Passive validation of network devices

• US 20070218996A1
• Filed: 05/01/2006
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Harris, Adam, Schneider, Steve
• Granted Patent: US 8,771,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/75 Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

A system and method for passively validating network game users is provided. Data indicative of game behavior and actions at one or more nodes interacting with a network game in a network game community are monitored. The data is evaluated to determine whether the one or more nodes are adhering to one or more rules associated with the network game. Data indicative of illicit game behavior may trigger various responses including invalidation of the node engaged in the illicit behavior. Alternatively, a query may be generated to further identify the nature and/or actual existence of illicit behavior at the node. Monitoring of game data may occur at a server, a peer, as part of a peer group or combinations thereof, which may be based on routine schedule or part of constant game behavior monitoring.

Claims

1. A method for validating devices in a gaming network, comprising:

monitoring one or more devices interacting with a network game in the gaming network;

receiving data from the one or more monitored devices; and

evaluating the received data to determine whether the one or more monitored devices adhere to one or more rules associated with the network game.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating and delivering a query to the one or more monitored devices if the one or more monitored devices fail to adhere to one or more rules associated with the network game.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising ejecting the one or more monitored devices if a response to the query fails to validate the one or more monitored devices.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising ejecting the one or more monitored devices if the one or more monitored devices fails to adhere to the one or more rules associated with the network game.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving the one or more rules from a rules library.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating the one or more rules based on previous observations of the network game prior to retrieving the one or more rules from the rules library.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data comprises network game information transmitted from a first client device to a second client device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the received data comprises network game information transmitted from the first client device to a server prior to the information being transmitted to the second client device.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the received data comprises validation data generated by the one or more monitored devices interacting with the network game.

9. A system for validating network game devices, the system comprising:

a computing device configured to monitor one or more network game devices interacting with a network game in a network game environment, the computing device comprising a monitoring module configured to receive network game data from the one or more network game devices;

an analysis engine in communication with the monitoring module, the analysis engine configured to evaluate the network game data to determine whether the one or more network game devices violate one or more rules associated with the network game.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a query engine in communication with the analysis engine, the query engine configured to generate and send a query to the one or more network game devices if the monitoring module identifies a violation of the one or more rules.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is configured to eject the one or more network game devices if a received response to the query fails to validate the one or more network game devices.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the computing device comprises a server.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the computing device comprises a client device.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the network game data comprises information transmitted from a first network game device to the computing device prior to being transmitted to a second network game device.

23. The system of claim 9, wherein the received network game data comprises validation data generated by the one or more network game devices.

15. A machine-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a machine to perform a method for validating devices in a gaming network, the method comprising:

monitoring one or more devices interacting with a network game in the gaming network;

receiving data from the one or more monitored devices; and

evaluating the received data to determine whether the one or more monitored devices adhere to one or more rules associated with the network game.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the data from the one or more monitored devices is evaluated continuously.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the data from the one or more monitored devices is evaluated periodically.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising generating and delivering a query to the one or more monitored devices if the one or more monitored devices fail to adhere to one or more rules associated with the network game

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising ejecting the one or more monitored devices if a response to the query fails to validate the one or more monitored devices.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising ejecting the one or more monitored devices if the one or more monitored devices fails to adhere to the one or more rules associated with the network game.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the received data comprises validation data generated by the one or more monitored devices interacting with the network game.