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US 8,302,152 B1Granted
Location-based security system for portable electronic device
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorPhil Hewinson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable electronic device implements a location-dependent security protocol. Without requiring that the user enter any location information, the device determines one or more familiar areas. When a user attempts to access the device or an application of the device. The device will implement a first authentication process if the device is in one of the familiar areas, or a different authentication process if the device is not in one of the familiar areas. The second security rule may be more complex, or require more time, than the first security rule.
Claims12
A method, comprising:
- receiving, via an input of a portable electronic device, a request to access the electronic device;
- automatically determining, by a processor without a requirement for user entry of location information, a familiar area for the electronic device;
- implementing, on the electronic device, a first security rule requiring a first authentication process when the electronic device is physically located in the familiar area and a second security rule requiring a second authentication process when the electronic device is located outside of the familiar area;
- receiving, via an input of the portable electronic device, a plurality of successful user authentication entries;
- determining a location of the device corresponding to each of the successful user authentication entries;
- saving, in a computer-readable memory, data representative of each of the entries and each entry's corresponding location,
- wherein:
- determining the familiar area comprises determining the familiar area based on the data representative of each of the entries and each entry's corresponding location;
- determining the location of the device comprises one or more of:
- receiving global positioning system data and determining the location based on the global positioning system data, and
- receiving a network address corresponding to a wireless communications network that the device has detected, and determining the location based on the network address;
- and
- determining the familiar area comprises:
- determining a set of successful user authentication entries that were received during a time period,
- grouping the entries from the set into a plurality of location-dependent subgroups,
- determining a size of the set and a size of each subgroup,
- identifying each subgroup having a size that at least equals a size threshold, wherein the size threshold corresponds to a portion of the set size, and
- for each subgroup having a size that at least equals the size threshold, classifying the location for that subgroup's entries as the familiar area.
15 more elements
An electronic device, comprising:
- a processor,
- a user interface, and
- a memory having programming instructions that, when executed, instruct the processor to:
- receive, via the user interface, a user request to access the electronic device;
- automatically determine, without a requirement for user entry of location information, a familiar area for the electronic device;
- determine a current location for the electronic device;
- implement a first authentication process if the current location corresponds to the familiar area and a second authentication process if the current location does not correspond to the familiar area;
- receive a plurality of successful user authentication entries;
- determine a location of the device corresponding to each of the successful user authentication entries;
- save data representative of each of the entries and each entry's corresponding location;
- and
- output, via the user interface, a prompt to perform the implemented authentication process;
- wherein:
- determining the familiar area comprises determining the familiar area based on the data representative of each of the entries and each entry's corresponding location;
- determining the location of the device comprises one or more of:
- receiving global positioning system data and determining the location based on the global positioning system data, and
- receiving a network address corresponding to a wireless communications network that the device has detected, and determining the location based on the network address;
- and
- determining the familiar area comprises:
- determining a set of successful user authentication entries that were received during a time period,
- grouping the entries from the set into a plurality of location-dependent subgroups,
- determining a size of the set and a size of each subgroup,
- identifying each subgroup having a size that at least equals a size threshold, wherein the size threshold corresponds to a portion of the set size, and
- for each subgroup having a size that at least equals the size threshold, classifying the location for that subgroup's entries as the familiar area.
21 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.