System and method for secure communication between electronic devices

A method of using a computer peripheral resource, comprising:

• providing a plurality of computer peripheral resources and beacons and coupling each of the computer peripheral resources in signal communication with one of the beacons;
• providing a portable device;
• issuing a wireless discovery request from the portable device to the computer peripheral resources;
• displaying a listing of the computer peripheral resources using the portable device, responsive to the discovery request;
• exchanging encryption keys between the portable device and a selected one of the plurality of computer peripheral resources, validated using signals emitted from the beacon coupled to the selected computer peripheral resource;
• and
• communicating data between the portable device and the selected computer peripheral resource using encrypted network communication.

A beacon, comprising:

• a transceiver configured to transmit and receive RF signals;
• a transmitter configured to transmit ultrasound signals;
• and
• circuitry configured to couple the beacon to a computer-related resource;
• circuitry configured to provide guidance signals to a portable device using the RF signals and the ultrasound signals;
• and
• circuitry configured to participate in the exchange of encryption keys between the resource and the portable device using the RF signals and the ultrasound signals.

A portable device, comprising:

• a transceiver configured to transmit and receive RF signals;
• a plurality of receivers respectively configured to receive ultrasound signals;
• a wireless network interface configured to transmit and receive wireless signals;
• a display;
• and
• circuitry configured to issue a wireless request for a listing of computer-related resources using the wireless network interface, to issue a wireless locate signal using the wireless network interface, to output guidance information on the display responsive to receiving the RF and ultrasound signals using the transceiver and the plurality of receivers, to cause the portable device to selectively exchange encryption keys with a selected computer-related resource chosen from the listing, and to communicate with the selected computer-related resource using encrypted wireless signals using the wireless network interface.