Form Filling with Digital Identities, and Automatic Password Generation

• US 20100037303A1
• Filed: 08/08/2008
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Randall, Richard, Franco, Roberto A., Sharif, Tariq, Nanda, Arun K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,910,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

In one implementation, form field(s) of a form of a website or application are populated with data obtained using a digital identity, and the populated form field(s) are submitted to the website or application. A form field specification specifying information about the form fields of the form is obtained. A user selects or creates a digital identity. Data is obtained using the digital identity, and the data is used to provide values to the form. The data is submitted to the website or application. In another implementation, a username and password are automatically generated. The username and password that are generated meet parameters that may be specified by the website or application. The username and password are submitted to the website or application for a purpose such as registration or authentication, and stored away for future authentication.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, causes the computing system to perform the following:

an act of obtaining from a website a form field specification specifying a plurality of form fields of a form;

an act of prompting a user of the computing system to either select or create a digital identity to be used to provide at least one value into at least one of the plurality of form fields of the form;

an act of obtaining, using the user-selected or user-created digital identity, data to be used to populate the at least one of the plurality of form fields of the form;

an act of populating the at least one of the plurality of form fields of the form with the obtained data to generate at least one populated form field; and

an act of submitting the at least one populated form field to the website.

2. A computer program product in accordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more computer-readable media are physical memory and/or storage media.

3. A computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein the form is for registering a new account at the website.

4. A computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein the form is for logging in to the website or otherwise authenticating at the website.

5. A computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein one or more of the at least one of the form fields of the form is a password field.

6. A computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein the form field specification also specifies one or more form field restrictions for one or more of the form fields of the form.

7. A computer program product in accordance with claim 6, wherein, in the act of populating the at least one of the form fields of the form with the obtained data, the one or more form field restrictions specified in the form field specification are satisfied.

8. A computer program product in accordance with claim 2, wherein digital identities are presented to the user as information cards.

9. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, causes the computing system to perform the following:

an act of obtaining a username and password specification of an application or website;

an act of automatically generating a username and password pair which conforms to the obtained username and password specification;

an act of securely storing the generated username and password pair such that it can be recalled by the computing system for future authentication at the application or website.

10. A computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the one or more computer-readable media are physical memory and/or storage media.

11. A computer program product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the generated username and password pair is unique from username and password pairs generated by the computing system for other applications or websites.

12. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, which also causes the computing system to automatically login or otherwise authenticate to the application or website to which the generated username and password pair corresponds.

13. A computer program product in accordance with claim 11, wherein the computing system comprises a web browser client computing system and the application or website comprises a website.

14. A computer program product in accordance with claim 13, which also causes the computing system to prompt a user to select or create a digital identity to use for subsequent authentication at the website.

15. A computer program product in accordance with claim 14, which also causes the computing system to associate the generated username and password pair with the website and with the user-selected or user-created digital identity.

16. A computer program product in accordance with claim 15, which also prompts the user to select a digital identity when the website which is associated with the generated username and password pair is subsequently visited, and which also causes the computing system to automatically login or otherwise authenticate to the website.

17. In a network that includes a browser client computing system and at least one page server computing system which provides at least one webpage, a method for the browser client computing system to provide data to the at least one page server computing system, the method comprising the following:

obtaining a form field specification for the at least one webpage, which specifies a plurality of form fields of a form and zero or more form field restrictions for each of the form fields of the form;

prompting a user to select or create a digital identity;

obtaining data to populate at least one of the form fields of the form, wherein the data consists of one or more of the following;

data obtained using the user-selected or user-created digital identity, a username and password pair which is dynamically generated, or a username and password pair that has previously been generated;

populating the at least one of the form fields of the form with the obtained data; and

submitting, automatically, the at least one populated form fields of the form to the at least one page server computing system.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the data obtained to populate the at least one of the form fields of the form comprises data obtained using the user-selected or user-created digital identity.

19. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the data obtained to populate the at least one of the form fields of the form comprises a username and password pair which is dynamically generated.

20. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the data obtained to populate the at least one of the form fields of the form comprises a username and password pair which has been previously generated.