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:
Dec. 22, 2015
Filed:
Aug. 29, 2012
Robert D. Young, Kirkland, WA (US);
Scott A. Fudally, Duvall, WA (US);
Wallace Paul Montgomery, Woodinville, WA (US);
Robert D. Young, Kirkland, WA (US);
Scott A. Fudally, Duvall, WA (US);
Wallace Paul Montgomery, Woodinville, WA (US);
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A firmware update system is described that collectively handles secure firmware updates for hardware resources in a defined and consistent manner. The firmware update system may be configured to manage at least some firmware updates in a pre-boot environment (e.g., before an operating system is loaded). By doing so, the firmware update system exercises control over the updates and reduce entry points exposed to attackers. In one approach, update states are defined for hardware resources that are managed by the firmware update system. In a pre-boot environment, the update states for the managed hardware resources are set to enable firmware updates. The firmware update system may then detect and apply firmware updates available for the managed hardware resources. Update states may be set to disable before loading the operating so that firmware updates for managed resources are disabled outside of the secure pre-boot environment.