Mechanism for facilitating remote access of user and device credentials for remoting device activities between computing devices

• US 9,571,477 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Light, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Huy C
• Application Number:
  US13/977,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20130288648A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,964 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

A mechanism is described for facilitating remote access of device and user credentials for at computing devices according to one embodiment of the invention. A method of embodiments of the invention includes remotely accessing, by a first computing device, credentials of a second computing device. The credentials may facilitate the first computing device to perform one or more tasks. The method may further include performing, at the first computing device, the one or more tasks based on the accessed credentials and according to capabilities of the first computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

detecting, by a first computing device, a second computing device having credentials capable of facilitating one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device lacks the credentials and is incapable of performing the one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device is incapable due to lacking one or more features or being un-favoured due to one or more preferences to perform the one or more tasks;

remotely accessing, by the first computing device, the credentials at the second computing device such that accessing the credentials to turn the first computing device into temporarily gaining capacity to be capable of performing the one or more tasks based on the credentials of the second computing device; and

performing, by the first computing device, the one or more tasks based on the credentials at the second computing device without the first computing device having to employ the credentials or permanently gain the capacity, wherein the credentials include one or more of communication credentials, user preferences, one or more voice plans, and one or more data plans, and wherein the one or more tasks include voice calling, over a communication medium, based on the one or more phone plans at the second computing device, accessing data, over one the communication medium, based on the one or more data plans at the second computing device, wherein performing further includes facilitating the second computing device to perform the one or more tasks on behalf of the first computing device without the first computing device having to employ the credentials or permanently gain the capacity.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically triggering the remote access of the credentials when the first and second computing devices are within a pre-determined range of each other; and

authenticating the credentials at the second computing device before allowing the first computing device to access the credentials.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the credentials comprise a permission to perform the one or more tasks, wherein the credentials further comprise one or more of user profiles, service provider profiles, and security details, wherein the communication credentials include at least one of the one or more voice plans and the one or more data plans for offering phone services and data services, respectively, wherein the communication medium comprises one or more communication networks including one or more of a proximity network, a cloud network, an intranet, and the Internet, wherein the phone services include at least one of conventional phone services or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, at the first computing device, the credentials including the communication credentials from the second computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first and second computing devices comprise mobile computing devices including one or more of smartphones, dumb cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, e-readers, tablet computers, notebooks, netbooks, desktop computers, and set-top boxes, wherein the first computing device is employed at an automobile, the first computing device comprising a car phone, and wherein the second computing device comprises a cellular phone including a smartphone or a dumb cellular phone.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more features or the one or more preferences include at least one of one or more of battery life, signal strength, network strength or bandwidth, antenna strength or locations, service provider limitation, system limitation, security protocol, phone plan type or deficiencies, data plan type or deficiencies, and user preferences.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device of a first computing device, cause the processing device to:

detect a second computing device having credentials capable of facilitating one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device lacks the credentials and is incapable of performing the one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device is incapable due to lacking one or more features or being un-favoured due to one or more preferences to perform the one or more tasks;

remotely access the credentials at the second computing device such that accessing the credentials to turn the first computing device into temporarily gaining capacity to be capable of performing the one or more tasks based on the credentials of the second computing device; and

perform the one or more tasks based on the credentials at the second computing device without the first computing device having to employ the credentials or permanently gain the capacity, wherein the credentials include one or more of communication credentials, user preferences, one or more voice plans, and one or more data plans, and wherein the one or more tasks include voice calling, over a communication medium, based on the one or more phone plans at the second computing device, accessing data, over one the communication medium, based on the one or more data plans at the second computing device, wherein performing further includes facilitating the second computing device to perform the one or more tasks on behalf of the first computing device without the first computing device having to employ the credentials or permanently gain the capacity.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further to:

automatically trigger the remote access of the credentials when the first and second computing devices are within a pre-determined range of each other; and

authenticate the credentials at the second computing device before allowing the first computing device to access the credentials.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the credential comprise a permission to perform the one or more tasks, wherein the credentials further comprise one or more of user profiles, service provider profiles, and security details, wherein the communication credentials include at least one of the one or more voice plans and the one or more data plans for offering phone services and data services, respectively, wherein the communication medium comprises one or more communication networks including one or more of a proximity network, a cloud network, an intranet, and the Internet, wherein the phone services include at least one of conventional phone services or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further to receive the credentials including the communication credentials from the second computing device.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first and second computing devices comprise mobile computing devices including one or more of smartphones, dumb cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, e-readers, tablet computers, notebooks, netbooks, desktop computers, and set-top boxes, wherein the first computing device is employed at an automobile, the first computing device comprising a car phone, and wherein the second computing device comprises a cellular phone including a smartphone or a dumb cellular phone.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the one or more features or the one or more preferences include at least one of one or more of battery life, signal strength, network strength or bandwidth, antenna strength or locations, service provider limitation, system limitation, security protocol, phone plan type or deficiencies, data plan type or deficiencies, and user preferences.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a first computing device comprising;

device detection module to detect a second computing device having credentials capable of facilitating one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device lacks the credentials and is incapable of performing the one or more tasks, wherein the first computing device is incapable due to lacking one or more features or being un-favoured due to one or more preferences to perform the one or more tasks;

credentials access module to remotely access the credentials at the second computing device such that accessing the credentials to turn the first computing device into temporarily gaining capacity to be capable of performing the one or more tasks based on the credentials of the second computing device; and

one or more components to perform the one or more tasks based on the credentials, wherein the credentials include one or more of communication credentials, user preferences, one or more voice plans, and one or more data plans, and wherein the one or more tasks include voice calling, over a communication medium, based on the one or more phone plans at the second computing device, accessing data, over one the communication medium, based on the one or more data plans at the second computing device, wherein performing further includes facilitating the second computing device to perform the one or more tasks on behalf of the first computing device without the first computing device having to employ the credentials or permanently gain the capacity.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the credentials access module is further to:

automatically trigger the remote access of the credentials when the first and second computing devices are within a pre-determined range of each other; and

authenticate the credentials at the second computing device before allowing the first computing device to access the credentials.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the credentials comprise a permission to perform the one or more tasks, wherein the credentials further comprise one or more of user profiles, service provider profiles, and security details, wherein the communication credentials include at least one of the one or more voice plans and the one or more data plans for offering phone services and data services, respectively, wherein the communication medium comprises one or more communication networks including one or more of a proximity network, a cloud network, an intranet, and the Internet, wherein the phone services include at least one of conventional phone services or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the credentials access module is further to receive, at the first computing device, the credentials including the communication credentials from the second computing device.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first and second computing devices comprise mobile computing devices including one or more of smartphones, dumb cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, e-readers, tablet computers, notebooks, netbooks, desktop computers, and set-top boxes, wherein the first computing device is employed at an automobile, the first computing device comprising a car phone, and wherein the second computing device comprises a cellular phone including a smartphone or a dumb cellular phone.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more features or the one or more preferences include at least one of one or more of battery life, signal strength, network strength or bandwidth, antenna strength or locations, service provider limitation, system limitation, security protocol, phone plan type or deficiencies, data plan type or deficiencies, and user preferences.