Managing configurations of computing terminals
Disclosed is a system for configuring a terminal by intercepting requests, such as Input/Output (IO) requests or registry requests, evaluating rules based on the intercepted requests during runtime, and performing actions based on the rule evaluations, such as passing the request through, redirecting the request, modifying the request, hiding resources, or performing other actions. The system can be implemented in one or more of the terminal's file system filter drivers and registry filter drivers.
1. A computing terminal, comprising:
a memory for storing an operating system and a plurality of resources, wherein the operating system comprises computer-implemented instructions for implementing one or more user mode processes in a user mode capable of interacting with one or more kernel mode components in a kernel mode for performing operations relating to the plurality of resources; and
a processor for executing the computer-implemented instructions of the operating system, wherein the operating system is configured to implement a filter driver to hide one or more indications of a presence of a resource of the plurality of resources from a user by performing steps comprising:
receiving, in the kernel mode, an access request to perform an operation relating to a resource;
determining, in the kernel mode, whether the resource is to be hidden from the user, wherein determining whether the resource is to be hidden comprises accessing one or more rules associated with the resource;
if the resource is to be hidden from the user, returning an indication that the resource is not present on the computing terminal, wherein returning the indication comprises returning a message indicating that the resource is not found; and
if the resource is not to be hidden from the user, passing the request to another component of the operating system to perform the operation and thereby allow access to the one or more indications of the presence of the resource.
2. The computing terminal of claim 1 , wherein the request to perform the operation comprises an IO request to open or create a file or to open or create a directory.
3. The computing terminal of claim 2 , wherein the IO request is received from a filter manager component of the operating system.
4. The computing terminal of claim 1 , wherein the request to perform the operation comprises a system call to open or create a registry key.
5. The computing terminal of claim 4 , wherein the system call is received from a configuration manager component of the operating system.
6. The computing terminal of claim 1 , wherein the filter driver is configured to hide all indications of the presence of the resource.
7. The computing terminal of claim 1 , wherein the access request to perform the operation relating to the resource is a request to access an additional resource that is indicative of the presence of the resource.
8. A computing terminal, comprising:
a memory for storing an operating system and a plurality of resources, wherein the operating system comprises computer-implemented instructions for implementing one or more user mode processes in a user mode capable of interacting with one or more kernel mode components in a kernel mode for performing operations relating to the plurality of resources; and
a processor for executing the computer-implemented instructions of the operating system, wherein the operating system is configured to implement a filter driver to hide one or more indications of a presence of a resource of the plurality of resources from a user by performing steps comprising:
receiving, in the kernel mode, an enumeration request;
determining, in the kernel mode, a context for the enumeration request,
determining, in the kernel mode, that the enumeration request relates to the resource, wherein determining that the enumeration request relates to the resource includes using the determined context;
determining, in the kernel mode, whether the resource is to be hidden from the user, wherein determining whether the resource is to be hidden comprises accessing one or more rules associated with the resource;
if the resource is to be hidden from the user, intercepting a result of the enumeration request, modifying the result to remove information pertaining to the resource to be hidden, and returning a modified version of the result; and
if the resource is not to be hidden from the user, passing the enumeration request to another component of the operating system for performance of the enumeration request without modifying a result of the enumeration request.
9. The computing terminal of claim 8 , wherein the enumeration request comprises a directory query.
10. The computing terminal of claim 9 , wherein the directory query is received from a filter manager component of the operating system.
11. The computing terminal of claim 8 , wherein the enumeration request comprises a system call to enumerate a registry key.
12. The computing terminal of claim 11 , wherein the system call is received from a configuration manager component of the operating system.
13. The computing terminal of claim 8 , wherein the filter driver is configured to hide all indications of the presence of the resource.
14. The computing terminal of claim 8 , wherein the enumeration request is a request for enumeration of another resource that is indicative of the presence of the resource.