Operating system and data protection

• US 7,818,617 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Inasoft, Inc., Xylon LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Idocrase Investments LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Jian, Zhang, Sun, Hanxiang, Shen, Andrew W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chu; Gabriel L
• Application Number:
  US11/961,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20080098156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 714/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/78 to assure secure storage of data address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

The disclosed systems and methods provide for the protection of protected memory, for example, a hard disk, in a computer system. The systems and methods are configured to re-direct read and write access commands from locations in the protected memory to alternative storage locations. The systems and methods provide the ability for the user to accept or reject any BIOS changes that are to be made to the computing system. In addition, the systems and methods protect against operating system crash due to missing or corrupted files. The systems and methods are additionally operable to recover mistakenly deleted or damaged application data from a hard disk level, as well as to protect the operating system and data of the computing system against virus penetration. In other embodiments, the systems and methods are operable to provide for a security lock to the computing system and its associated data.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to intercept memory access;

instructions to determine, responsive to the intercept, whether a memory access is directed to a location in memory which is identified as protected wherein protection allows for reading of data stored in the location but does not permit writing data to the location without intervention; and

instructions to redirect the memory access from the location that is identified as protected to a location in the memory that is identified as not protected, wherein responsive to receiving no intervention and the memory access comprises a write access, data for the write access is maintained in memory for registry at boot-up.

2. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to iterate determination, interception, and redirection such that a subsequent write access is redirected from the location that is identified as protected to a different location in memory that is identified as non-protected.

3. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 2, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to update a table that is maintained for use during boot-up to indicate a relationship between the location that is identified as protected and the different location responsive to receiving no intervention.

4. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 3, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to recover data from one of the different location, the location that is identified as protected, or the location that is identified as not protected.

5. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 3, wherein the relationship between the location that is identified as protected and the different location, and the relationship between the location that is identified as protected and the location that is identified as not protected are maintained in the table for use during boot-up responsive to receiving no intervention.

6. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 3, further comprising instructions to copy the table at boot-up.

7. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 2, further comprising instructions to ensure that the data for the write access would not result in corruption of a computing system that is configured to execute the instructions.

8. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to determine whether an address corresponding to the location in memory is protected by comparing the address with a table that indicates a protection status for the address.

9. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 8, wherein the table comprises a virtual file allocation table (FAT) that is transparent to an operating system executing on a computing system that includes the memory.

10. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to intercept memory access;

instructions to redirect, responsive to the intercept, a memory access from a location that is protected to a location that is not protected, responsive to an identification that an address to which the memory access is directed is indicated as protected in a table; and

instructions to update the table to indicate a relationship between the locations that are protected and not protected, wherein data from the memory access and the table are maintained in memory for use during boot-up responsive to receiving no intervention.

11. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 10, wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions to redirect a subsequent memory access directed to the location that is protected to a second location that is not protected, responsive to an identification that the subsequent memory access is associated with the address; and

instructions to update the table to indicate a relationship between the location that is protected and the second location.

12. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 11, wherein the table maintains the relationship between the locations that are protected and not protected and the relationship between the protected and second locations for recovery at boot-up after a crash of a computing system including the memory.

13. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 10, wherein the memory access comprises a write access command.

14. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 10, wherein protection permits reading of data residing in the location but does not permit writing data to the location without intervention.

15. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 10, wherein the table comprises a virtual file allocation table (FAT) that is transparent to an operating system that is to execute on a computer including the memory.

16. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to intercept memory access;

instructions to redirect, responsive to the intercept, a memory access from an address that is indicated as protected in a table to an address that is indicated as non-protected in the table; and

instructions to update the table to indicate a relationship between the protected and non-protected addresses, wherein the instructions to update the table cause memory, configured to maintain the table, to indicate the relationship at boot-up of an operating system.

17. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 16, wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions to redirect a subsequent memory access from the address that is indicated as protected to a second address that is indicated as non-protected in the table; and

instructions to update the table to indicate the relationship between the address that is indicated as protected and the second address that is indicated as not protected.

18. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 17, wherein the subsequent memory access comprises a write access command.

19. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 16, wherein a location in memory that is associated with a protected address is readable but not writable without intervention.

20. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 16, wherein the instructions are further configured to recover memory to a state corresponding to data in the protected address.

21. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions as described in claim 16, wherein the table comprises a virtual file allocation table that is transparent to an operating system configured to execute on the computing system.

22. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to intercept a write access to memory; and

instructions, responsive to an identification that the write access is to a location in the memory that has an address that is indicated as protected in a table, to redirect the write access to a second location in memory that is identified as non-protected based on a floating point address calculation that identifies the address of the second location from the address that is indicated as protected wherein data is maintained in the second location for use during boot-up responsive to receiving no intervention.