Verifying requests to remove applications from a device

• US 9,323,911 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2013
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Alikhani, Kayvan
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Chau
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jamshidi, Ghodrat
• Application Number:
  US14/080,306
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen

Abstract

A method comprises receiving a request to remove a given application from a first device, identifying one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request, sending a notification regarding said one or more verification rules, receiving verification input responsive to the notification, and granting or denying the removal request based at least in part on the received verification input. Denying the removal request comprises removing protected application data from the first device. Receiving the removal request, identifying one or more verification rules, sending the notification, receiving the verification input, and granting or denying the removal request may be implemented in a verification platform adapted for communication with the first device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request to remove a first application from a first device, the removal request being received at a verification platform adapted for communication with the first device, the first application comprising a first watcher application configured to monitor a status of a second application on the first device;

identifying, at the verification platform, one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request;

sending a notification regarding said one or more verification rules from the verification platform;

receiving, at the verification platform, verification input responsive to the notification; and

granting or denying, at the verification platform, the removal request based at least in part on the received verification input;

wherein protected application data associated with the second application is removed from the first device responsive to denial of the removal request.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein sending the notification regarding said one or more verification rules comprises sending the notification to the first device and wherein receiving verification input responsive to the notification comprises receiving the verification input from the first device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notification regarding said one or more verification rules comprises sending the notification to a second device different than the first device and wherein receiving verification input responsive to the notification comprises receiving the verification input from the second device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the one or more verification rules specify multiple distinct types of verification selected by the user and a sequence in which the selected types of verification are to be applied in processing the removal request;

the multiple distinct types of verification comprise two or more of voice verification, face verification, location verification, motion verification and third party verification; and

the sequence in which the selected types of verification are to be applied comprises multiple security levels in which each such level requires satisfaction of at least one of the selected types of verification.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second application comprises a verification application.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the verification platform instructing an operating system of the first device to at least one of lock the first device and reboot the first device responsive to denial of the removal request.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising resetting a password associated with a user of the first device responsive to denial of the removal request.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a notification of the granting or denying of the removal request from the verification platform to a verification agent running on the first device, wherein the verification agent controls removal of the first application and protected application data on the first device responsive to said notification of the granting or denying.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second application comprises a second watcher application configured to monitor the status of the first watcher application.

10. A method comprising:

receiving a request to remove a given application from a first device, the removal request being received at a verification platform adapted for communication with the first device;

identifying, at the verification platform, one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request;

sending a notification regarding said one or more verification rules from the verification platform;

receiving, at the verification platform, verification input responsive to the notification; and

granting or denying, at the verification platform, the removal request based at least in part on the received verification input;

wherein protected application data is removed from the first device responsive to denial of the removal request; and

wherein the given application comprises a first watcher application configured to monitor requests to stop or remove a second watcher application.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a processor-readable storage medium having embodied therein one or more software programs, wherein the one or more software programs when executed by at least one processing device cause the at least one processing device:

to receive a request to remove a first application from a first device, the removal request being received at a verification platform adapted for communication with the first device, the first application comprising a first watcher application configured to monitor a status of a second application on the first device;

to identify, at the verification platform, one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request;

to send a notification regarding said one or more verification rules from the verification platform;

to receive, at the verification platform, verification input responsive to the notification; and

to grant or deny, at the verification platform, the removal request based at least in part on the received verification input;

wherein protected application data associated with the second application is removed from the first device responsive to denial of the removal request.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a verification platform comprising at least one processing device having a processor coupled to a memory, the verification platform being adapted for communication with a first device;

wherein the verification platform is configured;

to receive a request to remove a first application from the first device, the first application comprising a first watcher application configured to monitor a status of a second application on the first device;

to identify one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request;

to send a notification regarding said one or more verification rules;

to receive verification input responsive to the notification; and

to grant or deny the removal request based at least in part on the received verification input;

wherein protected application data associated with the second application is removed from the first device responsive to denial of the removal request.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the verification platform comprises:

an application programming interface adapted for communication with a verification agent implemented on the first device; and

a server coupled to the application programming interface.

14. A communication system comprising the apparatus of claim 12 and a plurality of user devices including the first device.

15. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a user to remove a first application from a first device, the first application comprising a first watcher application configured to monitor a status of a second application on the first device;

sending the removal request to a verification platform;

removing the given application responsive to the verification platform granting the removal request; and

removing protected application data associated with the second application from the first device responsive to the verification platform denying the removal request;

wherein the verification platform grants or denies the removal request based at least in part on verification input, the verification input being based on one or more verification rules previously established by a user of the first device for processing of the removal request.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising at least one of locking the first device and rebooting the first device responsive to the verification platform denying the removal request.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising resetting a password associated with a user of the first device responsive to the verification platform denying the removal request.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the given application comprises a verification application.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the second application comprises a second watcher application and wherein the first watcher application is configured to monitor requests to stop or remove the second watcher application, the first and second watcher applications running on the first device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the second application comprises a second watcher application configured to monitor the status of the first watcher application.