BOX, INC. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20160065555 | ACCESSING A CLOUD-BASED SERVICE PLATFORM USING ENTERPRISE APPLICATION AUTHENTICATION - Systems for managing user-level security in a cloud-based service platform. A server in a cloud-based environment is configured to interface with storage devices that store objects that are accessible over a network by two or more users. An enterprise entity is identified using an enterprise identifier associated with the enterprise, and an application service is associated with an application identifier. An application service request comprising a user identifier and the application identifier is received, and authentication is determined based on the combination of the user identifier and a pre-authenticated application identifier. Once the application service request is authenticated, then specific aspects of the service request are authorized. The integrity of the application identifier is confirmed by locating a secure association of the given application identifier to a pre-shared enterprise identifier. Logging, auditing and other functions can be performed at the user level using the user identifier for user-level tracking. | 03-03-2016 |
20160065364 | ENHANCED REMOTE KEY MANAGEMENT FOR AN ENTERPRISE IN A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Systems and methods are disclosed for facilitating remote key management services in a collaborative cloud-based environment. In one embodiment, the remote key management architecture and techniques described herein provide for local key encryption and automatic generation of a reason code associated with content access. The reason code is logged by a hardware security module which is monitored by a remote client device (e.g., an enterprise client) to control a second (remote) layer of key encryption. The remote client device provides client-side control and configurability of the second layer of key encryption. | 03-03-2016 |
20150180963 | ENHANCEMENT OF UPLOAD AND/OR DOWNLOAD PERFORMANCE BASED ON CLIENT AND/OR SERVER FEEDBACK INFORMATION - A system for client-server web applications is disclosed. Operations commence upon opening a client-server session configurable to establish a full-duplex persistent network communications between a client device and a server, then receiving an indication to upload or download one or more files or objects over the full-duplex persistent network communications. | 06-25-2015 |
20150082198 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL MANAGING USER INTERFACE FOR ACCESSING A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM VIA MOBILE DEVICES - Techniques are disclosed for implementing an intuitive interface which can facilitate collaboration among the multiple users and collaborators as well as enable utilization of content in a shared space among multiple users in a more effective way. In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving updates regarding activities performed by a user and one or more collaborators on contents in a workspace. The method further comprises displaying, on an interactive user interface, lists of information based on the updates to facilitate interaction from the user with respect to the updates. An example of the lists of information can include an activity and, if one or more files are associated with the activity, thumbnails that represent previews of the one or more files. In some embodiments, the thumbnails can enable the user to interact with the files and/or the collaborators. | 03-19-2015 |
20150082196 | SIMULTANEOUS EDITING/ACCESSING OF CONTENT BY COLLABORATOR INVITATION THROUGH A WEB-BASED OR MOBILE APPLICATION TO A CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATION PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for a web or mobile interface enabling users and collaborators to simultaneously comment, edit, or edit content in real time or near real time managed by a cloud-based collaboration platform. In one embodiment, the data to be accessed concurrently is presented or depicted at the multiple physical devices to the collaborators for viewing and accessing the data in real time or near real time. Each of the collaborators is able to view, re-edit, or re-modify in a concurrent fashion, at the collaborator's physical device, edits or modifications made to the data in real time or near real time as a result of any of the other collaborators accessing the data at their respective physical devices. In some instances, additional collaborators are specifiable for the data created for concurrent real time access in addition to those originally associated with the folder. | 03-19-2015 |
20150082195 | SIMULTANEOUS EDITING/ACCESSING OF CONTENT BY COLLABORATOR INVITATION THROUGH A WEB-BASED OR MOBILE APPLICATION TO A CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATION PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for a web or mobile interface enabling users and collaborators to simultaneously comment, edit, or edit content in real time or near real time managed by a cloud-based collaboration platform. In one embodiment, the data to be accessed concurrently is presented or depicted at the multiple physical devices to the collaborators for viewing and accessing the data in real time or near real time. Each of the collaborators is able to view, re-edit, or re-modify in a concurrent fashion, at the collaborator's physical device, edits or modifications made to the data in real time or near real time as a result of any of the other collaborators accessing the data at their respective physical devices. In some instances, additional collaborators are specifiable for the data created for concurrent real time access in addition to those originally associated with the folder. | 03-19-2015 |
20150081624 | CONFIGURABLE EVENT-BASED AUTOMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATION PLATFORMS - Scalable architectures, systems, and services are provided herein for generating jobs by applying user-specified rules to events in an action log framework (ALF) stream is disclosed. More specifically, collaboration environments can include features or mechanisms that allow end-users or collaborators to perform a variety of actions such as, for example, file uploads and previews, or collaboration operations such as, for example, task assignment and comments. These actions can be captured or logged by an action log framework and, as described herein, automatically translated into one or more jobs by applying customizable user-specified rules. | 03-19-2015 |
20140379648 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING UPGRADES, MIGRATION OF USER DATA AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Techniques for populating a new synchronization (“sync”) folder during an upgrade of a sync client of a cloud-based platform includes transferring synced items stored at a first location to an archive location in response to an indication to upgrade the sync client, detecting an instruction to populate the new sync folder at a second location with an item, determining that the synchronization client is in migration mode and transferring a local copy of the item from the archive location to the new sync folder to populate the new sync folder at the second location when the local copy of the item has the same state as a remote copy of the item at the cloud-based platform. Also disclosed are techniques for accommodating autoupdate operations, monitoring performance of sync operations and providing a tray icon that provides a high level overview of the state of a sync operation. | 12-25-2014 |
20140201138 | FUNCTIONALITIES, FEATURES, AND USER INTERFACE OF A SYNCHRONIZATION CLIENT TO A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Embodiments in the present disclosure include systems and methods related to a synchronization client of a cloud-based collaboration platform that runs on a user device for synchronizing folders and files between a location on the cloud-based collaboration platform and a location on the user device. The synchronization client informs a user of the status of synchronization processes and allows a user to choose various options depending on the informed status. | 07-17-2014 |
20140172799 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRONIZATION OF ITEMS WITH READ-ONLY PERMISSIONS IN A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Techniques are disclosed for enabling synchronization of items (e.g., folders or files) with read-only permissions in a cloud-based environment. In one embodiment, a method comprises, upon receiving a request from a collaborator to synchronize an item stored in the workspace, determining whether the item is marked as read-only and verifying if the collaborator has permission for downloading the item. The method further comprises, if the item is marked as read-only and if the collaborator has permission for downloading the item, sending the item to the collaborator. The method further comprises synchronizing the item by automatically pushing an updated version of the item unilaterally from the cloud-based environment to the collaborator regardless of whether the collaborator has performed any modification to the sent item. Among other advantages, embodiments disclosed herein provide capabilities to synchronize read-only files/folder in cloud-based platforms, especially where items are often opened/edited among the collaborators. | 06-19-2014 |
20140082503 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF A MANIPULATIVE HANDLE IN AN INTERACTIVE MOBILE USER INTERFACE - System and method of a manipulative handle for revealing detail information in an interactive mobile user interface are disclosed. In one embodiment, when an activity supported by a cloud-based (e.g., online cloud-based collaboration platform) is initiated, the status of the activity is tracked and displayed using an animated user interface element. On and/or near the animated user interface element are hidden grab points that can be engaged to expand the user interface element to reveal detail relating to the activity. If the user interface element is already in an expanded state, detecting activation of hidden grab points on and/or near the user interface element causes minimization of the user interface element, thereby concealing the detail revealed earlier. | 03-20-2014 |
20140082093 | BATCHING NOTIFICATIONS OF ACTIVITIES THAT OCCUR IN A WEB-BASED COLLABORATION ENVIRONMENT - Systems and methods of batched notifications of activities that occur in a web-based collaboration environment are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, which may be implemented on a system, for detecting activities occurring in an online collaboration environment, generating a notification event for one or more of the activities, and selecting one or more recipients for each notification event according to criteria determined based on a workspace in which the associated activity was performed in the online collaboration environment. The indications of each notification event are then added to one or more queues associated with the one or more recipients and, upon expiry of a queue timer, the contents of the one or more queues associated with the one or more recipients are sent to the corresponding one or more recipients as batched notifications. | 03-20-2014 |
20140082071 | SANDBOXING INDIVIDUAL APPLICATIONS TO SPECIFIC USER FOLDERS IN A CLOUD-BASED SERVICE - An example system and method comprises receiving a request from the third-party application, wherein the request includes a user identifier; allocating an area that is specific for the third-party application and for the user; and granting access of the area to the third-party application. In one embodiments, the method further comprises providing to the third-party application a token which allows the third-party application to access a given area. Additional embodiments provided herein enable a third-party application to use a user identifier (e.g., an email address or other identifiers) of its user to access area specific of a cloud-based environment/platform/services (e.g., collaboration, file sharing, and/or storage services) without necessarily triggering user account authentication, thereby avoiding the process of requiring access codes from the user which can adversely impact user experience as well as compromise security and/or user's privacy. | 03-20-2014 |
20140068779 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING A SECURE CHANNEL FOR INTER-APPLICATION COMMUNICATION BASED ON INTENTS - System and method for creating a secure channel for inter-application communication based on the messaging system called Intents in the Android OS are disclosed. In one embodiment, an application for accessing a cloud-based storage platform triggers the broadcast of a custom Intent to all applications on a mobile device to detect an authorized application that is capable of interacting with the application. Once an authorized application is chosen, the application opens a secure channel for communication with the authorized application and passes encrypted data stream to the to the secure channel for access by the authorized application. | 03-06-2014 |
20140068632 | DISABLING THE SELF-REFERENTIAL APPEARANCE OF A MOBILE APPLICATION IN AN INTENT VIA A BACKGROUND REGISTRATION - Systems and methods for disabling the self-referential appearance of a mobile application in an Intent via a background thread are disclosed. On the Android platform, an application such as a mobile application for providing access to a cloud environment or cloud based service including cloud-based storage and/or collaborative services, can serve as both a source and a target for a given Intent. In one implementation, such a mobile application that can receive and send the same Intent, can include a background service that detects when the Intent is about to be issued, and unregisters the application to prevent the application from receiving the Intent. When a target application for handling the Intent is identified, the background service re-registers the application to receive the Intent. | 03-06-2014 |
20140068588 | FORCE UPGRADE OF A MOBILE APPLICATION VIA A SERVER SIDE CONFIGURATION FILE - Systems and methods which forces or automatically upgrades a mobile application installed on a mobile device for security, stability or any other concerns via a server-side configuration file are disclosed. In one embodiment, a configuration file including a list of build identifiers that have been banned or flagged is placed on a server, which can be a server providing cloud-based collaboration or file sharing services, for access by associated mobile applications and/or devices. A mobile application installed on a mobile device can download the configuration file and determine whether a build identifier of the mobile application is listed on the configuration file. If so, the mobile application can shut down, prompt or force an upgrade, or restrict operation of the mobile application in other ways. | 03-06-2014 |
20140059002 | SERVER SIDE TECHNIQUES FOR REDUCING DATABASE WORKLOAD IN IMPLEMENTING SELECTIVE SUBFOLDER SYNCHRONIZATION IN A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Techniques are disclosed for reducing database workload in implementing selective subfolder synchronization in a cloud-based environment. In one embodiment, a method comprises, in response to a selection, from a user, of a first synchronization state of a first folder in the workspace, synchronizing content of the first folder in the workspace with a corresponding folder on devices of a user (and collaborators) based on the first synchronization state. The workspace is shared among the user and one or more collaborators of the user. In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining the first synchronization state of the first folder based on synchronization states of one or more folders, other than the first folder, that are related to the first folder. The entries can be configured to identify hierarchical relationships between the one or more folders and the first folder on a per-user basis. | 02-27-2014 |
20140052825 | ENHANCEMENT OF UPLOAD AND/OR DOWNLOAD PERFORMANCE BASED ON CLIENT AND/OR SERVER FEEDBACK INFORMATION - Systems and methods for providing enhancement of upload and/or download performance based on client and/or server feedback information are disclosed. In an embodiment, the disclosed method detects that a data transfer event is about to occur and based on a set of characteristics associated with the data transfer event, selects a host from a group of hosts as a pathway for transferring data associated with the data transfer event to optimize data transfer performance. The group of hosts can include a server providing cloud-based collaboration and/or storage services, one or more content delivery network servers and/or geographically distributed edge servers. | 02-20-2014 |
20140013104 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SECURELY SUBMITTING COMMENTS AMONG USERS VIA EXTERNAL MESSAGING APPLICATIONS IN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Systems and methods are disclosed for facilitating secure commenting on content items among collaborators via external messaging applications in a collaborative cloud-based environment. In one embodiment, the system receives a response to a notification associated with a content item from a collaborator via an external messaging application. The response can include a text-based comment associated with the content item and secure message information provided by the notification including a message and a message authentication code. The system then determines a validity of the response. The validity of the response can include verifying the integrity of the message using the message authentication code. | 01-09-2014 |
20140012989 | LOAD BALANCING SECURE FTP CONNECTIONS AMONG MULTIPLE FTP SERVERS - System and method for load balancing multiple file transfer protocol (FTP) servers to service secure FTP sessions having encrypted signals are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the system include multiple FTP servers coupled to a load balancing agent. Each of the multiple FTP servers is associated with a unique port range and the load balancer receives an encrypted data signal in a secure FTP session on a given port and uses a port range within which the given port falls to identify which of the multiple FTP servers a corresponding control signal of the secure FTP session was previously sent. | 01-09-2014 |
20130332723 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SECURE FILE PORTABILITY BETWEEN MOBILE APPLICATIONS ON A MOBILE DEVICE - Systems and methods for secure file portability between mobile applications in a cloud-based environment or cloud-based collaboration and file sharing environment. In one embodiment, a server-based key generation service generates an encryption key that is unique to each file transfer transaction between mobile applications accessed via a mobile device. Data packages leaving a mobile application are then encrypted using the encryption key to provide secure file portability between mobile applications. In another embodiment, a background service triggered by a mobile application detects when a user is logged out of the mobile application and revalidates the user session with the mobile application to maintain portability of files between mobile applications. The background service presents a minimal user interface to get the user's credentials for the mobile application, without the user having to switch to the mobile application, and obtains an authentication token from a remote server using the user's credentials. | 12-12-2013 |
20130332409 | AUTOMATIC AND SEMI-AUTOMATIC TAGGING FEATURES OF WORK ITEMS IN A SHARED WORKSPACE FOR METADATA TRACKING IN A CLOUD-BASED CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH SELECTIVE OR OPTIONAL USER CONTRIBUTION - Systems and methods for supporting metadata for work items stored in a web-based content management system with collaboration environment are disclosed. Users uploading work items to a folder are not required to provide metadata for the work items. Collaborators of the folder can provide metadata to work items within the folder. | 12-12-2013 |
20130318593 | METHODS, ARCHITECTURES AND SECURITY MECHANISMS FOR A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION TO ACCESS CONTENT IN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for methods, architectures and security mechanisms for a third-party application to access content in a cloud-based platform. In one embodiment, a method includes, providing a third-party application with direct access to content in a cloud-based environment. The third-party application is hosted by an entity different from that of the cloud-based environment. In some embodiments, the direct access to the content in the cloud-based environment is provided to the third-party application and accomplished without a need to access an application that is native to the cloud-based environment. | 11-28-2013 |
20130318586 | IDENTIFICATION VERIFICATION MECHANISMS FOR A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION TO ACCESS CONTENT IN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for using a third-party application to access or edit a file within a cloud-based environment within a cloud-based platform or environment. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to a request to access the content in the cloud-based environment, providing the third-party application with a login view to verify an identity of a user. The login view is generated from a server hosting the environment. The method further includes, upon the verification of the user's identity, providing the requested content to the third-party application. | 11-28-2013 |
20130318125 | METADATA ENABLED THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION ACCESS OF CONTENT AT A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM VIA A NATIVE CLIENT TO THE CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for methods, architectures and security mechanisms for a third-party application to access content in a cloud-based platform. In one embodiment, a method includes, receiving, at the third-party application, metadata that identifies the file. The method further includes transmitting the metadata to a server which is associated with the third-party application. The metadata enables the server to request the file from the cloud-based environment. | 11-28-2013 |
20130311894 | SECURITY ENHANCEMENT THROUGH APPLICATION ACCESS CONTROL - Security enhancement through application access control for cloud-based services and/or storage accounts is disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, which may be implemented on a system, for providing, via the collaboration environment, applications for use by a user in the collaboration environment. The applications are selectable by a user, through the collaboration environment, for use in interaction and engagement with other users in the collaboration environment in collaboration sessions. The applications that are visible or available for use by the user is configurable by another user (e.g., administrator or IT specialist) with appropriate permissions, though a designated console. | 11-21-2013 |
20130297680 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION TO ACCESS CONTENT WITHIN A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM - Techniques are disclosed for using a third-party application to access or edit a file within a cloud-based environment within a cloud-based platform or environment. In one embodiment, a method includes, in the cloud-based environment, responsive to detecting a request to access or edit a file using the third-party application, the file is provided for access or edit using the third-party application. The third-party application includes a user interface which is customized to enable storage of the accessed or edited file to the cloud-based environment. In some embodiments, the third-party application is allowed or restricted to store the accessed file back to the cloud-based environment. | 11-07-2013 |
20130275398 | CLOUD SERVICE ENABLED TO HANDLE A SET OF FILES DEPICTED TO A USER AS A SINGLE FILE IN A NATIVE OPERATING SYSTEM - Systems and methods method enabling file actions to be performed on a folder structure in a cloud-based service are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, which may be implemented on a system, for representing the folder structure in a user interface to the cloud-based service as a file and enabling file actions to be performed on file representing the folder structure in the user interface to the cloud-based service. In one embodiment, the folder structure and associated content is stored on a server which provides the cloud-based service in a compressed file format which is able to preserve the metadata associated with the folder structure which indicates its representation as the file in the user interface. | 10-17-2013 |
20130268480 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE SUBFOLDER SYNCHRONIZATION IN A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT - Techniques are disclosed for enabling selective subfolder synchronization in a cloud-based environment. In one embodiment, a method comprises, in response to a selection, from a user, of a first synchronization state of a first folder in a workspace, synchronizing content of the first folder associated with the user based on the first synchronization state regardless of a second synchronization state of a second folder in the workspace. The first folder is a subfolder of the second folder. The workspace is provided by a server of a cloud-based environment, and is shared among the user and one or more collaborators of the user. Among other advantages, embodiments disclosed herein provide fine-grained control to the users of a cloud collaboration environment over what folder(s) in their workspace is to be shared and/or synchronized. | 10-10-2013 |
20130238969 | UNIVERSAL FILE TYPE PREVIEW FOR MOBILE DEVICES - Systems and methods for providing previews to mobile client devices of files stored in a web-based collaboration platform are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system sends a request to preview a file uploaded to the web-based collaboration platform. The system receives preview information for accessing and manipulating preview of the uploaded file. The preview information includes a scheme for accessing file segments of the preview of the uploaded file. The file segments are byproducts of a conversion of the file from the source format to a target format and have a requested preview format. The system further includes a viewer to access the file segments of the uploaded file using the scheme. The viewer displays the accessed file segments on a touch screen responsive to swiping actions on the touch screen, the swiping actions determined based on the source format. | 09-12-2013 |
20130198600 | EXTENDED APPLICATIONS OF MULTIMEDIA CONTENT PREVIEWS IN THE CLOUD-BASED CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - Systems and methods for providing previews of files stored in an online content management system with collaboration environment and permitting a user to annotate the previews are disclosed. The system further tracks the frequency of access of content in previewed documents and provides a visual representation of the frequency with which sections in a document was viewed. | 08-01-2013 |
20130162444 | HEALTH CHECK SERVICES FOR WEB-BASED COLLABORATION ENVIRONMENTS - System and method for monitoring the health of modules in a web-based collaboration environment are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a system having one or more host servers configured to receive client requests, process the client requests to determine one or more data items, select one or more modules having the one or more data items stored thereon, and responsively transfer one or more queries requesting availability of the one or more modules. The system also includes one or more health monitoring servers configured to receive the one or more queries, identify the availability of the one or more modules, and send one or more responses to the one or more queries indicating the availability of the one or more modules. The one or more health monitoring servers are configured to periodically determine the availability status of the one or more modules. | 06-27-2013 |
20130138608 | MOBILE PLATFORM FILE AND FOLDER SELECTION FUNCTIONALITIES FOR OFFLINE ACCESS AND SYNCHRONIZATION - Systems and methods for folder synchronization and offline synchronization via a mobile platform in a web-based collaboration environment are disclosed. One embodiment includes synchronizing user selected folders and/or sub-folders via the mobile platform, using portable devices including smart phones and tablets using any mobile operating system to allow offline access. Child or sub-folders of the selected folders and/or sub-folders are automatically detected and synchronized for offline access. Any change or new content detected on the client side or on the server side is also synchronized such that the selected folders and/or sub-folders on the client and server sides are up to date. | 05-30-2013 |
20130080919 | CENTRAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF USER-CONTRIBUTED CONTENT IN A WEB-BASED COLLABORATION ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGEMENT CONSOLE THEREOF - Systems and methods for central management and control of user-contributed content in a web-based collaboration environment are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, which may be implemented on a system, for enabling an administrative user in an enterprise setting to centrally manage and control content provided by other users of the enterprise in a web-based collaboration environment. In one embodiment, a view providing access to an aggregate of the content or a selection thereof provided by the other users is depicted in a user interface for the administrative user to access the web-based collaboration environment. The user interface for the administrative user includes both of a management console to access the content provided by other users and a panel for accessing an account of the user and work items owned by the administrative user. | 03-28-2013 |
20130031147 | FILE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND COLLABORATION SERVICE AND INTEGRATION CAPABILITIES WITH THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS - A system and method for providing a file management service for collaboration is disclosed. The method for providing a file management service for collaboration, which may be implemented on a system, includes, for example, providing a client through which a user accesses a file through the file management service, further providing, by the file management service via the client, the user with collaboration capability of the file with other users, and/or controlling editing of the file by other users based on whether it is specified as being shared by the user. In one embodiment, the file management service further enables integration of a third-party service with the file management service and the third-party service is accessible for use with the file via the file management service. | 01-31-2013 |