System and methods for processing software authorization and error feedback

• US 20060253760A1
• Filed: 05/09/2005
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jones, Thomas C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,886,193 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing

Abstract

Software error feedback information, typically that associated with authorization failures due to operating system resource access checks, is automatically communicated to a software vendor with actions needed to prevent the software application error from occurring on the client computer. If possible, information associated with the software error is communicated to the client computer in order to mitigate the error by modifying how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application so that the error may be avoided and user interaction minimized. Modifications may include automatically redirecting a resource request associated with the authorization failure in a manner such that authorization will be granted by the operating system and prevent the authorization failure due to the access check.

Claims

1. A method for processing software application error feedback comprising:

automatically receiving software error feedback information from a client computer; and

determining whether modifying how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application will prevent a software application error associated with the software error feedback information from occurring.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

communicating information to the client computer that modifies how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application if doing so will prevent the software application error from occurring.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

communicating the software error feedback information to a software vendor with actions needed to prevent the software application error from occurring on the client computer, if information associated with the software error is not communicated to the client computer in order to modify how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

if information associated with the software error is not communicated to the client computer in order to modify how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application, testing a fix for the software application error on different versions of the software application that are generating a similar error; and

putting the fix into a database to be distributed to the client computer as part of a software update.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the software error feedback information is information regarding an authorization failure due to an access check on the client computer and the information communicated to the client computer that modifies how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application automatically redirects a resource request associated with the authorization failure in a manner such that authorization will be granted by the operating system and prevent the authorization failure due to the access check.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the resource request is the opening of a file.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the resource request is the accessing of an operating system registry.

8. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 1.

9. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 2.

10. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 3.

11. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 4.

12. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 5.

13. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 6.

14. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon for performing the method of claim 7.

16. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

means for communicating information to the client computer that modifies how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application if doing so will prevent the software application error from occurring, said client computer communicating means in communication with the determining means.

17. The system of claim 2 further comprising:

means for communicating the software error feedback information to a software vendor with actions needed to prevent the software application error from occurring on the client computer, if information associated with the software error is not communicated to the client computer in order to modify how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application, said software vendor communicating means in communication with the error feedback receiving means.

18. The system of claim 2 further comprising:

means for, if information associated with the software error is not communicated to the client computer in order to modify how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application, testing a fix for the software application error on different versions of the software application that are generating a similar error; and

means for putting the fix into a database to be distributed to the client computer as part of a software update, said testing and putting means in communication with the error feedback receiving means.

19. The system of claim 2 wherein the software error feedback information is information regarding an authorization failure due to an access check on the client computer and the information communicated to the client computer that modifies how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application automatically redirects a resource request associated with the authorization failure in a manner such that authorization will be granted by the operating system and prevent the authorization failure due to the access check.

15. A system for processing software application error feedback comprising:

means for receiving software error feedback information from a client computer; and

means for determining whether modifying how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application will prevent a software application error associated with the software error feedback information from occurring, said determining means in communication with said receiving means.

20. A method for processing software application error feedback comprising:

automatically receiving software error feedback information from a client computer, the information comprising;

a particular software application in which the error occurred, information regarding a problem receiving authorization from the client computer operating system to run the software, a reason for authorization failure, and whether the software application aborted operation or continued to run with limited functionality;

sorting software error feedback information according to which software applications cause the most frequent errors;

examining at least one of the software applications that caused the most frequent errors in determining whether modifying how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application will prevent a software application error associated with the software error feedback information from occurring;

communicating information to the client computer that modifies how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application if doing so will prevent the software application error from occurring; and

communicating the software error feedback information to a software vendor with actions needed to prevent the software application error from occurring on the client computer, if information associated with the software error is not communicated to the client computer in order to modify how the client computer'"'"'s operating system interacts with the software application.