Hardware theft-protection architecture
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of theft protection, comprising the steps of:
- (a.) when a system is powered up, sending a site code, which at least partially identifies said system, to one or more protected components connected to said system; and
(b.) in a protected component which contains memory space reserved for a unique authentication code which is not the same as the component'"'"'s serial number;
if said memory space contains an authentication code, testing said site code against said authentication code by a digital verification test, and enabling full operation of said component only if said testing is successful; and
if said memory space does not contain said authentication code, then automatically generating said authentication code by digitally combining said site code with a unique serial number which is readably stored in nonvolatile memory on said component, and storing said authentication code in said memory space.
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Abstract
A method of theft protection for computers and computer related hardware. Warranty fraud, theft of proprietary technology, and hardware theft are minimized by encoding the hardware components such that a digitally authenticated handshake must be performed between the system and the component at power-up. If the handshake is successful, normal operation continues with all enhancements. If the handshake is unsuccessful, the device is disabled or shifted into a lower performance mode.
296 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of theft protection, comprising the steps of:
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(a.) when a system is powered up, sending a site code, which at least partially identifies said system, to one or more protected components connected to said system; and (b.) in a protected component which contains memory space reserved for a unique authentication code which is not the same as the component'"'"'s serial number; if said memory space contains an authentication code, testing said site code against said authentication code by a digital verification test, and enabling full operation of said component only if said testing is successful; and if said memory space does not contain said authentication code, then automatically generating said authentication code by digitally combining said site code with a unique serial number which is readably stored in nonvolatile memory on said component, and storing said authentication code in said memory space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of theft protection in a computer system which includes a memory, at least-one processor unit, a non-volatile storage unit, a user input, and a user output, comprising the steps of:
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(a.) sending a site code from said processor unit to at least one protected component at power up; (b.) testing said site code, in combination with a unique serial number of said protected component, against a stored authentication code, in a digital verification test; and (c.) enabling full performance of said component only when said testing (b.) is successful. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of configuration control in a computer system which includes a memory, at least one processor unit, a non-volatile storage unit, a user input, and a user output, comprising, the steps of:
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(a.) reading a unique number from at least one protected component connected to said computer system; (b.) testing said unique number, in combination with a site code which at least partially identifies said system, against a stored authentication code which is different from said site code and from said unique number, using a digital verification test; and (c.) enabling full performance of said component in partial dependence on the outcome of said testing step (b.). - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer system, comprising:
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a plurality of components comprising a memory, a system CPU, a nonvolatile storage unit, a user input, and a user output; wherein at least one said component comprises a microcontroller; first and second unique numbers stored in readable memory locations; wherein said first unique number uniquely identifies said component, and said second unique number is derived both from said first unique number, and also from a site code which at least partially identifies the system, in a predetermined transformation relationship; and wherein said microcontroller is programmed to digitally authenticate a system site code whenever a full power-up initialization occurs, using said second unique number, and in dependence thereon to enable full performance of said component. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A component, comprising:
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a microcontroller; a first unique number nonvolatilely stored at a readable address; and a nonvolatile memory operatively connected to said microcontroller; wherein upon first power-up in a system which provides a site code to said component, said microcontroller writes to said memory a second unique number which is not equal to said first unique number, and which is derived from said first unique number by a digital transformation which is dependent on said site code. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification