Abstract:
A method for disabling a wireless data processing device is described comprising: receiving an indication from a user that the data processing device is missing; and responsively transmitting a disable command to the data processing device, the disable command disabling the data processing device using a first disabling technique.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates generally to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved system and method for disabling a data processing device which has been lost or stolen and/or providing a notification to whomever may find the data processing device.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A variety of portable/wireless data processing devices have been introduced over the past several years. These include wireless personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) such as the Palm® VIIx handheld, cellular phones equipped with data processing capabilities, and, more recently, corporate wireless messaging devices such as the Blackberry™ wireless pager developed by Research In Motion (“RIM”).™ 
           [0005]    One problem which exists with portable data processing devices is that, due to their portable nature, they are inherently capable of being lost or stolen. While this is not as much of a concern for devices which include only limited storage capabilities (e.g., standard cell phones), it is a significant concern for devices capable of storing significant amounts of user data. For example, many portable devices are currently capable of storing various types of personal and/or business-related information, a significant amount of which may be confidential (e.g., word processing documents, e-mail messages, electronic calendar data, personal and business-related contact information, . . . etc).  
           [0006]    Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for disabling a lost or stolen data processing device to thereby prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information stored thereon. What is also needed is a system and method which will improve the chances that the data processing device will be returned to its rightful owner.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0007]    A method for disabling a wireless data processing device is described comprising: receiving an indication from a user that the data processing device is missing; and responsively transmitting a disable command to the data processing device, the disable command disabling the data processing device using a first disabling technique.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a data processing service communicating with a data processing device.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a system and method for disabling a data processing device.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 illustrates a message on the display of a disabled data processing device.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]    Described below is a system and method for coordinating between a plurality of e-mail accounts. Throughout the description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the underlying principles of the present invention.  
       Embodiments of a Data Processing Service  
       [0013]    Embodiments of the invention may be implemented on a data processing service  100  such as that illustrated generally in FIG. 1. The service  100 , which may be comprised of one or more servers, provides a portal through which data processing devices  110  may access content (e.g., Web pages, multimedia content, e-mail, . . . etc) from external Internet sites  130 . The service  100  is comprised of a plurality of servers  100 . Embodiments of such a service  100  are described in co-pending application entitled N ETWORK  P ORTAL  S YSTEM , A PPARATUS AND  M ETHOD , Ser. No. 09/714,897, Filed Nov. 15, 2000 (hereinafter “Network Portal Application”), which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and which is incorporated herein by reference. Certain features of the service  100  will now be described followed by a detailed description of a system and method for disabling a data processing device.  
         [0014]    In one embodiment, the service  100  converts stand plications and data into a format which each wireless data processing device  110  can properly interpret. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1 one embodiment of the service  110  includes a content conversion module  120  for processing requests for Internet content  140 . More particularly, the service  100  acts as a proxy for the data processing device  110 , forwarding Internet requests  940 ,  941  to the appropriate Internet site  130  on behalf of the data processing device  110 , receiving responses from the Internet site  130  in a standard Internet format (e.g., Web pages with embedded audio/video and graphical content, e-mail messages with attachments, . . . etc), and converting the standard Internet responses  124  into a format which the data processing device  110  can process (e.g., bytecodes as described in the Network Portal Application).  
         [0015]    For example, the conversion module  120  may include a hypertext markup language (“HTML”) rendering module (not shown) for interpreting HTML code and downloading any embedded content in the HTML code (e.g., graphics, video, sound, . . . etc) to the service  100 . The conversion module  120  may then combine the HTML code and embedded content and generate a set of bytecodes for accurately reproducing the requested content on the data processing device  110 . As described above, in one embodiment, the bytecodes may be Java bytecodes/applets. However, the conversion module  120  may generate various other types of interpreted and/or non-interpreted code, depending on the particular type of data processing device  110  being used (e.g., one with an interpreter module or one without).  
         [0016]    Because one embodiment of the service  100  maintains an intimate knowledge of the capabilities/configuration of each data processing device  110  (e.g., screen size, graphics/audio capabilities, available memory, processing power, user preferences, . . . etc) it can reconstruct the requested Internet content accurately, while at the same time minimizing the bandwidth required to transmit the content to the device  110 . For example, the conversion module  120  may perform pre-scaling and color depth adjustments to the requested content so that it will be rendered properly within the data processing device&#39;s  110 &#39;s display. In making these calculations, the conversion may factor in the memory and processing power available on the data processing device  110 . In addition, the conversion module  120  may compress the requested content using a variety of compression techniques, and thereby preserve network bandwidth.  
         [0017]    In one embodiment, the conversion module  120  will simply discard Internet content which either cannot be reproduced on the data processing device  110 , or which the user has indicated that he/she does not want to be reproduced on the portal device. For example, a user may indicate that he/she does not want sounds to be generated on the data processing device  110  or that he/she does not want advertisements transmitted to the data processing device  110 . The conversion module  120  will then remove any sounds or advertisements embedded in the requested Web page (or other requested Internet content). Because HTML rendering and other advanced processing of Internet content/data is offloaded to the service  100  as described above, the data processing device  110  can be manufactured using a low power microprocessor or microcontroller, thereby lowering the cost of manufacture and/or the energy consumed by the device  110 .  
         [0018]    In one embodiment, when a particular Web page or other Internet object has been converted into a format suitable for execution on the data processing device  110  the formatted page/object may be stored locally on a cache  125  maintained at the service  100 . The next time the content is requested, the conversion module  120  may simply read the previously-generated code from the local cache  125  (i.e., it will no longer need to retrieve the content from remote locations to reconstruct the code).  
         [0019]    Various caching techniques and algorithms may be implemented to ensure that the cache  125  is storing Internet data efficiently (i.e., resulting in an acceptable percentage of cache ‘hits’) and that the data is current. For example, the service  100  may cache the most frequently-requested Internet data (e.g., the Yahoo™ home page), and may remove content from the cache based on a least-recently used caching policy. In addition, to ensure that data stored in the cache is current, the service  100  may compare the version of the data stored in the cache  125  with the version of data stored at the remote Internet site  130  when the data is requested. Similarly, the service  100  may store data in the cache  125  for some predetermined period of time before checking the remote server  130  for a new version. Various other Internet caching techniques may be employed while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention (e.g., those defined in the Internet Caching Protocol (“ICP”) and/or the Cache Array Routing Protocol (“CARP”)).  
         [0020]    One embodiment of the data processing device  110  may support audio communications as well as (or in lieu of) data communications. In fact, the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particular type of wireless communication.  
       Device Disabling Embodiments  
       [0021]    One embodiment of the service  100 , illustrated in FIG. 2, is comprised of a device disabling module  220  for disabling wireless data processing devices  110  under certain circumstances. A predefined set of disabling parameters  221  define the particular conditions under which data processing devices  110  should be disabled.  
         [0022]    In one embodiment, when a user&#39;s data processing device is lost or stolen, the user may notify the service  100  via an alternate communication channel. For example, the user may contact the service from a client computer  230  (e.g., the user&#39;s “desktop” computer). Communication between the client computer  230  and the service  100  may be by way of a direct dial-up connection and/or over the Internet (e.g., over a digital subscriber (“DSL”) line or a dial-up connection provided by the user&#39;s Internet Service Provider). The service  100  may provide a World-Wide-Web interface through which the user may access his/her account information and notify the service  100  of the lost device.  
         [0023]    In order to gain access to the account, the user will typically be required to enter a valid user ID and password. In addition, in one embodiment, the user may be required to provide additional authentication data before a device will be disabled such as, for example, a keyword or phrase stored on the service  100  for authentication purposes (e.g., the user&#39;s mother&#39;s maiden name). It should be noted, however, that the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particular type of user authentication process or user authentication data.  
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the user may also contact the service  100  via a telephony device  240  (e.g., a standard telephone, wireless telephone, Internet telephone, . . . etc) and provide authentication data to the service via a touch-tone telephone keypad. Once authenticated, the service  100  may guide the user through a menu hierarchy navigable with the touch-tone keypad (e.g., using an interactive voice response (“IVR”) unit or the like configured at the service  100 ). The menu hierarchy, in one embodiment, includes the option of disabling the user&#39;s data processing device. The user may also verbally communicate with a customer service representative who, after acquiring authentication data from the user, may disable the device  110  on behalf of the user.  
         [0025]    In one embodiment, the device disabling module  220  may disable the device  110  without receiving a manual request to do so from the user. For example, if successive unsuccessful authentication attempts are made from the wireless device  110 , the device disabling module  220  may automatically disable the device, under the assumption that an unauthorized user is attempting to gain access to the device  110  and/or the service  100 . The user may specify the parameters  221  for which the device  110  will be automatically disabled.  
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the device disabling module  220  may disable the wireless device  110  without the user&#39;s permission. For example, if the user&#39;s account is seriously overdue and the wireless device  110  is leased to the user, the device disabling module  220  may disable the device  110  until the user&#39;s balance is paid. Various additional disabling parameters  221  may be defined while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention.  
         [0027]    In one embodiment, even when the device is disabled, certain safety functions will still be provided. For example, certain emergency-only telephone numbers may still be called from the device, under any circumstances (e.g., 911 or similar emergency numbers).  
         [0028]    Once the device disabling module  220  determines that the device  110  should be disabled, it may cause the device  110  to be disabled in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, it simply transmits a “disable” command to the device  110  instructing the device to deactivate itself. The device  110  may either be disabled immediately or the next time it connects to the service  100 . If extremely sensitive information is stored on the device, however, instant deactivation may be the preferred choice.  
         [0029]    In one embodiment, the disable command is encoded in a communication channel other than the device&#39;s primary communications data link. For example, in one embodiment, a special Short Message Service (“SMS”) message containing the command is transmitted to the device  110  from a trusted originating number. In another embodiment, a special phone call is made to the device  110  from a special number.  
         [0030]    Once disabled, in one embodiment, a notice may be displayed on the device&#39;s LCD panel indicating that the device  110  is lost and/or disabled and requires reactivation. An example of such an embodiment of illustrated in FIG. 3. This embodiment will improve the chances that the device  110  will be returned to its rightful owner while at the same time protecting the confidentiality of the owner&#39;s stored information.  
         [0031]    As indicated in FIG. 3, a number may be provided to allow individuals to call the service  100 . The service may subsequently send the user a shipping package for the device along with a prepaid postage sticker. Alternatively, or in addition, the service  100  may display a post office box to which the device  110  may be sent. In one embodiment, the PO Box will be designated as a prepaid postage PO Box (i.e., so that the sender will not be required to pay for shipping). In another embodiment, the device itself may display a prepaid postage indicator on its LCD screen (e.g., in the upper right corner, where it would typically be displayed) as well as an address to which the device  110  should be sent. The individual who finds the device may then simply drop the device directly in a mailbox.  
         [0032]    In one embodiment, the user may specify the message to display on screen of the lost device  110  from either the networked computer  230  or verbally, via the telephone  240 . For example, the user may decide to include his/her telephone number in the displayed message. In other cases, the user may device to offer a reward for anyone who returns the device. Various other service- and user-specified messages may be employed while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention.  
         [0033]    In one embodiment, several types of “deactivation” may be available, thereby requiring several different types of “reactivation.” For example, in one embodiment, the device  110  may be deactivated in software (e.g., either at the operating system-level or at the application level) and may be reactivated using a particular password. The password may have been one previously selected by the user or the service. Alternatively, in one embodiment, when a user connects to the service  100  to deactivate the device  110 , the service  100  transmits a reactivation password to the device  110  prior to deactivating it and concurrently transmits the password to the authenticated user (e.g., either verbally via telephone  240  and/or via e-mail, instant message or Web page transmitted to the client computer  230 ). The reactivation password may be randomly selected by the service  100  or may be known for the life of the device but only revealed to the user after receiving proper authentication. Using a service-selected, potentially random, reactivation password in this manner makes it less likely that an unauthorized user will be able re-enable the data processing device  110  after it has been disabled by using information known about the device owner (i.e., which the owner might potentially use as a password, such as the owner&#39;s birthday, initials, mother&#39;s maiden name . . . etc).  
         [0034]    The reactivation password may be entered at the device  110  directly by the device owner using an alphanumeric keypad or other input key configuration. Alternatively, or in addition, once the user indicates to the service  110  that the device has been found (e.g., via the client computer  230  or telephone  240 ), the service may transmit the reactivation password to the device  110 , thereby automatically enabling the device  110 .  
         [0035]    Under certain conditions (e.g., if extremely sensitive information is stored on the device  110 ) the device  110  may be deactivated in a more permanent manner. For example, in one embodiment, non-volatile portions of the device (e.g., a Flash memory portion of the OS or BOIS) may be modified to as to render the device inoperable, in response to a command to do so from the service  100 . In one embodiment, the only way for the device to subsequently be reactivated is to have it shipped back to the service for an initialization of the non-volatile memory.  
         [0036]    In certain cases, the service  110  may erase all user data stored on the device either in lieu of, or in addition to deactivating the device  110 . Prior to erasing the data, the service may perform a backup to preserve the user data on the service  100 . As mentioned above, in one embodiment, the service  100  continually stores a backup of the user data, regardless of whether the device has been lost. As such, in this case, only the new user data (i.e., entered since the most recent backup) will be transmitted to the service  100  to preserve bandwidth and battery live of the device  110 . Under any scenario, once the user receives a new device  110  (or finds the old device  110 ), the user data may be reinstalled from the service  100 .  
         [0037]    In one embodiment, the user may select from any of the above types of device disabling. For example, if the user cannot locate the device, for the first few hours he/she may only want to password protect the device. However, after several days or weeks have passed, the user may was to disable the device more permanently and/or erase all of the user data from the device. Various other device disabling combinations may be employed while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention.  
         [0038]    Various network types may be employed to support communications between the wireless device  110  and the service  100  including, for example, packet-based networks such as Cellular Digital Packet Data (“CDPD”) and Mobitex. It should be noted, however, that the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particular type of wireless network  210 .  
         [0039]    Embodiments of the invention may include various steps as set forth above. The steps may be embodied in machine-executable instructions which cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor to perform certain steps. Alternatively, these steps may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components.  
         [0040]    Elements of the present invention may also be provided as a machine-readable medium for storing the machine-executable instructions. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, propagation media or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. For example, the present invention may be downloaded as a computer program which may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).  
         [0041]    Throughout the foregoing description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. For example, while embodiments of the invention described above employ a “service”  100  communicatively coupled between the wireless device  110  and the Internet, the particular service  100  described above is not required for complying with the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope and spirit of the invention should be judged in terms of the claims which follow.