Methods and systems for a portable data locker
First Claim
1. A method of binding a file to an external drive, said method comprising:
- saving a file to an external drive, wherein the file is bound to the external drive to restrict the file from being moved to another storage location in an unauthorized manner;
determining when the external drive has been coupled to a computer; and
restricting access by the computer to the file based on program code that is installed by the external drive to the computer and that executes on the computer, wherein the program code is configured to at least restrict the computer from copying and saving at least a portion of the file to a location other than the external drive, and wherein the program code is configured to intercept file system commands of applications running on the computer.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The embodiments provide for binding files to an external drive, a secured external drive, or portable data locker. The files are bound in order to help restrict or to prevent access and modification by certain computers or users. Computers or users that are authorized or within the authorized domain are permitted full access. The files stored on the external drive may be bound in various ways. The files may be encapsulated in a wrapper that restricts the use and access to these files. The bound files may require execution of a specific application, plug-in, or extension. A computer may thus be required to execute program code that limits the use of the secured files. In one embodiment, the external drive provides the required program code to the computer. In other embodiments, the required program code may be downloaded from a network or provided by an external authority.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of binding a file to an external drive, said method comprising:
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saving a file to an external drive, wherein the file is bound to the external drive to restrict the file from being moved to another storage location in an unauthorized manner; determining when the external drive has been coupled to a computer; and restricting access by the computer to the file based on program code that is installed by the external drive to the computer and that executes on the computer, wherein the program code is configured to at least restrict the computer from copying and saving at least a portion of the file to a location other than the external drive, and wherein the program code is configured to intercept file system commands of applications running on the computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An external drive that is configured to limit access and use of a file from a first computing device when the external drive is coupled to another computing device, said external drive comprising:
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a storage medium for storing at least one file written from the first computing device; a communications interface; and a processor, configured by instructions, to identify when a device that is not the first computing device has been coupled to the communications interface, install program code on the other device when it is not the first computing device, and to require the other device to execute the program code to at least restrict the other computing device from copying and saving at least a portion of the file to a location other than the storage medium on the external drive, wherein the program code is installed into an operating system of the computer and comprises a kernel level exception that intercepts file system commands by applications running on the other computing device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A computing device configured with restricted access to a file from another computing device that has been stored on an external drive, said computing device comprising:
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a communications interface capable of being coupled to the external drive; a client application executing on the computing device that is capable of accessing the file from the external drive; and a processor, configured to; receive program code from the external device over the communications interface; install the received program code into an operating system of the computing device, the program code comprising a kernel level exception that intercepts file system commands by applications running on the computing device and execute the installed program code to restrict the client application from copying and saving at least a portion of the file to a location other than the external drive. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification