Patent ID: 7389426

Claim:
A method for use in an electronic device including at least one software component and at least one hardware component, the method comprising: performing an installation process comprising the steps of: generating, in the electronic device, a hash value by performing a hashing algorithm on an identifier of the at least one software component and an identifier of the at least one hardware component; and storing the generated hash value; subsequent to performing the installation process, performing a start-up process comprising the steps of: generating, in the electronic device, another hash value by performing the hashing algorithm on an identifier of the at least one software component and an identifier of the at least one hardware component; comparing the another hash value with the stored hash value; determining whether software used by the electronic device for accessing a wireless network remains unmodified based on the comparison of the another hash value and the stored hash value; and enabling wireless network access pursuant to the step of determining, the wireless network access being disabled until a determination is made in the step of determining that the software used by the electronic device for accessing the wireless network remains unmodified based on the comparison of the another hash value and the stored hash value.