Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Micosoft Corporation

John Scarrow

Geoff Hulten

Kristofer Noel Iverson

Ivan Osipkov

Geoffrey John Hulten

Elliott Jeb Haber

Christopher A Meek

Shawn Domenic Loveland

Andrew J Newman

Ron Franczyk

Jane T Kim

Eliot Carleton Gillum

Anatoliy Panasyuk

Warren G Stevens

Jeffrey Richard McKune

Ryan Charles Colvin

Jess Holbrook

Sarah J Bowers

Ameya S Bhatawdekar

Chad W Mills

Kumar S Srivastava

Ritika Virmani

Steve Rehfuss

Paul Steve Rehfuss

A method of safe file transmission and reputation lookup is provided. As a part of the safe file transmission and reputation lookup methodology, a data file that is to be made available to a data file receiver is accessed and it is determined whether the data file needs to be provided a protective file. The data file is wrapped in a protective file to create a non-executing package file. Access is provided to the non-executing package file where the associated data file is prevented from being executed until data file reputation information is received.

Safe file transmission and reputation lookup

Technologies for an application reputation service to assist users with minimizing their computerized machines' exposure to and infection from malware, including an application reputation service that contains the reputations for elements (e.g., applications) that are known to be non-malicious as well as those known to be malicious. In one example, when a user attempts to install or execute a new application, the service is queried by the user's machine with a set of identities for the element. The service determines the reputation of the application by referencing a knowledge base of known reputations and returns an indication (e.g., an overall rating, or a flag) of how safe that application would be to install and run on the user's computer.

Application reputation service

Access to some aspect of a service may be limited until a user has invested in performing some amount of computation. Legitimate users typically have excess cycles on their machines, which can be used to perform computation at little or no cost to the user. By contrast, computation is expensive for for-profit internet abusers (e.g., spammers). These abusers typically use all of their computing resources to run 'bots' that carry out their schemes, so computation increases the abuser's cost by forcing him or her to acquire new computing resources or to rent computer time. Thus, the providers of free services (e.g., web mail services, blogging sites, etc.), can allow newly registered users to use some limited form of the service upon registration. However, in order to make more extensive use of the service, the user can be asked to prove his legitimacy by investing in some amount of computation.

Computation to gain access to service

A Web browser of a computing device downloads or otherwise obtains a file. File information identifying the file is obtained and is sent to a remote reputation service. Client information identifying aspects of the computing device can also optionally be sent to the remote reputation service. In response to the file information (and optionally client information), a reputation indication for the file is received from the remote reputation service. A user interface for the Web browser to present at the computing device is determined, based at least in part on the reputation indication, and presented at the computing device.

Reputation checking obtained files

A reputation based redirection service is usable to build URL wrappers for un-trusted and unknown URLs. Such URL wrappers can be used to protect Web users by, for example, redirecting traffic to interstitial Web pages. Additionally, reputation decisions can be made by the service to further protect users from malicious URLs.

Reputation based redirection service

The claimed subject matter is directed to the use of an application reputation service to assist users with minimizing their computerized machines' exposure to infection from malware. The claimed subject matter provides an application reputation service that contains the reputations for elements that are known to be non-malicious as well as those known to be malicious. One embodiment is implemented as a method to determine the reputation of an element (e.g., an application). When a user attempts to install or execute a new application, the Application Reputation Service is queried by the user's machine with a set of identities for the element. The reputation of the application is determined by referencing a knowledge base of known reputations and returns an indication (e.g., an overall rating, or a flag) of how safe that application would be to install and run on the user's computer.

Online risk mitigation techniques are described. In an implementation, a service is queried for a reputation associated with an object from an online source in response to selection of the object. A backup of a client that is to receive the object is stored prior to obtaining the object when the reputation does not meet a threshold reputation level.

Online risk mitigation

Safe file transmission and reputation lookup. As a part of the safe file transmission and reputation lookup methodology, a data file that is to be made available to a data file receiver is accessed and it is determined whether the data file needs to be provided a protective file. The data file is wrapped in a protective file to create a non-executing package file. Access is provided to the non-executing package file where the associated data file is prevented from being executed until data file reputation information is received.

Functionality is described for addressing a threat to the security of a user device that utilizes a network-accessible service. The functionality operates by assessing the likelihood that the user device is infected by the undesirable item. When the user device makes a request to access the network-accessible service, the functionality can interact with the user device in a manner that is governed by the assessed likelihood that the user device is infected by the undesirable item.

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Sammamish, WA, United States of America

John Scarrow