Device verification prior to registration

At a computing device including at least one processor, a computer-implemented method for the computing device to register to receive notifications, the method comprising:

• generating a client challenge that is identifiable as originating at the computing device;
• sending a notification registration request including the generated client challenge to a registration service;
• receiving, from a notification service, a registration secret which includes identification information that uniquely identifies the computing device including the client challenge;
• determining whether the received client challenge received from the notification service matches the generated client challenge previously sent to the registration service;
• and
• upon determining that the client challenge received from the notification service matches the generated client challenge previously sent to the registration service, sending a second registration request including the registration secret to the registration service.

A computer system comprising the following:

• one or more processors;
• one or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to perform a method for registering a device to receive notifications, the method comprising the following:
• receiving a push notification registration request from a computing device, the request including a push notification address associated with the computing device and a client challenge;
• generating a registration secret including the received client challenge, the push notification address and a timestamp;
• sending the generated registration secret, the timestamp and the client challenge to a push notification service to be forwarded to the computing device;
• receiving a first hash value from the computing device, the first hash value being generated by the computing device and representing the generated registration secret, the timestamp and the client challenge;
• computing a second hash value of the received registration secret, the timestamp and the client challenge;
• comparing the first and second hash values and determining whether the second hash value matches the first hash value;
• and
• upon determining that the second hash value matches the first hash value, registering the computing device to receive push notifications.