System and method for automatically configuring remote computer

Abstract

A system and method for automatically configuring a remote computer to establish a VPN connection with a network is disclosed. According to the system and method, a configuration generator determines information necessary for the remote computer to establish the VPN connection, and generate an executable file to be run the remote computer. When run on the remote computer, the executable file automatically updates the remote computer's configuration settings so as to enable it to establish the connection with the network. The information required by the configuration generator can either be extracted from a database automatically, or can be keyed in by a network administrator.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising: 
 initiating an installer program having an empty binary file, the installer program being configured to generate an executable installation program using the binary file;    generating a user data binary file including data necessary to configure the remote computer to access the network;    replacing the empty binary file with the user data binary file and generating the executable installation program using the user data binary file; and    executing the executable installation program on the remote computer to modify configuration settings of the remote computer such that the remote computer is configured to access the network.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the executable installation program is emailed to the remote computer to be executed on the remote computer.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing the executable file on a computer readable medium prior to execution of the executable file to provide the executable file to the remote computer for execution.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the computer readable medium comprises a universal serial bus (USB) data storage peripheral having first and second storage areas, the first area being an electronically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM) storage area and the second storage area being a flash RAM storage area.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the first storage area is a secure storage area which is an accessible to a user of the USB data storage peripheral, and wherein the second storage area comprises a general storage area, which emulates a disk/hard drive, wherein the executable file is stored in the second storage area.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein an encryption key is stored in the first storage area, and wherein the executable file searches the first storage area for a prescribed authentication key before it can be executed by a user.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the modified configuration settings of the remote computer comprise a setting that requires the remote computer to access the first storage area of the USB data storage peripheral prior to accessing the network.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the remote computer cannot access the network if the encryption key within the first storage area cannot be accessed by the remote computer.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user data binary file comprises an IP address of a router coupled to the network of computers, a gateway address of the router, at least one DNS address, and at least one WINS address.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the user data binary file further comprises and identification of an operating system used by the remote computer and an identification of an operating system of the network of computers.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the user data binary file further comprises at least one login and password necessary for the remote computer to access the network of computers.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user data binary file is generated by an user data application that receives network information needed by the remote computer to gain access to the network.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the user data application prompts an operator of the network for the network information, and generates the user data binary file upon a command of the operator.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the user data application extracts the network information from a database containing relevant configuration information for the remote computer.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the user data application is one of an OCX and ActiveX application.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the user data application is configured to run with at least one of a commercial database application, a commercial spreadsheet application, and a commercial word processor application.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the prescribed RAS settings configure the remote computer to establish a VPN connection with the network.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the executable installation program installs prescribed Remote Access Service (RAS) settings on the remote computer, and wherein the prescribed RAS settings are adapted to allow the remote computer to access the network.  
     
     
         19 . A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising: 
 accessing a database having networking information necessary for at least one remote computer to access the network of computers, including a WAN profile for the network of computers, at least one DNS address for the network of computers, and at least one WINS address for the network of computers;    executing a software module from within the database, the software module configured extract the networking information for a selected one of the at least one remote computer;    converting the extracted networking information to a binary code representing configuration settings for the selected one of the at least one remote computer;    generating an executable program having the binary code embedded therein, the executable program being configured to modify a current configuration of the selected one of the at least one remote computer when executed by the remote computer; and    providing the executable program to the selected one of the at least one remote computer for execution.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein providing the executable program comprises at least one of e-mailing the executable program to the remote computer, transferring the executable program to a magnetic storage device, transferring the executable program to an optical disc, and loading the executable program onto a web site for download by the remote computer.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the magnetic storage device comprises a universal serial bus (USB) data storage peripheral having first and second storage areas, the first area being an electronically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM) storage area and the second storage area being a flash RAM storage area.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the first storage area is a secure storage area which is an accessible to a user of the USB data storage peripheral, and wherein the second storage area comprises a general storage area, which emulates a disk/hard drive, wherein the executable file is stored in the second storage area.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein an encryption key is stored in the first storage area, and wherein the executable file searches the first storage area for a prescribed authentication key before it can be executed by a user.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the modified configuration settings of the remote computer comprise a setting that requires the remote computer to access the first storage area of the USB data storage peripheral prior to accessing the network.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the remote computer cannot access the network if the encryption key within the first storage area cannot be accessed by the remote computer.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the networking information further comprises a login and password combination necessary for the selected one of the at least one remote computer to access the network of computers and an IP address for the network of computers.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the networking information further comprises a login and password combination necessary for the selected one of the at least one remote computer to access a router/gateway that couples the network of computers to the Internet.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the networking information further comprises an identification of an operating system used by the selected one of the at least one remote computer.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the executable file is configured to modify a registry of the selected one of the at least one remote computer to insert the information necessary for the remote computer to access the network of computers.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the executable file is configured to modify RAS phonebook entries of the remote computer for establishing a virtual private network (VPN) with the network of computers.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the executable file is configured to modify dial-up networking settings of an operating system of the remote computer necessary to establish a secure Internet connection between the remote computer and the network of computers.  
     
     
         32 . A method of configuring a remote computer, comprising: 
 accessing a database having configuration information necessary to configure at least one remote computer according to a user's preferences;    executing a software module associated with the database, the software module configured extract the configuration information from the database for a selected one of the at least one remote computer;    converting the extracted networking information to a binary code representing configuration settings for the selected one of the at least one remote computer;    generating an executable program having the binary code embedded therein that will modify a current configuration of the selected one of the at least one remote computer when executed by the remote computer; and    providing the executable program to the selected one of the at least one remote computer for execution.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein providing the executable program to the selected one of the at least one remote computer comprises e-mailing the executable program to the remote computer, transferring the executable program to a computer readable magnetic medium, transferring the executable program to a computer readable optical medium, and loading the executable program onto a web site for download by the remote controller.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the configuration information comprises an identification of an operating system of the selected one of the at least one remote computer.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the configuration information comprises application program settings, and wherein the executable program is configured to modify a registry of the remote computer.  
     
     
         36 . A method of modifying configuration settings of a remote computer, comprising: 
 determining configuration settings necessary for a remote computer to perform a prescribed operation;    generating a binary file representing the configuration settings for the remote computer;    generating an executable program having the binary code embedded therein that will modify a current configuration of the remote computer when executed by the remote computer; and    deploying the executable program to the remote computer for execution.    
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the executable file is configured to modify a registry settings of the remote computer to effect the configuration modification.  
     
     
         38 . A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising: 
 executing a software module that is configured to prompt a system administrator for configuration settings of the remote computer to access the network of computers;    receiving the configuration setting provided by the system administrator through the software module;    converting the configuration settings received through the software module to a binary code representing the configuration settings;    generating an executable program that will modify a current configuration of the remote computer when executed by the remote computer, the executable program having the binary code embedded therein; and    providing the executable program to the remote computer for execution.    
     
     
         39 . A computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a sequence of steps, comprising: 
 initiating an installer application having an empty binary file, the installer application being configured to generate an executable installation program using the binary file;    generating a user data binary file including data necessary to configure the remote computer to access the network;    replacing the empty binary file with the user data binary file and generating the executable installation program using the user data binary file; and    storing the executable installation program on a storage medium to be run by the remote computer to modify configuration settings of the remote computer such that the remote computer is configured to access the network.    
     
     
         40 . A method of configuring a remote computer to establish a secure connection to a local computer, comprising: 
 determining configuration settings required by a remote computer to access a local computer;    converting the configuration settings required by the remote computer to a binary code representing the configuration settings; and    generating an executable program that will modify a current configuration of the remote computer when executed by the remote computer, the executable program having the binary code embedded therein.    
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising providing the executable program to the remote computer for execution.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the configuration settings are determined by a network system operator and manually keyed into a conversion application, the conversion application being configured to convert the configuration settings to the binary code representing the configuration settings.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the conversion application comprises a software module configured to be integrated with at least one of a database application software and a spreadsheet application software.  
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the executable program is further configured to establish an auto-dialer feature that automatically establishes a connection with the ISP and automatically provides a user name and password to provide an automatic login to the network.  
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the current configuration to be modified by the executable program comprises at least one of RAS entries, a windows registry and Windows Phone Book files.  
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the executable program is automatically deleted from the remote computer upon its execution by the remote computer.  
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the configuration settings required by the remote computer comprise at least one DNS number, at least one WINS address, and a WAN profile of a gateway coupled to the local computer.  
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the local computer comprises a gateway/router and a local area network (LAN).