METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING LOGIN AS A SERVICE

• US 20130086667A1
• Filed: 10/02/2012
• Published: 04/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Haven, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 9,830,435 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for providing login as a service. A system receives, via a customer server, a request from a user computer to login to a customer application provided by the customer server. The system outputs a login form to the user computer, receives a modified login form from the user computer, and determines whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application. If the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application, the system notifies the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing login as a service, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;

receiving a request, via a customer server, from a user computer to login to a customer application provided by the customer server;

outputting a login form to the user computer;

receiving a modified login form from the user computer;

determining whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application; and

notifying the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application in response to a determination that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the login form comprises password rules for at least one of password length, password composition, password complexity, password reuse, and password similarity to at least one of a username and a user email address.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modified login form requires at least one of a user email address, a username, and a user created password.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application comprises determining whether a proposed login protocol is acceptable based on customer specified login protocols.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein notifying the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application comprises outputting a user internet protocol address to the customer server.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the step of notifying at least one of the customer server and the user computer that the modified login form does not enable the user computer to login to the customer application in response to a determination that the modified login form does not enable the user computer to login to the customer application.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

outputting an email comprising a verification link to the user computer; and

enabling the creation of a password to replace a temporary password in response to activation of the verification link.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a session identifier from the customer server;

redirecting the session identifier to the user computer;

receiving a request from the customer server to identify a user based on the session identifier; and

outputting an identification of the user based on the session identifier to the customer server.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

generating user records, wherein the user records comprise at least one of user identifiers, login records, failed logins, suspicious user records, upcoming login expirations; and

outputting the user records to the customer server, wherein the user records are sorted by at least one of a user name, a user email address, a login creation date, a most recent login date, and a login renewal date.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a lost password notice from user computer; and

outputting a password reset form to the user computer.

11. A machine-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for providing login as a service, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

receiving a request, via a customer server, from a user computer to login to a customer application provided by the customer server;

outputting a login form to the user computer;

receiving a modified login form from the user computer;

determining whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application, wherein the modified login form comprises user billing information; and

notifying the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application in response to a determination that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the login form comprises a challenge-response test to ensure that the modified login form is generated by a person.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the login form comprises a security question and the modified login form comprises a security answer.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the user billing information comprises at least one of a billed amount, a frequency of billing, and a method of billing payment.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein determining whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application comprises detecting duplicate user billing information.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the notification comprises expiration information for the user computer to login to the customer application.

17. A method for providing login as a service, the method comprising:

receiving a request, redirected via a customer server, from a user computer to login to a customer application provided by the customer server;

outputting a login form to the user computer;

receiving a modified login form from the user computer;

determining whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application; and

notifying the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application in response to a determination that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising redirecting the request, via the customer server, from a user computer to login to the customer application.

19. A method for transmitting code for providing login as a service, the method comprising:

transmitting code to receive a request, via embedded login code in a customer webpage executed by a customer server, from a user computer to login to a customer application provided by the customer server;

transmitting code to output a login form to the user computer;

transmitting code to receive a modified login form from the user computer;

transmitting code to determine whether the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application; and

transmitting code to notify the customer server that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application in response to a determination that the modified login form enables the user computer to login to the customer application.

20. The method for transmitting code of claim 19, wherein executing the embedded login code in the customer webpage comprises executing an application program interface.