WO2006010461A1

WO2006010461A1 - Computer deactivating method

Info

Publication number: WO2006010461A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/007506
Authority: WO
Inventors: Werner Schneider
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2004-07-27
Filing date: 2005-07-12
Publication date: 2006-02-02
Also published as: DE102004036375A1

Abstract

The inventive method for deactivating an operational computer which is communicationally connected to a mobile information carrying and processing device disposed in a detection area of said interface device by means of a interface device in order to transmit line-connecting data, wherein said data is kept ready on the information carrier of the mobile information carrying and processing device for authenticating a user with respect thereto, the communications connections in the computer are monitored by a monitoring device and the operating system of the computer deactivates said computer when the communications connection is cancelled.

Description

A method for disabling a computer

Technical area

The invention relates to a method for deactivating a computer, which is in communication with a mobile information processing device which is located in a detection area of the interface device by means of an interface device in order to transmit data bound to the line, wherein information on an information ¬ carrier of the mobile, information-carrying and processing device data are kept ready to authenticate a user gegen¬ on the mobile, information-bearing and -processing device and against the computer.

State of the art

In order to rule out that resources in a computer are used by unauthorized persons, it is necessary for a user to authenticate himself to the system by means of an access code. When the system is booted, the user is taken from the

Boot program prompted a so-called BlOS password ein¬ admit. If this matches the BlOS password expected by the boot program, the boot program loads the operating system installed on the computer. Access to the operating system then requires a further access code; the operating system again asks the user to enter a user ID or another personal password. If a program for a Bildschirm¬ lock (Screen Saver) is activated on the computer, the personal password must be given even after a prolonged interruption of use einge¬ to solve the screen lock, whereby the access protection is ensured even during operation. To log out on a locked screen, it is also necessary to first unlock the screen using the personal password.

The use of an access code is also known by other mobile, information-carrying and processing devices, such as mobile phones or PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Here, too, an access code must be entered during commissioning and serves to rule out improper use. Modern versions of these small-format devices, in particular mobile phones, are nowadays often equipped with an interface device for wireless data transmission with other mobile or permanently installed devices. An internationally standardized interface device in short-range radio data transmission is Bluetooth. Bluetooth transmits data by radio in the ISM band (Industrial Scientific Medical Band).

Against this background, many users who have already authenticated themselves, for example, with respect to their mobile phone, find it cumbersome when they are asked again by their computer to enter a password. The entry of a personal password is always required if the service life has been interrupted for a long time and the screen lock is active. Unlocking the screen is also required if the user simply wants to end his session on the computer. Even in this case, where he only wants to deactivate the computer, a cumbersome manual input of the personal password is required. Only in this way does he reach the level of the operating system and thus the level of the graphical user interface customary today, where he has to operate further buttons in order to shut down the computer.

Presentation of the invention The present invention is based on the object to provide a method, so that the deactivation of a Compu¬ age is easier possible.

This object is solved by the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments, aspects and Einzelhei¬ th of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the accompanying drawings.

The invention proposes to deactivate an operating computer by interrupting a line-based communication connection which exists between the computer and a mobile, information-carrying and processing device.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the computer, which communicates with a mobile telephone via a Bluetooth interface, is simply deactivated by bringing the mobile telephone out of the detection area of the radio interface. The radio range is specified by the power class of the devices involved. A monitoring device in the computer monitors the radio link. As soon as the quality of the radio connection falls below a predetermined threshold value, this transmission state is transmitted from the interface device to operating devices of the computer, e.g. reported to the operating system.

Bluetooth is a standard interface and is widely used in computers as well as mobile phones. The radio transmission operates on license-free frequencies in the range of 2.4 GHz.

Through this wireless standard, the connection establishment and the interruption of the communication connection can be pretty much limited in a certain geometric distance between the devices. Even if several devices in an office room communicate via Bluetooth, there is no counter- page interference, on the one hand because the wireless ranges are limited, on the other hand, because identify the Bluetooth-enabled devices in communication with each other.

Disabling the computer can now be done differently depending on the boot software and operating system settings.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the operating system is prompted to activate the screen lock whereby the access to the computer is blocked for unauthorized persons. Subsequently, the computer is brought into an operating mode with reduced energy consumption, but not separated from its energy source.

Another preferred variant of the invention provides to shut down the activities of the computer in full and turn off the power supply.

It may be advantageous in both variants to request the user to enter a confirmation information before the process of deactivating. This confirmation information is easier than entering a personal password and can consist of a simple keystroke. The request may be made acoustically or visually by a pop-up window on the graphical user interface. In this way, inadvertent shutdown or shutdown of the system is prevented.

It is favorable if the detection range of the radio interface is defined by limiting the corresponding power class to about 10 m, in particular to about 10 cm. In this way, a user who is about to leave his workstation with his mobile telephone triggers the deactivation immediately when he removes the mobile phone from the vicinity of the computer. The radio range of the Bluetooth transmission link is, as mentioned above, times way by the maximum used transmission power, ie the corresponding power class limited.

From the point of view of security, it is advantageous if the monitoring of the communication connection is additionally carried out at periodic time intervals. As a result, unauthorized persons have little opportunity to access the resources in the computer.

In particularly stored cases, it may be advantageous if, in these time intervals, the access code which has additionally been deposited on the SIM card of the mobile phone modified according to the invention is transmitted to the computer and evaluated by the operating system of the computer. In this way not only the existence of the communication connection is monitored, but at the same time the user is iden tified on the basis of his personal data, which are available in his mobile telephone. The transmission of these authentication data preferably takes place by means of an encrypted transmission method, which prevents eavesdropping and possibly manipulation of the data stream in the radio field.

Further embodiments result from the claims for persons who are experienced in the matter.

Brief description of the drawing

To further explain the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which further advantageous embodiments and details of the invention can be gathered from an exemplary embodiment. Show it:

1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of the invention in which data for authenticating a user to a computer are stored in a modified SIM card of a mobile telephone and via a line-bound Transmission path are transmitted to the computer;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the SIM card of the mobile phone modified according to the invention, with a first one

Memory area in which data for authentication of the user against the mobile phone ent are hold and with a second memory area in which data are stored for authentication of the user to the computer.

Embodiment of the invention

FIG. 1 shows a computer 1 with conventional operating devices, such as keyboard 9, screen 10 and a pointing device, designed as trackball 11. The computer 1 has a Bluetooth interface, which is pluggable mounted as an adapter 2 on the USB port 8. The Bluetooth address of the computer 1 is configured on the mobile phone 4 as a known Bluetooth device. If a mobile telephone 4 is brought into the detection range of the Bluetooth interface, then the structure of the line-bound communication connection takes place in three stages of mutual acquaintance. In the first stage, there is a search for a device ready for communication (Inquiry). During the second stage, security-relevant connection parameters are negotiated (pairing). Afterwards, the shared Bluetooth profiles are negotiated. In this way, a wireless communication connection is established between computer and mobile telephone, which is monitored by a monitoring device in the computer and according to the invention is a prerequisite for the operation of the computer 1. The detection range of about 10 cm is determined by the Bluetooth transmission link.

The mobile phone 4 has an identification module, the SIM card 5 (Subscriber Identity Module). On the SIM card are - as hitherto - ge stores the user-specific data through which the user to the mobile network identifies as authorized and by which he is also charged. The SIM card 5 also implements a cryptographic algorithm for authentication and user data encryption.

According to the invention, the SIM card 5 is now designed so that it is also used as an information carrier for the access code relative to a computer. That is, in the memory 10 (Figure 2) of the SIM card 5, in addition to the above-mentioned access information for the mobile network also contain those data by which the user identifies to the computer. During the operation of the computer, the presence of the mobile telephone 4 and, if appropriate, the available authentication data are checked. If the mobile phone 4 is removed from the detection range of the Bluetooth radio interface, that is to say the distance of about 10 cm between the computer 1 and the mobile phone 4 is exceeded, then the prerequisites for the operation of the computer no longer exist. The computer 1 is then deactivated. In practice, this means that a user terminates his session on the computer by simply removing his mobile phone 4 from the detection area E of the interface device. The computer 1 is heruntergefah ren without further action, or turned off. Even if its screen is locked due to a prolonged interruption of use by a screen saver, the computer can be deactivated in this simple way - thanks to the invention - in this simple way.

After completion of deactivation, the computer is - depending on the adjustment of the operating program or the boot program - in a state with reduced power consumption (sleep mode) or is completely separated ge of the power supply. Depending on the settings on the computer, only the screen can be deactivated on the computer instead of a complete deactivation.

Of course, the Bluetooth interface can also be directly integrated into the computer.

Of course, the communication connection can also be made in other ways, such as by the transmission of optical signals.

The computer used in the exemplary embodiment can be a conventional stationary PC or laptop or a terminal of a data processing system. The basic idea of the invention is thus also applicable to the deactivation of other control systems.

Claims

claims

1. A method for deactivating a computer in operation, which is in communication connection by means of an interface device with a mobile, information-carrying and -processing device, which is located in a detection area of the interface device, in order to transmit data that is not tied to the line in which data are kept ready on an information carrier of the mobile, information-carrying and processing device in order to authenticate a user to the mobile, information-carrying and processing device and to the computer, characterized in that by a monitoring device in the computer the existence the communication connection is monitored and the Be¬ operating system of the computer disables the computer when the communication connection breaks off.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a mobile telephone is used as a mobile, information-carrying and -processing device and the kommuni¬ cation connection via a radio link, insbesonde¬ re a Bluetooth radio link is formed.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the line-bound data transmission takes place by optoe¬ lektronische signals.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that as a radio interface to a USB port or other, similar purposes serving port of the computer pluggable recorded adapter of a Bluetooth interface is used.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized ge indicates that the operating system when deactivating the computer performs a screen lock.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized ge indicates that the operating system reduces the power consumption when deactivating the computer.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized ge indicates that the operating system when deactivating performs a shutdown of the computer and the E- nergiezufuhr interrupts the computer.

8. The method of claim 5, 6 or 7, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that before the deactivation of the user for Ein¬ task of a confirmation is requested.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 or 4, characterized in that the power class (range) of the Bluetooth interface to Class 2 (range about 10 meters), particularly preferably Class 3 (range about 10 cm) is limited.

10.Verfahren according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized ge indicates that the monitoring of Kommunikations¬ connection is carried out in periodic time intervals.

11.A method according to claim 10, characterized in that in an existing communication connection in the time intervals, the data for authentication of the user to the computer from the mobile, informati¬ Onstragenden and -processing device transmitted to the computer and ausge¬ evaluated by the operating system of the computer ,

12.A method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the transmission of the data for authenti- A user is encrypted against the computer.

13.Verfahren according to any one of the preceding claims, da¬ characterized in that when deactivating the computer ter in a sleep mode is switched.