Advertisement authentication system in which advertisements are downloaded for off-line display
First Claim
1. For use in an electronic mail system, a method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
- (a) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer;
(b) electronically transferring an advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer;
(c) storing the advertisement in the memory device of the local computer;
(d) electronically transferring e-mail messages between the local computer and the remote computer;
(e) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer;
(f) at the local computer, determining if the advertisement has been altered;
(g) if the advertisement was not altered, outputting the advertisement at the local computer;
(h) if the advertisement was altered, recording an alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; and
(i) simultaneously with step (g), allowing a user at the local computer to create e-mail messages and to read e-mail messages received from the remote computer.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for authenticating that advertisements are properly displayed at a remote computer. The advertisements are received electronically and are stored in a memory device at the remote computer. The advertisements are output to users when the remote computer is off-line. Each advertisement is authenticated by the remote computer prior to output to ensure, for example, that the advertisement has not been tampered with, modified or replaced. Information as to when advertisements are output is recorded and used for billing the advertisers. This information can be stored in a statistics file on the remote computer. When the statistics file is transferred to a central computer, the statistics file is authenticated to ensure that it has not been tampered with, modified or replaced. The authentication scheme can be used as part of an electronic mail system.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. For use in an electronic mail system, a method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (b) electronically transferring an advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (c) storing the advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (d) electronically transferring e-mail messages between the local computer and the remote computer; (e) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (f) at the local computer, determining if the advertisement has been altered; (g) if the advertisement was not altered, outputting the advertisement at the local computer; (h) if the advertisement was altered, recording an alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; and (i) simultaneously with step (g), allowing a user at the local computer to create e-mail messages and to read e-mail messages received from the remote computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)
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7. The method of claim i further comprising the steps of:
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(a) compressing the advertisement prior to transfer to the local computer; and (b) decompressing the advertisement prior to output at the local computer.
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9. For use in an electronic mail system, a method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (b) electronically transferring a first advertisement and a second advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (c) storing the first advertisement and the second advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (d) electronically transferring e-mail messages between the local computer and the remote computer; (e) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (f) at the local computer, determining if the first advertisement has been altered; (g) if the first advertisement was not altered, outputting the first advertisement at the local computer; (h) if the first advertisement was altered, recording a first alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; (i) at the local computer, determining if the second advertisement has been altered; (j) if the second advertisement was not altered, outputting the second advertisement in replace of the first advertisement after a predetermined time; (k) if the second advertisement was altered, recording a second alteration event in the statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; (l) simultaneously with steps (g) and (j), allowing a user at the local computer to create e-mail messages and to read e-mail messages received from the remote computer. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. For use in an electronic mail system, a method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) at the remote computer, generating a fingerprint of an advertisement; (b) at the remote computer, encrypting the fingerprint; (c) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (d) electronically transferring the advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (e) electronically transferring the encrypted fingerprint from the remote computer to the local computer; (f) storing the advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (g) storing the encrypted fingerprint in the memory device of the local computer; (h) electronically transferring e-mail messages between the local computer and the remote computer; (i) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (j) at the local computer, determining if the advertisement has been altered by (1) generating a second fingerprint of the advertisement, (2) decrypting the encrypted fingerprint, and (3) comparing the decrypted fingerprint with the second fingerprint; (k) if the advertisement was not altered, outputting the advertisement at the local computer; (l) if the advertisement was altered, recording an alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; and (m) simultaneously with step (k), allowing a user at the local computer to create e-mail messages and to read e-mail messages received from the remote computer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (b) electronically transferring an advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (c) storing the advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (d) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (e) at the local computer, determining if the advertisement has been altered; (f) if the advertisement was not altered, outputting the advertisement at the local computer; and (g) if the advertisement was altered, recording an alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (b) electronically transferring a first advertisement and a second advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (c) storing the first advertisement and the second advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (d) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (e) at the local computer, determining if the first advertisement has been altered; (f) if the first advertisement was not altered, outputting the first advertisement at the local computer; (g) if the first advertisement was altered, recording a first alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer; (h) at the local computer, determining if the second advertisement has been altered; (i) if the second advertisement was not altered, outputting the second advertisement in replace of the first advertisement after a predetermined time; and (j) if the second advertisement was altered, recording a second alteration event in the statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A method for detecting unauthorized alteration of advertisements transferred from a remote computer and stored in a memory device of a local computer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) at the remote computer, generating a fingerprint of an advertisement; (b) at the remote computer, encrypting the fingerprint; (c) establishing a communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (d) electronically transferring the advertisement from the remote computer to the local computer; (e) electronically transferring the encrypted fingerprint from the remote computer to the local computer; (f) storing the advertisement in the memory device of the local computer; (g) storing the encrypted fingerprint in the memory device of the local computer; (h) terminating the communications link between the local computer and the remote computer; (i) at the local computer, determining if the advertisement has been altered by (1) generating a second fingerprint of the advertisement, (2) decrypting the encrypted fingerprint, and (3) comparing the decrypted fingerprint with the second fingerprint; (j) if the advertisement was not altered, outputting the advertisement at the local computer; and (k) if the advertisement was altered, recording an alteration event in a statistics file stored in the memory device of the local computer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An electronic mail system with advertising, comprising:
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a server system having a processor and a server memory, the server memory storing advertisements and e-mail messages; and a plurality of client computers, each client computer including a client memory and a processor, each client computer including means for establishing a communications link with the server system, means for electronically receiving e-mail messages and advertisements from the server system and sending e-mail messages to the server system, means for storing advertisements in the client memory, means for terminating the communications link with the server system, means for determining if a received advertisement has been altered, means for creating e-mail messages and reading e-mail messages received from the server system while the client computer is not electronically connected to the server system, means for outputting the received advertisement if the received advertisement was not altered while the client computer is not electronically connected to the server system, and means for recording in a statistics file in the client memory an indication that an advertisement has been altered. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A system to ensure that electronic advertisements that are transferred from a remote computer system to a local computer are not tampered with, comprising:
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a remote computer system transferring advertisements, corresponding encrypted fingerprints of each advertisement and electronic content to a plurality of local computers; and a plurality of local computers, each local computer capable of connecting with the remote computer system to receive and store advertisements, corresponding encrypted fingerprints of each advertisement and electronic content, each local computer utilizing the encrypted fingerprints of each advertisement to determine whether the corresponding advertisement is accurate prior to output at said remote computer, and thereafter outputting each accurate advertisement in turn at said local computer while said local computer is disconnected from the remote computer system. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification