Controlling file operations

• US 7,272,713 B1
• Filed: 10/22/2003
• Issued: 09/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Tester, Jonathan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Peeso; Thomas R.
• Application Number:
  US10/691,443
• Time in Patent Office: 1,427 Days
• Field of Search: 713/151, 713/152, 713/161, 713/164
• US Class Current: 713/151
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A technique is disclosed for protecting a file. In one embodiment, the technique comprises requesting access to a file, accessing a vnode associated with the file; and executing a substitute routine associated with the vnode.

Claims

1. A method of protecting a file, comprising:

requesting access to a file;

accessing a vnode associated with the file; and

executing a substitute routine associated with the vnode;

wherein the vnode is a modified vnode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substitute routine is associated with the request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein executing includes protecting the file.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein executing includes blocking access to the file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein executing includes blocking write access to the file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the vnode is associated with a substitute operations vector associated with the substitute routine.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vnode includes a pointer that points to a substitute operations vector associated with the substitute routine.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vnode includes a pointer that points to a substitute operations vector that calls the substitute routine.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the file for protection.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein configuring includes:

accessing the vnode associated with the file; and

modifying the vnode.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an operation to be protected; and

modifying in the vnode a routine associated with the operation.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising holding the vnode in memory.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving an original operations vector.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the file exists;

providing notification when the file is created if the file does not exist.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the file for protection prior to runtime.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the vnode.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the vnode with a substitute routine.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the vnode with a substitute operations vector associated with a substitute routine.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying a pointer associated with the vnode to point to a substitute operations vector associated with a substitute routine.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying a pointer associated with the vnode to point to a substitute operations vector that calls a substitute routine.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing protection of the file.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein removing includes:

accessing the vnode associated with the file; and

modifying the vnode.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising releasing a hold on the vnode.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the vnode with an original routine.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the vnode with an original operations vector associated with an original routine.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the vnode is a vnode in a UNIX system.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the vnode is an inode in a Linux system.

28. A system for protecting a file, comprising a processor and memory configured to:

request access to a file;

access a vnode associated with the file; and

execute a substitute routine associated with the vnode;

wherein the vnode is a modified vnode.

29. A computer program product for protecting a file, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

requesting access to a file;

accessing a vnode associated with the file; and

executing a substitute routine associated with the vnode;

wherein the vnode is a modified vnode.