JP2007068035A - Information processing apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus and a control method capable of effectively using a wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R) and improving security.
The information received from the client by the Bluetooth (R) communication unit 203 is identified, the connection permission to the client and / or the function to be provided are set, stored as setting information, and set when there is an access from the client According to the information, the connection to the client is permitted and / or the function is provided.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a computer and a control method for controlling wireless connection with other devices of the apparatus.

In recent years, it has been demanded to enhance security in personal computers having a wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R). For example, if it is placed in a place where an unspecified number of people can access, such as an urban area, authentication or the like is required for wireless connection (see Patent Document 1).
2005-064937

  However, in a personal computer having a wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R), there is a problem in realizing the above-described authentication processing, such as recognition of information specifying a counterpart device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an information processing apparatus and a control method capable of improving security by effectively using a wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R). Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus including a wireless communication unit, the identification unit for identifying information received from a communication destination device by the wireless communication unit, Based on the information identified by the identification means, a connection permission to the communication destination device and / or a function to be provided are set and stored as setting information, and when there is an access from the communication destination device, the storage An information processing apparatus is provided, comprising: provision means for permitting connection to the communication destination apparatus and / or providing a function according to the setting information stored in the means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively use a wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R) and improve security.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This information processing apparatus is realized as a battery-driven notebook computer 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the computer 10 includes a computer main body and a display unit 120. The display unit 120 incorporates a display device made up of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and the display screen 121 of the LCD is located almost at the center of the display unit 120.

  The display unit 120 is attached to the computer 10 so that it can be opened and closed. The main body side of the computer 10 has a thin box-shaped housing, and a power button 24, a keyboard 25, a touch pad 26 on the palm rest, and two buttons 113a and 113b on the palm rest are arranged on the top surface. On the side surface, the optical drive 20 and the Bluetooth (R) receiving unit 27 are arranged.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the computer 10. In the present embodiment, a case where, for example, Bluetooth (R) is used as the wireless connection will be described.

  The personal computer 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 201, a RAM (random-access memory) 202, a Bluetooth® communication unit 203, a chip set 204, a storage unit 205, and the like.

  The storage unit 205 includes a setting information storage area recognition 205a for storing connection permission information of the communication destination apparatus, function information to be provided, and the like, and an authentication information storage area recognition 205b for storing authentication information of the communication destination apparatus.

  The function information to be provided includes, for example, a Bluetooth® information exchange service, a PAN networking service, a Bluetooth® COM port service, an AV remote control service, and the like, but can be arbitrarily set.

  Examples of the authentication information of the communication destination device include security level information, communication protocol information used in the Bluetooth (R) standard, and device information.

  For example, the following device information can be considered. Bluetooth (R) address, Class Of Device, device name, service information, radio wave intensity information, Bluetooth information, information on devices that have communicated in the past, and the like.

  The Bluetooth (R) address is a unique address assigned to each Bluetooth (R) device. Since the address range is assigned according to the same rules as the network card, the range is determined by the manufacturer. Generally, there is a certain range for each product, which can be obtained by device search.

  Class Of Device is 24-bit data for simply explaining the features of the device and is defined in the Bluetooth® specification. Although not necessarily accurate, it can be used as an approximate classification and can be obtained by device search.

  The device name can be obtained using a command defined in Bluetooth (R). Although there is no rule for naming, mouse, keyboard, printer, etc. cannot be changed dynamically in general, so it can be used as a keyword. In Bluetooth (R), the most important factor for determining the partner device is the device name. For this reason, if the same name as the device that the user owns is used, it may be erroneously connected. There is no particular difference between the names with fixed names. By registering the device addresses and other characteristic items in advance, you can prevent incorrect connections.

  Service information is defined in the Bluetooth (R) specification, and is acquired by service search processing. Since the service name and various features can be embedded, it is effective for identifying a specific service.

  Once the radio field intensity information is connected, its intensity can be obtained although it is not very accurate. It can be limited to only those close to it.

  The Bluetooth (R) information is limited by the vendor code and version information related to the Bluetooth (R) of the partner device.

  Information on devices that have communicated in the past is determined from past history. When the security level is raised, it may be possible to exclude those that have not been accessed for a certain period of time.

  Next, FIG. 3 illustrates a personal computer 10 (hereinafter also referred to as a server) that is a Bluetooth (R) connection server that is a control method to which the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing when a connection request is received from a client.

  When receiving a connection request from the client (YES in step S1), the CPU 11 serving as the server control means reads the setting information stored in the setting information storage area recognition 205a of the storage means 205 (step S2). To match. For example, when security level information is used, it is determined whether the security level information of the client is equal to or higher than the security level information stored in the setting information storage area recognition 205a. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the security level of the server is set to “standard”, if the security level information of the client is “standard” or higher, the connection is permitted (YES in step S3). The above processing is performed every time there is a connection request from the client.

  Further, the authentication information that is permitted and authenticated for connection can be arbitrarily stored in the authentication information storage area recognition 205b of the storage unit 205 as authenticated information. The stored authenticated information is treated as if authentication processing has already been performed when a connection request from the same client is received next time, and the connection is permitted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 (“Deletion of authenticated information (link key)” column), the stored authenticated information can be arbitrarily deleted. When the authenticated information is deleted, normal authentication processing is performed at the next connection.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 5, a service provided for each recognized client can be set by using a device name (device name) which is device information as authentication information. For example, when a connection request is received from a client whose device name is “PS5HONDA”, the provided function (service) is set to provide Bluetooth (R) information exchange service and Bluetooth (R) COM port service. Has been. In addition, the display icon setting when the connection request is received from the device name “PS5HONDA”, the power state of the Bluetooth (R) module which is the Bluetooth (R) receiving unit 27, etc. are displayed with an arbitrary setting. You can also.

  Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic views showing the connection relationship between the server and the client.

  As described above, the functions that can be used by connecting to the server 100 from the client 200 can be enabled / disabled, so that when the connection request is received from the client 200, the requested service is not provided. (See FIG. 6). When the connection from the specific client 200 is invalidated, the reception of the first connection request can be rejected (see FIG. 7).

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the security setting that is connection authentication for each function.

  For example, connection authentication for each function can be set for file transfer, object exchange, image transfer, and the like. In addition, the setting can be made separately for each server and client.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the registration of authenticated information described above.

  If the connected client is successfully authenticated, it is reflected in the list of authenticated devices and can be treated as authenticated from the next connection.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a security setting screen which is connection confirmation for each function. For example, mode setting, Bluetooth (R) information exchange setting, file exchange setting, and the like can be performed. When exchanging files, you can set a password for file transfer.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case where a confirmation screen 201 for connection of authentication processing that prompts the user to confirm when the server 100 connects to the client 200 is displayed. The display of the confirmation screen 201 can be arbitrarily set, and is basically displayed every time the client 200 connects to the server 100.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating authentication processing performed on the server 100 side. When an authentication request is transmitted from the server 100 to the client 200 in response to a connection request from the client 200, an authentication screen is displayed on both the server 100 and the client 200.

  On the other hand, FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating authentication processing performed on the client 200 side in response to a connection request from the server 100. In response to the connection request from the server 100, the client 200 performs an authentication process. At this time, the authentication screen is displayed on both the server 100 and the client 200.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection process with the client 200a and the client 200b when the authenticated information is registered.

  For example, when the client 200a transmits a connection request to the server 100 and tries to use the service of the function 1 (100a) of the server 100, if the function 1 (100a) is set to require authentication, the client 200a 200a performs an authentication process with the server 100. When the authenticated information is registered, use of the service of the function 1 (100a) is permitted using the authenticated information. In addition, when the client 200b transmits a connection request to the server 100 and tries to use the service of the function 2 (100b) of the server 100, for example, the function 2 (100b) has a setting that does not require authentication. The client 200b can use the service of the function 2 (100b) without performing the authentication process.

  As described above, the wireless connection function such as Bluetooth (R) can be effectively used to improve the security. Further, by performing authentication processing for each connection between the server and the client, it is possible to further enhance the security, and it is possible to omit the authentication processing by registering an authenticated device in advance if necessary. . Also, by displaying a confirmation screen for each connection, the user can be prompted to confirm. In addition, connection settings can be performed for each function provided by the server, and security can be flexibly ensured.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

1 is an external view showing an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a personal computer that is an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which showed the process when a personal computer receives the connection request from a communication destination apparatus. The schematic diagram which shows the setting screen of the security level on the server side. The schematic diagram which shows the setting screen of the service provided for every recognized client using a device name. The schematic diagram which showed the connection relationship of a server and a client. The schematic diagram which showed the connection relationship of a server and a client. The schematic diagram shown about the security setting which is the connection authentication for every function. The schematic diagram shown about registration of authenticated information. The schematic diagram which showed the setting screen of the security which is a connection check for every function. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case where a confirmation screen for connection of authentication processing that prompts a user to confirm when a server connects to a client is displayed. The schematic diagram which showed the authentication process performed by the server 100 side. The schematic diagram which showed the authentication process performed by the client side according to the connection request from a server. The schematic diagram which showed the connection process with the client 200a and the client 200b in case the authenticated information is registered.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Personal computer, 11 ... CPU, 20 ... Optical drive, 24 ... Power button, 25 ... Keyboard, 26 ... Touchpad, 27 ... Reception part, 100 ... Server, 113a. 113 ... button, 120 ... display unit, 121 ... display screen, 200 ... client, 200a ... client, 200b ... client, 201 ... confirmation screen, 203 ... communication unit, 204 ... chipset, 205 ... storage means, 205a ... setting information Storage area recognition, 205b... Authentication information storage area recognition.

Claims (9)

Wireless communication means;
Control means for controlling the wireless communication means;
A storage unit that sets connection permission to the communication destination device and / or a function to be provided and stores the setting information;
The control means includes
Identification means for identifying authentication information received from the communication destination device by the wireless communication means;
Providing means for permitting connection to the communication destination device and / or providing a function according to the setting information stored in the storage means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication means is a communication means in accordance with a Bluetooth standard. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the authentication information is at least one of security level information, communication protocol information, and device information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The information processing apparatus characterized in that the control means stores the authentication information in the storage means and performs an authentication process every time it connects to the communication destination device based on the authentication information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The control means stores the authentication information in the storage means, performs an authentication process when connected to the communication destination device based on the authentication information, and if the authentication is approved, the storage means as the authenticated information An information processing apparatus characterized by storing the information in a memory. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The control unit displays a confirmation screen that prompts the user to confirm when performing an authentication process every time the control unit is connected to the communication destination apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,
When communicating with the communication destination apparatus, if authenticated information corresponding to the storage means is stored, the authentication is approved using the authenticated information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the authentication information is set for each function provided to the communication destination apparatus. Control used in an information processing apparatus comprising: wireless communication means; control means for controlling the wireless communication means; and storage means for setting a function for permitting and / or providing a connection to the communication destination device and storing the setting information. A method,
An identification step of identifying information received from the communication destination device by the wireless communication means by the control means;
A providing step for permitting connection to the communication destination device and / or providing a function according to the setting information stored in the storage unit by the control unit;
The control method characterized by including.

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