Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 8484736, I will examine the patent citations listed within the patent itself. The USPTO provides access to issued patents and published applications.

Here are the prior art references cited in US patent 8484736, along with their details and potential anticipatory aspects under 35 U.S.C. § 102:

1. US20020162015A1

• Full Citation: US20020162015A1 (Tang)
• Publication Date: October 31, 2002
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and system for scanning and cleaning known and unknown computer viruses. It also covers recording and transmission media for the same.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference potentially anticipates elements of Claim 1 and Claim 18 relating to the general concept of anti-malware protection and scanning for viruses. Specifically, the idea of identifying and dealing with threats could overlap with "determining whether the received command poses a security threat" (Claim 1) and the functionality of the security processor to "determine whether the received command poses a security threat" (Claim 18).

2. US6526489B1

• Full Citation: US6526489B1 (Nec Corporation)
• Publication Date: February 25, 2003
• Brief Description: This patent describes a data storage apparatus with an improved security process and partition allocation functions.
• Potential Anticipation: This patent might anticipate elements of Claim 1 and Claim 18 concerning the secure management of a storage device, particularly "a storage area for storing data" and "a storage controller for managing the storage area" (Claim 1 and 18). The "improved security process" could also touch upon the general idea of protecting the storage device.

3. US20060294370A1

• Full Citation: US20060294370A1 (Greenspan)
• Publication Date: December 28, 2006
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method, device, and system for maintaining a context of a secure execution environment.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference could be relevant to the operation of the security processor in the "security" mode and the transition to the "safe" mode (Claim 1 and 18). Maintaining a "secure execution environment" might be seen as analogous to the security mode where commands are filtered.

4. US20070261118A1

• Full Citation: US20070261118A1 (Lu)
• Publication Date: November 8, 2007
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a portable storage device with standalone antivirus capability.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference is highly relevant as it describes a portable storage device with anti-virus capabilities, similar to the overall goal of US8484736. It could anticipate various aspects of both Claim 1 and Claim 18, particularly the presence of an anti-virus mechanism within the storage device. The standalone nature might differ from the host-based anti-virus described in US8484736, but the core concept of protection within the device is similar.

5. US20070266063A1

• Full Citation: US20070266063A1 (Camiel)
• Publication Date: November 15, 2007
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for data storage firewall on a data storage unit.
• Potential Anticipation: The concept of a "data storage firewall" directly relates to the security processor's function of filtering commands in the "security" mode (Claim 1 and 18). This reference could anticipate the mechanism of intercepting and evaluating commands before they reach the storage controller.

6. US20080052507A1

• Full Citation: US20080052507A1 (Super Talent Electronics Inc.)
• Publication Date: February 28, 2008
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a multi-partition USB device that re-boots a PC to an alternate operating system for virus recovery.
• Potential Anticipation: While the specific mechanism of re-booting to an alternate OS differs, this reference addresses virus recovery in a USB device. Elements related to the interaction between a storage device and a host for security purposes, especially during initialization or recovery, could be relevant to Claim 1 and 18, particularly the broader context of protecting the storage device from host-borne threats.

7. US20080098478A1

• Full Citation: US20080098478A1 (Redcannon, Inc.)
• Publication Date: April 24, 2008
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a system, method, and computer program product for administering trust-dependent functional control over a portable endpoint security device.
• Potential Anticipation: This is highly relevant due to the "trust-dependent functional control" over a "portable endpoint security device." This could anticipate the mechanism of the security processor determining whether the host can be trusted (e.g., if an anti-virus is running), leading to the transition between security and safe modes (Claim 1 and 18).

8. US20080134281A1

• Full Citation: US20080134281A1 (McAfee, Inc.)
• Publication Date: June 5, 2008
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and system for enhanced wireless network security.
• Potential Anticipation: While focused on wireless networks, the underlying principles of "enhanced security" and method/system for protection might have general applicability. Depending on the specifics of the enhanced security methods, some broad concepts could potentially anticipate parts of Claim 1 or 18 related to command filtering or threat detection. However, the specific domain (wireless network) makes direct anticipation of a storage device's internal anti-malware less likely.

9. US20080162784A1

• Full Citation: US20080162784A1 (Spansion Llc)
• Publication Date: July 3, 2008
• Brief Description: This patent application describes systems and methods for access violation management of secured memory.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference deals with "access violation management of secured memory," which is directly relevant to protecting a "storage area for storing data" (Claim 1 and 18). The security processor blocking commands from reaching the storage controller when a threat is detected (Claim 1 and 18) could be considered a form of access violation management.

10. US7853999B2

• Full Citation: US7853999B2 (Microsoft Corporation)
• Publication Date: December 14, 2010 (Note: This patent was granted after the filing date of US8484736, but its priority date would be key for prior art analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 102. The publication date of the application US20070271633A1 was November 22, 2007, which precedes the filing date of US8484736).
• Brief Description: This patent describes a trusted operating environment for malware detection.
• Potential Anticipation: This reference's concept of a "trusted operating environment for malware detection" directly relates to the security mode and safe mode functionality of US8484736. The determination of whether an anti-virus is executing on the host and the subsequent trust decision are central to both. This could potentially anticipate aspects of Claim 1 and 18, particularly the transition based on the host's anti-virus status.