System and method for modifying software residing on a client computer that has access to a network

• US 6,457,076 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2000
• Issued: 09/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: McAfee, Inc. (McAfee, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Networks Associates Technology, Inc. (McAfee, LLC)
• Inventors: Liu, Bing, Kannan, Ravi, Narasimhan, Balaji, Cheng, William, Katchapalayam, Babu, Ramanujam, Gopal, Hwang, Kenneth, Tran, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Perveen, Rehana
• Application Number:
  US09/661,117
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 710/1, 710/36, 709/200, 709/206, 709/220, 709/224, 714/25
• US Class Current: 710/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/62 Uninstallation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method update client computers of various end users with software updates for software products installed on the client computers, the software products manufacturered by diverse, unrelated software vendors. The system includes a service provider computer system, a number of client computers and software vendor computer systems communicating on a common network. The service provider computer system stores in an update database information about the software updates of the diverse software vendors, identifying the software products for which software updates are available, their location on the network at the various software vendor computer systems, information for identifying in the client computers the software products stored thereon, and information for determining for such products, which have software updates available. Users of the client computers connect to the service provider computer and obtain a current version of portions of the database. The client computer determines that software products stored thereon, and using this information, determines from the database, which products have updates available, based on product name and release information for the installed products. The user selects updates for installation. The selected updates are downloaded from the software vendor computer systems and installed on the client computer. Payment for the software update and the service is mediated by the service provider computer. Authentication of the user ensures only registered users obtain software updates. Authentication of the software updates ensures that the software updates are virus free and uncorrupted. Changes to the client computer during installation are monitored and archived, allowing the updates to be subsequently removed by the user.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing relevant information about software residing on a client computer, comprising:

a computer network,

a service provider computer, the client computer accessible over the network by the service provider computer;

a database of information relating to software provided by a plurality of software vendors, the database residing on the service provider computer; and

a downloadable client application, the client application residing on the service provider computer and being capable of being downloaded to the client computer and after being downloaded being capable of scanning the client computer to identify software residing on the client computer, the client application after being downloaded to the client computer, further being capable of comparing the identified software with the information in the database to determine which of the identified software the service provider has relevant information about.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet.

3. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein the database contains network locations where relevant information about one or more items of software identified on the client computer can be found.

4. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein the relevant information comprises software updates.

5. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein the relevant information comprises promotional information from the software vendors.

6. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein the information contained in the database comprises software updates for a variety of software products from a plurality of software vendors.

7. A computer system comprising:

a service provider computer on a network;

a client computer on the network and in communication with the service provider computer, the client computer having a software product installed thereon;

a downloadable client application residing on the service provider computer capable of being downloaded over the network to the client computer and having a function for analyzing the software product residing on the client computer to determine an analysis, the client application further having a function for providing the analysis to the service provider computer;

a downloaded copy of the client application residing on the client computer; and

a means for locating from the analysis a software update for the software product residing on the client computer, the software update residing on the network and accessible by the client computer.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein:

the network is the Internet.

9. The computer system of claim 7, further comprising:

a database on the network, the database containing a specification for an installation process for installing the software update on the client computer.

10. The computer system of claim 9, further comprising a means for installing the software update in accordance with the installation process.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein:

the software update has a file format, and the installation process is specified in accordance with the file format.

12. The computer system of claim 7, further comprising:

a plurality of software vendor computers communicatively coupled to the service provider computer.

13. The computer system of claim 12, further comprising a means for providing the software update from one of the software vendor computers to the service provider computer.

14. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising a means for providing compensation to a software vendor when software is installed on the client computer.

15. The computer system of claim 7, further comprising:

an install monitor that archives a set of changes when the software update is installed on the client computer.

16. A method for modifying software residing on a client computer comprising:

downloading a client application from a service provider computer to the client computer over a network;

analyzing a software product residing on the client computer with the client application to determine an analysis;

providing the analysis to the service provider computer;

identifying from the analysis a software update for the software product;

installing the software update on the client computer.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

monitoring the client computer while installing the software update to determine a set of changes that result from installing the software update; and

archiving the set of changes.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

uninstalling the software update by utilizing the set of changes.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the network is the Internet.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

maintaining on the network a database, the database containing a specification for an installation process for installing the software update on the client computer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

installation of the software update is done in accordance with the installation process.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising installing the software update in accordance with a file format accompanying the software update.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

communicatively coupling a plurality of software vendors to the service provider computer; and

receiving the software update from one of the plurality of software vendors.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

compensating a software vendor if its software is installed on the client computer.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the service provider compensates the software vendor.