Patent ID: 8682943
Filing Date: 2014-03-25
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method, comprising: periodically determining which of a plurality of users is currently logged in to which of a plurality of computers; for each of those of the users determined to be logged in: querying, by a first computer, a database that stores data representing a plurality of counters and a plurality of user/computer pairs, each counter being associated with a different one of the user/computer pairs, via a network external to the computer, to determine whether one of the user/computer pairs exists for the respective user and computer in the database, the data further representing an owner for each of the plurality of computers, and responsive to determining that the one of the user/computer pairs exists in the database, incrementing the one of the counters associated with the one of the user/computer pairs; and for each of the plurality of computers: determining which of the counters for the user/computer pairs that include the respective computer represents a highest count value, and updating the data representing the owner for the respective computer to indicate the user represented by the one of the user/computer pairs determined to exist in the database, wherein the database further stores data representing a build date of each of the computers, and wherein the method further comprises: for each of those of the users determined to be logged in to the computer: determining a current build date of the computer, comparing the current build date of the computer with the build date of the computer as stored in the database, and performing the incrementing of the counter responsive to determining that the current build date of the computer and the build date of the computer as stored in the database are a same date; and in response to determining, for each of the computers, that the build date as represented by the database has changed, deleting an entry in the database for a respective one of the computers.