Secure computer architectures, systems, and applications

1. A system, comprising:

a legacy environment comprising an off-the-shelf computing system;

a trusted environment hardware device that communicates with a network and the legacy environment;

at least one hardware peripheral communicatively coupled directly with the trusted environment hardware device, the at least one hardware peripheral communicating secure data with the trusted environment hardware device without the legacy environment having access to the secure data, the trusted environment hardware device further communicating the secure data with the network without the legacy environment having access to such data and unsecure data from the at least one hardware peripheral communicating to the legacy environment through the trusted environment hardware device; and wherein the trusted environment hardware device has an output device comprising any of a light emitting diode, a display, a speaker, a network communication device that is external to a computing device or combinations thereof.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device comprises a card, such as PCIe/PCI, that is installed in the computing system and is connected to peripherals to support security.

3. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the peripherals include any of a keyboard, biometric access device, GPS, and combinations thereof.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device is programmed to support security functions.

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the security functions comprise any of password protection, firewall black/white lists, email contacts, encryption codes, and combinations thereof.

6. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the computing system is programmed to support security applications.

7. The system according to claim 6 , wherein the security applications comprise any of firewall, encryption, email, navigation, biometric, video and voice conferencing, and combinations thereof.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device is an external device, such as USB dongle, that supports security functions.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the security functions comprise at least one of user and network authentication, data protection, malware warning, or combinations thereof.

10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device comprises an input means for user authentication.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the input means for user authentication comprises any of biometric sensors, camera, microphone, finger print scanner, one or more switches, a keyboard, a touchpad, a trackpad, or combinations thereof.

12. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device further comprises an interface to other peripherals and networks.

13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the interface to other peripherals comprises any of a USB, WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, or other network interface.

14. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device is incorporated into the at least one hardware peripheral that is connectable to the computing system, the at least one hardware peripheral being configured to serve as the trusted environment hardware device by adding to it a connection to a network to support security functions.

15. The system according to claim 14 , wherein the security functions comprise any of password protection, or firewall function.

16. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the trusted environment hardware device is incorporated into a network component that connects home or business computing systems or telephones to the Internet, the network component being configured to communicatively couple directly to one or more peripherals to support security functions.