Google Inc.

Robert Shield

Erik Kay

Dominic Battre

Erik Lewis Wright

Marc-Andre Decoste

William James Budge, Jr

Chris Sharp

In one general aspect, a method can include receiving, by an application running on a computing device, an indication that a user of the computing device has been authenticated, and receiving a selection of a settings page, the settings page associated with the application and the user. The method can further include requesting the settings page for display on a display device included in the computing device, and receiving the settings page including a value for a preference for a setting included on the settings page, the value for the preference being signed by a private key associated with the user. The method can further include validating, by the application, the value for the preference using a public key associated with the application, and based on the validation, displaying, by the display device, the settings page including an indication of the value of the preference for the setting.

Server based settings for client software with asymmetric signing

A computer implemented method includes generating a first cryptographic hash based on at least one setting associated with an operating system at a first time, storing the first cryptographic hash as a first bit string, generating a second cryptographic hash as a second bit string, wherein the second cryptographic hash is based on the at least one setting associated with the operating system at a second time, determining that a setting associated with the operating system has changed and that the setting change was made outside of the operating system based on a comparison of the first and second bit strings, and if the setting change was made outside of the operating system, setting the setting to a default value.

Detecting setting tampering

Techniques for blacklisting of fault generating software code are provided. An example method includes receiving crash reports of a plurality of browsers, a crash report including an identification of one or more executables related to a software crash of a browser, wherein software code of the executables is included in a memory space of the browser during the software crash, analyzing the crash reports of the browsers to determine a browser component affected by software code of an executable included in respective memory spaces of the browsers to cause one or more software crashes of the browsers, computing, for the executable, a fault level based on a number of crashes of the browser component that is associated with the executable and a number of crashes of the browser component independent of the executable, and including an identifier representing the executable in a list based on the determined fault level.

Blacklisting of fault generating software code

A computer implemented method includes generating a first cryptographic hash based on at least one setting associated with a browser at a first time, storing the first cryptographic hash as a first bit string, generating a second cryptographic hash as a second bit string, wherein the second cryptographic hash is based on the at least one setting associated with the browser at a second time, determining that a setting associated with the browser has changed and that the setting change was made outside of the browser based on a comparison of the first and second bit strings, and if the setting change was made outside of the browser, setting the setting to a default value.

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Vaudreuil-Dorion, Canada

Robert Shield