System and method for providing a secure connection between networked computers
View Patent ↗Embodiments disclosed herein provide a system, method, and computer program product for establishing a secure network connection between a client and a server. The client may send a connection request over a public network to the server. The server may prepare a response containing a controller and session-specific credentials. The controller may be selected to configure a tunneling protocol on the client. After being downloaded to the client, the controller configures the tunneling protocol and establishes a secure network connection with the server without user intervention. The session-specific credentials are valid until the secure network connection between the client and the server is severed.
1. A method for establishing transient secure wireless communications between a wireless access point (WAP) and one or more client computers, comprising:
at the WAP, receiving a request from a client computer for a secure connection to the WAP;
dynamically generating session-specific-credentials;
utilizing information extracted from the request from the client computer to select a controller to automatically run in the client computer;
preparing by the WAP a response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials;
sending the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials from the WAP to the client computer;
configuring by the controller a tunneling protocol on the client computer; and
establishing the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP using the tunneling protocol configured by the controller and the session-specific credentials, wherein the session-specific credentials are valid until the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP is severed.
2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the response prepared by the WAP and sent to the client computer includes configuration information required by the controller to automatically run on the client computer.
3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein after the controller is downloaded to the client computer the controller has access to an operating system executing on the client computer.
4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is selected by the WAP utilizing information extracted from the request received from the client computer.
5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is an Active X controller.
6. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising dynamically generating session-specific credentials at the WAP.
7. A method according to claim 6 , wherein the session-specific credentials are generated using a random-seed.
8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the tunneling protocol is part of an operating system running on the client computer.
9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the tunneling protocol is a virtual private network protocol.
10. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the virtual private network protocol is IPsec, L2TP, PPTP, or MPLS.
11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the request is received from the client computer via FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS.
12. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP to the client computer using FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS.
13. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising sending information from the WAP to the client computer, wherein the information comprises an IP address, a host name, an authentication domain name, a domain name service configuration, or a combination thereof.
14. A method according to claim 13 , wherein the information further comprises call-control and management protocol data, point-to-point compression protocol data, or both.
15. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the request from the client computer is sent via a wired or wireless connection to the WAP.
16. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP via a wired or wireless connection to the client computer.
17. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to perform:
at a wireless access point (WAP), dynamically generating session-specific-credentials;
utilizing information extracted from the request from the client computer to select a controller to automatically run in the client computer;
preparing a response to a request from a client computer for a secure connection to the WAP, the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials; and
sending the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials from the WAP to the client computer, wherein after being downloaded to the client computer the controller configures a tunneling protocol on the client computer and establishes the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP using the tunneling protocol configured by the controller and the session-specific credentials, wherein the session-specific credentials are valid until the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP is severed.
18. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the response prepared by the WAP and sent to the client computer includes configuration information required by the controller to automatically run on the client computer.
19. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein after the controller is downloaded to the client computer the controller has access to an operating system executing on the client computer.
20. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the controller is selected by the WAP utilizing information extracted from the request received from the client computer.
21. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the controller is an Active X controller.
22. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the session-specific credentials are generated using a random-seed.
23. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the tunneling protocol is part of an operating system running on the client computer.
24. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the tunneling protocol is a virtual private network protocol.
25. A computer program product according to claim 24 , wherein the virtual private network protocol is IPsec, L2TP, PPTP, or MPLS.
26. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the request is received from the client computer via FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS.
27. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP to the client computer using FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS.
28. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the instructions are further translatable by the at least one processor to perform:
sending information from the WAP to the client computer, wherein the information comprises an IP address, a host name, an authentication domain name, a domain name service configuration, or a combination thereof.
29. A computer program product according to claim 28 , wherein the information further comprises call-control and management protocol data, point-to-point compression protocol data, or both.
30. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the request from the client computer is sent via a wired or wireless connection to the WAP.
31. A computer program product according to claim 17 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP via a wired or wireless connection to the client computer.
32. A method for establishing transient secure wireless communications between a wireless access point (WAP) and one or more client computers, comprising:
at the WAP, receiving a request from a client computer for a secure connection to the WAP;
dynamically generating session-specific-credentials;
utilizing information extracted from the request from the client computer to select a controller to automatically run in the client computer;
preparing by the WAP a response containing the session-specific credentials and configuration information required by a controller residing on the client computer;
sending the response containing the session-specific credentials and the configuration information required by the controller from the WAP to the client computer;
configuring by the controller a tunneling protocol on the client computer; and
establishing the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP using the tunneling protocol configured by the controller and the session-specific credentials, wherein the session-specific credentials are valid until the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP is severed.
33. A method according to claim 32 , wherein the secure connection is established by automatically running the controller on the client computer.
34. A method according to claim 32 , wherein the request from the client computer is sent via a wired or wireless connection to the WAP.
35. A method according to claim 32 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP via a wired or wireless connection to the client computer.
36. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor to perform:
at a wireless access point (WAP), dynamically generating session-specific-credentials;
utilizing information extracted from the request from the client computer to select a controller to automatically run in the client computer;
preparing a response to a request from a client computer for a secure connection to the WAP, the response containing the session-specific credentials and configuration information required by a controller residing on the client computer; and
sending the response containing the session-specific credentials and the configuration information required by the controller from the WAP to the client computer, wherein the controller configures a tunneling protocol on the client computer and establishes the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP using the tunneling protocol configured by the controller and the session-specific credentials, and wherein the session-specific credentials are valid until the secure connection between the client computer and the WAP is severed.
37. A computer program product according to claim 36 , wherein the secure connection is established by automatically running the controller on the client computer.
38. A computer program product according to claim 36 , wherein the request from the client computer is sent via a wired or wireless connection to the WAP.
39. A computer program product according to claim 36 , wherein the response containing the controller and the session-specific credentials is sent from the WAP via a wired or wireless connection to the client computer.