Granted Patent B2

US 9,369,872 · App. 14/291,638 · Granted Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

Claims (31)

1. A method for configuring communication parameters of a first wireless device having an established communication connection comprising:

communicating with a wireless access point using one or more communication parameters based on a selected first security policy;

receiving information from the wireless access point regarding one or more second wireless devices connected to the wireless access point, wherein information received from the wireless access point comprises at least one of suspicious web service access or running distributed denial-of-service attacks by the one or more second wireless devices connected to the access point;

selecting a second security policy to apply to the first wireless device based on the information received from the wireless access point;

adjusting the one or more communication parameters of the first wireless device based on the second security policy; and

communicating with the wireless access point using the adjusted one or more communication parameters.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first security policy and the second security policy includes a set of one or more communication parameters and associated values that define if and how data should be sent via the wireless access point.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first security policy and the second security policy define which applications stored on the first wireless device may be executed while connected to the wireless access point.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the one or more communication parameters to encrypt data communications.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein information received from the one or more second wireless devices comprises the second security policy.

6. A method for configuring communication parameters of a first wireless device having an established communication comprising:

communicating with a wireless access point;

determining one or more second wireless devices connected to the wireless access point;

selecting a security policy to apply to the first wireless device based on a security policy of the one or more second wireless devices connected to the wireless access point, wherein when the security policy of one of the one or more second wireless devices allows the one or more second wireless devices to engage in at least one of suspicious web service access or running distributed denial-of-service attacks, the selected security policy includes one or more communication parameters to adjust on the first wireless device;

adjusting one or more communication parameters of the first wireless device based on the security policy, wherein the one or more communication parameters of the first wireless device are adjusted to at least one of (i) not allow data to be sent by the first wireless device or (ii) encrypt data sent from the first wireless device; and

communicating with the wireless access point using the adjusted one or more communication parameters.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein selecting the security policy comprises at least one of (i) selecting a most frequently used security policy across the one or more second wireless devices, (ii) selecting the security policy used by a most-trusted of the one or more second wireless devices, or (iii) selecting the security policy used by one of the one or more second wireless devices most similar to the first wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the most-trusted of the one or more second wireless device is the wireless device of the one or more second wireless devices not engaging in suspicious activities.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the most similar of the one or more second wireless device is the wireless device of the one or more second wireless devices comprising a most similar data consumption history to the first wireless device over a predetermined period of time.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the security policy includes a set of one or more communication parameters and associated values that define if and how data should be sent via the wireless access point.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the security policy defines which applications stored on the wireless device may be executed while connected to a wireless access point.

12. An apparatus for configuring communication parameters of a first wireless device comprising:

a) at least one processor;

b) at least one input device; and

c) at least one storage device storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, performs a method including

1) establishing a communication connection with a wireless access point using one or more communication parameters based on a selected first security policy;

2) receiving information from the wireless access point regarding one or more second wireless devices connected to the wireless access point, wherein information received from the wireless access point comprises at least one of suspicious web service access or running distributed denial-of-service attacks by the one or more second wireless devices connected to the access point;

3) selecting a second security policy to apply to the first wireless device based on the information received from the wireless access point;

4) adjusting the one or more communication parameters of the first wireless device based on the second security policy; and

5) communicating with the wireless access point using the adjusted one or more communication parameters.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each of the first security policy and the second security policy includes a set of one or more communication parameters and associated values that define if and how data should be sent via the wireless access point.

Assignments (8)