Software application verification

• US 8,869,289 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2009
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dubhashi, Kedarnath A., Bocharov, John, Farag, Hany, Khouzam, Gilles, Kumar, Kiran
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): SIMS, JING F
• Application Number:
  US12/360,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,092 Days
• Field of Search: 726 26- 29, 380/200
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/603 Digital right managament [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

Various embodiments for software application verification are disclosed. Software application verification applies digital rights management to applications that run protected content on a playback device. In this way, protected content may be provided to approved applications and withheld from applications that have not been approved to run the protected content.

Claims

1. A method of providing protected content to an authorized application, the method comprising:

requesting playback of protected content on a computing device from an application of the computing device;

responsive to requesting playback of the protected content, sending a license challenge from the computing device to a digital rights management server external to the computing device, via a computer network, the license challenge including a signed application identity of the application formed by computing an application identity on an application binary;

receiving a license response from the digital rights management server, the license response including a license having a public key that authorizes the application of the computing device to play the protected content;

verifying the application is signed using the public key by verifying the application is signed, verifying a signature for the application is correct, and verifying a private key used to sign the application matches the public key in the license; and

providing the protected content to the application for playback.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the protected content to the application for playback further comprises preventing the protected content from playing on a spoofed application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the protected content to the application for playback further comprises enforcing playback rules on the application playing the protected content.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein enforcing playback rules further comprises at least one of enforcing pre-roll advertising, interstitial advertising, overlay advertising;

or enforcing purchasing, subscription, or rental rules.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the public key that authorizes the application to play the protected content was used to sign the application prior to the license challenge.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising storing the license for offline verification of the application.

7. A method of providing protected content to an approved application of a playback device, the method comprising:

receiving a license challenge from the playback device, the license challenge including a signed application identity of a selected application of a plurality of applications of the playback device, the signed application identity computed on an application binary of the selected application;

comparing the signed application identity of the selected application to a list of application identities within a server external to the playback device, the list of application identities including a plurality of application identities, each application identity indicating an application that is allowed to run protected content;

verifying the signed application identity; and

providing a license response containing a license to the playback device, the license to be used to authorize the selected application on the playback device to receive the protected content.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the license is to be used on the playback device to prevent the protected content from playing on a spoofed application.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the license is to be used on the playback device to enforce rules on the application playing the protected content.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the rules include at least one of enforcing pre-roll advertising, interstitial advertising, overlay advertising;

or enforcing purchasing, subscription, or rental rules.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising forming the signed application identity by computing an application identity on the application binary, and signing the application identity with a private key of a digital rights management client on the playback device.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the signed application identity is a signed hash value.

13. A computing device for playing protected content in an approved application, the computing device comprising:

an application configured to play protected content; and

a digital rights management module in communication with the application, the digital rights management module configured to send a license challenge including an application identity for the application that specifically identifies that application to a digital rights management server external to the computing device via a computer network, and to receive a license response, wherein once the application identity for the application is verified to indicate that the application is allowed to play the protected content, the digital rights management module allows the application to play the protected content.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the digital rights management module is configured to prevent the protected content from playing on a spoofed application.

15. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the digital rights management module is configured to enforce playback rules on the application.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the playback rules enforce at least one of pre-roll advertising, interstitial advertising, overlay advertising;

or enforcing purchasing, subscription, or rental rules.

17. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the application identity is verified using a public key included in the license response that matches a private key used to sign the application prior to the license challenge.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the digital rights management module is configured to store the license.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the application is verified with the public key if the public key in the license matches the private key used to sign the application.