Method and apparatus to improve the protection of information presented by a computer
US7007304B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 28, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 7, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09G5/39
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improvement to a graphics controller to prevent the contents of selected portions of the frame buffer from being read by devices external to the graphics controller. The invention defines one or more viewable rectangles in the frame buffer as a protected write-only area. Any attempt to read data from the protected area of the frame buffer triggers a security violation which can delete or destroy the contents of that area to prevent it from being read. The controller can also operate in a bypass mode in which the security functions are bypassed so the graphics controller operates in a conventional manner. A security violation may return the controller to the bypass mode. The invention can prevent protected data, such as copyrighted data downloaded over the Internet, from being copied from the frame buffer and used in an unauthorized manner.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.