Firewall providing enhanced network security and user transparency
First Claim
1. A method for performing out-of-band authentication, the method comprising:
- establishing communication over a public computer network between a user and a server;
receiving an out-of-band authentication request;
querying the server to determine whether the out-of-band authentication request is valid;
receiving a response from the server, the response indicating validity of the out-of-band authentication request;
enabling out-of-band authentication on a target computer that a user wishes to access; and
granting the user access to the target computer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a firewall that achieves maximum network security and maximum user convenience. The firewall employs “envoys” that exhibit the security robustness of prior-art proxies and the transparency and ease-of-use of prior-art packet filters, combining the best of both worlds. No traffic can pass through the firewall unless the firewall has established an envoy for that traffic. Both connection-oriented (e.g., TCP) and connectionless (e.g., UDP-based) services may be handled using envoys. Establishment of an envoy may be subjected to a myriad of tests to “qualify” the user, the requested communication, or both. Therefore, a high level of security may be achieved. The usual added burden of prior-art proxy systems is avoided in such a way as to achieve fall transparency-the user can use standard applications and need not even know of the existence of the firewall. To achieve full transparency, the firewall is configured as two or more sets of virtual hosts. The firewall is, therefore, “multi-homed,” each home being independently configurable. One set of hosts responds to addresses on a first network interface of the firewall. Another set of hosts responds to addresses on a second network interface of the firewall. In one aspect, programmable transparency is achieved by establishing DNS mappings between remote hosts to be accessed through one of the network interfaces and respective virtual hosts on that interface. In another aspect, automatic transparency may be achieved using code for dynamically mapping remote hosts to virtual hosts in accordance with a technique referred to herein as dynamic DNS, or DDNS.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for performing out-of-band authentication, the method comprising:
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establishing communication over a public computer network between a user and a server;
receiving an out-of-band authentication request;
querying the server to determine whether the out-of-band authentication request is valid;
receiving a response from the server, the response indicating validity of the out-of-band authentication request;
enabling out-of-band authentication on a target computer that a user wishes to access; and
granting the user access to the target computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for performing out-of-band authentication, the method comprising:
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establishing communication over a out-of-band channel between a user and a computer;
receiving an out-of-band authentication request;
querying the server to determine whether the out-of-band authentication request is valid;
receiving a response from the server, the response indicating validity of the out-of-band authentication request; and
conveying an access key for use in an out-of-band authentication, the access key useful in providing access to the computer. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for configuring out-of-band authentication, the method comprising:
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configuring a server to communicate over a out-of-band channel between a user and a computer;
configuring the server to validate a received out-of-band authentication request; and
configuring the server to convey an access key for use in out-of-band authentication for computer access. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification