Method for authenticating and securing integrated bookstore entries
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsMarco A. DeMello, Attila Narin, Yoram Yaacovi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system for providing an electronic shopping service integrated into a software application, and for controlling the set of web sites that are reachable from within the shopping service. Each web site is represented by data which is signed by a private key, and the data together with this signature is delivered to a plurality of computing devices that provide the shopping service. Each of the computing devices has access to the public key that corresponds to the private key, and uses the public key to verify the signature. The computing device displays links to those web sites whose representative data validates against the signature.
Claims23
A method of facilitating commerce over a communications network comprising:
- generating data indicative of a web site;
- generating a signature of said data using a private key;
- providing said data and said signature to a plurality of computing devices;
- providing to said plurality of computing devices a public key corresponding to said private key;
- and
- providing to said plurality of computing devices a set of computer-executable instructions which performs acts comprising:
- determining the authenticity of said data against said signature;
- and
- displaying a link to said web site upon a determination that said data is authentic.
A system for using a computer network comprising:
- a memory location which stores data and a signature received from a directory server, said data being indicative of a web site on a computer network, said signature being based on said data;
- an authentication module which verifies the authenticity of data against said signature and provides an indication of whether said data is authentic;
- and a shopping module which receives said indication and which conditionally displays a link to said web site according to said indication.
A method of providing access to web sites comprising:
- creating a list of web sites;
- providing, to a plurality of computing devices, computer-executable instructions which access said web sites;
- and
- limiting access to said web sites by performing acts which include:
- generating signatures for one or more of the web sites on said list using a key;
- and
- restricting access to said key;
- wherein said computer-executable instructions include instructions which authenticate said signatures and which deny access to a web site on said list whose signature fails to authenticate.
A computer memory which stores a data structure produced by acts comprising:
- accessing a list which includes a plurality of web sites, each of said web sites having a corresponding signature;
- determining the authenticity of each web site on said list against its corresponding signature;
- including in said data structure a first set of said web sites which are determined to be authentic against their respective signatures;
- and
- excluding from said data structure a second set of said web sites which fail to authenticate against their respective signatures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.