The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 07, 2009
Filed:
Oct. 22, 2004
Malcolm E. Pearson, Kirkland, WA (US);
Leon R. Warman, Kirkland, WA (US);
Robert G. Atkinson, Woodinville, WA (US);
David R. Reed, Seattle, WA (US);
Steven D. White, Bellevue, WA (US);
Bradford R. Clark, Duvall, WA (US);
Malcolm E. Pearson, Kirkland, WA (US);
Leon R. Warman, Kirkland, WA (US);
Robert G. Atkinson, Woodinville, WA (US);
David R. Reed, Seattle, WA (US);
Steven D. White, Bellevue, WA (US);
Bradford R. Clark, Duvall, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
The present invention allows for remotely and securely configuring settings for targeted devices within a network with multiple security-trust boundaries. Configuration information is encoded in messages that are digitally signed to ensure the integrity of the configuration information and sent in accordance with a standard messaging transport protocol. By utilizing an already existing port of the standard messaging transport protocol, e.g., SMTP, the number of open ports for configuration purposes is minimized. Further, example embodiments take advantage of hidden fields, i.e., machine readable fields that contain metadata that by default are not presented at a client user interface, for encoding the configuration or command/control information within the messages. The present invention further provides for a central console module that can manage and report on the status of the configuration settings for a plurality of targeted devices that an authorized user or system administrator has attempted to remotely configure.