System, method and computer program product for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network

• US 8,706,576 B1
• Filed: 11/06/2008
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: McAfee, LLC
• Original Assignee: McAfee, Inc. (McAfee, LLC)
• Inventors: Balasubramaniam, Chandrasekar, Kannan, Ravi, Revashetti, Siddaraya Basappa, Sampath, Srivats, Katchapalayam, Babu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ade, Garcia
• Application Number:
  US12/266,413
• Time in Patent Office: 1,993 Days
• Field of Search: 705/30
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/145 the attack involving the propagation of malware through the network, e.g. viruses, trojans or worms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and computer executable program code are disclosed for performing one or more maintenance tasks on a remotely located computer connected to a server computer via a data network.

Claims

1. A method to secure software downloaded by a server computer to a client computer over a computer network, the method comprising:

downloading a software to be executed;

ascertaining, when the downloaded software is invoked for execution, whether the software was downloaded from an authorized location; and

enabling execution of the downloaded software responsive to ascertaining the software was downloaded from the authorized location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ascertaining comprises comparing an electronic signature with the downloaded software to determine that the signature is related to the software.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ascertaining comprises querying a browser program on the client computer to determine if the browser program is pointed to an authorized web site.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the querying comprises invoking at least one of a plurality of methods provided by the browser program to determine if the browser program is pointed at an authorized web site.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the querying comprises:

invoking at least two of a plurality of methods provided by the browser program to determine if the browser program is pointed to an authorized web site; and

comparing results obtained by the methods that are invoked.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the querying comprises invoking at least one method provided by the browser program to obtain information located in a top-level browser window.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the querying comprises invoking at least one method provided by the browser program to obtain information located in an opener browser window.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing one or more processors to perform the method of claim 1.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the downloaded software is wrapped and stored in a browser cache area of the client computer.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising verifying, with a browser program on the client computer, if a license file is related to the downloaded software.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising invoking methods within the downloaded software utilizing a script running on the client computer if the license file is found to be related to the downloaded software.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising terminating the downloaded software and displaying an alarm message at the client computer if the license file is found to be not related to the downloaded software.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the license file is downloaded to the client computer from the authorized location after a user is authenticated by the authorized location.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the downloaded software includes a program to detect computer viruses on the client computer.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the downloaded software includes scripts for performing at least one maintenance task on the client computer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the scripts included in the downloaded software are executed by a browser program of the client computer.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one maintenance task includes one or more of:

a compression of software, a compression of data, a search for software that needs to be upgraded, a search for data that needs to be upgraded, an upgrade of software, an upgrade of data, a search for obsolete software, a search for obsolete data, a deletion of obsolete software, a deletion of obsolete data, an archival of software, an archival of data, hardware diagnostics, and software diagnostics.

9. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon to cause one or more processors to:

read a uniform resource locator (URL) identifying a location from which a software program is downloaded;

ascertain, when the downloaded software program is invoked for execution, whether the URL is an authorized URL; and

enable execution of the downloaded software program responsive to ascertaining that the URL is an authorized URL.