Patent ID: 8387118

Claim:
A method comprising: setting, by a server comprising a processor, control limits for a user device; monitoring, the server, usage of the user device, wherein the monitoring includes analyzing event logs for the user device; determining, by the server, that one of the control limits for the user device has been exceeded; notifying, by the server, a master device that the one of the control limits for the user device has been exceeded; receiving, by the server, a first request from the master device to disable the user device; disabling, by the server, the user device in response to the first request by directing a software application operating in the user device to disable certain functions of the user device except for functions of the software application; determining, by the server, whether the user device is approved to complete a power-up sequence and to re-enable the disabled functions of the user device responsive to the server receiving a second request from the user device; and transmitting, by the server, to the user device an approval message to enable the user device to complete the power-up sequence and to re-enable the disabled functions responsive to determining that the server has received a reset signal from the master device.