Trust System for Secure Copy-Paste Between Applications

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Users face risks when pasting content from one application to another, as harmful or dangerous content, such as active code, can be inadvertently executed, potentially causing damage to the local computing device, especially in managed code environments where security regulations are in place to prevent such actions.

Innovation Solution

A trust system is implemented to determine the safety of content being copied and pasted, comparing the trust levels of the source and target applications, allowing only safe content to be pasted while enabling users to override restrictions with proper permission, thus protecting the local device from potential harm.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If content is copied from a source application to a target application, then content fidelity and functionality are improved, but security risks and potential harm to the local computing device increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent fidelityVSAvoidsecurity risks

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A trust system is introduced as an intermediary between the source application and target application. The trust system evaluates the trust levels of both applications and mediates the copy-paste operation accordingly. This mediator architecture allows content to be transferred while filtering out potentially harmful elements based on trust assessments, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining content fidelity and preventing security risks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The content transfer process is segmented into distinct phases: copying content from the source application, evaluating trust levels of both applications, determining safety based on trust comparison, and selectively pasting only safe content to the target application. This segmentation allows the system to maintain content fidelity for trusted applications while blocking harmful content, addressing both reliability and security concerns simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Object-affected harmful factors

If security restrictions are imposed on pasting content, then protection from harmful content is improved, but user convenience and ease of operation deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from harmful contentVSAvoiduser convenience

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The trust system provides feedback to the user about the security status of content being pasted. When content is blocked due to trust level comparisons, the system informs the user why the content cannot be pasted. This feedback mechanism maintains security protection while preserving user convenience by allowing users to understand and work around restrictions when necessary, rather than imposing opaque blocks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS8656461B2Copy-paste trust system

Publication Date: 2014.02.18 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Various embodiments are disclosed relating to performing a trusted copy and paste operations between a source application and a target application. For example, a trust system may receive a paste request for pasting copied source content, and may compare a source trust level associated with the source content to a target trust level associated with a target application. In this way, for example, harmful or disruptive code may be prevented from being pasted into the target application.