Method and apparatus for managing business cell phone usage

Abstract

A process and apparatus to remotely gather data about cellphone hardware and software configurations and usage. The system uses agents which are resident on the phones and which can be remotely launched by a data collection server by sending a message to a public IP address of the phone and addressed to a special port designated for launch. The agent specifies the launch port and a data collection port upon installation and registration with the cellphone operating system. Data on hardware configuration, software version and phone usage can be gathered. Data collection sessions are established by the data collection server sending a message addressed to the public IP address of the cellphone and the data collection port specified by the agent process upon registration with the operating system. Many alternative embodiments are also disclosed.

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       26 . A process carried out in a cellphone to collect data about the cellphone, comprising steps:
 1) launching in any way an agent process which is resident on said cellphone and using said agent process to gather data about the cellphone including the operating system software and version of an operating system which is installed on said cellphone and the make and model of said cellphone;   2) establishing a data collection session with a data collection server in any way; and   3) sending collected data about said cellphone to said collection server in any way.   
   
   
       27 . The process of  claim 26  wherein said agent program is not part of an operating system of said phone and registers with said operating system of said cellphone upon installation on said cellphone and designates a launch port at which if any message is received addressed to said launch port causes said agent program to be launched and also gather data detailing the phone number of said cellphone and usage of said cellphone. 
   
   
       28 . The process of  claim 26  wherein steps 1 and 2 are carried out by said agent program and wherein said agent program is programmed to listen for any message addressed to a particular port associated with the agent program, and when such a message is received, said agent program launches and gathers the phone number of said cellphone and usage data of said cellphone and initiates a data collection session with a collection server by sending a message addressed to a public IP address of said data collection server. 
   
   
       29 . The process of  claim 26  wherein step 1 is carried out by also gathering information about the phone number of said cellphone and whether or not any virus protection is installed on said cellphone, and the durations and times of day of outgoing and incoming calls and the caller ID of persons or entities who called said cellphone and the caller ID of persons or entities who were called by said cellphone. 
   
   
       30 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions thereon for controlling a cellphone computing device to carry out the following process:
 1) launching an agent process or OS agent function in any way and gather data about the cellphone including the phone number of said cellphone, the operating system software and version of an operating system which is installed on said cellphone and the make and model of said cellphone;   2) establishing a data collection session with a data collection server in any way; and   3) sending collected data about said cellphone to said collection server in any way.   
   
   
       31 . The computer readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions for controlling said cellphone computing device further comprise instructions which will cause said cellphone to execute an agent program which is not part of an operating system of said cellphone, and wherein said instructions further cause said agent program to register with said operating system of said cellphone and designate a launch port at which if any message is received addressed to said launch port causes said agent program to be launched and gather data detailing the usage of said cellphone. 
   
   
       32 . The computer readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions for controlling said cellphone computing device further comprise instructions which will cause said cellphone to execute an agent program which controls said cellphone to listen for any message addressed to a particular port associated with said agent program, and when such a message is received, said agent program launches and gathers usage data of said cellphone including the durations and caller identifications of incoming and outgoing calls and initiates a data collection session with a collection server by sending a message addressed to a public IP address of said data collection server. 
   
   
       33 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to launch an agent program when any message is received from a collection server which is addressed to a particular port but only if said cellphone is not in use to make or receive a phone call. 
   
   
       34 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to launch an agent program when any message is received from a collection server which is addressed to a particular port but regardless of whether said cellphone is in use to make or receive a phone call. 
   
   
       35 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to launch an agent program under predetermined circumstances and gather all available data which can be gathered about said cellphone for sending back to a collection server. 
   
   
       36 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to execute an agent program when a message is received from a collection server addressed to a predetermined port, said agent program functioning to gather for sending back to said collection server only data about said cellphone which is requested by said collection server. 
   
   
       37 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to execute an agent program when a message is received from a collection server addressed to a predetermined port, said agent program functioning to gather for sending back to said collection server all available data about said cellphone which can be gathered, but to only send back to said collection server only data about said cellphone which is requested by said collection server. 
   
   
       38 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions are such that, when executed by a cellphone, said computer-executable instructions control said cellphone to execute an agent program when a message is received from a collection server addressed to a predetermined port and to send back a handshake message to said collection server. 
   
   
       39 . The computer readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions for controlling said cellphone computing device further comprise instructions which will cause said cellphone to execute an agent program which is not part of an operating system of said cellphone, and wherein said computer-executable instructions further cause said agent program to register with said operating system of said cellphone and designate a launch port at which if any message is received addressed to said launch port causes said agent program to be launched and to further designate a data collection port during said registration process, said agent program functioning to also gather data detailing the usage of said cellphone. 
   
   
       40 . The computer readable medium of  claim 30  wherein said computer-executable instructions for controlling said cellphone computing device further comprise instructions which will cause said cellphone to execute an agent program which is not part of an operating system of said cellphone, and wherein said computer-executable instructions further cause said agent program to register with said operating system of said cellphone and designate a launch port at which if any message is received addressed to said launch port causes said agent program to be launched and to launch when said message is received and carry out a handshake protocol with said collection server to establish a data collection port through which data collected about said cellphone will be sent. 
   
   
       41 . A cellphone apparatus having a microprocessor controlled by a J2ME Java Virtual Machine software layer and further programmed to carry out the following process:
 1) launching an agent process or OS agent function in any way and gather data about the cellphone including the phone number of said cellphone, the operating system software and version of an operating system which is installed on said cellphone and the make and model of said cellphone;   2) establishing a data collection session with a data collection server in any way; and   3) sending collected data about said cellphone to said collection server in any way.   
   
   
       42 . The apparatus of  claim 41  wherein said microprocessor is programmed to carry out step 1 by a remote launch procedure by receiving a message from a data collection server addressed to a predetermined port and then launching an agent program which functions to gather information about whether or not any virus protection is installed on said cellphone, and the durations and time of day of outgoing and incoming calls and the caller ID of persons or entities who called said cellphone and the caller ID of persons or entities who are being called by said cellphone, and wherein said microprocessor is programmed to carry out step 2 by receiving a message from a data collection server addressed to a predetermined data collection port and sending back a handshake message. 
   
   
       43 . The apparatus of  claim 41  wherein said said microprocessor is programmed to carry out step 1 by a remote launch procedure by receiving a message from a data collection server addressed to a predetermined port and then launching an agent program which functions to register with said operating system of said cellphone and designate a launch port at which if any message is received addressed to said launch port causes said agent program to be launched and to further designate a data collection port during said registration process, said agent program functioning to also gather data detailing the usage of said cellphone. 
   
   
       44 . The apparatus of  claim 41  wherein said microprocessor is programmed to carry out step 1 by gathering all available data about said cellphone, and sending all gathered data back to said collection server. 
   
   
       45 . The apparatus of  claim 43  wherein said microprocessor is programmed to carry out step 1 by gathering only data about said cellphone which is specified by said collection server in a message sent to said data collection port, and sending all gathered data back to said collection server.