Remote access to resources over a network

• US 9,906,534 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2017
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SonicWALL US Holdings, Inc. (SonicWall Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: SonicWALL, Inc. (SonicWall Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hopen, Chris, Tomlinson, Gary, Anandam, Parvez, Young, Brian, Flagg, Alan, O'Reilley, Jude Michael Dylan
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): KAPLAN, BENJAMIN A
• Application Number:
  US15/476,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20170244710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/783 Distributed allocation of resources, e.g. bandwidth brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

Systems and techniques are provided for controlling requests for resources from remote computers. A remote computer'"'"'s ability to access a resource is determined based upon the computer'"'"'s operating environment. The computer or computers responsible for controlling access to a resource will interrogate the remote computer to ascertain its operating environment. The computer or computers responsible for controlling access to a resource may, for example, download one or more interrogator agents onto the remote computer to determine its operating environment. Based upon the interrogation results, the computer or computers responsible for controlling access to a resource will control the remote computer'"'"'s access to the requested resource.

Claims

1. A method for providing provisioning objects, the method comprising:

receiving via a user interface an input identifying a resource associated with a rule governing access and a selection of a first zone of trust;

receiving a request to access the resource sent over a communication network from a computing device associated with a person;

interrogating the computing device to identify whether at least one required object is installed on the computing device, the at least one required object corresponding to the first zone of trust and identified by the rule governing access to the resource, wherein the at least one object is installed on the computing device when the at least one required object is not yet installed on the computing device; and

allowing the computing device to access the resource based on the at least one object being installed on the computing device in accordance with the rule governing access to the resource.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of one or more software programs via the user interface, wherein the rule governing access further requires that the computing device access the resource via the one or more selected software programs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one required object is an anti-malware agent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule governing access to the resource is associated with one or more pre-authentication requirements.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one required object is one of the pre-authentication requirements.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule governing access to the resource is associated with one or more post-authentication requirements.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor for providing provisioning objects, the method comprising:

receiving via a user interface an input identifying a resource associated with a rule governing access and a selection of a first zone of trust;

receiving a request to access the resource sent over a communication network from a computing device associated with a person;

interrogating the computing device to identify whether at least one required object is installed on the computing device, the at least one required object corresponding to the first zone of trust and identified by the rule governing access to the resource, wherein the at least one object is installed on the computing device when the at least one required object is not yet installed on the computing device; and

allowing the computing device to access the resource based on the at least one object being installed on the computing device in accordance with the rule governing access to the resource.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, the program further executable to receive a selection of one or more software programs via the user interface, wherein the rule governing access further requires that the computing device access the resource via the one or more selected software programs.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the at least one required object is an anti-malware agent.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the rule governing access to the resource is associated with one or more pre-authentication requirements.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the at least one required object is one of the pre-authentication requirements.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the rule governing access to the resource is associated with one or more post-authentication requirements.

13. An apparatus for providing provisioning objects to provide to a computing device, the apparatus comprising:

a user interface that receives an input identifying a resource associated with a rule governing access and a selection of a first zone of trust;

a network interface that receives a request to access the resource sent over a communication network from a computing device associated with a person; and

a processor that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor;

interrogates the computing device to identify whether at least one required object is installed on the computing device, the at least one required object corresponding to the first zone of trust and identified by the rule governing access to the resource, wherein the at least one object is installed on the computing device when the at least one required object is not yet installed on the computing device, and

allows the computing device to access the resource based on the at least one object being installed on the computing device in accordance with the rule governing access to the resource.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the user interface further receives a selection of one or more software programs, wherein the rule governing access further requires that the computing device access the resource via the one or more selected software programs.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one required object is an anti-malware agent.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the rule governing access to the resource is associated with one or more pre-authentication requirements.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one required object is a one of the pre-authentication requirements.