Method and system for managing access to information from or about a mobile device

• US 8,195,126 B1
• Filed: 04/08/2010
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyhook Holding, Inc. (Liberty Broadband Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Mexens Intellectual Property Holding LLC
• Inventors: Houri, Cyril
• Primary Examiner(s): Perez-Gutierrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Di Prisco, German Viana
• Application Number:
  US12/756,620
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server

Abstract

System and method for controlling access to information about or from computing devices in which an authorization request to enable a first one of the devices to obtain information from or about a second one of the devices is generated and directed to the second device with a token assigned to the first device. Once the token is received by the second device, the authorization request is presented to its user in a form enabling viewing and manually entry of the token into the second device. The user of the first device can, when desired, request information from or about the second device. The request is fulfilled and the information from or about the second device is provided to the first device only after the user of the second device has manually entered the token assigned to the first device.

Claims

1. A method for controlling access to information from or about computing devices, the method comprising:

deriving, using a processor, a plurality of tokens;

generating an authorizing communication to enable a first one of the devices to obtain information from or about a second wireless one of the devices, the authorizing communication enabling the second device to receive a token assigned to the first device;

presenting the authorizing communication to a user of the second device in a form enabling the user of the second device to view and manually enter the token into computer-readable medium in the second device using a user interface of the second device;

enabling a user of the first device to make a request for information from or about the second device using a user interface of the first device;

transmitting the request to a server including an information management system embodied partly in computer-readable medium in the server; and

fulfilling the request and providing the information from or about the second device to the first device via the server only if the user of the second device has manually entered the token assigned to the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a token to each device that is derived from a unique communications identification of the device, based on a unique communications identification of the device, or constitutes a unique communications identification of the device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizing communication includes the token.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information from or about the second device is a location of the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining at the first device, a list of wireless computing devices from or about which information can be obtained.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a connection between the second device and the server continuously open;

monitoring via the server, requests for information from or about the second device; and

when the server receives a request for information from or about the second device, directing the request from the server through the continuously open connection to the second device to receive in response, information to enable the server to determine the requested information from or about the second device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information from or about the second device is a location of the second device, further comprising:

continuously obtaining identification information about non-satellite wireless beacons communicating with the second device via a communications system resident at the second device;

upon receipt of a request from the server, providing the identification information to the server through the continuously open connection; and

at the server, receiving the identification information, processing the identification information into a location of the second device and providing the location of the second device to the first device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the second device with a sensor for detecting a property of an environment in which the second device is situated such that the information from or about the second device is information about a property of the environment in which the second device is situated that is being detected by the sensor of the second device.

9. A system for controlling access to information from or about wireless computing devices, the system comprising:

a server that interacts with the wireless computing devices and a tracker device that desires to obtain information from or about the wireless computing devices,

said server being arranged to;

generate a plurality of tokens,

direct authorizing communications from the tracker device to at least one of the wireless computing devices to obtain information from or about the wireless computing device, each authorizing communication including a token assigned to the tracker device,

receive communications from each wireless computing device indicative of manual entry of the token using a user interface of the wireless computing device,

receive requests from the tracker device for information from or about a specific one of the wireless computing devices;

determine whether a token assigned to the tracker device has been manually entered by the specific one of the wireless computing devices, and only if so,

provide the information from or about the specific one of the wireless computing devices to the tracker device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the token generated by the server for each tracker device is derived from a unique communications identification of the tracker device, based on a unique communications identification of the tracker device, or constitutes a unique communications identification of the tracker device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the server is further arranged to determine the information from or about the specific wireless computing device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the information from or about the specific wireless computing device is a location of the wireless computing device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the server is further arranged to direct each wireless computing device to provide information about non-satellite wireless beacons the wireless computing device can communicate with and determine the location of the specific wireless computing device based on the provided information.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said server is further arranged to maintain a connection to each of the wireless computing devices continuously open.

15. A computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium at a first wireless computing device, the computer program being arranged to:

provide information from or about a second wireless computing device by;

generating an authorizing communication to enable the first device to obtain the information from or about the second device, the authorizing communication being directed to the second device with a token assigned to the first device;

enabling a user of the first device to make a request for information from or about the second device using a user interface of the first device;

transmitting the request to a server including an information management system embodied partly in computer-readable medium in the server; and

receiving from the server, the information from or about the second device only when a user of the second device has entered the token at the second device; and

enable information from or about the first device to be provided to another device

by;

presenting a received authorization request to a user of the first device in a form enabling the user of the first device to view and manually enter the token using the user interface of the first device, and

providing an indication of the entry of the token to the server to enable a sender of the token to receive information from or about the first device.

16. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the computer program is further arranged to maintain a list of wireless computing devices from or about which information can be obtained.

17. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the computer program is further arranged to display the received information on a display of the first device.