Sending a message to an alert computer

• US 20060075493A1
• Filed: 10/06/2004
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Karp, Alan H., Stiegler, Marc D.
• Application Number:
  US10/958,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20060075493A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A computer application is run within a restricted user account including permissions to access contact information for at least one computer system. If a computer virus infects the application, the application uses the contact information to send a message to only authorized computers including the at least one alert computer.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

configuring a restricted user account to include permission to access contact information for sending a message to at least one alert computer;

confining an application to run within the restricted user account, such that a computer virus infecting the application uses the contact information to send the message to only authorized computers including the at least one alert computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a contact list with only the contact information for the at least one alert computer, wherein the contact information includes at least one email address for the at least one alert computer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein confining an application to run within the restricted user account further comprises:

confining the application to run within the restricted user account, such that the application running in the restricted user account is operable to send an email using the at least one email address in the contact list.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the contact information for the at least one alert computer in a network connection system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein configuring a restricted user account to include permission to access contact information further comprises:

configuring a restricted user account to include permission to send a message via the network connection system to a computer authorized to receive messages.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

readdressing the message sent by the application via the network connection system with the contact information stored in the network connection system if the message is not addressed to one of the authorized computers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the contact information comprises at least one network address for the at least one of the authorized computer systems.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring a restricted user account further comprises:

limiting permissions of the restricted user account to minimize spreading of a virus attacking the application running in the restricted user account.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein limiting permissions further comprises:

granting the restricted user account only a set of permissions needed for the application to run.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorized computers includes a plurality of predetermined computers.

11. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of predetermined computers includes only alert computers.

12. A system comprising:

means for running an application within a restricted user account;

means for providing an e-mail address of only the at least one alert computer to the application;

means for addressing an e-mail to the at least one alert computer using the contact list; and

means for sending the e-mail from the application to the at least one alert computer, wherein the email provides an alert, on the at least one alert computer, of a computer virus infecting the application.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising contact list means for storing the e-mail address of the at least one alert computer.

14. A system comprising:

means for running an application within a restricted user account;

means for providing a network address of only at least one alert computer to the application;

means for addressing a message to the at least one alert computer using the network address; and

means for sending the message from the application to the at least one alert computer, wherein the message provides an alert, on the at least one alert computer, of a computer virus infecting the application.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising means for readdressing the message to the network address of the at least one alert computer.

16. A computer readable medium on which is embedded one or more computer programs, said one or more computer programs implementing a method for detecting a computer virus with an alert computer, said one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for:

confining an application to run within a restricted user account;

providing the restricted user account with contact information for the alert computer; and

sending a message from the application to the alert computer using the contact information.

17. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein the one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for providing the restricted user account with contact information further comprises a set of instructions for providing a contact list including only at least one e-mail address for at least one alert computer to the restricted user account.

18. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 17, wherein the one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for sending a message further comprises a set of instructions for sending an e-mail to the alert computer using an e-mail address in the contact list.

19. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein the one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for providing the restricted user account with contact information further comprises a set of instructions for providing a network address for the alert computer to the restricted user account.

20. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 19, wherein the one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for sending a message further comprises a set of instructions for readdressing the message to the network address of the alert computer and sending the message to the alert computer using the network address.

21. A computer system comprising:

a restricted user account;

a contact list having at least one e-mail address for only at least one alert computer, wherein the restricted user account has permission to access the contact list; and

an application running in the restricted user account, the application configured to use the contact list to send an e-mail to only authorized computers including the at least one alert computer.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the authorized computer includes a plurality of predetermined computers.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of predetermined computers includes only alert computers.

24. A computer system comprising:

a restricted user account;

contact information having at least one network address for only at least one alert computer, wherein the restricted user account has permission to access the contact information ; and

an application running in the restricted user account, the application configured to use the contact information to send a message to only authorized computers including the at least one alert computer.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a re-addresser configured to determine if the message is directed to another network address and, if so, to send the message to the network address of the at least one alert computer.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the authorized computer includes a plurality of predetermined computers.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the plurality of predetermined computers includes only alert computers.