Patent ID: 7792978

Claim:
A method for communicating with a remote set top box (STB) that provides a service to end users comprising: receiving at a location remote from the STB a first item of information related to parameter settings associated with the STB from the STB, the parameter settings affecting the provisioning of the service to the end user; retrieving a second item of information from a database spaced from the STB; comparing at the location remote from the STB the first item of information with the second item of information, the second item of information being related to parameter settings expected to be associated with the STB; based on a result of the comparing, communicating to the STB from the location remote from the STB an instruction to change at least one of the parameter settings affecting the provisioning of the service to the end user; and wherein the instruction communicated to the STB provides for at least one of enabling a resource of the STB related to the first item of information, disabling a resource of the STB related to the first item of information, including authorization keys related to the first item of information, and causing the STB to diagnose a problem of the STB related to the first item of information.