Security system and method for PnP device coupled to network client

• US 20040139343A1
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acer, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Acer, Inc.
• Inventors: Shieh, Horng-Ji
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,264 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/70 Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer

Abstract

A security system and method for a plug-and-play (PnP). The security system includes a server, a network system and a client. The server distributes a monitor program on the client via a remote control agent in advance, and transmits a lock or unlock message to the client through the network system. The client receives the message from the server, and locks or unlocks the PnP device by the monitor program via a disk I/O API.

Claims

1. A security system for a plug-and-play device, comprising:

a server to send a lock message;

a network system; and

a network client coupled to the server and having a monitor program for receiving the lock message through the network system, and locking a plug-and-play device coupled to the network client by the monitor program according to the lock message.

2. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monitor program in the client is distributed by a remote control agent installed on the server.

3. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the network client includes a lock flag, and the monitor program further updates a state of the lock flag when the lock message is received by the network client.

4. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the monitor program further checks a state of the lock flag and locks the plug-and-play device according to the lock flag when the network client is rebooted.

5. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monitor program further checks whether a new plug-and-play device matches a lock target when the new plug-and-play device is installed on the network client, and locks the new plug-and-play device if the new plug-and-play device matches a lock target.

6. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the monitor program further checks the lock flag when the new plug-and-play device is installed on the network client, and locks the new plug-and-play device according to the lock flag.

7. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monitor program locks the plug-and-play device via a disk I/O application programming interface.

8. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the client further transmits a lock acknowledgement message to the server through the network system.

9. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the server further transmits an unlock message to the network client, and the network client unlocks the plug-and-play device by the monitor program according to the unlock message.

10. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the monitor program unlocks the plug-and-play device via a disk I/O application programming interface.

11. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the client further transmits an unlock acknowledgement message to the server through the network.

12. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monitor program further checks whether the plug-and-play device matches a locked device if the plug-and-play device is removed from the client, and unlocks a connection port used to connect to the plug-and-play device if the plug-and-play device is checked as locked.

13. The security system for a plug-and-play device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plug-and-play device is a floppy disk, a USB handy drive, an IEEE 1394 hard disk, a USB hard disk, a COM port hard disk, or a CD-RW.

14. A security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a lock message by a server;

receiving the lock message by a network client through a network system; and

locking a plug-and-play device coupled to the network client by a monitor program distributed on the network client according to the lock message.

15. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 wherein the monitor program in the client is distributed by a remote control agent of the server.

16. The security method for at least-one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 wherein the monitor program locks the plug-and-play device via a disk I/O application programming interface.

17. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further updating a lock flag by the monitor program when the lock message is received by the network client.

18. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further checking whether a new plug-and-play device matches a lock target by the monitor program when the new plug-and-play device is installed on the client, and locking the new plug-and-play device if the new plug-and-play device matches a lock target.

19. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 18 further checking a value of the lock flag by the monitor program when the new plug-and-play device is installed on the client, and locking the new plug-and-play device according to the lock flag.

20. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further transmitting a lock acknowledgement message by the client to the server through the network system.

21. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further transmitting an unlock message by the server to the network client, and unlocking the plug-and-play device by the monitor program of the network client according to the unlock message.

22. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 21 wherein the monitor program unlocks the plug-and-play device via a disk I/O application programming interface.

23. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 21 further transmitting an unlock acknowledgement message by the client to the server through the network system.

24. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further checking the lock flag and locking the plug-and-play device by the monitor program according to the lock flag when the client is rebooted.

25. The security method for at least one plug-and-play device coupled to a network client as claimed in claim 14 further checking whether the plug-and-play device matches a locked device by the monitor program when the plug-and-play device is removed from the network client, and unlocking a connection port used to connect to the plug-and-play device via a disk I/O application programming interface if the plug-and-play device is checked as locked.