Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Terence R Spies

Pradyumna K Misra

Bradley J Graziadio

Daniel Ron Simon

Chris E Tobey

Michael B Robin

Yung-Ho Shih

Wesley O Rupel

Michael D Edwards

Bradley John Graziado

Rama I Srinivasan

Mark R McCulley

Richard Alexander Harrington

Robert B Seidensticker, Jr

James C Bovee, Jr

A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server's public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients. When a client needs a license, the license server determines the client's operating system platform and grants the appropriate license. The license server digitally signs the software license and encrypts it using the client's public key. The license is stored locally at the client.

System and method for software licensing

An installation mechanism that securely installs encrypted software modules on a computer is described. The mechanism allows restricted software, such as domestic strength cryptography software, to be shipped directly to a user. The mechanism decrypts the software modules and installs the software modules on the computer only when at least one of a set of trigger files is present on the computer, thereby requiring that the computer be authorized for the restricted software. A setup program invokes each of a plurality of installation modules in order to install the software modules. Each installation module securely encapsulates an encrypted version of the software module and is programmed to decrypt the corresponding software module only when a genuine trigger file is detected.

Encrypted software installer

A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. To prevent the license pack from being copied and installed on multiple license servers, the license generator assigns a unique license pack ID to the license pack and associates the license pack ID with the particular license server in a master license database kept at the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server's public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients. When a client needs a license, the license server determines the client's operating system platform and grants the appropriate license. To prevent an issued license from being copied from one client machine to another, the software license is assigned to a specific client by including a client ID within the license. The software license also has a license ID that is associated with the client ID in a database record kept at the license server. The license server digitally signs the software license and encrypts it using the client's public key. The license is stored locally at the client.

Methods and arrangements are provided that allow a smart card having digital signing capabilities to support an encryption-based authentication process. In one exemplary method, the smart card is configured to interface with a personal computer. During a set-up process, the personal computer generates a plurality of random values and selectively hashes at least one of the random values. The smart card then digitally signs another one of the random values to produce a corresponding digital signature, for example, using a private key. The personal computer then generates a key based on the digital signature and at least one of the random values, for example, by further hashing the digital signature concatenated with the random number. The resulting key is then used by the personal computer to selectively encrypt data. During a subsequent use, the smart card is required to once again digitally sign the random number to produce a corresponding digital signature. The personal computer then uses the resulting digital signature to compute a key that can be used to decrypt the previously encrypted data.

Methods and arrangements for using a signature generating device for encryption-based authentication

An authentication system for a distributed network having multiple clients and a server enables a user to log on at any one of the clients with a password and receive his/her associated public/private key pair. The client computes a hash of the user ID to produce a first hash value H(ID) and a hash of the user ID concatenated with the user password P to produce a second hash value H(ID/P). The client constructs a message M containing the hash value H(ID), the hash value H(ID/P), and a randomly generated session key SK. The client encrypts the message M using the server's public key and sends the encrypted message to the server. The server decrypts the message using its private key to recover the message M. The server initially checks to see if the hash values are subject to a hostile cryptographic attack. If the check is negative, the server generates key source material S as a function of the hash value H(ID), the hash value H(ID/P), and a private value that is confidential to the server. The server encrypts the key source material S using the session key SK received in the message M and sends the encrypted key source material S to the client. The client decrypts the key source material using the session key SK to recover the key source material S. The client then constructs a public/private key pair unique to the user from the user ID, the user password, and the key source material S. More particularly, one implementation involves passing the hash value H(ID), the hash value H(ID/P), the raw password P, and the key source material S through a random number generator to produce two large, relatively prime numbers p and q which are used in an RSA public key system to generate a public/private key pair.

Distributed authentication system and method

A system and method for secure purchase and delivery of video content programs over various distribution media, including distribution networks and digital video disks, includes an integrated circuit card (e.g., a smart card, PCMCIA card) which is configured to store decryption capabilities for related video programs. The decryption capabilities are initially kept in a secure store at a video merchant. When a purchaser orders a particular video program, the decryption capabilities for that program are downloaded to the IC card, either at the merchant premises or over a distribution network. The video content program is distributed in encrypted format via the distribution media to the purchaser. The IC card uses the decryption capabilities to at least partly decrypt the video content program without exposing the decryption capabilities.

System and method for secure purchase and delivery of video content

A method for storing device drivers in the adapter region of a computer's address space includes the step of providing a plurality of headers and associating each header with a device driver to be loaded and initialized. Each header includes instructions for loading and initializing its associated device driver. Further, each header includes information for identifying the address next following its device driver. The method further includes the step of storing the plurality of device drivers and their corresponding headers in an address space having addresses that are sequential. Further, each header is stored in an address space having addresses that are sequential with the addresses of the address space occupied by its corresponding device driver. A method is also disclosed for loading the plurality of device drivers stored in the manner discussed above. The method for loading comprises the step of locating a header and executing the instructions for loading and initializing its corresponding device driver. Thereafter, the driver size identifier is used to identify the location of the header next following the device driver just loaded.

Method of loading device drivers from ROM without requirement of system

An apparatus and method for navigating through an application program on a computer coupled to a computer-controlled display screen. The user can control the cursor position on the computer-controlled display using simple controls. The invention may use a hand-held controller with a four direction control button and a function select button. The computer accepts the direction input information and moves the cursor or focus according to one of three different navigation functions. The first two navigation functions are selected by the application program, and may change from one navigation to another in different portions of the program or under user control. With the first navigation function, the direction buttons on the controller shift the focus from one hot spot to another hot spot in the selected direction using predefined criteria. With the second navigation function, the focus is shifted from a present position on the computer-controlled display to the adjacent position in the selected direction. If the function select button is depressed while the focus is on a hot spot, the function associated with that particular hot spot are enabled. A third navigation function is enabled if the function select button and the directional control button are both depressed. With the third navigational function, the focus moves from the current position in any direction selected by the directional control button. The focus movement may simultaneously occur in two dimensions using any of the navigational functions if the user selects directions in two dimensions on the four directional control button.

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Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Terence R Spies