Patent ID: 8161532

Claim:
A system for managing a subscription-based computer independent of an operating system of the subscription-based computer, the system comprising: a processor of the subscription-based computer; a security module residing on the subscription-based computer including a computer-readable storage medium having computer executable instructions executed by the processor of the subscription-based computer, the instructions comprising: a provisioning module for accessing, decrementing, and storing subscription data during operation of the subscription-based computer, wherein subscription data includes an amount of access time to enable operation of the subscription-based computer; and a network module residing on the computer, in communication with the security module, the network module including a network stack controlling all network traffic to the operating system through the security module, a web server, and a user interface web page, the user interface web page in an operating system independent format, the network module including a computer-readable storage medium having computer executable instructions executed by the processor of the subscription-based computer, the instructions comprising: a communication module for receiving a request from a web browser, determining if the request is for the user interface web page at the network stack or an external computer, the request originating from an operating system of the computer, and when the request is for the user interface web page: a population module populates the user interface web page with the subscription data accessed by the provisioning module, a network driver retrieves the user interface web page from the network module and sends the populated user interface web page to the web server, and a server module serves, from the web server, the populated user interface web page to the operating system; and when the request is for the external computer, an encryption module encrypts the request and sends the request to the external computer.