Method and system for remote management of access to appliances
Embodiments described herein include methods and systems for remotely managing appliances, including enabling communication between a user of the appliance and third party systems. The third party systems can include any entity that has a relationship with the user of the appliance, such as a payment infrastructure handling incremental payments for the appliance, and managing access to the appliance accordingly. In some embodiments, the appliance being controlled is a mobile phone that also includes third party operating system software. Various methods for preventing alteration or replacement of the third party operating system are also described.
1. A remote device management system, comprising:
a communication device, comprising a communication device associated with a user, the communication device comprising an appliance management system (AMS),
and wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone comprising,
a bootloader program that supports a “lock” command and an “unlock” command; and
a cryptographic key in firmware; and
controlling the communication device further comprises,
executing the “lock” command; and
disabling the “unlock” command by preventing the bootloader program from executing an “unlock” command call, and wherein controlling the communication device comprises altering a cryptographic key in firmware such that the cryptographic key in firmware no longer matches a cryptographic key of a third party OS; and
a third party infrastructure that is in electronic communication with the user of the communication device, wherein the third party infrastructure comprises at least one processor configurable to execute a remote device management method, the method comprising transmitting a third party OS to the communication device, wherein the third party OS controls the communication device, and wherein controlling the communication device comprises preventing the user from altering or overwriting the third party OS;
wherein the communication device receives communications from the third party infrastructure related to management of the communication device and management of payment for use of the device, wherein management further comprises controlling when the communication device is operable, and which functions the communication device can perform, and wherein the user is prevented from overriding the management, wherein prevention comprises preventing the user from tampering with control software of the communication device and wherein management of the communication device comprises,
altering binary code of a bootloader program of the communication device to prevent the bootloader program from receiving new software packages;
altering a bootloader program of the user device to prevent the bootloader program from receiving or validating new software packages;
altering user device operating system files to make them unrecognizable to the bootloader program;
altering user device storage system drivers such that the bootloader program is unable to write any new data files;
modifying memory addresses of a user device storage system such that the bootloader program cannot write to the storage system; and
executing a “lock” command of the bootloader program and disabling an “unlock” command of the bootloader program;
wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone, and wherein the AMS comprises a third party operating system (OS) of the mobile phone.
2. A method for remote management of a communication device, the method comprising:
a third party infrastructure wirelessly transmitting a third party operating system (OS) to the communication device, wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone comprising,
a bootloader program that supports a “lock” command and an “unlock” command; and
a cryptographic key in firmware; and
controlling the communication device further comprises,
executing the “lock” command; and
disabling the “unlock” command by preventing the bootloader program from executing an “unlock” command call;
the third party OS controlling the communication device, wherein controlling comprises selectively disabling and enabling the communication device, selectively disabling and enabling certain functions of the communication device, preventing the user from tampering with control software of the communication device, and management of payment for use of the device, wherein controlling further comprises transmitting a third party OS to the communication device, wherein the third party OS controls the communication device, and wherein controlling the communication device comprises preventing the user from altering or overwriting the third party OS, and wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone, and wherein controlling the communication device further comprises altering binary code of a bootloader program of the communication device to prevent the bootloader program from receiving new software packages wherein controlling the communication device further comprises, and controlling the communication device further comprises altering a cryptographic key in firmware such that the cryptographic key in firmware no longer matches a cryptographic key of the third party OS;
wherein the communication device receives communications from the third party infrastructure related to management of the communication device and management of payment for use of the device, wherein management further comprises controlling when the communication device is operable, and which functions the communication device can perform, and wherein the user is prevented from overriding the management, wherein prevention comprises preventing the user from tampering with control software of the communication device and wherein management of the communication device comprises,
altering a bootloader program of the user device to prevent the bootloader program from receiving or validating new software packages;
altering user device operating system files to make them unrecognizable to the bootloader program;
altering user device storage system drivers such that the bootloader program is unable to write any new data files;
modifying memory addresses of a user device storage system such that the bootloader program cannot write to the storage system; and
executing a “lock” command of the bootloader program and disabling an “unlock” command of the bootloader program.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the communication device comprises a mobile phone, and wherein controlling the communication device further comprises altering binary code of a bootloader program of the communication device to prevent the bootloader program from validating new software packages.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the communication device is a mobile phone that comprises OS files, and wherein controlling the communication device further comprises altering the OS files to make the OS files unrecognizable to a bootloader program of the communication device.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein altering the OS files comprises changing OS file names.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the communication device is a mobile phone comprising device drivers, and wherein controlling the communication device further comprises altering the device drivers such that a bootloader program of the communication device is unable to write new data files.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein altering the device drivers comprises altering storage system drivers.
8. The method of claim 2 , wherein the communication device is a mobile phone comprising a storage system, and wherein controlling the communication device further comprises modifying addresses of the storage system such that a bootloader program of the communication device cannot write to the storage system.
9. The method of claim 4 , wherein preventing comprises altering a software function calling method of the “unlock” command such that it fails to execute when called using an original method of the bootloader program.