Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Bill Begorre

Deon Brewis

David T Jones

Aaron Wesley Cunningham

Patrice Lynn Miner

Andrew Thomas Baron

Marieke Iwema Watson

Alok Sinha

Arun K Buduri

David G Thaler

Gursharan Singh Sidhu

A method is provided for network identification based on high entropy data on a network which are not easily guessed or obtained outside the network, which can prevent an attacker from 'spoofing' the network. A component in a client computer connected to a network may obtain over the network a network data block including device identification information of a device controlling the network. Upon parsing the network data block, such high entropy data as unique device identifiers may be obtained from the device identification information. Depending on availability of the unique device identifiers and authentication history of the client computer, different combinations of the unique device identifiers and/or other identification information may be used to generate a unique network identifier such as a network signature. The component may provide the network signature to applications within the client computer.

Secure identification of intranet network

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to increasing security and lowering risk of attack in connecting automatically to networks by enabling client devices to verify the identity of the networks by, for example, confirming the identity of networks and network components such as wireless access points. In some embodiments, a client device may maintain a data store of characteristics of a network&#x2014;including, for example, characteristics of a wireless access point or other portion of the network and/or characteristics of a connection previously established with the wireless access point and/or network. Stored characteristics may include characteristics other than those minimally necessary to identify a wireless access point and/or wireless network. The stored characteristics may be compared to known good characteristics of a network (including characteristics of a wireless access point or other portion of the wireless network) prior to connection to the network to determine whether the characteristics match.

History-based downgraded network identification

Methods and systems which identify and interact with network interfaces based on the network to which they provide access. A computing device operating in accordance with one or more of the principles described herein may examine available network interfaces and identify the network to which the network interfaces provide access, and perform networking tasks on interfaces based on the network identified. For example, a user may instruct a computing device to connect to a specified network, and the computing device will select a particular network interface by which to connect from the one or more available network interfaces that are able to connect to that network. Alternatively, a user may manage policies (e.g., security, connection, and application policies) based on the network to which a network interface provides access and thereby manage a network regardless of which of multiple network interfaces is used to access the network.

Performing networking tasks based on destination networks

Described is a technology by which network connectivity information may be communicated via a single notifications area (e.g., system tray) icon, including by representing different images of the icon to display different types/states of connectivity and different types of media connections. For example, the icon may indicate whether Internet connectivity is present, and whether the connection is wired or wireless. The icon may regularly transition between at least two images to communicate different variables, e.g., types of connectivity and/or different types of media connections. The icon may be interactive to provide a tooltip, flyout and/or context menu related to the network state, and the icon may change in response to the networking state change event, e.g., be updated when a different capability connection is detected, when a different interface is detected, and/or when a wireless network with a different signal quality is detected.

Network connectivity and wireless status in a notification area

Discovery of a network to which a device is in communication and classifying the network is disclosed. The network may be classified as a network already known or a new network signature may be created where the network signature is made up of a network id, a link id and a hop id.

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Bill Begorre