Determining the network location of a user device based on transmitter fingerprints

• US 20070178914A1
• Filed: 01/31/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Montenegro, Gabriel
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,668 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.500
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/67 Risk-dependent, e.g. selecting a security level depending on risk profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/79 Radio fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Reliably identifying an AP through which a user device is accessing one or more networks, and reliably determining the current network location of the user device. An AP and network location may be reliably identified using a set of transmitter fingerprints unique to the AP or network location, respectively. In response to a user device receiving at least one signal from at least one unknown entity, a transmitter fingerprint set of the at least one entity may be determined from the at least one signal. It then may be determined whether the at least one entity is an AP having an ID known to the user device, and/or whether the current network location is known by the user device. The user device may determine information that may be divulged with the at least one entity based on this determination.

Claims

1. A method of a user device processing at least one signal received from at lease one entity over a wireless transmission medium, the method comprising:

(a) determining a transmitter fingerprint set from the at least one signal; and

(b) determining, based at least in part on the transmitter fingerprint set, whether a current network location of the user device is a network location known by the user device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(c) determining information to divulge in one or more communications to transmit to one or more entities of the at least one entity based, at least in part, on the determination of whether the current network location is a network location known by the user device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the act (b) comprises determining that the current network location is a network location known to the user device, and

wherein the act (c) comprises determining the information based, at least in part, on the known network location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (b) comprises determining, based at least in part on the transmitter fingerprint set, that one of the at least one entity is a wireless access point having an identity known to the user device:

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

(d) determining information to divulge in one or more communications transmitted to the wireless access point based, at least in part, on the identity of the wireless access point.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (b) further comprises determining whether the transmitter fingerprint set matches any transmitter fingerprint set known by the user device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (b) comprises:

accessing an information source that includes at least one entry, each entry specifying an identity of a network location and a transmitter fingerprint set of the network location; and

comparing the determined transmitter fingerprint set to the transmitter fingerprint set of one or more of the at least one entry.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the comparing comprises determining, for each of the one or more entries, whether a similarity between the determined transmitter fingerprint set and the transmitter fingerprint set of the entry exceeds a predefined threshold.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the comparing includes, for each of the one or more entries, determining whether at least one transmitter fingerprint of the determined transmitter fingerprint set matches at least one transmitter fingerprint included in the entry.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the comparing includes, for each of the one or more entries, determining whether all of the transmitter fingerprints of the determined transmitter fingerprint set matches all of the transmitter fingerprints included in the entry.

11. A computer program product comprising:

at least one computer-readable medium; and

computer-readable signals stored on the computer-readable medium defining instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method of a user device processing at least one signal transmitted on a wireless transmission medium from an entity, an identity of the entity being unknown to the user device at a time at which the at least one signal is received, the method comprising;

(a) determining a transmitter fingerprint from the at least one signal;

(b) determining, based at least in part on the transmitter fingerprint, whether the entity is a wireless access point having an identity known by the user device.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

(c) determining information to divulge in one or more communications transmitted to the entity based, at least in part, on the determination of whether the entity that transmitted the signal is a wireless access point having an identity known by the user device.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the act (b) comprises determining that the entity is a wireless access point having an identity known to the user device, and

wherein the act (c) comprises determining the information based, at least in part, on the identity.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the act (b) comprises determining that the entity is a wireless access point having an identity known to the user device, the method further comprising:

(c) determining a network location of the user device based at least in part on the identity.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

(d) determining information to divulge in one or more communications transmitted to the wireless access point based, at least in part, on the determined network location.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the act (b) further comprises determining whether the transmitter fingerprint matches any transmitter fingerprint known by the user device.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the act (b) comprises:

accessing an information source that includes at least one entry, each entry specifying an identity of a wireless access point and a transmitter fingerprint of the wireless access point; and

comparing the determined transmitter fingerprint to the transmitter fingerprint of one or more of the at least one entry.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the comparing comprises determining, for each of one or more entries, whether a similarity between the determined transmitter fingerprint and the transmitter fingerprint of the entry exceeds a predefined threshold.

19. A system for processing, for a user device, at least one signal received from at least one entity over a wireless transmission medium, the system comprising:

a fingerprint determination module to determine a transmitter fingerprint set from the at least one signal; and

an identification module to determine, based at least in part on the transmitter fingerprint set, whether a current network location of the user device is a network location known by the user device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the identification module is operative to determine whether the transmitter fingerprint set matches any transmitter fingerprint set known by the user device.