Smart device recordation

• US 8,156,297 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Geiger, Avi R., Fortin, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Farrokh, Hashem
• Application Number:
  US12/103,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20090259802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 711/163, 711/103
• US Class Current: 711/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss

Abstract

Valuable information can be retained upon a storage device, such as a flash memory unit. Due to the portable nature of the memory, there can be increased likelihood of theft, less back up of important files not a reliable medium, legal physical transfer of the device between parties, and the like. When an operation is requested to take place related to the device, a check can take place if the operation should be allowed based upon device metadata, such as physical location of the device, device history, and so forth. A determination can be made on if the operation should automatically occur based upon a result of the check. If it is determination that the operation should not automatically occur, then the operation can be denied or a request can be made to an owner of the device on if the operation should be allowed to occur.

Claims

1. A system for establishing if an operation requested for performance upon a memory device should occur, comprising:

a communication component that gathers a request to perform the operation upon the memory device;

a collection component that obtains metadata that relates to the operation;

an analysis component that evaluates at least a portion of the obtained metadata that relates to the operation requested for performance upon the memory device;

a resolution component that intelligently establishes if the operation should automatically occur;

a security component that facilitates the resolution component to establish if the operation should automatically occur as a function of security and, if it is established that the operations should not automatically occur, denies the operation; and

a notification component that emits a notice to an entity that the operation should not automatically occur responsive to establishing that the operations should not automatically occur.

2. The system of claim 1, the analysis component and the resolution component reside upon the memory device.

3. The system of claim 2, the memory device is self-contained.

4. The system of claim 1, the metadata is environmental information, contextual information, historical information, temporal information, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1, the operation requested to be performed is coupling the memory device to a supplemental device, accessing data upon the memory device, or overriding data retained upon the memory device.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an artificial intelligence component that makes at least one inference or at least one determination with regard to metadata evaluation or intelligent establishment if the operation should automatically occur.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interaction component that requests confirmation on if the operation should occur when it is established that the operations should not automatically occur and processes a response to the request, the response allows the operation, denies the request, or makes a petition for more information.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a verification component that authenticates a source of the response.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a decision component that concludes if newly gathered information should be used to update the retained history, the retained history is updated based upon the newly gathered information with a positive conclusion and the newly gathered information is disregarded with a negative conclusion.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a narration component that retains a history of operation for the memory device, the history being used to determine if the operation should automatically occur.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a modernization component that updates the retained history as new information is gathered.

12. A method performed by a processor executing computer-readable instructions stored on a computer storage media, the method comprising

determining a physical location of a user, a physical location of a storage device, and a historical use of the storage device, the historical use of the storage device including a log on the storage device that records one or more authorized parties who have conducted operations to the storage device;

and

selecting if an operation should transpire concerning the storage device as a function of the determined physical location of the user and the determined physical location of the storage device and the historical use of the storage device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising obtaining a request to perform the operation.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising implementing the selection.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising analyzing the request and the determined physical location of a user, physical location of a storage device, and historical use of the storage device, selection is based upon a result of the analysis.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining the physical location of the user comprises determining the physical location of the user through a request to the user.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining the physical location of the storage device comprises using a global positioning system.

18. A system, comprising:

means for identifying an operation request to be performed upon a memory unit;

means for analyzing the operation request to be performed upon the memory unit; and

means for gathering a physical location of a requesting entity, physical location of the memory unit and contextual information that relates to the operation request;

means for evaluating at least a portion of the gathered information;

means for determining if the operation should automatically occur based upon a result of the gathered information evaluation;

means for automatically denying the operation if it is determined that the operation should not automatically occur; and

means for appealing to a regulatory entity that an instruction be provided on if the operation should occur if it is determined that the operation should not automatically occur.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

means for authenticating the regulatory entity;

means for allowing the operation if the regulatory entity responds to the appeal suggesting that the operation should occur and the regulatory entity is properly authenticated;

means for denying the operation if the regulatory entity responds to the appeal suggesting that the operation should not occur or if the regulatory entity is not properly authenticated; and

means for automatically implementing the operation if it is determined that the operation should automatically occur.