Patent ID: 8464347

Claim:
A software update apparatus, comprising: a physical memory storing a predetermined application; a protection control module operable to verify whether the predetermined application has been tampered with; and an install module group including a plurality of install modules, such that at least one install module of the plurality of install modules receives a replacement protection control module from an external server and updates the protection control module with the received replacement protection control module, wherein at least one install module of the plurality of install modules is operable to verify whether the protection control module has been tampered with, wherein each respective install module of the plurality of install modules simultaneously running is verified (i) by at least another one install module of the plurality of install modules simultaneously running, and (ii) as to whether the respective install module has a possibility of performing malicious operations resulting from the respective install module being tampered with, such that every install module of the plurality of install modules is verified, by another install module of the plurality of install modules, as to whether tampering has occurred, wherein, when all install modules of the plurality of install modules are verified as not having the possibility of performing the malicious operations, any install module of the plurality of install modules performs the updating of the protection control module, wherein each install module of the plurality of install modules performs the verification while updating the protection control module; wherein the received replacement protection control module is previously encrypted using an encryption key, a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key is divided into a plurality of partial decryption keys, the external server is notified of any install module of the plurality of install modules that is verified as not having the possibility of performing the malicious operations, by at least one install module of the plurality of install modules that has verified any install module of the plurality of install modules as not having the possibility of performing the malicious operations, the external server transmits all partial decryption keys of the plurality of partial decryption keys to any install module of the plurality of install modules verified as not having the possibility of performing the malicious operations, and upon receiving all partial decryption keys of the plurality of partial decryption keys, any install module of the plurality of install modules decrypts the encrypted replacement protection control module using all partial decryption keys of the plurality of partial decryption keys and performs the updating of the protection control module.