Granted Patent B2

US 12,652,281 · App. 18/131,015 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Christiaan Brinkhoff (Woodinville, WA); Sandeep Patnaik (Kirkland, WA); William Scott Stauber (Seattle, WA); Patrick Joseph Derks (Seattle, WA); Tyler Kien Beam (Seattle, WA); Alexander Ryan Fromm (Woodinville, WA); Prasanna Chromepet Padmanabhan (Redmond, WA); Jinhua Fei (Bellevue, WA); Andrew Ho Yin Miyasato (Kirkland, WA); Amar Dinesh Zavery (Redmond, WA); Shilpa Satyen Lulla (Hyderabad, IN); Siddharth (Bengaluru, IN); Ajitkumar Jatanlal Surana (Hyderabad, IN); Naveen Krishnan Ramasamy (Bangalore, IN)

Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

H04L63/083G06F9/452

Abstract

Claims (54)

1 . A computer system that facilitates user access to a virtual desktop, said computer system comprising:

a processor system; and

a memory storage system comprising instructions that are executable by the processor system to cause the computer system to:

display a login screen, which is native to an operating system (OS) of the computer system;

receive, at the login screen, user credentials from a user;

determine that the user is associated with multiple virtual desktops, each of which has a corresponding ranking relative to one another and each of which is provisioned in a cloud environment;

determine that the virtual desktop has a highest ranking among the multiple virtual desktops;

determine that the user credentials are likely for the virtual desktop based on the virtual desktop having the highest ranking;

prior to receiving a stream of an image of the virtual desktop over a network connection, display a login transition screen during a time when the computer system is connecting to the virtual desktop, wherein the login transition screen has a threshold level of similarity relative to a native login transition screen that would otherwise be displayed if a local login process were being performed, and wherein the login transition screen includes at least one user interface element that is different relative to the native login transition screen; and

receive, over the network connection, the stream of the image of the virtual desktop; and

provide flighting information details to a first remote service, wherein the flighting information details which features associated with the virtual desktop and/or connection to the virtual desktop are enabled for the user.

2 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the computer system is operating in a lock down mode that prevents the user from locally logging in to the computer system.

3 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the computer system is a shared terminal usable by multiple users, and wherein the computer system enables each of the users to log in to said each user's corresponding virtual desktop from the login screen that is native to the OS of the computer system.

4 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the computer system is governed by a shared mode policy.

5 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein a registry key setting of the computer system is selected to enable the computer system to facilitate connecting with the virtual desktop from the login screen.

6 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the computer system to:

in response to receiving the user credentials at the login screen, cause a shell of the OS of the computer system to call a service residing on the computer system;

cause the service to obtain a token for the user;

cause the service to use the token to validate the user with a cloud environment; and

in response to validation of the user, cause the service to trigger the identification of the virtual desktop in the cloud environment.

7 . The computer system of claim 6 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the computer system to:

provide telemetry data to a second remote service, wherein the telemetry data is usable to determine what conditions resulted in an error.

8 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:

the OS of the computer system includes a shell,

a client service, which facilitates connection with the user's virtual desktop, is integrated with the shell of the computer system's OS, and

the client service is registered so as to appear as being a personal computer (PC) by the OS to thereby enable the computer system to host a user session for the user, where the user session includes streaming the image of the virtual desktop.

9 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the user credentials comprise a username and password, and wherein the virtual desktop was pre-provisioned for the user.

10 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the user credentials comprise a license code, and wherein the virtual desktop is not pre-provisioned for the user.

11 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the rankings of the multiple virtual desktops are based on a historical usage of the multiple virtual desktops by the user.

12 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the rankings of the multiple virtual desktops are based on compute availabilities of the multiple virtual desktops.

13 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the rankings of the multiple virtual desktops are based on memory sizes of the multiple virtual desktops.

14 . A method for accessing a virtual desktop, said method comprising:

causing a computer system to display a login screen, which is native to an operating system (OS) of the computer system;

receiving, at the login screen, user credentials from a user;

determining that the user is associated with multiple virtual desktops, each of which has a corresponding ranking relative to one another and each of which is provisioned in a cloud environment;

determining that the virtual desktop has a highest ranking among the multiple virtual desktops;

prior to receiving a stream of an image of the virtual desktop over a network connection, displaying a login transition screen during a time when the computer system is connecting to the virtual desktop, wherein the login transition screen has a threshold level of similarity relative to a native login transition screen that would otherwise be displayed if a local login process were being performed, and wherein the login transition screen includes at least one user interface element that is different relative to the native login transition screen; and

receiving, over the network connection, the stream of the image of the virtual desktop; and

providing flighting information details to a first remote service, wherein the flighting information details which features associated with the virtual desktop and/or connection to the virtual desktop are enabled for the user.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein a type for the OS of the computer system is different than a type of an OS for the virtual desktop.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein peripheral devices of the computer system are controllable through a desktop of the virtual desktop.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the peripheral devices include one or more of a mouse, a keyboard, a speaker, a microphone, or a display.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein a local login feature of the computer system is disabled.

19 . A method for accessing a virtual desktop, said method comprising:

causing a computer system to display a login screen, which is native to an operating system (OS) of the computer system;

receiving, at the login screen, user credentials from a user;

causing a first application shell of the computer system's OS to activate a service, which is tasked with identifying, over a network connection, the virtual desktop for the user, wherein the virtual desktop resides in a cloud environment;

determining that the user is associated with multiple virtual desktops, each of which has a corresponding ranking relative to one another and each of which is provisioned in the cloud environment;

determining that the virtual desktop has a highest ranking among the multiple virtual desktops;

prior to receiving a stream of an image of the virtual desktop over the network connection, displaying a login transition screen during a time when the computer system is connecting to the virtual desktop, wherein the login transition screen has a threshold level of similarity relative to a native login transition screen that would otherwise be displayed if a local login process were being performed, and wherein the login transition screen includes at least one user interface element that is different relative to the native login transition screen;

receiving, over the network connection, the stream of the image of the virtual desktop, which resides in the cloud environment but which was accessed via the computer system's login screen; and

providing user access to a second application shell, which is associated with an OS of the virtual desktop, wherein said user access occurs using a remote connection that exists between the computer system and the virtual desktop and that was established as a result of the user credentials being entered at the login screen; and

providing flighting information details to a first remote service, wherein the flighting information details which features associated with the virtual desktop and/or connection to the virtual desktop are enabled for the user.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the user credentials is one of (i) a username and password, (ii) a license code, or (iii) a quick response (QR) code.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (26)