Abstract:
Disclosed are systems and methods for eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices connected to a data network. An example method includes: identifying a router providing access to the data network, obtaining access to the network and transmitting a request through the data network to obtain access to a smart device on the network. Furthermore, the method includes accessing the smart device to obtain its settings, comparing the settings with known vulnerabilities, determining an action for repairing the a network vulnerability associated with the settings of the device, and transmitting instructions to the smart device to perform the action to repair network vulnerability associated with the setting.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/148,153 filed on May 6, 2016, which claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) to a Russian Patent Application No. RU 2016109930 filed on Mar. 18, 2016, both of which are incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of computer security and antivirus technologies, and more specifically, to a system and method of eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices having Internet access. 
     BACKGROUND 
     At present, an ever increasing number of devices are connected to the Internet from computers and smartphones of users to more commonplace things, such as television sets and refrigerators. When new types of devices are connected to the Internet, they take on the adjective “Smart” (such as a Smart TV), which serves for marketing purposes. When smart devices are connected to the Internet, the users become able to update the devices as such, monitor the operating status of the device (such as a refrigerator), and integrate the device itself into a so-called “smart home” concept. This concept makes it possible to control such smart devices from a single point by checking the operating status of such devices and adjusting it to one&#39;s own personal needs. The concept of a “smart home” also involves another concept known as the Internet of Things (IoT), which implies an interaction of the aforementioned things even without direct human involvement. 
     One of the first devices to appear among users was the router, which made it possible to create a wireless home network, today making it possible to connect other smart devices to the Internet. At present, many routers support the possibility of creating so-called heterogeneous networks. As an example, one can mention a network of smart devices, some of which are connected to a router via a wireless Wi-Fi network, and others through Bluetooth. 
     Not surprisingly, with the growth in the number of devices having a network interaction capability, there has also begun to grow the number of attempts to use such devices maliciously. Upon obtaining access to a router with administrator rights, it becomes possible to check the network traffic going through the router. Upon gaining access to such devices as a “smart watch”, it becomes possible to check the data on devices paired with this watch (e.g., by smartphone). All of these actions can lead to theft or substitution of data. 
     An analysis of the conventional security systems indicates many are ineffective and, in some cases, not possible to use the previous technologies, whose drawbacks are solved by the present disclosure that eliminates the vulnerabilities of devices having Internet access. 
     SUMMARY 
     Disclosed are systems and methods for eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices connected to a data network. According to an exemplary aspect, the method includes identifying, by a processor, a router configured to provide access to the data network; obtaining access to the network by the processor; transmitting, by the processor, a request through the data network to obtain access to at least one smart device communicatively coupled to the router; accessing the at least one smart device to obtain settings of the at least one smart device; comparing, in a database, each of the settings of the at least one smart device with settings of known vulnerabilities to identify at least one network vulnerability associated with at least one of the settings of the at least one smart device; determining, by the processor, an action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device; and transmitting instructions to the at least one smart device to perform the action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device. 
     According to another aspect, the method further includes accessing, by the processor, a web interface of the at least one smart device by obtaining a web page and parsing elements of the web page based on a document object model; and using the web interface of the at least one smart device to obtain the settings of the at least one smart device. 
     According to another aspect, the method further includes transmitting instructions to the at least one smart device to repairing the at least one network vulnerability by adjusting the settings of a file of the at least one smart device by changing the file. 
     According to another aspect, the method further includes transmitting instructions to the at least one smart device to repair the at least one network vulnerability by adjusting through the web interface of the at least one smart device. 
     According to another aspect, the accessing, by the processor, of the at least one smart device comprises at least one of obtaining web access to the at least one smart device, accessing the at least one smart device through a universal plug and play protocol, accessing the at least one smart device through a file transfer by a network address of the at least one smart device in the data network; accessing the at least one smart device through a remote administration protocol, and accessing the at least one smart device by a secure shell protocol. 
     According to another aspect, the transmitting of the request through the data network comprises transmitting the request to the router that redirects the request to a plurality of smart devices communicatively coupled to the data network via the router. 
     According to another aspect, the accessing of the at least one smart device to obtain the settings of the at least one smart device includes using a UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) protocol to obtain the settings. 
     According to one aspect, a system for eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices connected to a data network comprises: at least one database that stores settings of devices relating to network vulnerabilities and actions for repairing the network vulnerabilities; and a processor configured to: identify a router configured to provide access to the data network, obtain access to the network, transmit a request through the data network to obtain access to at least one smart device communicatively coupled to the router, access the at least one smart device to obtain settings of the at least one smart device, compare, in the least one database, each of the settings of the at least one smart device with the settings of devices of known vulnerabilities to identify at least one network vulnerability associated with at least one of the settings of the at least one smart device, determine an action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device, and transmit instructions to the at least one smart device to perform the action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device. 
     According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices connected to a data network, includes instructions for: identifying a router configured to provide access to the data network; obtaining access to the network; transmitting a request through the data network to obtain access to at least one smart device communicatively coupled to the router; accessing the at least one smart device to obtain settings of the at least one smart device; comparing, in a database, each of the settings of the at least one smart device with settings of known vulnerabilities to identify at least one network vulnerability associated with at least one of the settings of the at least one smart device; determining an action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device; and transmitting instructions to the at least one smart device to perform the action for repairing the at least one network vulnerability associated with the at least one setting of the at least one smart device. 
     The above simplified summary of example aspects serves to provide a basic understanding of the present disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of the disclosure that follows. To the accomplishment of the foregoing, the one or more aspects of the present disclosure include the features described and exemplary pointed out in the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a computer attack on a router. 
         FIG. 2  shows an example of a computer attack on smart devices. 
         FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of the system for eliminating vulnerabilities of devices having access to the Internet according to an exemplary aspect. 
         FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of the system with smart devices for eliminating vulnerabilities of devices having access to the Internet according to an exemplary aspect. 
         FIG. 5  shows a flowchart for a method for eliminating vulnerabilities of devices having access to the Internet according to the exemplary aspect. 
         FIG. 6  shows an example of a DOM model for a HTML page. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example of a general-purpose computer system on which the disclosed systems and method can be implemented. 
     
    
    
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more example aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain their principles and implementations. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example aspects are described herein in the context of a system, method and computer program product for eliminating vulnerabilities of smart devices having Internet access. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the example aspects as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used to the extent possible throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like items. 
     For purposes of this disclosure, the term “smart device” is used to describe to devices, such as everyday items including, for example, watches, lights, cameras, Dictaphones, wristbands, heart rate monitors, and others having access to the Internet (or a local area network) through various kinds of connections, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Such devices create network connections, receive and process incoming traffic, and have a separate interface for the interaction (an API, or Application Programmable Interface), which makes it possible not only to monitor the parameters of the device, but also set them. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a computer attack on a router. A router  100  is hooked up to both a computer  110  (for example, via Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and to the Internet  130 . The router has the following access options:
         Web access. As a rule, this is the page http://192.168.0.1, where after entering the login and password of the administrator the user obtains access to the settings of the router.   Access to the settings/variables file. Routers have their own file system and store the settings in configuration files, making it possible to change them if a user knows how to gain access to such a file.   Access using various utilities. For example, the utility fdbrowser, which is part of the Microsoft SDK, lets one use the protocol UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) to obtain access to the router settings and change them.       

     Not surprisingly, with such an array of access options to such an important element of the local area network as a router interests hackers. For example, many users do not change the default password of the administrator, so web access to the router is vulnerable. Hackers have many option for the use of a router for their own purposes:
         Interception of traffic. For example, interception of transactions, carrying out MitM (Man in the Middle) attacks.   Installing of backdoors for later control of the router and its configuration. The router can be used as a proxy server or be involved in a DDoS attack.   DNS hijacking.       

     One can realize such actions using a malicious program  120  on the computer  110  or on the Internet  130 , or using a computer attack from a hacker  140 . As a rule, such attacks involve searching for the router  100  itself, determining its version and known vulnerabilities for the given version, and carrying out the attack using an exploit. 
       FIG. 2  shows an example of a computer attack on smart devices. In  FIG. 2  as compared to  FIG. 1 , smart devices are illustrated in the form of devices  151 - 153 . The attack vectors remain the same whether the malicious program  120  on the computer  110  or via the Internet  130 , or using a computer attack from the hacker  140  are used. These attacks involve searching for one of the devices  151 - 153 , determining its version and known vulnerabilities for the given version, and carrying out the attack using an exploit. 
     As described herein, the smart devices can be connected not directly to the router  100 , but through another device—such as a smart watch via a smartphone. An example of such a connection might be the pairing of the smart watch Samsung Gear with the smartphone Samsung Galaxy. An API interface such as the Wearable Message API can be used for the link between the devices. 
     It should be appreciated that possible problems which may arise in the event that the hacker has successfully carried out the computer attack on the smart device. Here is a non-exhaustive list of such problems according to the conclusion of the Internet publication “The Wired” of December 2015:
         Obtaining control over a number of sub-assemblies of the Jeep Cherokee automobile, even including control of the speed;   Control of certain medical devices in clinics, such as those which automatically administer medicine to patients;   Even toys such as the latest versions of the Barbie doll with Wi-Fi support are vulnerable to computer attacks.       

     To be sure, the manufacturers of smart devices are trying to eliminate known vulnerabilities, but in a number of cases security is not a priority in the development of such devices. A solution is needed which can close up the vulnerabilities on routers and smart devices by means of their settings. 
       FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of the system according to an exemplary aspect. The system  300  for detecting and correcting of vulnerabilities of a router  100  includes the following modules: a crawler  330 , a module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 , a database of vulnerabilities  360 , a settings tool  350  and a settings database  370 . 
     According to the exemplary aspect of the system for detecting and correcting of vulnerabilities includes the aforementioned module installed in the form of applications on a computer which is connected to the router  100 . 
     The crawler or search robot  330  is designed to sort through accessible objects in the network (such as computers, the router, smartphones and other devices connected to the network) using known network protocols (such as UDP). In the context of the description of  FIG. 3 , it is assumed that the object in the network is a router  100 . The typical operation of the crawler  330  includes: sending a broadcast request through the network, obtaining a response from all accessible objects in the network and further analysis of them. Examples of a crawler include search robots of Google or Yandex. 
     The analysis of the object in the network by the crawler  330  includes the follow algorithm. Specifically, after the crawler  330  has obtained the list of all accessible objects in the network after the broadcast request, it tries to obtain access to an object by one method or another. According to the exemplary aspects, the following are examples of such access:
         Web access. As a rule, if the object returns its address, such as 192.168.0.1, this may mean that the object is a router and one can gain access to it through the HTTP protocol.   Access through the UPnP protocol.   Access through the FTP protocol by the network address of the object in the network.   Access through the remote administration protocol (RDP).   Access by the SSH protocol.       

     The access to the object in a network may require authorization. The authorization may be performed both manually and automatically, when the crawler perform authorization using popular login/password groups (such as admin/admin, admin/1q2w3e, guest/guest and others) or through online automatic authentication techniques (such as Active Directory). 
     For example, in the case of access via UPnP, one may obtain the following data fields characterizing the router  100 :
         PKEY_PNPX_DeviceCategory   PKEY_PNPX_Types   PKEY_DeviceDisplay_FriendlyName   PKEY_DeviceDisplay_Manufacturer   PKEY_DeviceDisplay_ModelName   PKEY_DeviceDisplay_ModelNumber   PKEY_PNPX_PresentationUrl   PKEY_PNPX_IpAddress   PKEY_PNPX_XAddrs   PKEY_Device_LocationInfo       

     The following provides an example of how the crawler  330  gains access to the web interface of the router  100 . The crawler  330  obtains the start web page (generally accessible at the address http://192.168.0.1) and begins to parse its elements according to the DOM model. DOM (Document Object Model) is an object model used for XML/HTML documents. Put simply, the DOM model is a representation of a document in the form of a tree of tags. This tree is formed by an embedded structure of tags plus text fragments of the page, each of which forms a separate node. 
       FIG. 6  presents an example of the DOM model for an HTML page. The root node is the tag HTML, from which come the tags HEAD and BODY, which also have embedded tag nodes. By moving through the tree of the DOM model, one can find all necessary tags and determine their parameters (such as text for the tag TITLE). 
     The task of the crawler  330  is to search for all necessary tags in the DOM model of the web page obtained from the router  100 . Examples of the necessary tags are: “A”, “FORM”, “INPUT” and other tags which may contain the necessary information. For example, an important tag in the structure of the DOM model of the web page obtained from the router  100  will be a tag of the kind &lt;a href=“ . . . ”&gt;Administration&lt;/a&gt;, which is a link to the page with the router settings and its access rights. 
     Following the link found in the body of the tag &lt;a&gt;, the crawler  330  arrives at another page, where once more a search is made for all necessary tags in the DOM model of the given web page. The moving through all pages by following all links can be done recursively, or it can be done only by following necessary links whose titles indicate the important settings. The titles of such links are: “Setup”, “Wireless”, “Administration”, “Access Restrictions”, “Management”, “Network”, “Security” and others. 
     Having gained access to an object in the network, the crawler  330  obtains a list of available resources in the router  100 . By resource, a parameter and/or attribute of the router which may be accessed and/or adjusted is meant. For example, in the case of access by FTP, this will be a set of paths to the file. In the case of access by the HTTP protocol, this may be a web page (or several web pages). The crawler  330  also determines open ports (such as 8080). The crawler  330  sends the obtained list of available resources to the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 . 
     The module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  obtains the list of available resources and, using the database of vulnerabilities  360 , tries to determine the vulnerabilities associated with the given resources. The following are present examples of the rules for determining vulnerabilities which are kept in the aforementioned database. 
     Rule 1.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): network port.   Status of resource (port): 8080, open.       

     Rule 2.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): remote administration.   Status of resource: accessible.       

     Rule 3.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): access by SSH.   Status of resource: access allowed with administrator rights.       

     The following list provides examples of the main types of resources according to one exemplary aspect:
         Passwords,   Remote administration,   DNS settings,   Network ports,   Wi-Fi settings,   Access by various protocols (SSH, Telnet, FTP, HTTP(S)),   Firewall,   Services such as IPTV and others.       

     The module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  compares each resource from the list of available resources with the rules from the database of vulnerabilities  360  for a match between the type of resource and its status. If a match is found, the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  determines the resource found with a similar vulnerable status and sends the information on the vulnerable resources found and their status to the settings tool  350 . 
     The settings tool  350  uses the database of settings  370  to eliminate/repair the vulnerabilities in the vulnerable resources obtained from the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 . 
     The database of settings  370  contains rules which are analogous to those kept in the database of vulnerabilities  360 . The following are examples of such rules. 
     Rule A.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): remote administration.   Status of resource: accessible.   Solution: remove possibility of remote administration via web interface or another settings option of the router  100 .       

     Rule B.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): access by SSH.   Status of resource: access allowed with administrator rights.   Solution: close access by SSH via web interface or another settings option of the router  100 .       

     Rule C.
         Accessible resource (type of resource): administrator password.   Status of resource: not resistant to brute force.   Solution: choose a stronger password (automatically generate a new password).       

     For the specific example it is evident that Rule 2 from the database of vulnerabilities  360  matches up with Rule “A” from the database of settings  370 , and Rule 3 with Rule “B” accordingly. The further adjustment consists in performing the actions indicated in the solution. The actions may be performed using the crawler  330 . 
     The solution will look like one of the options:
         Adjustment of the settings file of the router  100  by making changes in the file itself (for example, the SSH access line may look like “SSH connection=true”, and its replacement consists in changing this line to “SSH connection=false”).   Adjustment through the web interface of the router  100 . This adjustment looks exactly the same as the circuit of the crawler  330  through the elements of the web pages, except in this case one searches for controlling elements such as &lt;option&gt;, &lt;button&gt;, &lt;input&gt; and others.       

     For example, in the case of abolishing the possibility of SSH access, there will be a search for the following elements (given as an example): 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 &lt;select    name    =    “ssh_connect”&gt; 
               
               
                   
                  &lt;option value=″true″&gt;Enabled&lt;/option&gt; 
               
               
                   
                  &lt;option value=″false″&gt;Disabled&lt;/option&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;/select&gt; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     After which the element with value “false” will be selected. 
     Yet another example of adjustment of the router  100  consists in updating its firmware. In this case, the database of settings  370  contains, as solutions, versions of the firmware for the router  100  and the application of the solution consists in writing the firmware file to the router  100  using the crawler  330  and its subsequent execution (as an example, using the web interface of the router  100 ). 
       FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of the system with smart devices according to an exemplary aspect. As an illustration,  FIG. 4  differs little from  FIG. 3  with the exception of the adding of the devices  151 - 153 —smart devices. The smart devices can be the same things such as watches, lights, cameras, Dictaphones, wristbands, heart rate monitors and others which have access to the Internet (or a local area network) through various kinds of connections, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. In the present case, they are connected to the router  100 . While the device  151  is connected directly to the Wi-Fi network of the router  100 , the device  153  is connected through the device  152 . An example of such a connection may be the pairing of the smart watch Samsung Gear (device  153 ) to the smartphone Samsung Galaxy (device  152 ). The pairing can be done using a separate application, the installed Samsung Galaxy (device  152 ). 
     The crawler  330  is designed to sort through the available objects in the network (such as the devices  151 - 153 ) using known protocols (such as UDP). In the context of the description of  FIG. 4 , it is assumed that the object in the network is one of the devices  151 - 153 . The general operation of the crawler  330  involves: sending a broadcast request through the network, obtaining a reply from all available objects in the network, and further analysis of them. For the sending of the broadcast request, the crawler  330  should be registered in the network provided by the router  100 . Thus, the first step is to detect the router  100  (as a device allowing access to the wireless Wi-Fi network) and to connect to this network, and only then send the broadcast request. 
     The analysis of the object in the network using the crawler  330  looks as follows. After the crawler  330  has obtained the list of all available objects in the network after the broadcast request, it tries to gain access to the object by one method or another. According to the exemplary aspect, the following are examples of such access:
         Web access.   Access through the UPnP protocol.   Access through the FTP protocol by the network address of the object in the network.   Access through the remote administration protocol (RDP).       

     The access to the object in a network may require authorization. The authorization can be performed both manually and automatically, when the crawler sorts through popular login/password groups (such as admin/admin, admin/1q2w3e, guest/guest and others) or through online automatic authentication techniques (such as Active Directory). 
     Having gained access to an object in the network, the crawler  330  obtains a list of available resources in one of the devices  151 - 153 . For example, in the case of access by FTP, this will be a set of file paths. In the case of access by the HTTP protocol, this may be a web page (or several web pages). The crawler  330  also determines open ports (such as 8080). The crawler  330  sends the obtained list of available resources to the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 . 
     The module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  obtains the list of available resources and uses the database of vulnerabilities  360  to try and determine the vulnerabilities connected with the given resources. The module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  takes each resource from the list of available resources and compares it with rules from the database of vulnerabilities  360  for a match between the type of resource and its status. If a match is found, the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340  will define the resource found with a similar “vulnerable” status and send the information on the vulnerable resources found and their status to the settings tool  350 . 
     The settings tool  350  uses the database of settings  370  to repair the vulnerabilities in the vulnerable resources obtained from the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 . The database of settings  370  contains rules which are analogous to those kept in the database of vulnerabilities  360 . A further adjustment consists in performing the actions indicated in the solution. The actions can be performed by the crawler  330 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a flowchart for a method according to the exemplary aspect. As shown, in step  510  there is a determination of a device which can be accessed (for example, by the crawler  330 , as described in detail for  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). As was already described above, access can be obtained both to the router  100  and to the devices  151 - 153 . In the latter case, first of all there is a request for access to the network where the indicated devices are accessible. In step  520  there is a determination of the settings of the device (of both router  100  and devices  151 - 153 ), which can also be done by the crawler  330 . In step  530  an analysis is made of the obtained settings for vulnerabilities by the module of searching for vulnerabilities  340 , after which in step  540  the settings tool  350  formulates a list of actions to eliminate the vulnerabilities found. In step  550  the crawler  330  performs the actions from the formulated list on the device. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an example of a general-purpose computer system (which may be a personal computer or a server) on which the disclosed systems and method can be implemented according to an example aspect. The computer system  20  includes a central processing unit  21 , a system memory  22  and a system bus  23  connecting the various system components, including the memory associated with the central processing unit  21 . The system bus  23  is realized like any bus structure known from the prior art, including in turn a bus memory or bus memory controller, a peripheral bus and a local bus, which is able to interact with any other bus architecture. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM)  24  and random-access memory (RAM)  25 . The basic input/output system (BIOS)  26  includes the basic procedures ensuring the transfer of information between elements of the personal computer  20 , such as those at the time of loading the operating system with the use of the ROM  24 . 
     The personal computer  20 , in turn, includes a hard disk  27  for reading and writing of data, a magnetic disk drive  28  for reading and writing on removable magnetic disks  29  and an optical drive  30  for reading and writing on removable optical disks  31 , such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and other optical information media. The hard disk  27 , the magnetic disk drive  28 , and the optical drive  30  are connected to the system bus  23  across the hard disk interface  32 , the magnetic disk interface  33  and the optical drive interface  34 , respectively. The drives and the corresponding computer information media are power-independent modules for storage of computer instructions, data structures, program modules and other data of the personal computer  20 . 
     The present disclosure provides the implementation of a system that uses a hard disk  27 , a removable magnetic disk  29  and a removable optical disk  31 , but it should be understood that it is possible to employ other types of computer information media  56  which are able to store data in a form readable by a computer (solid state drives, flash memory cards, digital disks, random-access memory (RAM) and so on), which are connected to the system bus  23  via the controller  55 . 
     The computer  20  has a file system  36 , where the recorded operating system  35  is kept, and also additional program applications  37 , other program modules  38  and program data  39 . The user is able to enter commands and information into the personal computer  20  by using input devices (keyboard  40 , mouse  42 ). Other input devices (not shown) can be used: microphone, joystick, game controller, scanner, and so on. Such input devices usually plug into the computer system  20  through a serial port  46 , which in turn is connected to the system bus, but they can be connected in other ways, for example, by a parallel port, a game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  47  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  23  across an interface, such as a video adapter  48 . In addition to the monitor  47 , the personal computer can be equipped with other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as loudspeakers, a printer, and so on. 
     The personal computer  20  is able to operate within a network environment, using a network connection to one or more remote computers  49 . The remote computer (or computers)  49  are also personal computers or servers having the majority or all of the aforementioned elements in describing the nature of a personal computer  20 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Other devices can also be present in the computer network, such as routers, network stations, peer devices or other network nodes. 
     Network connections can form a local-area computer network (LAN)  50 , such as a wired and/or wireless network, and a wide-area computer network (WAN). Such networks are used in corporate computer networks and internal company networks, and they generally have access to the Internet. In LAN or WAN networks, the personal computer  20  is connected to the local-area network  50  across a network adapter or network interface  51 . When networks are used, the personal computer  20  can employ a modem  54  or other modules for providing communications with a wide-area computer network such as the Internet. The modem  54 , which is an internal or external device, is connected to the system bus  23  by a serial port  46 . It should be noted that the network connections are only examples and need not depict the exact configuration of the network, i.e., in reality there are other ways of establishing a connection of one computer to another by technical communication modules, such as Bluetooth. 
     In various aspects, the systems and methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the methods may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Computer-readable medium includes data storage. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable medium can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, Flash memory or other types of electric, magnetic, or optical storage medium, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a processor of a general purpose computer. 
     In various aspects, the systems and methods described in the present disclosure in terms of modules. The term “module” as used herein refers to a real-world device, component, or arrangement of components implemented using hardware, such as by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or field-programmable gate array (FPGA), for example, or as a combination of hardware and software, such as by a microprocessor system and a set of instructions to implement the module&#39;s functionality, which (while being executed) transform the microprocessor system into a special-purpose device. A module can also be implemented as a combination of the two, with certain functions facilitated by hardware alone, and other functions facilitated by a combination of hardware and software. In certain implementations, at least a portion, and in some cases, all, of a module can be executed on the processor of a general purpose computer (such as the one described in greater detail in  FIG. 3  above). Accordingly, each module can be realized in a variety of suitable configurations, and should not be limited to any example implementation exemplified herein. 
     In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the aspects are disclosed herein. It will be appreciated that in the development of any actual implementation of the present disclosure, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, and that these specific goals will vary for different implementations and different developers. It will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     Furthermore, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of restriction, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled in the art in light of the teachings and guidance presented herein, in combination with the knowledge of the skilled in the relevant art(s). Moreover, it is not intended for any term in the specification or claims to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitly set forth as such. 
     The various aspects disclosed herein encompass present and future known equivalents to the known modules referred to herein by way of illustration. Moreover, while aspects and applications have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein.