Patents by Inventor Paul Cador Roberts

Paul Cador Roberts has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7721094
    Abstract: Access to an authentication image may be protected so that only authenticated processes have access to the image. The image can be displayed to authenticate a User Interface (UI) to a computer user. The image indicates the UI can be trusted. If the image is not displayed, it may be that an application UI is “spoofed” to trick a user into providing sensitive information. Additionally, a large variety of different images can be used as authentication images, so spoofing one image be recognized by most users. A set of original images may be provided, along with image modification processes which can generate a large number of variations. Techniques for authenticating UIs in a virtual machine context are provided. A secure attention sequence is also provided, which allows users to test whether processes running on a computer are authenticated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Cador Roberts, Laura Posey Benofsky, William Gifford Holt, Leslie Helena Johnson, Bryan Mark Willman, Madeline Jinx Bryant
  • Patent number: 7661126
    Abstract: Access to an authentication image may be protected so that only authenticated processes have access to the image. The image can be displayed to authenticate a User Interface (UI) to a computer user. The image indicates the UI can be trusted. If the image is not displayed, it may be that an application UI is “spoofed” to trick a user into providing sensitive information. Additionally, a large variety of different images can be used as authentication images, so spoofing one image be recognized by most users. A set of original images may be provided, along with image modification processes which can generate a large number of variations. Techniques for authenticating UIs in a virtual machine context are provided. A secure attention sequence is also provided, which allows users to test whether processes running on a computer are authenticated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Cador Roberts, Laura Posey Benofsky, William Gifford Holt, Leslie Helena Johnson, Madeline Jinx Bryant, Nicholas I. Nussbaum
  • Patent number: 7565535
    Abstract: Access to an authentication image may be protected so that only authenticated processes have access to the image. The image can be displayed to authenticate a User Interface (UI) to a computer user. The image indicates the UI can be trusted. If the image is not displayed, it may be that an application UI is “spoofed” to trick a user into providing sensitive information. Additionally, a large variety of different images can be used as authentication images, so spoofing one image be recognized by most users. A set of original images may be provided, along with image modification processes which can generate a large number of variations. Techniques for authenticating UIs in a virtual machine context are provided. A secure attention sequence is also provided, which allows users to test whether processes running on a computer are authenticated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Cador Roberts, Laura Posey Benofsky, William Gifford Holt, Leslie Helena Johnson, Madeline Jinx Bryant, Nicholas I. Nussbaum
  • Patent number: 7120249
    Abstract: A security key, such as an encryption key, is generated so as to make it more difficult for eavesdroppers to identify the key. Specifically, a cryptographically secure random number generator generates a random bit sequence that is included in a seed. This random seed is provided along with a negotiated master secret to a key generation module. The key generation module may implement a pseudo random function that is in accordance with the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol or the Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) protocol. This key may then be used to encrypt a plain text message to form an encrypted data packet. The encrypted data packet also includes the random seed in unencrypted form. The encrypted data packet may be transmitted over a public network to a recipient with reduced risk of eavesdropping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: Paul Cador Roberts
  • Patent number: 6931128
    Abstract: A security key, such as an encryption key, is generated so as to make it more difficult for eavesdroppers to identify the key. Specifically, a cryptographically secure random number generator generates a random bit sequence that is included in a seed. This random seed is provided along with a negotiated master secret to a key generation module. The key generation module may implement a pseudo random function that is in accordance with the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol or the Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) protocol. This key may then be used to encrypt a plain text message to form an encrypted data packet. The encrypted data packet also includes the random seed in unencrypted form. The encrypted data packet may be transmitted over a public network to a recipient with reduced risk of eavesdropping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: Paul Cador Roberts
  • Publication number: 20020094085
    Abstract: A security key, such as an encryption key, is generated so as to make it more difficult for eavesdroppers to identify the key. Specifically, a cryptographically secure random number generator generates a random bit sequence that is included in a seed. This random seed is provided along with a negotiated master secret to a key generation module. The key generation module may implement a pseudo random function that is in accordance with the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol or the Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) protocol. This key may then be used to encrypt a plain text message to form an encrypted data packet. The encrypted data packet also includes the random seed in unencrypted form. The encrypted data packet may be transmitted over a public network to a recipient with reduced risk of eavesdropping.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Inventor: Paul Cador Roberts