Process verification

• US 20040068654A1
• Filed: 10/06/2003
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: LeMay, Steven G., Breckner, Robert, Cockerille, Warner
• Granted Patent: US 7,581,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

A disclosed gaming machine provides methods and apparatus of verifying the authenticity of gaming software stored in and executed from RAM on the gaming machine. When presenting a game on the gaming machine, a master gaming controller may dynamically load gaming software applications into RAM and dynamically unload gaming software applications from RAM. The authenticity of the gaming software applications temporarily stored in RAM may be verified by using methods to compare it with certified gaming software stored on one or more local or remote file storage devices accessible to the master gaming controller on the gaming machine. The verification process may be used to satisfy gaming regulatory entities within various gaming jurisdictions that require certified gaming software to be operating on the gaming machine at all times as well as to prevent tampering with the gaming machine.

Claims

1. A method of verifying the authenticity of a process stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming processor for executing said process, the method comprising:

(a) identifying a list of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine RAM;

(b) selecting one process for verification from said list of processes;

(c) identifying a file name and current RAM location of the selected process;

(d) at the current RAM location, inspecting said selected process to identify at least a first portion of the process, which first portion of the process is a portion of the process that does not change during execution of the process;

(e) identifying one or more gaming software programs stored on one or more file storage devices, which gaming software programs have the same name as the selected process;

(f) for each of the one or more identified gaming software programs, inspecting the gaming software programs to determine whether at least the first portion of the process is present; and

(g) generating a notification if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming software programs are certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a game of chance on the gaming machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the game of chance is a video slot game, a mechanical slot game, a lottery game, a video poker game, a video black jack game, a video card game, a video bingo game, a video keno game or a video pachinko game.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the file storage devices are at least one of file storage devices located on the gaming machine, remote file storage devices or combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calling an attendant if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

shutting down the gaming machine if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine RAM is specified by an operating system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the gaming machine runs Unix, Windows, Linux, or QNX.

10. A method of verifying the authenticity of a first gaming software program stored in RAM of a gaming device associated with a gaming machine, said gaming device having a gaming controller for executing said first gaming software program, the method comprising:

(a) identifying the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming device RAM;

(b) identifying a second gaming software program stored on a file storage device;

(c) comparing at least a first portion of the second gaming software program with a first portion of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming device RAM,

wherein the first portion of the gaming software program is a portion of the first gaming software program that does not change during execution of said first gaming software program.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the gaming device is at least one of a player tracking unit, a player tracking server, a game server or a hand-held gaming device.

12. A method of initializing a gaming system that stores gaming software in RAM on a gaming machine used to present one or more games of chance to a game player, the method comprising:

(a) loading a list of gaming software file names from a static memory storage device on the gaming machine;

(b) loading a code authenticator program used to compare the list of gaming software file names to names of files stored on a memory storage device on the gaming machine;

(c) validating the code authenticator program;

(d) comparing the list of gaming software file names with the names of files stored on the memory storage device;

(e) when one or more file names on the list of gaming software file names does not match the names of one or more files stored on the memory storage device,

halting the launch of the gaming system on the gaming machine.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

launching a code comparator program used to compare at least a first portion of a first gaming program stored in RAM with a first portion of a second gaming software program stored on the memory storage device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

when the code authenticator program is not validated,

halting the launch of the gaming system on the gaming machine.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein each file name on the list of game file names corresponds to a gaming software program certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions.

16. A method of verifying the authenticity of a first gaming software program temporarily stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming controller for executing said gaming software program, the method comprising:

(a) identifying the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM as specified by an operating system;

(b) identifying a second gaming software program stored on a file storage device;

(c) selecting the second gaming software program from a list of certified gaming software programs wherein the certified gaming software programs are stored on one or more file storage devices; and

(d) comparing at least a first portion of the second gaming software program with a first portion of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM,

wherein the first portion of the gaming software program is a portion of the first gaming software program that does not change during execution of said first gaming software program.

17. A computer readable medium containing computer-readable instructions for verifying the authenticity of a first gaming software program stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming controller for executing said gaming software program, said computer readable medium comprising:

(a) computer readable code for identifying the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM as specified by an operating system;

(b) computer readable code for identifying a second gaming software program stored on a file storage device;

(c) computer readable code for selecting the second gaming software program from a list of certified gaming software programs wherein the certified gaming software programs are stored on one or more file storage devices; and

(d) computer readable code for comparing at least a first portion of the second gaming software program with a first portion of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM,

wherein the first portion of the gaming software program is a portion of the first gaming software program that does not change during execution of said first gaming software program.

18. A method of verifying the authenticity of a first gaming software program temporarily stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming controller for executing said gaming software program, the method comprising:

(a) identifying the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM as specified by an operating system;

(b) identifying an executable file name for the first gaming software program;

(c) identifying a second gaming software program stored on a file storage device, wherein identifying the second gaming software program includes using the executable file name;

(d) comparing at least a first portion of the second gaming software program with a first portion of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM,

wherein the first portion of the gaming software program is a portion of the first gaming software program that does not change during execution of said first gaming software program.

19. An apparatus for verifying the authenticity of a process stored in a gaming machine RAM comprising:

(a) means for identifying a list of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine RAM;

(b) means for selecting one process for verification from said list of processes;

(c) means for identifying a file name and current RAM location of the selected process;

(d) at the current RAM location, means for inspecting said selected process to identify at least a first portion of the process, which first portion of the process is a portion of the process that does not change during execution of the process;

(e) means for identifying one or more gaming software programs stored on one or more file storage devices, which gaming software programs have the same name as the selected process;

(f) for each of the one or more identified gaming software programs, means for inspecting the gaming software programs to determine whether at least the first portion of the process is present; and

(g) means for generating a notification if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the gaming software programs are certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions

21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

means for presenting a game of chance on the gaming machine.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the game of chance is a video slot game, a mechanical slot game, a lottery game, a video poker game, a video black jack game, a video card game, a video bingo game, a video keno game or a video pachinko game.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the file storage devices are at least one of file storage devices located on the gaming machine, remote file storage devices or combinations thereof.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

means for calling an attendant if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

means for shutting down the gaming machine if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the list of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine RAM is specified by an operating system.