Methods for fast, secure and privacy-friendly internet connection discovery in wireless networks
US9949301B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 20, 2016 |
| Grant date | Apr 17, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W76/38
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and system for verifying Internet connectivity at an access point in a fast, secure, and privacy-friendly manner. During operation, the system may perform passive network discovery, challenge response discovery, and/or active discovery to verify Internet connectivity for a mobile device. Passive network discovery involves the mobile device using a public key of a server to decrypt a time value to verify Internet connectivity. The mobile device receives the encrypted time value as part of the server's signed timing information in an overloaded WiFi beacon frame. Challenge response discovery involves the mobile device sending an encrypted challenge to servers, and a server returns a correct response to the challenge to confirm Internet connectivity. Active discovery involves a mobile device sending HTTP GET requests to a randomly selected set of servers without including a user agent, and a server may send an HTTP REPLY to confirm Internet connectivity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.