Trusted agent for electronic commerce

A trusted agent process for assisting a customer in managing their online commercial affairs, said process comprising the steps of:

• visiting any merchant network location that contains a customer completed form;
• invoking a trusted agent service using a specific network address that links said customer to a trusted agent service provider's server;
• providing customer identification and/or authorization information to said trusted agent service;
• submitting a customer request to said trusted agent server;
• said trusted agent service automatically completing said form for said customer;
• and
• sending said completed form to said merchant using a standard transport protocol.

A process for creating a trusted agent on a customer system for assisting said customer in managing their online commercial affairs, said process comprising the steps of:

• running a browser with cryptography enabled on said system;
• applying for a code signing certificate by using said browser;
• generating a key in said browser and retrieving said certificate;
• installing an object signing tool on said system;
• storing files that are to be signed in a directory on said system;
• said signing tool signing each file separately and storing related signatures in a file;
• selecting the name of said file where said signatures are stored;
• assigning a unique ID attribute for each script used to implement said trusted agent;
• signing each said script;
• finding a certificate location;
• running said signing tool;
• said signing tool creating a trusted agent file;
• and
• storing said trusted agent file on a trusted agent server along with said scripts.

An apparatus for assisting a customer in managing their online commercial affairs, comprising:

• a network access device by which said customer contacts a trusted agent server that holds and manages said customer's business affairs, said network access device including a trusted agent client that augments said network access device to perform commercial transactions with third parties on behalf of said customer;
• wherein said trusted agent server is accessed at a unique network address provided by a uniform resource locator (URL);
• wherein said URL is identified with, and selected by, an actuation mechanism associated with said trusted agent client;
• and
• wherein said customer controls said commercial transactions with said third parties through said trusted agent server.

An apparatus for assisting a customer in managing their online commercial affairs, comprising:

• a trusted agent server that holds and manages said customer's business affairs, said trusted agent server responsive to a network access device by which said customer contacts said trusted agent server to perform commercial transactions with third parties on behalf of said customer;
• wherein said trusted agent server has a unique network address provided by a uniform resource locator (URL);
• wherein said customer controls said commercial transactions with said third parties through said trusted agent server;
• wherein said trusted agent server populates an electronic form with information required for said commercial transaction;
• and
• wherein said trusted agent continues to monitor the web page and fills in the subsequent web pages until the merchant's transaction is concluded.

A process for creating a trusted agent on a customer system for assisting said customer in managing their online commercial affairs, said process comprising the steps of:

• running a browser with cryptography enabled on said system;
• applying for a code signing certificate by using said browser;
• generating a key in said browser and retrieving said certificate;
• installing an object signing tool on said system;
• storing files that are to be signed in a directory on said system;
• said signing tool signing each file separately and storing related signatures in a file;
• selecting the name of said file where said signatures are stored;
• assigning a unique ID attribute for each script used to implement said trusted agent;
• finding a certificate location;
• running said signing tool;
• said signing tool creating a trusted agent file;
• and
• storing said trusted agent file on a trusted agent server along with said scripts.