Wyse Technology Inc.

Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Salil Joshi

Puneet Kaushik

Sumit Popli

Ala Kallel

Garrett Alan Dargan

Yi Yao

Oleg Rombakh

John Martin Miller

Suruchi Dubey

Varun Raghavan

Ashish Chauhan

Technologies are provided for reporting engaged impressions of directed content. Some embodiments include a computing device that can initiate a screensaver session. The computing device also can cause presentation of a directed content asset on a display device functionally coupled to the computing device. The computing device can then update a queue to add a record of an impression of the directed content asset, where the queue is retained in a memory device of the computing device. The computing device can receive a signal indicative of user activity. The computing device can send, to an attribution server device, first data identifying one or more directed content assets corresponding to one or more records of the queue.

Reporting of engaged views of directed content

Techniques for determining a metric for an item that represents a condition of the item are described herein. For example, a request for a metric determination for an item may be received where the request is associated with a user identifier. Browsing history information and purchase history information from a website may be obtained based at least in part on the user identifier. The browsing history information and the purchase history information may be filtered to obtain a data set based at least in part on a plurality of item categories associated with items included in the browsing history information and the purchase history information. A metric for the item may be determined based at least in part on the data set and a base metric for the item.

Techniques for determining an item condition metric

Technologies are provided for reporting engaged impressions of directed content. Some embodiments include a computing device that can initiate a screensaver session within a content streaming service. The computing device also can cause presentation of a directed content asset on a display device functionally coupled to the computing device. The computing device can then update a queue to add a record of an impression of the directed content asset, where the queue is retained in a memory device of the computing device. The computing device can receive a signal indicative of user activity. The computing device can determine, using the queue, that the impression of the directed content asset occurred within a defined time interval relative to a time that the user activity occurred. The computing device can then send data identifying the directed content asset.

Access to functionality of a file-based write filter can be secured. A policy-based filter can be configured to monitor and filter calls to APIs that access functionality of the file-based write filter. Based on policy, the policy-based filter can selectively block such calls to ensure that only permitted applications and/or users are allowed to access the functionality of the file-based write filter. In some cases, the policy-based filter can be configured to communicate with a server component to determine whether a particular attempt to access the functionality of the file-based write filter should be allowed.

Securing access to functionality of a file-based write filter

Access to devices can be controlled dynamically. A device control driver can function as an upper filter driver so that it can intercept I/O requests that target a particular device. The device control driver can be configured to communicate with a device control server to dynamically determine whether the current user is allowed to access the particular device. The device control server can employ policy or administrator input to determine whether access should be allowed and can then notify the device control driver accordingly. When access is granted, the device control driver can pass I/O requests down the device driver stack. Otherwise, the device control driver can block the I/O requests. Also, when access is granted, the device control server can specify a permission expiration time after which the device control driver should again resume blocking I/O requests.

Dynamically controlling access to devices

An overlay of a file-based write filter can be freed up to thereby minimize the likelihood that the overlay will become full and force a system reboot. An overlay-managing write filter can be employed in conjunction with the file-based write filter to monitor files that are stored in the overlay and move files that are not currently being accessed. If a request is made to access a moved file, the overlay-managing write filter can modify the request so that it targets the location of the moved file rather than the location of the original file on the protected volume. In this way, the fact that modified files are being moved from the overlay but not discarded can be hidden from the file-based write filter. As a result, the effective size of the overlay will be increased while still allowing the file-based write filter to function in a normal fashion.

Mechanism to free up the overlay of a file-based write filter

When it is desired to update a group of thin clients that have a common configuration, the update can be deployed to a reference device on which a replicate tool executes. The replicate tool can examine the file system and registry of the reference device and create a manifest that describes the current state. The manifest can then be published for access by an agent that executes on the thin clients in the group. When the agent receives the manifest, it can compare the received manifest to an existing manifest on the thin client that defines the thin client's current state to identify any artifacts that differ. The agent can then retrieve and install any artifacts the thin client needs to match the current state of the reference device.

Mechanism for customizing multiple computing devices

Authentication can be performed on thin clients using independent mobile devices. Because many users have smart phones or other similar mobile devices that include biometric scanners, such mobile devices can be leveraged to perform authentication of users as part of logging in to a thin client desktop. A mapping can be created on a central server between a user's mobile device and the user's domain identity. A mapping can also be created between the user's domain identity and the user's thin client desktop. Then, when a user desires to log in to his thin client desktop, the user can employ the appropriate biometric scanner on his mobile device to perform authentication. The central server can then rely on this authentication to identify and log the user into his thin client desktop.

Authentication on thin clients using independent devices

Users can be enabled to perform operations that require elevated privileges in a controlled manner. An agent can be executed on a user's computing device with admin privileges. When the user desires to perform an operation that user's privileges do not allow, the user can submit a request to an administrator. If the administrator approves the request, the agent can be notified that an operation needs to be performed. The agent can then obtain the necessary information for performing the operation and either perform the requested operation directly or perform one or more other operations to enable the user to perform the requested operation. In cases where the agent's actions grant elevated privileges to the user, the agent can be further configured to revoke the elevated privileges at a subsequent time to thereby prevent the user from retaining elevated privileges indefinitely.

Enabling users to perform operations that require elevated privileges

A write filter can be configured to employ a dynamically expandable overlay. The size of the overlay could initially be small and could then grow and shrink during the current session based on demand. The overlay can span both RAM and disk to thereby allow the size of the overlay to be relatively large. When sufficient RAM is available, the overlay can be allowed to grow in RAM. In contrast, if RAM is low, the overlay can grow on disk. Also, artifacts in the overlay can be moved from the RAM portion to the disk portion to reduce the amount of RAM consumed by the overlay. Because the overlay is dynamically expandable, it will typically not become full and will therefore not force a reboot.

Write filter with dynamically expandable overlay

Applications and users can be restricted from making persistent changes to artifacts on a protected volume. In Windows-based systems that include a file-based write filter, a policy-based write filter can be positioned below the file-based write filter and can examine any write requests that target artifacts of a protected volume and are not redirected by the file-based write filter. The policy-based write filter can examine the write requests against any applicable policies to determine whether the write requests should be allowed to proceed. If the policy-based write filter determines that a write request is not allowed by policy, it can fail the write request to thereby prevent the targeted artifact from being updated in the protected volume.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Salil Joshi