PORTABLE DEVICE ASSOCIATION

• US 20100043056A1
• Filed: 08/14/2008
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ganapathy, Narayanan
• Granted Patent: US 8,769,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity

Abstract

A technique that enables a portable device to be automatically associated with a plurality of computers. Information that a computer can use to authenticate a portable device and establish a trusted relationship prior to creating an association with the portable device is created and stored in a data store that is accessible by a plurality of computers and is associated with a user of the portable device. When a computer discovers such a portable device with which it is not yet associated, the computer can identify a user logged into the computer and use information identifying the user to retrieve authentication information that is device independent and is expected to be presented by the portable device to authenticate it and allow automatic association.

Claims

1. A method for use with at least one portable device capable of being associated with each of a plurality of computers, the plurality of computers comprising at least a first computer and a second computer, the method comprising acts of:

(A) creating authentication information that authenticates the at least one portable device; and

(B) storing the authentication information in a store that is accessible by the plurality of computers and in a manner that associates the authentication information with a user of the at least one portable device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(C) accessing the authentication information from the store via the first computer; and

(D) using the authentication information at the first computer to automatically associate the at least one portable device with the first computer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the acts (C) and (D) are performed automatically in response to discovery by the first computer of the at least one portable device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one portable device is a wireless device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises creating the authentication information, at least in part, by manually pairing the at least one portable device with at least one of the plurality of computers.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one portable device comprises a first portable device, the user of the first portable device comprises a first user, the authentication information comprises first authentication information, and wherein the act (C) comprises using information identifying the first user to access the first authentication information from the store.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one portable device comprises a first portable device, the user of the first portable device comprises a first user, the authentication information comprises first authentication information, and the store comprises additional information that authenticates other portable devices and is associated with users other than the first user, and wherein the act (C) comprises using information associated with the first user to access the first authentication information from the store.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising acts of:

(E) accessing the authentication information from the store via the second computer; and

(F) using the authentication information at the second computer to automatically associate the at least one portable device with the second computer.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the information identifying the first user is obtained automatically by the first computer by, at least in part, identifying the first user as being logged into the first computer.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a computer comprising at least one processor programmed to, in response to discovery of at least one portable device that is not yet associated with the computer;

identify a user logged into the computer;

use information identifying the user to retrieve authentication information, that is used at least partially to determine information expected to be presented by the at least one portable device to authenticate the at least one portable device, associated with the at least one portable device and the user;

use the retrieved authentication information to authenticate the at least one portable device; and

when the at least one portable device is authenticated using the retrieved authentication information, automatically associate the at least one portable device with the computer.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to retrieve the authentication information from a store that is accessible by a plurality of computers.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one portable device comprises a first portable device, the user of the first portable device comprises a first user, the authentication information comprises first authentication information, and the store comprises additional information that authenticates other portable devices and is associated with users other than the first user.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one portable device is a wireless device.

14. A method comprising act of:

(A) in response to a user manually pairing at least one wireless device to a first computer, obtaining authentication information that authenticates the at least one wireless device;

(B) storing the authentication information in a store that is accessible via a second computer and in a manner that is associated with the user;

(C) accessing the authentication information from the store via the second computer; and

(D) using the association information to automatically associate the at least one wireless device with the second computer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the acts (C) and (D) are performed automatically in response to discovery by the second computer of the at least one wireless device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one wireless device comprises a first portable device, the user of the first portable device comprises a first user, the authentication information comprises first authentication information, and wherein the act (C) comprises using information identifying the first user to access the first authentication information from the store.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the information identifying the first user is obtained automatically by the first computer by, at least in part, identifying the first user as being logged into the first computer.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one wireless device comprises a first portable device, the user of the first portable device comprises a first user, the authentication information comprises first authentication information, and the store comprises additional information that authenticates other portable devices and is associated with users other than the first user, and wherein the act (C) comprises using information associated with the first user to access the first authentication information from the store.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the act (B) comprises storing the authentication information in a store that is accessible via the Internet; and

the act (C) comprises accessing the authentication information from the store over the Internet via the second computer.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the act (B) comprises storing the authentication information in a store that is maintained via a server accessible to the first and second computers via the Internet; and

the act (C) comprises accessing the authentication information from the store over the Internet via the second computer.