MOBILE DEVICE AUTHENTICATION

• US 20160342784A1
• Filed: 06/07/2016
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Watts, Blake, Beveridge, Daniel James, Mu, Jian
• Application Number:
  US15/175,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20160342784A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

A desktop is unlocked or locked using a mobile client device, such as a smart phone, tablet, smart watch, etc. The authentication mechanism of the mobile client device, such as fingerprint, facial recognition, voice recognition, username and password, is leveraged for faster, less-cumbersome user authentication on the desktop. In this vein, a client device is added to an authentication agent on the desktop, and the desktop recognizes successful attempts to access the mobile client device as a method of unlocking or locking the desktop.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

registering, by a registration agent, a client device having an authentication mechanism for unlocking the client device;

receiving, by an authentication agent, an indication that a user accessed the authentication mechanism on one or more client devices; and

using the indication that the user accessed the authentication mechanism on the one or more client devices to lock or unlock a screen of a remote desktop.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication mechanism includes at least one member of a group comprising:

a fingerprint scan, a retina scan, a passcode, a username, a password, voice recognition, a facial scan, or a recognized gesture.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the client device further comprises:

detecting one or more possible client devices on a wireless network; and

prompting a user to register at least one of the possible the client devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more client devices comprise at least one member of a group comprising a smart watch, a mobile tablet, a fob, or a smart phone.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an indication that a user accessed the authentication mechanism on one or more client devices further comprises:

receiving an indication that the user attempted an unauthorized indication; and

locking the remote desktop from attempts at mobile device authentication.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more client devices comprise a smart phone or a mobile tablet in communication with a smart watch.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the indication that the user accessed the authentication mechanism on the smart watch;

transmitting the indication from the smart watch to the smart phone or the mobile tablet; and

transmitting the indication from the smart phone or the mobile tablet to the remote desktop to unlock the remote desktop.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a location of the client device is compared to a policy to authorize unlocking of the remote desktop.

9. A system, comprising:

a desktop agent, executing on a client device, that transmits an indication that a user was authenticated on the client device; and

an authentication agent, executing on a remote desktop, that uses the indication that the user was authenticated on the client device to unlock the remote desktop.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the indication is transmitted by the client device as a result of a proximity between the client device and the remote desktop.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the indication is a sequence of events satisfying a credential policy.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the remote desktop is a virtual desktop.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein a virtual machine is provisioned on the remote desktop upon receiving the indication.

14. The system of claim 9, further comprising a desktop management server in communication with the desktop agent and the authentication agent, wherein the desktop management server is configured to compare the user and the indication to an enterprise credential policy to allow or deny access to an enterprise.

15. A computer-storage memory embodied with instructions executable by one or more processors to enable remote authentication of a desktop by a client device, said instructions comprising:

registering the client device to an authorization agent;

capturing an authorized indication on the client device;

receiving an unlocking indication by a client device;

comparing the unlocking indication with the authorized indication; and

unlocking or locking the desktop based upon the comparison.

16. The computer-storage memory of claim 15, wherein registering the client device with a registration agent further comprises:

detecting one or more wireless client devices;

suggesting a list of the one or more wireless client devices as possible client devices for registration;

receiving a selection of at least one of the wireless client devices for registration; and

registering the at least one of the received wireless client devices with the authorization agent.

17. The computer-storage memory of claim 15, further comprising:

maintaining a locking of the client device upon receiving the unlocking indication not matching the authorized indication.

18. The computer-storage memory of claim 15, further comprising resuming or suspending a virtual machine based upon the comparison.

19. The computer-storage memory of claim 15, further comprising locking the desktop to further mobile device authentication attempts upon receiving the unlocking indication not matching the authorized indication.

20. The computer-storage memory of claim 19, further comprising alerting an administrator upon locking the desktop to further mobile device authentication attempts.