Render engine, and method of using the same, to verify data for access and/or publication via a computer system

• US 20050283833A1
• Filed: 06/23/2004
• Published: 12/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Henley, Mathew Gene, Lalonde, Chris, Black, Kevin, Pham, Quang D., Brown, Andrew Millard
• Granted Patent: US 8,353,028 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/51 at application loading time, e.g. accepting, rejecting, starting or inhibiting executable software based on integrity or source reliability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2151 Time stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A method and system to verify active content at a server system include receiving, at the server system a communication (e.g., an e-mail message or e-commerce listing) that includes active content that is to be made accessible via the server system. At the server system, the active content is rendered to generate rendered active content. The rendered active content presents a representation of information and processes to which an end user will be subject. At the server system, the rendered active content is verified as not being malicious.

Claims

1. A system to verify publication data at a computer system, the system including:

an interface module to receive the publication data, the publication data to be made accessible by the computer system;

a render module to render the publication data to generate rendered publication data; and

a verification module to verify that the rendered publication data is not associated with malicious executable code.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the publication data includes active content.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the publication data includes descriptor language information according to which is the publication data is to be rendered by the render module.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the publication data comprises a mark-up language document.

5. The system of claim 1, including a database within which to store the publication data, the render module being to retrieve the publication data from the database.

6. The system of claim 1, when the publication data is associated with executable code, and the verification module is to verify that the executable code is not malicious.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the executable code is included within the publication data.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the publication data includes a reference to a storage location at which the executable code is stored, and the verification module is to retrieve the executable code from the storage location.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the storage location is external to the computer system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the verification module includes at least one filter to determine whether the rendered publication data is associated with malicious executable code.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one filter is a one of at least a heuristic filter, a Bayesian filter and a regular expression.

12. The system of claim 1, including a notification module to provide an automated notification regarding an outcome of the verification of the rendered publication data.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the notification module is to provide the automated notification to a review process that selectively controls the publication of the publication data.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface is to receive the publication data, over a network, as a communication from a client system associated with a sending user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication is a publication to be published via the computer system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer system is a network-based commerce system, and the publication is a listing to be published via the network-based commerce system.

17. A method to verify publication data at a computer system, the method including:

receiving, at the computer system, a communication including the publication data to be made accessible via the computer system;

at the computer system, rendering the publication data to generate rendered publication data; and

at the computer system, verifying that the rendered publication data is not associated with malicious executable code.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the publication data includes active content.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the publication data includes descriptor language information according to which is the publication data is to be rendered by rendering computer system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the publication data comprises a mark-up language document.

21. The method of claim 17, including storing the publication data within a database associated with the computer system, and wherein the rendering of the publication data includes retrieving the publication data from the database.

22. The method of claim 17, when the publication data is associated with executable code, and the verifying includes verifying that the executable code is not malicious.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the executable code is included within the publication data.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the publication data includes a reference to a storage location at which the executable code is stored, and the verifying includes retrieving the executable code from the storage location.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the storage location is external to the computer system.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the verifying of the rendered publication data includes deploying at least one filter to detect an absence of the association of the rendered publication data with malicious executable code.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the at least one filter is at least one of a heuristic filter, a Bayesian filter and a regular expression.

28. The method of claim 17, including providing an automated notification regarding an outcome of the verification of the rendered publication data.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the provision of the automated notification includes providing the automated notification to a review process that selectively controls the publication of the publication data.

30. The method of claim 17, wherein the publication data is received as a communication, over a network, from a client system associated with a sending user.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the communication is a publication to be published via the computer system.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the computer system is a network-based commerce system, and the communication includes a listing to be published via the network-based commerce system.

33. A system to verify publication data at a computer system, the system including:

first means for receiving the publication data, the publication data to be made accessible by the computer system;

second means for rendering the publication data to generate rendered publication data; and

third means for verifying that the rendered publication data is not associated with malicious executable code.

34. A machine-readable medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause a machine to perform a method to verify publication data at a computer system, the method including:

receiving, at the computer system, a communication including the publication data to be made accessible via the computer system;

at the computer system, rendering the publication data to generate rendered publication data; and

at the computer system, verifying that the rendered publication data is not associated with malicious executable code.