A system for providing a domain name service for establishing a secure communication link, the system comprising: a domain name service system configured and arranged to be connected to a communication network, store a plurality of domain names and corresponding network addresses, receive a query for a network address, and indicate in response to the query whether the domain name service system supports establishing a secure communication link. view more

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system is connectable to a virtual private network through the communication network.

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system is configured to authenticate the query for the network address.

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system is configured to enable establishment of a secure communication link between a first location and a second location transparently to a user at the first location.

The system of claim 30, wherein the plurality of application programs comprises items selected from a group consisting of the following: video conferencing, e-mail, a word processing program, and telephony.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions executable in a domain name service system, the instructions comprising code for: connecting the domain name service system to a communication network; storing a plurality of domain names and corresponding network addresses; receiving a query for a network address; and indicating in response to the query whether the domain name service system supports establishing a secure communication link. view more

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions comprise code for storing the plurality of domain names and corresponding network addresses including at least one top-level domain name.

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions comprise code for authenticating the query for the network address.

The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the domain name service system is configured to enable establishment of a secure communication link between a first location and a second location transparently to a user at the first location. view more

A data processing device, comprising memory storing a domain name server (DNS) proxy module that intercepts DNS requests sent by a client and, for each intercepted DNS request, performs the steps of: (i) determining whether the intercepted DNS request corresponds to a secure server; (ii) when the intercepted DNS request does not correspond to a secure server, forwarding the DNS request to a DNS function that returns an IP address of a nonsecure computer, and (iii) when the intercepted DNS request corresponds to a secure server, automatically initiating an encrypted channel between the client and the secure server. view more

A computer readable medium storing a domain name server (DNS) module comprised of computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause a data processing device to perform the steps of: (i) determining whether a DNS request sent by a client corresponds to a secure server; (ii) when the DNS request does not correspond to a secure server, forwarding the DNS request to a DNS function that returns an IP address of a nonsecure computer; and (iii) when the intercepted DNS request corresponds to a secure server, automatically creating a secure channel between the client and the secure server. view more

A system for providing a domain name service for establishing a secure communication link, the system comprising: a domain name service system configured to be connected to a communication network, to store a plurality of domain names and corresponding network addresses, to receive a query for a network address, and to comprise an indication that the domain name service system supports establishing a secure communication link. view more

The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of domain names comprises a top-level domain name.

The system of claim 2, wherein the domain name service system is configured to authenticate the query using a cryptographic technique.

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system is configured to receive the query initiated from a first location, the query requesting the network address associated with a domain name, wherein the domain name service system is configured to provide the network address associated with a second location, and wherein the domain name service system is configured to support establishing a secure communication link between the first location and the second location. view more

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system comprises a server, wherein the server comprises a domain name database, and wherein the domain name database stores the plurality of domain names and the corresponding network addresses.

The system of claim 1, wherein the domain name service system is configured to enable establishment of a secure communication link between a first location and a second location transparently to a user at the first location.

A machine-readable medium comprising instructions executable in a domain name service system, the instructions comprising code for: connecting the domain name service system to a communication network; storing a plurality of domain names and corresponding network addresses; receiving a query for a network address; and supporting an indication that the domain name service system supports establishing a secure communication link. view more

The machine-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions comprise code for authenticating the query for the network address.

The machine-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the domain name service system is configured to enable establishment of a secure communication link between a first location and a second location transparently to a user at the first location.

The method according to claim 1, further comprising steps of: determining whether a secure communication software module is stored on the first computer in response to the step of enabling the secure communication mode of communication; accessing a predetermined computer network address for loading the secure communication software module when the software module is not stored on the first computer; and storing the software module in the first computer. view more

The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16, further comprising steps of: determining whether a secure communication software module is stored on the first computer in response to the step of enabling the secure communication mode of communication; accessing a predetermined computer network address for loading the secure communication software module when the software module is not stored on the first computer; and storing the software module in the first computer. view more

A method of transparently creating a virtual private network (VPN) between a client computer and a target computer, comprising the steps of:</claim-text> (1) generating from the client computer a Domain Name Service (DNS) request that requests an IP ss corresponding to a domain name associated with the target computer; (2) determining whether the DNS request transmitted in step (1) is requesting access to a secure web site; and (3) in response to determining that the DNS request in step (2) is requesting access to a secure target web site, automatically initiating the VPN between the client computer and the target computer. view more

The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:</claim-text> (4) in response to determining that the DNS request in step (2) is not requesting access to a secure target web site, resolving the IP address for the domain name and returning the dress to the client computer. view more

The method of claim 1, wherein step (3) comprises the step of using a gatekeeper computer that allocates VPN resources for communicating between the client computer and the target computer.

The method of claim 1, wherein step (2) is performed in a DNS proxy server that passes through the request to a DNS server if it is determined in step (3) that access is not being requested to a secure target web site.

A system that transparently creates a virtual private network (VPN) between a client computer and a secure target computer, comprising:</claim-text> a DNS proxy server that receives a request from the client computer to look up an IP address for a n name, wherein the DNS proxy server returns the IP address for the requested domain name if it is determined that access to a non-secure web site has been requested, and wherein the DNS proxy server generates a request to create the VPN between the client computer and the secure target computer if it is determined that access to a secure web site has been requested; and a gatekeeper computer that allocates resources for the VPN between the client computer and the secure web computer in response to the request by the DNS proxy server. view more

The system of claim 10, wherein the gatekeeper computer determines whether the client computer has sufficient security privileges to create the VPN and, if the client computer lacks sufficient security privileges, rejecting the request to create the VPN. view more