Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Microsoft Corporation

Richard Bruce Ward

Paul J Leach

John E Brezak

Michael M Swift

Praerit Garg

Mark H Lucovsky

Shaun Douglas Pierce

Peter T Brundrett

Jeffrey B Hamblin

Robert P Reichel

Daniel Ron Simon

George M Moore

Murli D Satagopan

Jeffrey Bruce Parham

Kedarnath Atmaram Dubhashi

Klaus U Schutz

Clifford P Van Dyke

Jonathan D Pincus

Arthur Zwiegincew

Brendan W Dixon

Michael Burner

Robert M Hyman

Scott Field

Balan Sethu Raman

Sriram Sampath

Alexander Thomas Weinert

Sameet Harishanker Agarwal

Pradyumna K Misra

Burra Gopal

Bhalchandra Pandit

Ara Bernardi

Peter Sewall Ford

Arnold S Miller

Lijiang Fang

Samuel John George

Jay Christopher Jacobs

Sanjay Anand

Paul Andrew Steckler

Steven D White

Donald E Schmidt

Jagadeesh Kalki

Winnie C Wu

Neta Amit

William Raymond Hoffman

Michael B Taylor

Darryl E Havens

Ramu Movva

Walter C Hsueh

Suresh Kannan

David Benjamin Auerbach

Kendall D Keil

Yun-Qi Yuan

Yi-Wen Guu

Philip Michael Smoot

Anne C Hopkins

Arun Upadhyaya Kishan

Eric P Traut

Chris J Guzak

Sean O Lyndersay

Sterling M Reasor

Thomas C Jones

Jose Bernabeu-Auban

Mark Robbin Brown

Art Shelest

Jonathan D Schwartz

Mario C Goertzel

Suyash Sinha

Shannon J Chan

Shaun David Cox

Eric R Flo

Roy A Leban

Andrew Peter Sinclair

Russell Lee Simpson, Jr

Hirofumi Yamamoto

Karim Batthish

Dragos Sambotin

David R Mowers

Bharat Shah

Adam D Stritzel

Ram Viswanathan

Tahsin Erdogan

Shawn Bracewell

Yashabh Sethi

Adriaan W Canter

Karthik Thirumalai

Daniel Doubrovkine

Vivek Gundotra

Gregory A Jensenworth

Mohamed E Fathalla

A computer assigns networks to network zones based on predefined properties for each zone and/or the properties of the networks. An application program installed on the computer provides the computer with preference information that indicates the network zone whose network policies or properties are best suited for the application program. Thereafter, when executing the application program, the computer limits network contact for the application program to the network(s) that is assigned to the network zone(s) identified as a preferred network zone(s) or identified by a preferred network property or properties by the preference information from the application program.

Network zones

Systems and methods are described for providing security through sessions. In an implementation, a method includes initiating a session, by an operating system, in which operating system services are executable and initiating another session, by the operating system, in which a user-interactive application is executable.

Systems and methods for providing security through sessions

The contemplated embodiments of the invention provide a method for implementing a mandatory integrity control (MIC) system that provides access control for each and every object and subject that need access control, but in a way that allows legacy operating systems to continue with little modification. The invention provides a novel method that selects an integrity level designator for a subject, when the subject logs onto the computer system. The selected integrity level designator is then added to an existing data structure in the computer system. The existing data structure may be a part of a security descriptor stored in a system access control list of an object. The existing data structure may be a part of a list of security permissions that constitute an access token for a process executing as a subject.

Mandatory integrity control

Multiple software component identifiers are maintained in a catalog of an operating system running on a device. Each of these software component identifiers corresponds to one of multiple software components installed on the device. The catalog is accessed in response to a request regarding one of the multiple software components, and the request is responded to based at least in part on information included in the catalog. Additionally, two or more versions of a software component that are installed on the computing device can be identified. Which one of the two or more versions of the software component is an active version of the software component to be run is determined. In response to requests for information regarding the software component, information regarding the active version of the software component is returned.

Catalog-based software component management

A mechanism is provided for isolating application-specific data in an environment where multiple applications share a same user account. This mechanism enables data specific to an application to be accessed only by the application. When an application requests application-specific data, the data is loaded and a handle to the data is returned to the application. Access to the data is allowed only though the handle. Therefore, only the application possessing the handle can access the data. A counter may be associated with the loaded data. The counter's value is incremented whenever a handle is created for the data and decremented whenever a handle for the data is terminated. When the value of the counter reaches zero, the data is automatically unloaded.

Isolation of application-specific data within a user account

The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate security for data items residing within (or associated with) a hierarchical database or storage structure. A database security system is provided having a hierarchical data structure associated with one or more data items. The system includes a security component that applies a security policy to the data items from a global location or region associated with a database. Various components and processes are employed to enable explicit and/or inherited security properties to be received by and propagated to the data items depending on the type of data structure encountered or processed.

System and methods providing enhanced security model

Improved intrusion detection and/or tracking methods and systems are provided for use across various computing devices and networks. Certain methods, for example, form a substantially unique audit identifier during each authentication/logon process. One method includes identifying one or more substantially unique parameters that are associated with the authentication/logon process and encrypting them to form at least one audit identifier that can then be generated and logged by each device involved in the authentication/logon process. The resulting audit log file can then be audited along with similar audit log files from other devices to track a user across multiple platforms.

Enhanced computer intrusion detection methods and systems

An improved network architecture employs a super authority having an identity catalog to direct login authentication tasks to appropriate authorities. Authentication tasks may be performed by authorities across namespace boundaries if so directed by the super authority, such that a principal account may be moved without alteration of the account ID. In an embodiment of the invention, the identity catalog comprises a listing associating account IDs with appropriate authenticating authorities.

Moving principals across security boundaries without service interruption

A method of controlling access to network services enables an authorized proxy client to access a service on behalf of a user. To permit the client to function as a proxy, the user registers proxy authorization information with a trusted security server. The proxy authorization information identifies the proxy client and specifies the extent of proxy authority granted to the proxy client. When the proxy client wants to access a target service on behalf of the user, it sends a proxy request to the trusted security server. The trusted security server checks the proxy authorization information of the user to verify whether the request is within the proxy authority granted to the proxy client. If so, the trusted security server returns to the proxy client a data structure containing information recognizable by the target service to authenticate the proxy client for accessing the target service on behalf of the user.

System and method of proxy authentication in a secured network

Methods and systems are provided for controlling the scope of delegation of authentication credentials within a network environment. A server is configured to provide a trusted third-party with a ticket authenticating the server, information about a target service that a server seeks to access on behalf of the client, and a service ticket associated with the client. This service ticket may be provided by the client or may be a previously granted service ticket granted to the server for itself in the name of the client. The trusted third-party grants a new service ticket to access the target service to the server, in the client's name, if such delegation is permitted according to delegation constraints associated with the client.

Methods and systems for controlling the scope of delegation of authentication credentials

A secure process may be created which does not allow code to be injected into it, does not allow modification of its memory or inspection of its memory. The resources protected in a secure process include all the internal state and threads running in the secure process. Once a secure process is created, the secure process is protected from access by non-secure processes. Process creation occurs atomically in kernel mode. Creating the infrastructure of a process in kernel mode enables security features to be applied that are difficult or impossible to apply in user mode. By moving setup actions previously occurring in user mode such as creating the initial thread, allocating the stack, initialization of the parameter block, environment block and context record into kernel mode, the need of the caller for full access fights to the created process is removed.

Creating secure process objects

A schema-based service for Internet access to per-user services data, wherein access to data is based on each user's identity. The service includes a schema that defines rules and a structure for each user's data, and also includes methods that provide access to the data in a defined way. The services schema thus corresponds to a logical document containing the data for each user. The user manipulates (e.g., reads or writes) data in the logical document by data access requests through defined methods. In one implementation, the services schemas are arranged as XML documents, and the services provide methods that control access to the data based on the requesting user's identification, defined role and scope for that role. In this way, data can be accessed by its owner, and shared to an extent determined by the owner.

Schema-based services for identity-based data access

Computers on a local computer network, such as a home network or a small business network, are formed into a secured network group that provides common user access control and enables resource sharing among the computers in the group. A computer on the local network discovers whether there are secured network groups existing on the local network. If one secured network group is found, the computer indicates to a second computer in the group its desire to join the group, and establishes trust with that computer, such as by entering a proper user name and password, or a secret identification number. Once the trust is established, the first computer joins the group. Within the secured network group, user accounts and user profiles are replicated to each of the computers in the group. The establishment of trust and the replication of user accounts and profiles among the computers in the group enable the implementation of security policies and user access control in a group-wide manner.

Small-scale secured computer network group without centralized management

Growing community of inventors

Redmond, WA, United States of America

Richard Bruce Ward