System, method and computer program product for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network

• US 7,480,941 B1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: McAfee, LLC
• Original Assignee: McAfee, Inc. (McAfee, LLC)
• Inventors: Kannan, Ravi, Katchapalayam, Babu, Balasubramaniam, Chandrasekar, Sampath, Srivats, Revashetti, Siddaraya Basappa
• Primary Examiner(s): Revak; Christopher A
• Application Number:
  US11/316,562
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/145 the attack involving the propagation of malware through the network, e.g. viruses, trojans or worms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and computer executable program code are disclosed for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network.

Claims

1. A method for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer;

delivering a script-based maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package comprising scripts for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

executing the scripts of the script-based maintenance software package via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the script-based maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a transaction log on the server computer; and

recording information related to the operations of registering and delivering in the transaction log.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating a periodic activity report for the remotely located computer.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising transmitting an electronic message in an e-mail format from the server computer to the remotely located computer indicating that a new product or a new application is available for download.

5. The method of claim 4, the logical connection with the server computer being a secure network connection.

6. The method of claim 5, the script-based maintenance software package including a program to detect computer viruses on the remotely located computer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before or during registering the remotely located computer, creating an account for the user of the remotely located computer on the server computer; and

identifying the identifier and the secure password as valid if the user has a current subscription or a positive fund balance in the user account.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting payment information from the remotely located computer to the server computer in an electronic mail message format, wherein the account may reflect a current subscription or an increased fund balance upon receipt of the payment information.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating an electronic receipt on the server computer; and

transmitting the receipt to the remotely located computer.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more maintenance tasks comprise at least one of the following:

compression of software, compression of data, search for software that needs to be upgraded, search for data that needs to be upgraded, upgrade of software, upgrade of data, search for obsolete software, search for obsolete data, deletion of obsolete software, deletion of obsolete data, archival of software, archival of data, hardware diagnostics, and software diagnostics.

11. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

invoking at least two of a plurality of methods provided by the network browser to determine if it is pointed to an authorized web site; and

comparing results obtained by the methods that are invoked.

12. A computer program product embodied on a computer readable medium for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the computer program product comprising:

computer code for communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer;

computer code for delivering a script-based maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package comprising scripts for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

computer code for executing the scripts via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the script-based maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

13. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

directing a server computer to encapsulate a self-executing software maintenance program into a markup language communication unit deliverable across the Internet;

directing the server computer to receive a user command over the Internet, the user command being received from a user via a web browser installed on a remote user computer;

registering the remote user computer at the server computer, wherein registering the remote user computer comprises;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the web browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer; and

transmitting the encapsulated self-executing software maintenance program to the user remote computer responsive to the user command, whereby the self-executing software maintenance program is executed responsive only to commands entered from the user into the web browser;

wherein the operation of transmitting the encapsulated self-executing software maintenance program is enabled only if the user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

14. A method for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer; and

delivering a script-based maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package comprising scripts for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer;

wherein the scripts of the script-based maintenance software package are executable via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

receiving an identifier and a secure password via the web page which includes an option to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the script-based maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

creating a transaction log on the server computer; and

recording information related to the operations of registering and delivering in the transaction log.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising generating a periodic activity report for the remotely located computer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting an electronic message in an e-mail format from the server computer to the remotely located computer indicating that a new product or a new application is available for download.

18. The method of claim 17, the connection with the server computer being a secure network connection.

19. The method of claim 18, the software including a program to detect computer viruses on the remotely located computer.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

before or during registering the remotely located computer, creating an account for the user of the remotely located computer on the server computer; and

identifying the identifier and the secure password as valid if the user has a current subscription or a positive fund balance in the user account.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting payment information from the remotely located computer to the server computer in an electronic mail message format, wherein the account may reflect a current subscription or an increased fund balance upon receipt of the payment information.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

generating an electronic receipt on the server computer; and

transmitting the receipt to the remotely located computer.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more tasks comprise at least one of the following:

compression of software, compression of data, search for software that needs to be upgraded, search for data that needs to be upgraded, upgrade of software, upgrade of data, search for obsolete software, search for obsolete data, deletion of obsolete software, deletion of obsolete data, archival of software, archival of data, hardware diagnostics, and software diagnostics.

24. The method of claim 14, further comprising

invoking at least two of a plurality of methods provided by the network browser to determine if it is pointed to an authorized web site;

and

comparing results obtained by the methods that are invoked.

25. A computer program product embodied on a computer readable medium for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the computer program product comprising:

computer code for communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer; and

computer code for delivering a script-based maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package comprising scripts for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

wherein the scripts are executable via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

receiving an identifier and a secure password via the web page which includes an option to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the script-based maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

26. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

directing a server computer to encapsulate a software maintenance program into a markup language communication unit deliverable across the Internet;

directing the server computer to receive a user command over the Internet, the user command being received from a user via a web browser installed on a remote user computer;

registering the remote user computer at the server computer, wherein registering the remote user computer comprises;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the web browser;

receiving an identifier and a secure password via the web page which includes an option to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer; and

transmitting the encapsulated software maintenance program to the user remote computer responsive to the user command, whereby the software maintenance program is executed responsive only to commands entered from the user into the web browser;

wherein the operation of transmitting the encapsulated software maintenance program is enabled only if the user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

27. A method for automatically performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a connection with a server computer;

delivering maintenance software to the remotely located computer across the connection, the maintenance software being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit;

deliverable across the connection, the maintenance software performs one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

enabling the maintenance software to be executed via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the maintenance software is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

28. A method for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer;

delivering a script-based maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the script-based maintenance software package comprising scripts for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

executing the scripts of the script-based maintenance software package via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the one or more maintenance tasks comprise at least one of the following;

upgrade of software, upgrade of data, search for obsolete software, search for obsolete data, deletion of software, deletion of data, hardware diagnostics, and software diagnostics;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the script-based maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

29. A method for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer;

delivering a maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the maintenance software package including ActiveX controls for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

executing the maintenance software package via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.

30. A method for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network, the method comprising:

communicating with a remotely located computer to form a logical connection with a server computer;

delivering a maintenance software package to the remotely located computer across the logical connection, the maintenance software package being encapsulated within a markup language communication unit deliverable across the logical connection, the maintenance software package including applets for performing one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer; and

executing the maintenance software package via a network browser for performing the one or more maintenance tasks on the remotely located computer via the network browser;

wherein the operation of communicating includes a registering operation, the registering operation comprising;

downloading a web page located on the server computer using the network browser;

entering an identifier and a secure password on the web page; and

selecting an option presented on the web page to send the identifier and the secure password to the server computer;

wherein the operation of delivering the maintenance software package is enabled only if a user has provided a valid identifier and a valid password.