Systems and methods for providing access to resources through enhanced signals

• US 9,202,513 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Inventors: Goyal, Neel, Shah, Mehul, RAMNATH KRISHNAN, Harshini
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins, Davetta W
• Assistant Examiner(s): SELLERS, DANIEL R
• Application Number:
  US13/538,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• Field of Search: 700/94, 707/785, 707/788, 726/33, 705/56
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00688 said measures preventing that a usable copy of recorded data can be made on another medium
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00739 wherein the usage restriction is associated with a specific geographical region
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for using a hidden audio signal. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes registering, at a central database, one or more of an identifier and a destination resource associated with the identifier, and encoding the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource in a hidden audio signal. The method further includes transmitting the hidden audio signal, including the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource, in connection with an acoustic signal, and receiving the acoustic signal at a user device. In addition, the method includes decoding the encoded one or more of the identifier and the destination resource at the user device; and requesting, from the central database, information associated with the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource. Further, the method includes receiving, at the user device, the requested information.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing access to a resource via an enhanced signal, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device from a registration server, a resource identifier for encoding within a signal, the resource identifier including a set of pre-defined policies for file management on a user device within a secure zone, wherein the set of pre-defined policies for file management include disallowing email forwarding;

encoding, by the computing device, the received resource identifier to create an encoded resource identifier;

embedding, by the computing device, the encoded resource identifier within the signal to create the enhanced signal; and

broadcasting the enhanced signal to one or more user devices within the secure zone.

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

sending, to the registration server, a registration request to register a resource, wherein the resource identifier is associated by the registration server with the resource.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein embedding the encoded resource identifier within the audio signal comprises:

embedding, by the computing device, the encoded resource identifier within the signal as a digital watermark.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computing device utilizes a computer algorithm that, when executed, identifies the resource identifier.

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

generating, by the computing device, the resource identifier; and

sending, by the computing device, the resource identifier to the registration server.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein sending the resource identifier to the registration server further comprises sending an identifier for the signal.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined policies prohibits access by the one or more user devices to files designated as secure on the one or more user devices when the one or more user devices is not located within a pre-defined secure zone.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined policies enables the user device to manipulate a file acquired by one or more user devices in the secure zone when the one or more devices leave the pre-defined secure zone.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a user device, a broadcast signal, the broadcast signal having embedded therein a pre-defined set of policies, wherein the set of pre-defined policies include disallowing email forwarding;

determining the user device is located within the pre-defined secure zone; and

applying the pre-defined set of policies at the user device when it is determined that the user device is located within the pre-defined secure zone, wherein applying the pre-defined set of policies includes disallowing email forwarding.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the user device is unable to access the file when it is determined that the user device is not located within the pre-defined secure zone.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein when the device is leaving the pre-defined secure zone, the user device manipulates, according to the pre-defined set of policies, the file acquired by the user device when the user device was located in the pre-defined secure zone.