Patent ID: 8676969

Claim:
A computing device that is connectable to at least one computer network, the computing device, comprising: a memory and at least one processor that are respectively configured to store and execute instructions that are organized into: at least one classification store configured to store a classification for the at least one computer network, the classification classifying the at least one computer network, and the classification comprising at least one derived network characteristic; at least one network classification policy store configured to store at least one network classification policy, the at least one network classification policy referencing the at least one derived network characteristic; a network classification policy enforcer configured to: select a network classification policy action to execute based on the at least one derived network characteristic meeting at least one condition specified in the at least one network classification policy; and execute the network classification policy action of the network classification policy, wherein executing the network classification policy action comprises configuring network security settings of the computing device based on the classification; a network characteristic generator configured to generate the at least one derived network characteristic according to at least one derived network characteristic specification, wherein the at least one derived network characteristic specification references at least one network attribute associated with the computer network; and a network attribute acquirer configured to acquire a plurality of network attributes in an order specified by an acquisition priority list, wherein the plurality of network attributes comprise the at least one network attribute, and wherein the at least one network attribute is selected from the group consisting of a domain name, one or more IP addresses, a verified presence of network infrastructure elements, parameters received from a network server, a communications media type, a service provider, a nominal available communications bandwidth, a measured available communications bandwidth, a logical network location, and a physical network location.