Authenticating, Tracking, and Using a Peripheral

• US 20120131230A1
• Filed: 12/31/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ady, Roger W., Gupta, Sanjay, Slaby, Jiri
• Granted Patent: US 8,412,857 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment

Abstract

This document describes techniques (300, 600) and apparatuses (102, 106, 700, 800, 900) for peripheral authentication. These techniques (300, 600) and apparatuses (102, 106, 700, 800, 900) may configure data lines for authentication between host device (102) and peripheral (106), use these configured data lines to authenticate the peripheral (106), and then reconfigure the data lines for use. These techniques (300, 600) may also or instead transmit time stamps to a remote entity (402) for tracking peripheral use and/or present home screens (122) responsive to connection to a peripheral (106).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, based on information read or received from a peripheral in communication with a host device, that the peripheral is capable of authentication;

configuring data lines to perform an authentication protocol;

performing the authentication protocol using the authentication-configured data lines effective to authenticate the peripheral;

responsive to the peripheral being authenticated, configuring the authentication-configured data lines for full use, or

responsive to the peripheral not being authenticated, configuring the authentication-configured data lines for limited use or no use; and

transmitting, over a communication network and to a remote entity, a time stamp and the information read or received from the peripheral.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

presenting, based on the information read or received from the peripheral, or responsive to the peripheral being authenticated or not being authenticated, a home screen on the host device.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein presenting the home screen is responsive to the peripheral being authenticated and the information indicates that the peripheral is:

a power docking station and wherein the home screen is a clock;

a media docking station and wherein the home screen is a media user interface;

an automobile docking station and wherein the home screen is a navigation user interface;

a wireless headset and wherein the home screen indicates that the wireless headset is ready for use;

a smart flash drive and wherein the home screen indicates that the smart flash drive is ready for use;

a keyboard and wherein the home screen indicates that the keyboard is ready for use;

or

a multi-function printer and the home screen is a multi-function printing user interface.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein presenting the home screen is responsive to the peripheral not being authenticated and the home screen indicates that use of the peripheral may damage the host device or affect a warranty associated with the host device.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising determining the home screen based on the information and a previously stored user selection associated with the information.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information read or received from the peripheral uniquely identifies the peripheral.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

querying the peripheral for a unique identifier; and

receiving the unique identifier responsive to the querying.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information read or received from the peripheral identifies a type of the peripheral but does not uniquely identify the peripheral.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

storing the time stamp and the information on nonvolatile memory of the host device.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the time stamp corresponds to a time at or about when the information is read or received, when the authentication protocol is performed, or when the transmitting the time stamp is performed.

11. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein, prior to configuring the data lines to perform the authentication protocol, the data lines are configured for differential signaling;

wherein configuring the data lines to perform the authentication protocol configures the data lines for non-differential signaling; and

wherein configuring the authentication-configured data lines for full use configures the data lines back to the differential signaling.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information is read from the peripheral via an identification line of a universal serial bus connector having five or more lines.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information is read from the peripheral and identifies a type of the peripheral and the type indicates that the peripheral is capable of authentication.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein performing the authentication protocol includes:

requesting an identifier from the peripheral;

receiving the identifier from the peripheral;

determining whether the identifier matches one of a set of authentic identifiers; and

challenging the peripheral through the authentication-configured data lines responsive to the identifier matching one of the set of authentic identifiers.

15. A method, comprising:

making information available to a host device, the information indicating that a peripheral to the host device is capable of authentication;

receiving an authentication command from the host device, the authentication command effective to configure the peripheral to determine a cryptographic response to an authentication challenge;

receiving the authentication challenge from the host device;

communicating the cryptographic response to the host device;

receiving a use command from the host device, the use command effective to configure the peripheral for use; and

transmitting, over a communication network and to a remote entity, a time stamp.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising indicating, to the host device, a home screen to present on the host device.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising, prior to indicating the home screen:

determining the home screen to present on the host device based on a previously stored user selection.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the peripheral is a docking station and the previously stored user selection indicates that the home screen to present on the host device is a clock, a media user interface, a navigation user interface, or an email user interface.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the authentication command closes a switch in the peripheral to complete a circuit that includes data lines of a USB connector and an authentication module of the peripheral, the authentication module for determining the cryptographic response to the authentication challenge.

20. The method as recited in claim 19,

wherein the authentication command is further effective to disconnect data lines from a service module, and

wherein the use command disconnects the data lines from the authentication module and connects the data lines to the service module.