Portable Media User Session Translation Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operating systems do not allow users to securely transport and maintain their user account data and settings across different computers, leading to privacy issues and inconvenience when switching between devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where user account data and settings are stored on a portable media device, encrypted with a user-provided key, allowing users to initiate sessions on non-native computers by authenticating with a password, and using a translation layer to manage file ID inconsistencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If user account data is stored on a portable media device and encrypted with a user-provided key, then security and privacy are improved, but device complexity and authentication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translation layer as an intermediary component that sits between the portable media device and the host computer's file system. This translation layer handles the complexity of encrypted file access, ID mapping, and session management, allowing the user to benefit from secure encrypted storage without directly managing the cryptographic complexity. The translation layer transparently manages the encryption/decryption processes and file ID inconsistencies, resolving the technical contradiction by isolating the complexity in a dedicated intermediary component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If user account data is stored on a portable media device, then adaptability across different computers is improved, but file ID inconsistencies and translation requirements increase complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user account data storage into a portable media device that can be used across multiple computers, separating the data storage function from the computer-specific file system structures. The translation layer further segments the complexity by handling ID mapping and file system translation independently, allowing the portable device to maintain adaptability across different computers while isolating the translation complexity in a dedicated software layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation layer acts as an intermediary that resolves file ID inconsistencies between the portable media device and different host computer file systems. It translates file identifiers and manages path mappings, enabling the portable device to adapt to various computer environments without requiring the user to manually handle ID conflicts or system-specific file structure differences.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a translation layer is implemented to manage file ID inconsistencies, then compatibility across different computers is improved, but software complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer serves as a specialized intermediary software component that sits between the portable media device file system and the host computer's native file system. It automatically handles file ID translation, path mapping, and format conversions, improving compatibility across different computers while containing the software complexity within a dedicated, manageable layer that can be independently developed and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation layer creates virtual copies or mappings of the portable device's file structure that are compatible with the host computer's file system expectations. Instead of requiring the host system to understand the portable device's native file IDs and structure, the translation layer presents a translated view that mimics standard file system interfaces, thereby improving compatibility while isolating the complexity in the translation logic.
4Stability of the object's composition
If user sessions are maintained on portable media devices, then persistence of user state is improved, but authentication time and session management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary authentication and session setup when the portable media device is first connected to a host computer. The translation layer pre-establishes file mappings and user context before the user needs to access their data. This preliminary action reduces authentication time for subsequent access operations, as the heavy lifting of session establishment and file system translation is already completed, thereby improving persistence while minimizing time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for managing a computer user, comprising initiating a user session for the computer user based on user data stored in one partition on a removable computer readable medium. The user data is associated with a user ID, and the user ID is stored on a second partition of the removable computer readable medium. The user ID is used to identify the user data to the computer user. The computer user is authenticated as being associated with the user data based in part on the user ID. Also described is an article of manufacture for creating a partition on a removable computer readable medium for storing user data and associating it with a second partition storing an associated user ID on the removable computer readable medium.