ESTABLISHING ACCESS TO A SECURE NETWORK BASED ON USER-CREATED CREDENTIAL INDICIA

• US 20160191496A1
• Filed: 03/07/2016
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NETGEAR, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NETGEAR, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Ye
• Granted Patent: US 10,057,248 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/42 using separate channels for security data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/45 Structures or tools for the administration of authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06028 using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

In various aspects, code-based indicia contain secured network access credentials. In some aspects, a computer processor receives user input that specifies secured network access credentials, and the computer processor creates or modifies credentials for establishing a secured network connection. In these aspects, the computer processor generates code-based indicia that contain at least part of the secured network access credentials. In other aspects, a computer processor scans the code-based indicia and extracts the network access credentials. In these aspects, the computer processor employs the network access credentials to establish the secured network connection. In additional aspects, a network router apparatus renders the code-based indicia to an active display. In further aspects, a network router apparatus conditions grant of network access to a device on receipt from the device of an answer to a security question included in the secured network access credentials.

Claims

1. An apparatus that uses code-based indicia to establish a secured network connection, the apparatus comprising:

an indicia scanning application, operating on one or more computer processors, where the indicia scanning application causes the one or more computer processors to scan code-based indicia containing network access credentials for establishing the secured network connection;

a network access credential extraction application, operating on the one or more computer processors, where the network access credential extraction application causes the one or more computer processors to extract the network access credentials from results of the scan; and

a network connection application, operating on one or more computer processors, where the network connection application causes the one or more computer processors to employ the network access credentials to establish the secured network connection.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more computer processors launches the indicia scanning application in response to a user selection to scan code-based indicia containing the network access credentials for establishing the secured network connection.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a user interface, operating on where the one or more computer processors, that prompts a user to make the user selection to scan.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, where the one or more computer processors employs the user interface to receive a user selection to establish the secured network connection, and the prompting occurs in response to receiving the user selection to establish the connection.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more computer processors employs the network access credentials to establish the connection for a mobile device, and the one or more computer processors employs the indicia scanning application to interface with a camera of the mobile device in performing the scan of the code-based indicia.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, where the network access credential extraction application causes the one or more computer processors to locate a password in the results of the scan and place the password into a network password field of a user interface of the network connection application.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, where the code-based indicia correspond to a two-dimensional matrix code.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, where the code-based indicia correspond to a QR CODE™

.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface operating on where the one or more computer processors that prompts a user to provide an answer to a security question.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, where the security question is extracted from the results of the scan.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a decryption application operating on where the one or more computer processors that employs the answer to the security question as a decryption key to decrypt at least part of the network access credentials.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, where the security question is received from a router where the secured network connection is established, and the network connection application further employs the answer to the security question to establish the secured network connection.

13. A network router apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

at least one antenna;

a network interface connected to a communications network;

one or more computer processors connected to the network interface and the at least one antenna;

a computer memory connected to the one or computer processors and having stored therein secured network access credentials and one or more applications where the one or more computer processors is rendered responsive to receipt from a device, over the antenna, of the network access credentials to perform a grant of network access to the device and carry out network routing operations with respect thereto; and

an active display connected to the one or more computer processors, where the computer memory has stored therein code based indicia containing the secured network access credentials, and the one or more computer processors are operably connected to render the code based indicia to the active display.

14. A network router apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

at least one antenna;

a network interface connected to a communications network;

one or more computer processors connected to the network interface and the at least one antenna; and

a computer memory connected to the one or computer processors and having stored therein secured network access credentials and one or more applications where the one or more computer processors is rendered responsive to receipt from a device, over the antenna, of at least part of the network access credentials to perform a grant of network access to the device and carry out network routing operations with respect thereto,

where the network access credentials include an answer to a security question, and the one or more applications render the one or more processors responsive to;

(a) receive another answer to the security question from the device over the antenna;

(b) perform a determination whether the answer to the security question received from the device matches the answer to the security question included in the secured network access credentials stored in the computer memory; and

(c) condition the grant of network access on results of the determination.

15. The network router apparatus of claim 14, where the network access credentials stored in the computer memory further include the security question, and the one or more applications render the one or more processors responsive to communicate the security question over the antenna to the device.

16. A method of establishing a secured network connection, the method comprising:

scanning, using an indicia scanning application operating on one or more computer processors, code-based indicia containing network access credentials for establishing the secured network connection;

extracting the network access credentials, by the one or more computer processors, from results of the scan; and

employing the network access credentials, by the one or more computer processors, to establish the secured network connection.

17. The method of claim 16, where performing the scan includes launching an indicia scanning application.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

prompting the user to make a selection to scan code-based indicia containing the network access credentials for establishing the secured network connection.

19. The method of claim 18, where the launching the indicia scanning application occurs in response to the selection by the user to scan the code-based indicia.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a user selection to establish the secured network connection,

where the prompting occurs in response to the receiving the user selection to establish the connection.

21. The method of claim 17, where the extracting includes the launching the indicia scanning application, and receiving the network access credentials from the indicia scanning application.

22. The method of claim 16, where employing the network access credentials to establish the connection includes establishing the connection for a mobile device, and where performing the scan includes interfacing with a camera of the mobile device to scan the code-based indicia.

23. The method of claim 16, where extracting the network access credentials includes locating a password in the results of the scan and placing the password into a network password field of a user interface of a network connection application.

24. The method of claim 16, where the code-based indicia correspond to a two-dimensional matrix code.

25. The method of claim 24, where the code-based indicia correspond to a QR CODE™

.

26. A method of operation for a network router apparatus, the method comprising:

responding to receipt from a device, over an antenna, of network access credentials by performing a grant of network access to the device and carrying out network routing operations with respect thereto;

accessing code based indicia stored in a computer memory of the network router apparatus, where the code based indicia contain secured network access credentials; and

rendering the code based indicia to an active display of the network router apparatus.

27. A method of operation for a network router apparatus, the method comprising:

responding to receipt from a device, over an antenna, of network access credentials by performing a grant of network access to the device and carrying out network routing operations with respect thereto;

accessing secured network access credentials stored in a computer memory of the network router apparatus, where the network access credentials contain include an answer to a security question;

receiving another answer to the security question from the device over the antenna;

performing a determination whether the answer to the security question received from the device matches the answer to the security question included in the secured network access credentials stored in the computer memory; and

conditioning the grant of network access on results of the determination.

28. The method of claim 27, where the secured network access credentials stored in the computer memory of the network router apparatus include the security question, the method further comprising:

communicating the security question over the antenna to the device.

29. An apparatus for establishing a secured network connection, the apparatus comprising:

an active display;

a non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded therein code-based indicia containing secured network access credentials;

a computer processor connected to said non-transitory computer readable medium;

a network connection application recorded in said computer readable medium, where said network connection application configures said computer processor to respond to user selection to establish a secured network connection provided by a network router by transmitting a notification to the router and rendering the code-based indicia to said active display.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, where said network connection application further configures said computer processor to make a first determination whether the network router is capable of performing the scan, make a second determination whether the code-based indicia are stored in said non-transitory computer readable medium, and conditionally render, to said active display, a user selectable option to establish the secured network connection in response to results of the first determination and the second determination.

31. A network router apparatus, comprising:

at least one antenna;

a network interface connected to a communications network;

an imaging device;

one or more computer processors connected to the network interface and the at least one antenna;

a non-transitory computer readable medium connected to the one or computer processors and having stored therein secured network access credentials and one or more applications where the one or more computer processors is rendered responsive to receipt from a device, over the antenna, of a notification that it would like to connect to the communications network, by employing said imaging device to perform a scan of code-based indicia, extract network access credentials from results of the scan, perform an authentication process including verification that the extracted credentials match the secured network access credentials stored in said computer-readable medium, and condition grant of network access to the device on results of the authentication process.

32. The network router apparatus of claim 31, where the secured network access credentials include an answer to a security question, and the one or more applications render the one or more processors responsive to:

receive another answer to the security question at least one of;

(a) from the device over the antenna;

or

(b) by a microphone of the network router apparatus; and

perform, as part of the authentication process, a determination whether the other answer to the security question matches the answer to the security question included in the secured network access credentials stored in said non-transitory computer readable medium.

33. The network router apparatus of claim 32, where the network access credentials stored in the non-transitory computer readable medium further include the security question, and the one or more applications render the one or more processors responsive to communicate the security question at least one of:

over the antenna to the device;

or

by at least one of an active display or a speaker of the network router apparatus.

34. A method for establishing a secured network connection, the method comprising:

receiving a user selection, by a computer processor, to establish a secured network connection provided by a network router;

responding, by the one or more computer processors, to the user selection by;

(a) transmitting a notification to the network router;

(b) accessing a non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded therein code-based indicia containing secured network access credentials; and

(c) rendering the code-based indicia to an active display.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

making a first determination whether the network router is capable of performing a scan of the code-based indicia;

making a second determination whether the code-based indicia are stored in said non-transitory computer readable medium; and

conditionally rendering, to the active display, a user selectable option to establish the secured network connection in response to results of the first determination and the second determination.

36. A method of operation for a network router apparatus, the method comprising:

accessing a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein secured network access credentials;

receiving from a device, over an antenna, a notification that the device would like to connect to the communications network;

responding to receipt of the notification by;

(a) employing an imaging device of the network router apparatus to perform a scan of code-based indicia; and

(b) extracting network access credentials from results of the scan;

performing an authentication process including verification that the extracted credentials match the secured network access credentials stored in the computer-readable medium; and

conditioning grant of network access to the device on results of the authentication process.

37. The method of claim 36, where the secured network access credentials include an answer to a security question, the method further comprising:

receiving another answer to the security question at least one of;

(a) from the device over the antenna;

or

(b) from a microphone of the network router apparatus; and

performing, as part of the authentication process, a determination whether the other answer to the security question matches the answer to the security question included in the secured network access credentials stored in the non-transitory computer readable medium.

38. The method of claim 37, where the secured network access credentials stored in the non-transitory computer readable medium further include the security question, the method further comprising at least one of:

communicating the security question over the antenna to the device;

or

communicating the security question by at least one of an active display or a speaker of the network router apparatus.