Record and playback of server conversations from a device

• US 20060277270A1
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lloyd, Owen Winston, Counts, Eian Dae, Thirumalai, Karthik
• Application Number:
  US11/145,365
• Publication Number:
  US 20060277270A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it

Abstract

The subject invention provides a system and/or a method that facilitates the recording of server/device communications on a device and playback of such recorded conversations from the device. Playback from the device can be implemented without a network connection and simulates a real server that has previously interacted with the device. The system provides for a device to communicate with at least one server, and a module integrated with device to playback at least one recorded server response to the device. Further, the system provides for a component integrated with the device to record server responses and device responses on the device and to store the recorded responses in a memory of the device. Upon staging the device to a state equal to when the conversation record log was created, the recorded server responses can be matched to corresponding device responses and played back to the device.

Claims

1. A record and playback system, comprising:

a module integrated with a device, the module plays back at least one recorded server response to the device without a network connection, the at least one recorded server response that is played back is matched to at least one recorded device response.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a component integrated with the device that records at least one server response and at least one device response on the device and stores the at least one recorded server response and the at least one recorded device response in a memory of the device.

3. The system of claim 2, the at least one server response and the at least one device response each comprise at least one of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) layer, and a transport code layer.

4. The system of claim 2, the at least one server response comprises server response data below the transport code layer and above the TCP/IP layer and the SSL and the at least one device response comprises device response data below the transport code layer and above the TCP/IP layer and SSL.

5. The system of claim 1, the device comprises a data hook that captures server response data to create the at least recorded server response and captures device response data to create the at least one recorded device response and facilitates the module to forward the at least one recorded server response and the at least one recorded device response to the memory of the device.

6. The system of claim 1, the device comprises a password handler component that detects at least one password character in the at least one device response and substitutes the at least one password character with at least one random character in the recorded device response associated with the device response.

7. The system of claim 6, the password handler component further facilitates the module to play back a positive response to the device when the module detects at least one password character in the at least one device response.

8. The system of claim 1, the device comprises a staging module that sets the device to a state equal to when the at least one recorded server response was generated.

9. The system of claim 8, the state comprising at least one recreated folder and at least one recreated message sunk down to the device via one or more previous server sessions, one or more recreated values associated with a POP3/IMAP4/SMTP service, and at least one recreated outgoing mail and draft mail, and at least one registry key set to a value equal to when the at least one recorded server response was generated, and at least one activated Send/Receive button of the device.

10. The system of claim 1, the device further comprising a trigger file that calls a record application program interface of the device when the trigger file is detected by an initial server response.

11. A server communication playback method, comprising:

initiating a conversation between a device and at least one server;

recording the conversation on the device;

storing a record of the conversation in a memory of the device as a plaintext file; and

transmitting the record back to the device without a network connection and at a device state equal to when the plaintext file was created.

12. The method of claim 11, the act of initiating a conversation comprises exchanging one or more device messages and one or more server messages.

13. The method of claim 12, the one or more device messages and the one or more server messages each comprising at least one secure layer, at least one transmission protocol layer, at least one transport code layer, the one or more server messages further comprising a file detector.

14. The method of claim 11, the act of recording the conversation comprises:

capturing data of the one or more device messages and the one or more server messages, the data being situated above the secure layer and the transmission protocol layer and below the transport code layer of each of the one or more device messages and the one or more server messages;

determining whether the captured data comprises password data;

replacing the password data with garbage data in the captured data when the captured data comprises password data; and

entering the captured data into the plaintext file.

15. The method of claim 11, the act of recording the conversation further comprises:

receiving an initial server message to the device that employs the file detector to detect the presence of a flagged device file; and

triggering the act of recording of the conversation based on the presence of the flagged device file.

16. The method of claim 15, the act of triggering the recording of the conversation comprises calling a record program interface to initialize recording.

17. The method of claim 11, transmitting the record back to the device comprises performing a staging sequence to recreate a device state equal to when the plaintext file was created.

18. The method of claim 17, performing a staging sequence comprises:

setting at least one registry key of the device to a value equal to when the plaintext file was created;

recreating at least one folder and at least one message sunk down to the device via previous server sessions.

19. The method of claim 17, performing a staging sequence further comprises:

recreating at least one server service equal to when the plaintext file was created; and

detecting an activated Send/Receive button of the device.

20. A server communication playback system, comprising:

means for initiating a conversation between a device and at least one server;

means for recording the conversation on the device;

means for storing a record of the conversation in a memory of the device as a plaintext file; and

means for transmitting the record back from the device without a network connection and at a device state equal to when the record was created.