OS Dongle Cloud Authentication Cross-Device Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in accessing and interacting with software applications and data across multiple devices, especially when they need to present or edit content on devices they do not own, such as public computers or kiosks, without the ability to authenticate securely and manage access permissions effectively.
Innovation Solution
A compact OS dongle that connects to a display monitor, utilizing a virtual operating system in the cloud to provide a desktop interface, supports peripheral devices, and manages user authentication to restrict access, allowing authorized users to access and edit content while enabling secure operation modes like kiosk mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a dongle is used to enable functions on different devices, then device compatibility and accessibility are improved, but security control and user authentication become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud-based authentication service as an intermediary between the dongle and user devices. The dongle itself remains simple hardware, while security control is offloaded to the cloud service that mediates authentication requests, device pairing, and permission management. This resolves the contradiction by keeping the dongle simple (improving adaptability) while providing robust security through the cloud intermediary (reducing dongle complexity).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/security-based authentication mechanisms (physical keys, passwords entered on device) with cloud-based digital authentication. The dongle uses cryptographic credentials stored in secure element hardware, but the actual authentication process is performed remotely via cryptographic challenge-response protocols, substituting complex local security mechanisms with simpler hardware paired with cloud-based verification.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cloud-based virtual operating system is used in the dongle, then access to software applications and data across multiple devices is improved, but network dependency and connectivity requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into three independent components: the dongle (hardware identity and credentials), the cloud service (operating system and application delivery), and the user device (display and input). This segmentation allows each component to function independently - the dongle provides persistent identity across devices, the cloud provides the virtual OS, and the user device provides the interface. This resolves the contradiction by making cross-device access possible through the segmented architecture (improving adaptability) while allowing the system to degrade gracefully if network connectivity is lost (maintaining reliability through component independence).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary authentication and device pairing actions that establish trust relationships before network-dependent operations. The dongle pre-stores cryptographic credentials and pre-pairs with authorized devices, so that when connected to the cloud, authentication is immediate and seamless. This preliminary setup reduces ongoing network dependency for authentication operations, improving reliability while maintaining cross-device access capability.
3Reliability
If user authentication credentials are verified to restrict access, then security is improved, but user interaction time and authentication process length increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service authentication where the dongle automatically performs cryptographic verification with the cloud service without requiring user intervention. The user simply needs to physically connect the dongle to the device, and the authentication process occurs automatically in the background through hardware-based cryptographic operations. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining strong security (reliability) while eliminating manual authentication steps, reducing authentication time to merely the physical connection action.
4Ease of operation
If a compact dongle design is used, then portability and ease of use are improved, but processing power and local storage capacity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the operating system, application software, and data storage from the physical dongle and relocates them to cloud servers. The dongle retains only the essential functions of hardware identity, cryptographic credential storage, and network communication. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining the compact, portable dongle form factor (ease of operation) while providing full processing power and storage capacity through the cloud infrastructure (quantity of substance).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the cloud-based virtual operating system universal, allowing the same dongle to access different applications and data environments across multiple devices and locations. The dongle itself remains a simple universal key, while the multi-functionality is provided by the cloud services that can deliver different virtual machine environments, applications, and data sets based on user needs. This resolves the contradiction by keeping the dongle simple and portable while providing unlimited processing and storage through the universal cloud platform.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C~1D
AI summary
In one general aspect, a method can include determining that a display monitor is operatively connected to a display port included in an operating system (OS) dongle, identifying at least one peripheral device operatively connected to the OS dongle, receiving, by the OS dongle, an indication of requested content from the at least one peripheral device, and responsive to receiving the indication of the requested content, obtaining the requested content from a computer system remote from the OS dongle. The obtaining can include operatively connecting the OS dongle to a network. The network can be operatively interfaced to the computer system that includes the requested remote content. The method can include providing, by the OS dongle, the requested content to the display monitor using the display port.