US6457076B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for modifying software residing on a client computer that has access to a network
Assignee: McAfee LLC
•
Filing: 2000-09-13
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Granted: 2002-09-24
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Expires: 2020-09-13
Abstract
Abstract A system and method update client computers of various end users with software updates for software products installed on the client computers, the software products manufacturered by diverse, unrelated software vendors. The system includes a service provider computer system, a number of client computers and software vendor computer systems communicating on a common network. The service provider computer system stores in an update database information about the software updates of the diverse software vendors, identifying the software products for which software updates are available, their location on the network at the various software vendor computer systems, information for identifying in the client computers the software products stored thereon, and information for determining for such products, which have software updates available. Users of the client computers connect to the service provider computer and obtain a current version of portions of the database. The client computer determines that software products stored thereon, and using this information, determines from the database, which products have updates available, based on product name and release information for the installed products. The user selects updates for installation. The selected updates are downloaded from the software vendor computer systems and installed on the client computer. Payment for the software update and the service is mediated by the service provider computer. Authentication of the user ensures only registered users obtain software updates. Authentication of the software updates ensures that the software updates are virus free and uncorrupted. Changes to the client computer during installation are monitored and archived, allowing the updates to be subsequently removed by the user.
Inventors
- 👤 William Cheng
- 👤 Kenneth Hwang
- 👤 Ravi Kannan
- 👤 Babu Katchapalayam
- 👤 Bing Liu
- 👤 Balaji Narasimhan
- 👤 Gopal Ramanujam
- 👤 Jonathan Tran
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 08:37
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F8/00; G06F8/60; G06F8/61; G06F8/62; G06F8/65; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/06; H; H04; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/34; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
A computer system for providing relevant information about software residing on a client computer, comprising: a computer network, a service provider computer, the client computer accessible over the network by the service provider computer; a database of information relating to software provided by a plurality of software vendors, the database residing on the service provider computer; and a downloadable client application, the client application residing on the service provider computer and being capable of being downloaded to the client computer and after being downloaded being capable of scanning the client computer to identify software residing on the client computer, the client application after being downloaded to the client computer, further being capable of comparing the identified software with the information in the database to determine which of the identified software the service provider has relevant information about.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
137 words
A computer system for providing relevant information about software residing on a client computer, comprising: a computer network, a service provider computer, the client computer accessible over the network by the service provider computer; a database of information relating to software provided by a plurality of software vendors, the database residing on the service provider computer; and a downloadable client application, the client application residing on the service provider computer and being capable of being downloaded to the client computer and after being downloaded being capable of scanning the client computer to identify software residing on the client computer, the client application after being downloaded to the client computer, further being capable of comparing the identified software with the information in the database to determine which of the identified software the service provider has relevant information about.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the network is the Internet.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
A system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the database contains network locations where relevant information about one or more items of software identified on the client computer can be found.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the relevant information comprises software updates.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the relevant information comprises promotional information from the software vendors.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
A system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the information contained in the database comprises software updates for a variety of software products from a plurality of software vendors.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
134 words
A computer system comprising: a service provider computer on a network; a client computer on the network and in communication with the service provider computer, the client computer having a software product installed thereon; a downloadable client application residing on the service provider computer capable of being downloaded over the network to the client computer and having a function for analyzing the software product residing on the client computer to determine an analysis, the client application further having a function for providing the analysis to the service provider computer; a downloaded copy of the client application residing on the client computer; and a means for locating from the analysis a software update for the software product residing on the client computer, the software update residing on the network and accessible by the client computer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
134 words
A computer system comprising: a service provider computer on a network; a client computer on the network and in communication with the service provider computer, the client computer having a software product installed thereon; a downloadable client application residing on the service provider computer capable of being downloaded over the network to the client computer and having a function for analyzing the software product residing on the client computer to determine an analysis, the client application further having a function for providing the analysis to the service provider computer; a downloaded copy of the client application residing on the client computer; and a means for locating from the analysis a software update for the software product residing on the client computer, the software update residing on the network and accessible by the client computer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer system of claim 7 , wherein: the network is the Internet.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The computer system of claim 7 , further comprising: a database on the network, the database containing a specification for an installation process for installing the software update on the client computer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer system of claim 9 , further comprising a means for installing the software update in accordance with the installation process.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computer system of claim 10 , wherein: the software update has a file format, and the installation process is specified in accordance with the file format.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The computer system of claim 7 , further comprising: a plurality of software vendor computers communicatively coupled to the service provider computer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system of claim 12 , further comprising a means for providing the software update from one of the software vendor computers to the service provider computer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer system of claim 13 , further comprising a means for providing compensation to a software vendor when software is installed on the client computer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The computer system of claim 7 , further comprising: an install monitor that archives a set of changes when the software update is installed on the client computer.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
71 words
A method for modifying software residing on a client computer comprising: downloading a client application from a service provider computer to the client computer over a network; analyzing a software product residing on the client computer with the client application to determine an analysis; providing the analysis to the service provider computer; identifying from the analysis a software update for the software product; installing the software update on the client computer.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
71 words
A method for modifying software residing on a client computer comprising: downloading a client application from a service provider computer to the client computer over a network; analyzing a software product residing on the client computer with the client application to determine an analysis; providing the analysis to the service provider computer; identifying from the analysis a software update for the software product; installing the software update on the client computer.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising: monitoring the client computer while installing the software update to determine a set of changes that result from installing the software update; and archiving the set of changes.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 17 , further comprising: uninstalling the software update by utilizing the set of changes.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 16 , wherein: the network is the Internet.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: maintaining on the network a database, the database containing a specification for an installation process for installing the software update on the client computer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 20 , wherein: installation of the software update is done in accordance with the installation process.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising installing the software update in accordance with a file format accompanying the software update.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: communicatively coupling a plurality of software vendors to the service provider computer; and receiving the software update from one of the plurality of software vendors.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 23 , further comprising: compensating a software vendor if its software is installed on the client computer.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein the service provider compensates the software vendor.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-09-23 | 2006-03-25 | 2006-09-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-09-23 | 2010-03-25 | 2010-09-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-09-23 | 2014-03-25 | 2014-09-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |