Secure remote administration of computing entities in a network

摘要

Secure remote administration of computers is ensured by only enabling remote administrative access to a computer when an operating parameter of that computer exceeds a predetermined threshold. The operating parameters of the computer such as CPU usage, memory usage, number of packets dispatched etc. are monitored locally 24 within the computer, and a secure connection to a remote administrator 20 is prevented so long as the parameters lie within acceptable ranges. The connection may be prevented through the action of a desktop firewall 60 residing on the computer. When a secure connection is enabled due to abnormal operating parameters, the administrator may also be required to perform an authentication step for access to the computer. Following the performance of an administrative operation, the secure connection is again disabled by the computer. The total number of computers with enabled connections to the administrator may also be monitored and some of the connections disabled if the number exceeds a threshold.