Identification and isolation of incompatible applications during a platform update

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9417866-B2
Application number	US-201414559264-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2014
Priority date	Dec 3, 2014
Publication date	Aug 16, 2016
Grant date	Aug 16, 2016

Abstract

An Application (“App”) Checker identifies and isolates incompatible applications on a mobile device during a software platform update. After receiving a target platform version number from an Update Server, the App Checker generates a list of installed applications on the mobile device. Next, the App Checker sends a request to an App Store Server or Update Server for an application catalog of applications compatible with the target platform version. Upon receiving the application catalog indicating compatibility status of applications relative to the target platform version, the App Checker iteratively compares the installed application list with the application catalog to identify whether or not each installed application is compatible with the target platform. The App Checker then populates an application quarantine or removal database to identify each incompatible application to isolate incompatible applications, and quarantines or removes the incompatible applications. Finally, the mobile device is upgraded to the target platform version.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile device comprising:
a network communication interface configured to provide communications between the mobile device and a network with which the mobile device is connected;
a processor; and
a memory accessible to the processor,
the memory storing:
a software platform,
installed applications, and
Application Checker (App Checker) programming,
the software platform, the installed applications, and the App Checker programming being executable by the processor; and

the processor, when executing the App Checker programming, is to:
send a platform upgrade request through the network communication interface to an Update Server in the network to determine whether a new software platform is available for the mobile device,
the platform upgrade request identifying a current platform version of the software platform in the memory;

receive a response through the network communication interface from the Update Server indicating that the new software platform is available,
the response including a target platform version number identifying a target platform version of the new software platform;

generate a list of the installed applications on the mobile device after receiving the target platform version number from the Update Server,
the list of the installed applications including an application identifier (app ID) and version number of each installed application, of the installed applications;

send a catalog request, through the network communication interface and to an Application Store Server (App Store Server), for an application catalog of compatible applications that are whitelisted relative to the target platform version of the new software platform;
receive, through the network communication interface, the application catalog from the App Store Server based on sending the catalog request to the App Store Server,
the application catalog indicating compatibility status of each installed application, of the installed applications, relative to the target platform version of the new software platform;

iteratively compare the list of the installed applications with the application catalog to identify whether each installed application, of the installed applications, is compatible with the target platform version of the new software platform;
populate an application quarantine or removal database with data indicating each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, based on iteratively comparing the list of the installed applications with the application catalog, to isolate each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, found to be incompatible with the target platform version of the new software platform;
quarantine or remove each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, on the mobile device after populating the application quarantine or removal database;
set a status, of whether a first installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, is affirmatively quarantined or removed, to affirmatively quarantined based on the first installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, being a quarantined application,
the quarantined application being isolated such that the quarantined application is no longer capable of execution on the mobile device;

upgrade the mobile device to the target platform version of the new software platform after quarantining or removing each installed incompatible application of the installed applications;
send, through the network communication interface, a monitoring request to the App Store Server to query whether any quarantined or removed application has become compatible with the target platform version of the new software platform; and
enable the isolated quarantined application based on determining that the isolated quarantined application has become compatible with the target platform version of the new software platform.

2. The mobile device of claim 1 , where the processor, when iteratively comparing the list of the installed applications with the application catalog to identify whether each installed application, of the installed applications, is compatible with the target platform version of the new software platform, is to:
search the application catalog for each app ID and version number of each installed application, of the installed applications;
deem a second installed application, of the list of the installed applications, compatible and take no further action based on finding a compatibility status, in the application catalog, for the second installed application, of the list of the installed applications, indicating the second installed application, of the list of the installed applications, is whitelisted; and
deem a third installed application, of the list of the installed application, incompatible and populate the application quarantine or removal database with information identifying the third installed application, of the list of the installed applications, based on finding a compatibility status, in the application catalog, for the third installed application, of the list of the installed applications, indicating the third installed application, of the list of the installed applications, is blacklisted.

3. The mobile device of claim 1 , where the processor, when populating the application quarantine or removal database, is to:
store a corresponding app ID and version number of each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications,
store a corresponding status of whether each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, is affirmatively quarantined or removed, and
store the target platform version number relative to each installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, being affirmatively quarantined or removed.

4. The mobile device of claim 3 , where the processor, when populating the application quarantine or removal database, is further to:
set the status, of whether the first installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, is affirmatively quarantined or removed, to affirmatively removed based on the first installed incompatible application, of the installed applications, being a removed application; and
reinstall the removed application based on determining that the removed application with the affirmatively removed status has become compatible with the target platform version.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 , where the processor, when sending, through the network communication interface, the monitoring request to the App Store Server to query whether any quarantined or removed application has become compatible with the target platform version of the new software platform, is to:
automatically send the monitoring request at a set time interval.

6. The mobile device of claim 5 , where the set time interval for sending the monitoring request is one week.

7. The mobile device of claim 1 , where the processor, when executing the App Checker programming, is further to:
continually monitor behavior of the installed applications on the target platform version of the new software platform after upgrading the mobile device to the target platform version;
generate a malfunction report based on a first installed application of the installed applications not functioning correctly,
the malfunction report including:
an app ID of the first installed application, of the installed applications,
a version number of the first installed application, of the installed applications, and
the target platform version of the new software platform; and

transmit, through the network communication interface, the malfunction report to the Update Server.

8. The mobile devic

Assignees

• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Morley Dorothy Beau
• Philbin David A

Classifications

• H04W4/60

  Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits · CPC title

• G06F8/65 Primary

  Updates (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) · CPC title

• H04L67/02

  based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP] · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title