Detecting change of settings stored on a remote server by making use of a network filter driver

A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

• monitor web-based messages exchanged across a network between a web browser operating on the computer and a web server running on a remote server device;
• detect a pre-defined pattern within a resource identifier (RI) field of a particular message of the monitored web-based messages exchanged between the web browser operating on the computer and the web server running on the remote server device, wherein the RI field of the particular message includes both the pre-defined pattern and a received hash value;
• and
• in response to detecting the pre-defined pattern within the particular message, send the particular message to a local service for evaluation of the particular message to determine whether a set of server settings has changed includes instructions to:
• compare the received hash value to a locally-stored hash value;
• and
• in response to the locally-stored hash value equaling the received hash value, determine that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has not changed;
• otherwise, determine that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has changed.

An apparatus comprising:

• a network interface for communicating with a remote server device across a network;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory on which is stored machine readable instructions that are to cause the processor to:
• monitor web-based messages exchanged across the network between a web browser operating on the apparatus and a web server running on the remote server device for a pre-defined pattern within a resource identifier of the monitored web-based messages;
• detect the pre-defined pattern within a particular message of the monitored web-based messages exchanged between the web browser operating on the apparatus and the web server running on the remote server device, wherein the RI field of the particular message includes both the pre-defined pattern and a received hash value;
• and
• in response to detecting the pre-defined pattern within the particular message, evaluate the particular message to determine whether a set of server settings has changed includes machine readable instructions that are to further cause the processor to:
• compare the received hash value to a locally-stored hash value;
• and
• in response to the locally-stored hash value equaling the received hash value, determine that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has not changed;
• otherwise, determine that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has changed;
• and
• in response to determining that the set of server settings has changed, update a local version of the set of server settings.

In a computerized client device, a method of receiving a command from a remote server device, the method comprising:

• at a network filter driver of a network driver stack, monitoring web-based messages exchanged between a web browser running on the computerized client device and a web server running on the remote server device across a network for a pre-defined pattern within a resource identifier (RI) field of the monitored web-based messages;
• at the network filter driver, detecting the pre-defined pattern followed by a control string within a particular message of the monitored web-based messages exchanged between the web browser and the web server, wherein the RI field of the particular message includes both the pre-defined pattern and a received hash value;
• and
• in response to detecting the pre-defined pattern followed by the control string within the particular message, sending a command from the network filter driver to a local service running on the computerized client device, the command including the control string as a parameter, evaluating , by the local service, the particular message to determine whether a set of server settings has changed by:
• comparing the received hash value to a locally-stored hash value;
• and
• in response to the locally-stored hash value equaling the received hash value, determining that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has not changed;
• otherwise, determining that the particular message indicates that the set of server settings has changed.