Remote management over a wireless wide-area network using short message service

• US 8,688,104 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2012
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Prakash, Gyan, Adrangi, Farid, Aissi, Selim, Khosravi, Hormuzd, Dadu, Saurabh
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, David Q
• Application Number:
  US13/426,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20120178481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/41.2, 455/420, 455/419, 455/557, 455/574
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments of systems and methods providing remote management over a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) using short messages are disclosed. In one embodiment, a computing device may include an in-band processor, a wireless transceiver configured for communications over a WWAN, and an out-of-band (OOB) processor capable of communicating over the WWAN using the wireless transceiver irrespective of an operational state of the in-band processor. The OOB processor may be configured to receive a short message via the wireless transceiver, determine whether the short message originated from a trusted remote computing device, and execute at least one operation indicated by the short message in response to determining that the short message originated from a trusted remote computing device.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

an in-band processor;

a wireless transceiver configured for communications over a wireless wide-area network (WWAN); and

an out-of-band (OOB) processor capable of communicating over the WWAN using the wireless transceiver irrespective of an operational state of the in-band processor, the OOB processor configured to (i) add identification data associated with a trusted remote computing device having a preexisting trust relationship with the computing device to a list of trusted remote computing devices, (ii) receive a short message via the wireless transceiver, (iii) determine whether the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device by comparing sender information included in the short message to the identification data stored in the list of trusted remote computing devices, and (iv) execute at least one operation indicated by content of the short message in response to determining that the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the identification data stored in the list of trusted remote computing devices comprises an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) for the trusted remote computing device.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the OOB processor is configured to receive the short message while the in-band processor is in a reduced-power operational state.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein a firewall hides an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computing device from remote computing devices and the OOB processor is configured to initiate a secure connection, through the firewall, between the computing device and the trusted remote computing device.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein a firewall hides an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computing device from remote computing devices and the OOB processor is configured to transmit the IP address of the computing device to the trusted remote computing device.

6. A method comprising:

establishing a list of trusted remote computing devices using an out-of-band (OOB) processor of a computing device, the list of trusted remote computing devices comprising identification data associated with a trusted remote computing device having a preexisting trust relationship with the computing device;

receiving a short message over a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) using the OOB processor of the computing device, the OOB processor being capable of communicating over the WWAN irrespective of an operational state of an in-band processor of the computing device;

determining, using the OOB processor, whether the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device by comparing sender information included in the short message to the identification data stored in the list of trusted remote computing devices; and

executing at least one operation with the OOB processor indicated by content of the short message in response to determining that the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the short message comprises receiving a short message that originated from a trusted remote computing device outside of a firewall hiding an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computing device from remote computing devices.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises initiating a secure connection, through the firewall, between the computing device and the trusted remote computing device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises transmitting the IP address of the computing device to the trusted remote computing device.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the short message comprises receiving a short message using the OOB processor while the in-band processor is in a reduced-power operational state.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises booting the in-band processor of the computing device from the reduced-power operational state.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein establishing the list of trusted remote computing devices comprises adding an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) for the trusted remote computing device to the list of trusted remote computing devices.

13. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, in response to being executed, result in a computing device:

establishing a list of trusted remote computing devices using an out-of-band (OOB) processor of the computing device, the list of trusted remote computing devices comprising identification data associated with a trusted remote computing device having a preexisting trust relationship with the computing device;

receiving a short message using the OOB processor of the computing device while an in-band processor of the computing device is in a reduced-power operational state, the short message being received over a wireless wide-area network (WWAN);

determining, using the OOB processor, whether the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device by comparing sender information included in the short message to the identification data stored in the list of trusted remote computing devices; and

executing at least one operation with the OOB processor indicated by content of the short message in response to determining that the short message originated from the trusted remote computing device.

14. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the identification data stored in the list of trusted remote computing devices comprises an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) for the trusted remote computing device.

15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein receiving the short message comprises receiving a short message that originated from a trusted remote computing device outside of a firewall hiding an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computing device from remote computing devices.

16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises initiating a secure connection, through the firewall, between the computing device and the trusted remote computing device.

17. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises transmitting the IP address of the computing device to the trusted remote computing device.

18. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein executing at least one operation with the OOB processor comprises booting the in-band processor of the computing device from the reduced-power operational state.