US 11,641,584 B1Granted

Protecting from automatic reconnection with Wi-Fi access points having bad reputations

AssigneeNortonLifeLock Inc.

InventorsReese Timm, Roy Fine

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Abstract

Protecting from automatic reconnection with Wi-Fi access points having bad reputations. In some embodiments, a method may include determining that the mobile device is within range of a Wi-Fi access point, determining that the mobile device is configured to automatically reconnect to the Wi-Fi access point, receiving a request to indicate whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, accessing an access point reputation database to determine whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, sending an indication that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, and, in response to the indication that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, protecting the mobile device from the Wi-Fi access point by performing a remedial action at the mobile device.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for protecting from automatic reconnection with Wi-Fi access points having bad reputations, at least a portion of the method being performed by a mobile device comprising at least one processor and by a server device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is within range of a Wi-Fi access point to which the mobile device has previously connected, wherein at the time of the previous connection, the Wi-Fi access point had a good reputation;
determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is configured to automatically reconnect to the Wi-Fi access point;
receiving, at the server device from the mobile device, a request to indicate whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation;
accessing, by the server device, an access point reputation database to determine whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation at the time of the request, wherein at some point in time subsequent to the previous connection, the reputation of the Wi-Fi access point changed from good to bad;
sending, by the server device to the mobile device, an indication that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation;
and
in response to the indication that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, protecting the mobile device from the Wi-Fi access point by performing a remedial action at the mobile device.

4 more elements

determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is within range of a Wi-Fi access point to which the mobile device has previously connected, wherein at the time of the previous connection, the Wi-Fi access point had a good reputation;
determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is configured to automatically reconnect to the Wi-Fi access point;
determining, by the mobile device, whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation at the time of the request, wherein at some point in time subsequent to the previous connection, the reputation of the Wi-Fi access point changed from good to bad;
and
in response to determining that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, protecting the mobile device from the Wi-Fi access point by performing a remedial action at the mobile device.

2 more elements

A computer-implemented method for protecting from automatic reconnection with Wi-Fi access points having bad reputations, at least a portion of the method being performed by a server device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

receiving, at the server device from a mobile device, a request to indicate whether a Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation, the mobile device being within range of the Wi-Fi access point to which the mobile device has previously connected, wherein at the time of the previous connection, the Wi-Fi access point had a good reputation and the mobile device being configured to automatically reconnect to the Wi-Fi access point;
accessing, by the server device, an access point reputation database to determine whether the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation at the time of the request, wherein at some point in time subsequent to the previous connection, the reputation of the Wi-Fi access point changed from good to bad;
and
sending, by the server device to the mobile device, an indication that the Wi-Fi access point has a bad reputation to cause the mobile device to protect the mobile device from the Wi-Fi access point by performing a remedial action at the mobile device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.