Wireless network access credential sharing using a network based credential storage service

• US 9,877,188 B1
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jain, Arvind
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Luu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Canh
• Application Number:
  US14/458,982
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• 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: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications

Abstract

A system and method for providing access credentials for a wireless network is provided. The system and method comprises sending a request for access credentials for a wireless network never previously accessed from a requesting client device to a connection helper service hosted by a server. The connection helper service determines a subset of user accounts that have the access credentials for the wireless network stored in an associated remote database. The connection helper service then searches social media to determine whether any of the subset of user accounts are connected with a user account associated with the requesting client device. If there is a connection, then the connection helper service facilitates requesting permission to acquire the access credentials from a remote database associated with a user account for the connection with the access credentials. In this manner, access to the wireless network is provided without manually entering access credentials.

Claims

1. A method of accessing a wireless network previously not accessed by an individual client device, the method comprising:

receiving, at a connection helper service of a server, a request for access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, wherein the individual client device stores access credentials for a plurality of wireless networks that the individual client device accesses and synchronizes the stored access credentials for the plurality of wireless networks with a remote database that is associated with a user account of the individual client device;

in response to receiving the request for the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, searching, by the connection helper service, a global database to determine a subset of user accounts, wherein the subset of user accounts have the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, wherein the access credentials in the subset of user accounts have not been shared with the user account of the individual client device, and wherein the global database associates wireless networks and user accounts that have previously been granted access to the wireless networks;

after the request for the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device is received and after searching the global database, querying, by the connection helper service, social network connections and determining whether any of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device through the social network connections;

sharing, by the connection helper service, the access credentials in the subset of user accounts with the user account of the individual client device based on the determination of whether any of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device; and

in response to determining at least one user account of the subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device based on the querying of the social network connections, requesting, by the connection helper service, the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the at least one user account.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the connection helper service, a request message to a client device associated with the at least one user account; and

receiving, by the connection helper service, permission to acquire the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the client device associated with the at least one user account.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising copying the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device to the remote database associated with the user account of the individual client device.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising updating the global database such that the user account of the individual client device is associated with the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the client device associated with the at least one user account has been given access granting rights for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the access granting rights are based on a ranked order of the subset of user accounts.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the access granting rights are based on an amount of time the client device associated with the at least user one account spends attached to the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein requesting the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device comprises prompting the individual client device to decide whether to send a request message to a client device associated with the at least one user account.

9. An apparatus for providing access credentials for a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

a processor device configured to;

provide an account for each client device configured to access the apparatus;

provide a remote database for each account provided by the account service, wherein the remote database for each account stores access credentials for wireless networks previously accessed by at least one client device associated with each account;

synchronize all access credentials acquired from all client devices associated with each account;

interact with a requesting connection helper client of a requesting client device; and

a global database coupled to the processor device that maps accounts to wireless networks, wherein the mapping is based on whether a specific account of the accounts in the global database contains access credentials for a specific wireless network of the wireless networks;

wherein;

the processor device is further configured to receive a request from the connection helper client of the requesting client device, wherein the request is for access credentials for a wireless network previously not accessed by the requesting client device;

in response to receiving the request, the processor device is further configured to search the global database to determine a subset of the accounts, wherein the subset of the accounts have the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the requesting client device, wherein the access credentials in the subset of the accounts have not been shared with an account of the requesting client device;

after the request is received and after searching the global database, the processor device is further configured to query social network connections and determine whether any of the determined subset of the accounts from the global database is associated with the account of the requesting client device through the social network connections, and share the access credentials in the subset of the accounts with the account of the requesting client device based on the determination of whether any of the determined subset of the accounts from the global database is associated with the account of the requesting client device; and

in response to determining at least one account of the subset of the accounts from the global database is associated with the account of the requesting client device based on the querying of the social network connections, the processor device is further configured to send another request to the at least one account for the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the requesting client device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a granting client device associated with the at least one account, the granting client device comprises a granting connection helper client configured to:

receive the another request from the connection helper service; and

grant the another request.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor device is further configured to copy the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the requesting client device from a remote database associated with the granting client device to a remote database associated with the account of the requesting client device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor device is further configured to update the global database such that the account of the requesting client device is associated with the wireless network previously not accessed by the requesting client device.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is a cloud server.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage device for providing access to a wireless network previously not accessed by an individual client device, the computer readable storage device having computer executable instructions for performing the steps of:

receiving, at a connection helper service of a server, a request for access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, wherein the individual client device stores access credentials for a plurality of wireless networks that the individual client device accesses and synchronizes the stored access credentials for the plurality of wireless networks with a remote database that is associated with a user account of the individual client device;

in response to receiving the request for the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, searching, by the connection helper service, a global database to determiner a subset of user accounts, wherein the subset of user accounts have the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, wherein the access credentials in the subset of user accounts have not been shared with the user account of the individual client device, and wherein the global database associates wireless networks and user accounts that have previously been granted access to the wireless networks;

after the request for the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device is received and after searching the global database, querying, by the connection helper service, social network connections and determining whether any of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device through the social network connections;

sharing, by the connection helper service, the access credentials in the subset of user accounts with the user account of the individual client device based on the determination of whether any of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device; and

in response to determining at least one user account of the subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device based on the querying of the social network connections, requesting, by the connection helper service, the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the at least one user account.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 14, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of:

sending, by the connection helper service, a request message to a client device associated with the at least one user account; and

receiving, by the connection helper service, permission to acquire the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the client device associated with the at least one user account.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 15, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of copying the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device to the remote database associated with the user account of the individual client device.

17. A method of accessing a wireless network previously not accessed by an individual client device, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server, a request for access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device;

in response to receiving the request, searching, by the server, a global database to determine a subset of user accounts, wherein the subset of user accounts have the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device, wherein the access credentials in the subset of user accounts have not been shared with a user account of the individual client device;

after the request is received and after searching the global database, querying, by the server, social network connections and determining whether any of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device through the social network connections;

in response to determining at least one user account of the determined subset of user accounts from the global database is associated with the user account of the individual client device, determining, by the server, whether the at least one user account has access granting rights for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device;

in response to determining the at least one user account has the access granting rights, requesting, by the server, the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the at least one user account;

synchronizing, by the server, the access credentials for the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device from the at least one user account with the individual client device; and

updating, by the server, the global database to have the user account of the individual client device be associated with the wireless network previously not accessed by the individual client device.