Method and System for Protecting a Computing System

• US 20120278883A1
• Filed: 04/28/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Gayman, Mark G.
• Application Number:
  US13/096,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20120278883A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/51 at application loading time, e.g. accepting, rejecting, starting or inhibiting executable software based on integrity or source reliability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities

Abstract

The system relates to a method for protecting a computer system application. In one aspect of the method, a wrapper program is installed on a computer system and the computer system application is embedded within the wrapper program. In another aspect, the wrapper program verifies with a user prior to allowing the computer system application to be invoked.

Claims

1. A method for protecting a computer system application, the method comprising the steps of:

installing a wrapper program;

embedding the computer system application in the wrapper program;

renaming the computer system application;

renaming the wrapper program to the name previously used by the computer system application;

generating a challenge phrase;

including the challenge phrase in the title bar of the wrapper program when the wrapper program is executed;

prompting the user for a password, wherein the password includes the challenge phrase;

comparing the password to the challenge phrase and launching the computer system application if the challenge phrase is successfully compared.

2. A method of protecting a computer system application, the method comprising the steps of:

wrapping the computer system application with a wrapper application;

altering the computer system application so that it can not be launched directly by a user; and

configuring the wrapper program to be launched when a user attempts to launch the computer system application whereby the wrapper program verifies the user'"'"'s ability to launch the computer system application prior to launching the computer system application.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the computer system application is a command-line interpreter.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the command-line interpreter is cmd.exe.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein wrapping the computer system application comprises the steps of:

installing the wrapper program on a computer system; and

embedding the computer system application into the wrapper program.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein embedding the computer system application into the wrapper program comprises copying the computer system application into an alternate data stream.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein embedding the computer system application into the wrapper program comprises embedding the computer system application as a resource in the wrapper program.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the wrapper program is installed on a New Technology File System.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the wrapper program is installed on a File Allocation Table file system.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein altering the computer system application comprises renaming the computer system application.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein altering the computer system application comprises obfuscating the computer system application.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein altering the computer system application comprises obfuscating the name of the computer system application.

13. The method of claim 2 wherein altering the computer system application comprises encrypting the computer system application.

14. The method of claim 2 wherein the wrapper verifies the user'"'"'s ability to launch the computer system application by performing steps comprising:

generating a challenge phrase; and

prompting the user to enter the challenge phrase in order to launch the computer system application.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the challenge phrase is presented in a title bar of a window.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising requiring the user to enter a system password concatenated with the challenge phrase wherein the wrapper program splits the user'"'"'s input into a user password and a user challenge phrase entry and then performs the steps of:

authenticating the user using the user'"'"'s password; and

determining if the user can launch the computer system application by comparing the user challenge phrase to the challenge phrase.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the challenge phrase is a random number.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the random number is a six decimal random number.

19. A system for protecting a computer system application, the system comprising:

a wrapper program, wherein the wrapper program is configured to embed the computer system application within the wrapper program such that the computer system application can not be launched directly by a user and wherein the wrapper program is configured to verify with a user an attempt to launch the computer system application prior to such launching; and

wherein the system is configured to launch the wrapper program when an attempt is made to launch the computer system application.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the wrapper program verifies the user is attempting to launch the computer system application by generating a challenge phrase for the user to enter and comparing a user'"'"'s input to the challenge phrase.