Method and Apparatus for Processing Authentication Request Message in a Social Network

• US 20110113101A1
• Filed: 05/12/2010
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Inventors: Ye, Jun, Mo, Jianxiang
• Granted Patent: US 9,009,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for processing an authentication request message in a social network are provided. To improve the inefficiency of existing technology in processing user authentication and request to establish social relationship as well as inadequacy of parameters available for said authentication, the disclosed method includes a social network server detecting an authentication request message sent by a first client to a second client requesting to establish a social relationship with the second client. The social network server obtains information social attributes that are common to the first client and the second client, forwards the authentication request message, and sends the obtained information of common social attributes to the second client. The social attribute information is used by the second client to decide whether or not to authenticate the authentication request message.

Claims

1. A method for processing an authentication request message in a social network, the method comprising:

detecting, by a social network server, a first client sending the authentication request message to a second client to request to establish a social relationship with the second client;

the social network server obtaining social attribute information common to the first client and the second client, the social attribute information indicative of one or more attributes of a user in the social network; and

the social network server forwarding the authentication request message and the obtained social attribute information to the second client, the second client determining whether or not to authenticate the authentication request message according to the social attribute information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining social attribute information common to the first client and the second client comprises:

the social network server, according to identification information of the first client and a correlation between the identification information and social attribute information of the first client, obtaining the social attribute information of the first client;

the social network server, according to identification information of the second client and a correlation between the identification information and social attribute information of the second client, obtaining the social attribute information of the second client; and

the social network server selecting the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client from the obtained social attribute information of the first client and the obtained social attribute information of the second client.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein obtaining the social attribute information of the first client and obtaining the social attribute information of the second client comprises:

searching for keywords of an inverted index;

identifying index records in the inverted index with a keyword identical to the identification information of the first client and with a keyword identical to the identification information of the second client; and

obtaining the social attribute information of the first client and the social attribute information of the second from the identified index records, the inverted index using the identification information of the first and second clients as keywords of the index records and using the social attribute information of the first and second clients as column values of the index records.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client comprises:

the social network server identifying the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client according to the identification information of the first client and the second client and a correlation between the identification information of the first and the second clients.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein obtaining the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client comprises:

searching for keywords of an inverted index;

identifying index records in the inverted index with a keyword identical to the identification information of the first client and the second client; and

obtaining the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client from the identified index records, the inverted index using the identification information of the first and second clients as the keywords of the index records and using the social attribute information common to the first and second clients as column values of the index records.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client comprises:

the social network server identifying, from a plurality of servers that store correlation between identification information and social attribute information of clients, one or more servers that store identification information and social attribute information of the first client and identification information and social attribute information of the second client based on the identification information of the first client and the second client; and

the social network server obtaining social attribute information common to the first client and the second client from the one or more servers.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client comprises:

the social network server selecting multidimensional social attribute information commonly to the first client and the second client; and

the social network server sending the selected multidimensional social attribute information to the second client.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when a number of social attributes common to the first client and the second client is greater than a predetermined threshold, the method further comprises establishing a social relationship between the first client and the second client.

9. An apparatus for processing an authentication request message in a social network, the apparatus comprising:

an acquisition module, that detects the authentication request message sent by a first client to a second client requesting to establish a social relationship with the second client, and that obtains social attribute information common to the first client and the second client, the social attribute information indicative of one or more attributes of a respective client in the social network; and

a transmitting module, that forwards the authentication request message and the obtained social attribute information to the second client such that the second client uses the social attribute information to decide whether or not to authenticate the authentication request message.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the acquisition module obtains social attribute information of the first client based on identification information of the first client and a correlation between the identification information and the social attribute information of the first client, obtains social attribute information of the second client based on identification information of the second client and a correlation between the identification information and the social attribute information of the second client, and obtains social attribute information that is common to the first client and the second client from the social attribute information of the first client and the social attribute information of the second client.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the acquisition module searches for keywords of an inverted index, identifies index records in the inverted index having the identification information of the first client as a keyword, identifies index records in the inverted index having the identification information of the second client as a keyword, and obtains the social attribute information of the first client and the second client from the respective identified index records, the inverted index using identification information of clients as keywords of the index records and using the social attribute information of clients as column values of the index records.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the acquisition module determines the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client based on identification information of the first client, identification information of the second client, and a correlation between the identification information and the social attribute information of the first and second clients.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the acquisition module searches for keywords of an inverted index, identifies index records in the inverted index having the identification information of the first client and the second client as a keyword, and obtains the social attribute information common to the first client and the second client from the identified index records, the inverted index using identification information of two mutually bound clients as keywords of the index records and using the social attribute information common to two clients as column values of the index records.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

a determination module, that identifies a first server of a plurality of servers, that store correlation between identification information of clients and social attribute information of clients, as storing identification information and social attribute information of the first client, and further identifies a second server of the plurality of servers as storing identification information and social attribute information of the second client according to the identification information of the first client and the identification information of the second client, wherein the acquisition module obtains social attribute information that is common to the first client and the second client from the first server and the second server.