McAfee Granted Wireless Update Patent

McAfee said Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had awarded it a patent regarding methods to update computer files on mobile devices. The company says that the technology could be used to update a file on a mobile device with a newer version that exists on another device.

For example, a communication link is established between two devices with the file. The wireless device first determines whether the file stored is updated. If there is an up-to-date version on the other device, the file is downloaded. Once the file is fully downloaded, it can then replace the older file.

Additionally, the technology allows for the file to be downloaded in segments, as wireless devices are not always connected. The device would know which segments need to be downloaded and would restart the download from that point.

“This technology caters to wireless environments,” said Victor Kouznetsov, senior vice president of McAfee Mobile. “To accommodate updating wireless devices, portions of updates may be stored as and when they become available.”

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