Method and system for maintaining secure data input and output
First Claim
1. A method in a computer system for ensuring secure display of valid data on a video display device of a video display system, the video display system having video display memory for storing data to be displayed on the video display device, comprising:
- using scheduling to control the content of the video display memory such that the video display memory contains invalid data and, when valid data is needed for display, providing valid data to replace the invalid data in the video display memory to thereby prevent access to valid data in the video display memory to code that is external to the scheduling.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for enhancing the security of data during input and output on a client computer system are provided to prevent attempts by unauthorized code to access, intercept, and/or modify data. Example embodiments provide a plurality of obfuscation techniques and security enhanced drivers that use these obfuscation techniques to prohibit unauthorized viewing/receiving of valid data. When the drivers are used together with the various obfuscation techniques, the security enhanced drivers provide mechanisms for “scheduling” the content of the storage areas used to store the data so that valid data is not available to unauthorized recipients. When unauthorized recipients attempt to access the “data,” they perceive or receive obfuscated data. The obfuscation techniques described include “copy-in,” “replace and restore,” and “in-place replacement” de-obfuscation/re-obfuscation techniques. In one embodiment, a security enhanced display driver, a security enhanced mouse driver, a security enhanced keyboard driver, and a security enhanced audio driver are provided. To complement the security enhancements, the methods and systems also provide for a watchdog mechanism to ensure that the driver is functioning as it should be and various user interface techniques for denoting security on a display device.
99 Citations
130 Claims
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1. A method in a computer system for ensuring secure display of valid data on a video display device of a video display system, the video display system having video display memory for storing data to be displayed on the video display device, comprising:
using scheduling to control the content of the video display memory such that the video display memory contains invalid data and, when valid data is needed for display, providing valid data to replace the invalid data in the video display memory to thereby prevent access to valid data in the video display memory to code that is external to the scheduling. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74)
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75. A video display driver for ensuring secure display of valid data on a video display device of a video display system, the video display system having video display memory for storing data to be displayed on the video display device, comprising:
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a scheduler that is structured to schedule content of the video display memory such that the valid data is available when needed for display on the video display device and such that only invalid data is accessible from the video display memory to a process that is external to the scheduling; and a mechanism configured to receive and store the valid data for access by the scheduler to securely display the valid data on the video display device. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98)
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99. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for controlling a computer processor to ensure secure display of valid data on a video display device of a video display system, the video display system having video display memory for storing data to be displayed on the video display device, by:
controlling scheduling of the content of the video display memory such that the valid data is available when needed for display on the video display device and such that only invalid data is accessible, from the video display memory, to a process that is external to the scheduling. - View Dependent Claims (100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114)
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115. A data display system comprising:
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a video display device; a video display memory to store data to be displayed on the video display device; and a processor configured to control operation of the video display device using scheduling to control the content of the video display memory such that the video display memory contains invalid data and, when valid data is needed for display, providing valid data to replace the invalid data in the video display memory to thereby prevent access to valid data in the video display memory to code that is external to the scheduling. - View Dependent Claims (116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130)
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Specification