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US 2007/0192849 A1Published application
Physical token for supporting verification of human presence in an online environment
AssigneePalo Alto Research Center Incorporated
InventorsPhilippe Golle, Nicolas Ducheneaut
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A physical token operates together with an online server to test whether a user operating a user computer to access a service available at the online server is human. The physical token has two states: inactive and active. When in the inactive state the physical token displays interaction instructions for performing a physical action on the token. When the interaction instructions are satisfied, the physical token transitions to the active state and displays a response that may be used for satisfying a challenge issued by the online server to the user seeking to access the service.
Claims22
A computer implemented method for verifying human presence in an online environment, the method comprising:
- issuing a challenge from a first computational unit to a second computational unit after the second computational unit communicates a request to access a service provided by the first computational unit;
- computing at a third computational unit a response using a function that takes as input a synchronization measure and a key shared with the first computational unit;
- the computed response being computed for satisfying the challenge issued by the first computational unit to the second computational unit;
- displaying the computed response on a user interface of the third computational unit only if interaction instructions involving a physical challenge output on the user interface are satisfied;
- receiving input at the second computational unit representing the response displayed on a user interface of the third computational unit;
- transmitting the input received representing said response from the second computational unit to the first computational unit for satisfying the challenge issued by the first computational unit;
- enabling, at the first computational unit, access to the service to the second computational unit after the challenge is satisfied when the response received from the second computational unit is authenticated using a function that takes as input the response and the key shared with the third computational unit.
4 more elements
An apparatus for verifying human presence in an online environment, the apparatus comprising:
- a first computational unit providing a service and having a key and a synchronization measure;
- a second computational unit communicating with the first computational unit;
- a third computational unit having a synchronization measure and a key shared with the first computational unit;
- wherein each computational unit further comprises (i) a memory for storing processing instructions and (ii) a processor coupled to the memory for executing the processing instructions;
- wherein the processing instructions of the first computational unit further comprises processing instructions for (i) issuing a challenge from a first computational unit to a second computational unit after the second computational unit communicates a request to access a service provided by the first computational unit and (ii) enabling, at the first computational unit, access to the service to the second computational unit after the challenge is satisfied when a response received from the second computational unit is authenticated using a function that takes as input the response and the key shared with the third computational unit;
- wherein the processing instructions of the third computational unit further comprises a user interface and processing instructions for operating in (i) a first state for computing a response using a function that takes as input a synchronization measure and a key shared with the first computational unit;
- the computed response being computed for satisfying the challenge issued by the first computational unit to the second computational unit, and (ii) a second state for displaying the computed response on a user interface of the third computational unit only if interaction instructions involving a physical challenge output on the user interface are satisfied;
- wherein the processing instructions of the second computational unit further comprises a user interface and processing instructions for (i) receiving input at the second computational unit representing the response displayed on a user interface of the third computational unit, and (ii) transmitting the input received representing the response from the second computational unit to the first computational unit for satisfying the challenge issued by the first computational unit.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.