Portable device comprising a BIOS setting

• US 7,725,701 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Ali, Valiuddin Y., Wang, Lan, Rios, Jennifer E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Nitin C
• Application Number:
  US11/367,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20070208928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A portable device comprise non-volatile storage. The non-volatile storage comprises a basic input/output system (BIOS) setting. The BIOS setting is applied from the portable device onto a system to which the portable device can be coupled.

Claims

1. A portable device, comprising:

non-volatile storage in said portable device, said non-volatile storage comprising a basic input/output system (BIOS) setting;

wherein, based on the BIOS setting being authenticated to a user, said BIOS setting is applied from said portable device onto an electronic system to which the portable device can be coupled, wherein said BIOS setting comprises at least one setting selected from a group consisting of an identity of a port to be enabled or disabled, a type of input device to be enabled, a security setting, a wireless communication setting, and a boot option.

2. The portable device of claim 1 further comprising user authentication information stored in said non-volatile storage.

3. The portable device of claim 2 wherein said setting also is not applied from said portable device onto said electronic system until after the user is successfully authenticated using said authentication information, if user authentication is required.

4. The portable device of claim 1 wherein said BIOS setting is applied from said portable device onto said electronic system while said electronic system is initializing.

5. The portable device of claim 1 wherein, when said BIOS setting is applied from said portable device onto said electronic system, said BIOS setting overwrites a corresponding BIOS setting previously loaded from storage internal to said electronic system.

6. The portable device of claim 1 wherein said non-volatile storage comprises a signature that correlates the user to the BIOS setting.

7. The portable device of claim 6 wherein the signature comprises at least one of a character string, a bit string, or a file name, and said signature comprises a value that corresponds to a user-unique value, said user-unique value comprising at least one of a password or a fingerprint template.

8. An electronic system, comprising:

a processor;

a basic input/output system (BIOS) comprising code executable by said processor; and

wherein a BIOS setting is applied to said electronic system from a portable token accessible to said electronic system based on a said BIOS setting being authenticated to a user wherein said BIOS setting comprises at least one setting selected from a group consisting of an identity of a port to be enabled or disabled, a type of input device to be enabled, a security setting, a wireless communication setting, and a boot option.

9. The electronic system of claim 8 wherein said BIOS setting is not applied onto said electronic system until after a user associated with said token is successfully authenticated, if user authentication is required.

10. The electronic system of claim 8 wherein a BIOS setting from said portable token overwrites a BIOS setting that was loaded from storage internal to said electronic system.

11. The electronic system of claim 8 wherein at least one BIOS setting is applied from said portable token and at least one BIOS setting is loaded from storage internal to said electronic system.

12. A method, comprising:

installing a portable token comprising a basic input/output system (BIOS) setting in an electronic system;

beginning a boot process;

authenticating a user;

determining if a portable token comprising a BIOS setting is installed in said electronic system;

authenticating said BIOS setting to a user; and

applying said BIOS setting from said portable token onto said electronic system if said user is successfully authenticated and said BIOS setting is successfully authenticated to said user wherein installing said portable token comprising said BIOS setting comprises a setting selected from a group consisting of an identity of a port to be enabled or disabled, a type of input device to be enabled, a security setting, a wireless communication setting, or combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein applying said BIOS setting comprises applying said BIOS setting from said portable token instead of from storage internal to said electronic system.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising applying a BIOS setting from storage internal to said electronic system.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising applying all BIOS settings onto said electronic system from storage internal to said electronic system.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein applying said BIOS setting from said portable token comprises changing a BIOS setting that had been applied from said internal storage.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein authenticating said BIOS setting to the user comprises determining whether the portable token contains a predetermined signature that contains a value unique to the user.

18. An electronic system, comprising:

means for receiving a portable token comprising a basic input/output system (BIOS) setting;

means for booting said electronic system;

means for authenticating a user;

means for determining if said token has been received into said electronic system;

means for authenticating the BIOS setting from the portable token to the user; and

means for applying said BIOS setting from said token on said electronic system based on the user being successfully authenticated and also based on the BIOS setting being successfully authenticated to the user, wherein said BIOS setting comprises at least one setting selected from a group consisting of an identity of a port to be enabled or disabled, a type of input device to be enabled, a security setting, a wireless communication setting, and a boot option.

19. The electronic system of claim 18 further comprising means for overwriting a previously applied BIOS setting.