Preventing malicious observance of private information

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9317700-B2
Application number	US-201314100770-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2013
Priority date	Nov 30, 2012
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

A technique for preventing malicious observance of private information includes receiving an instruction of entering a mode of inputting private information; determining a correspondence between actual inputs and expected inputs; receiving an actual user input; and converting the actual input into an expected input as private information inputted by the user according to the correspondence. This security technique can prevent discovery of the private information of a user through observation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
detecting rotation of a rotational device in one of a plurality of rotational angles, wherein each of the plurality of rotational angles corresponds to each of a plurality of visible input cues presented on a graphical user interface of the rotational device;
automatically determining a correspondence between a first of the plurality of visible input cues and an expected input value in response to detecting the rotation of the rotational device in the one of the plurality of rotational angles, wherein the first of the plurality of visible input cues indicates a value other than the expected input value;
electronically generating an invisible output that indicates the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value after determining the correspondence;
automatically detecting a selection of the first of the plurality of visible input cues via the graphical user interface; and
using, as user input, the expected input value instead of the first of the plurality of visible input cues in response to the selection of the first of the plurality of visible input cues via the graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, after detecting the selection of the first of the plurality of visible input cues, converting a first value, which the first of the plurality of visible input cues indicates, to a second value that is the expected input value.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said converting the first value to the second value comprises applying a conversion formula to the first value.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising automatically selecting a conversion formula and generating a notification of the automatically selected conversion formula prior to said converting, wherein said converting the first value to the second value comprises applying the automatically selected conversion formula to the first value.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising verifying that an earphone is connected to an interface of a device that presents the graphical user interface, wherein the invisible output is audio output presented via the interface connected to the earphone instead of via other audio output devices.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the invisible output comprises one or more of an audio output or a voice output.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the invisible output comprises one or more of a tactile output or a vibration output.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
presenting, via the graphical user interface, the plurality of visible input cues for user input before determining the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the presenting, via the graphical user interface, the plurality of visible input cues comprises presenting the visible input cues in a dial.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the presenting, via the graphical user interface, the plurality of visible input cues comprises presenting the visible input cues in a sequence, wherein each of the plurality of visible input cues represents one unit in the sequence.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the determining the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value comprises determining a given number of units in the sequence that the first of the plurality of visible input cues is located from a second of the plurality of visible input cues that has a visible value that equates to the expected input value.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating the invisible output that indicates the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value comprises indicating, via the invisible output, the given number of units in the sequence that the first of the plurality of visible input cues is located from the second of the plurality of visible input cues.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the determining the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value comprises determining a given number of units in the sequence, in a given direction on the graphical user interface, that the first of the plurality of visible input cues is located from a second of the plurality of visible input cues that has a visible value that equates to the expected input value.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the generating the invisible output that indicates the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value comprises indicating, via the invisible output, the given number of units in the sequence, in the given direction, that the first of the plurality of visible input cues is located from the second of the plurality of visible input cues.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the presenting, via the graphical user interface, the plurality of visible input cues comprises populating a plurality of input fields with random values for the plurality of visible input cues according to a correspondence formula between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising passing, as the user input, input values corresponding to a series of selected visible input cues to an application after a submit visual input cue is selected, wherein the expected input value is included in the input values in place of the first of the plurality of visible input cues.

17. An apparatus comprising:
a processor;
a rotational device; and
a non-transitory, computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to
detect rotation of the rotational device in one of a plurality of rotational angles, wherein each of the plurality of rotational angles corresponds to each of a plurality of visible input cues presented on a graphical user interface of the rotational device,
determine a correspondence between a first of the plurality of visible input cues and an expected input value in response to the rotation of the rotational device in the one of the plurality of rotational angles, wherein the first of the plurality of visible input cues indicates a value other than the expected input value,
generate an invisible output that indicates the correspondence between the first of the plurality of visible input cues and the expected input value after the correspondence is determined,
detect a selection of the first of the plurality of visible input cues via the graphical user interface, and
use, as user input, the expected input value instead of the first of the plurality of visible input cues in response to the selection of the first of the plurality of visible input cues via the graphical user interface.

18. A computer program product for preventing data exposure, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory, computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising a computer usable program code to,
detect rotation of a rotational device in one of a plurality of rotational angles, wherein each of the plurality of rotational angles corresponds to each of a plurality of visible input cues presented on a graphical user interface of the rotational device,
determine a correspondence between a first of the plurality of visible input cues a

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Jiang li jun
• Lin Rui
• Wang Hao Meng
• Zhao Qin

Classifications

• G06F21/629

  to features or functions of an application · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G06F3/04842

  Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements (G06F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/016 Primary

  Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user · CPC title

• G06F3/167

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title