute the virus scanning.

12. The server according to claim 11, further comprising:

a scan-completion receiver that receives, in a case where the scan requester requests the image forming apparatus to execute the virus scanning, a notification of virus scanning completion from the image forming apparatus,

wherein the hardware processor updates, in a case where the scan-completion receiver receives the notification, the execution history of the virus scanning by the image forming apparatus stored in the storage.

13. The server according to claim 12, further comprising:

a sleep starter that causes, in a case where the hardware processor discriminates that the virus scanning is not required to be executed in the image forming apparatus or in the case where the scan-completion receiver receives the notification, the image forming apparatus to transition to a sleep mode.

14. A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable control program of an image forming apparatus that communicates with a server, the image forming apparatus including a storage that stores a virus pattern file and a hardware processor, the control program causing a computer to perform:

discriminating, in a case where a transition is made from a state in which power supply to the hardware processor is interrupted to a state in which the power supply to the hardware processor is made, whether the virus pattern file stored in the storage is a latest version, in communication with the server;

updating, in a case where it is discriminated that the virus pattern file stored in the storage is not the latest version in the discrimination, the virus pattern file stored in the storage to a virus pattern file acquired from the server;

discriminating whether a job accepted is a first type of job using data acquired from outside the image forming apparatus or a second type of job using data generated inside the image forming apparatus; and

executing the first type of job after the update.

15. A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable control program of a server that communicates with an image forming apparatus, the server including a storage that stores a virus pattern file, the storage further storing an update history of a virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus, the control program causing a computer to perform:

discriminating whether the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is a latest version, based on the update history of the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus; and

requesting, in a case where it is discriminated that the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is not the latest version in the discrimination, the image forming apparatus to update the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus to the virus pattern file stored in the storage,

wherein the computer discriminates, in the case where the computer discriminates that the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus is not the latest version, whether the image forming apparatus is in a sleep mode,

wherein the server further includes a recoverer that causes, in a case where the computer discriminates that the image forming apparatus is in the sleep mode, the image forming apparatus to recover from the sleep mode, and

wherein the update requester requests the image forming apparatus to update the virus pattern file retained by the image forming apparatus, after the recovery by the recoverer.