System and method for transcoding support of web content over secure connections

• US 6,970,918 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2001
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Farrell, Stephen Paul, Schwerdtfeger, Richard Scott, Fairweather, Peter Gustav, Detweiler, Samuel R., Brown, Frances C., Tibbitts, Beth Rush, Crayne, Susan, Hanson, Vicki Lynne
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bhatia, Ajay M.
• Application Number:
  US09/962,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,527 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/217, 709/246, 709/227, 709/203, 709/206, 709/207, 709/216, 709/219, 709/239, 713/200, 713/201, 713/150, 713/153
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and system using for establishing an intermediary connection between a client device and a secure website using a web proxy machine. In the preferred embodiment, a secure connection is established between the web proxy and the secure content server. A response from the content server, typically in HTML format, is sent to the proxy machine through a secure connection. The proxy machine is then able to manipulate the secure response from the secure server, in ways such as transcoding the response to a format readable by the user device, storing sensitive financial data in cookies in the proxy machine, and to return a response from the content provider to the client device with or preferably without cookies.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a secure connection between a user device and a secure content server, said method comprising:

connecting a proxy machine between a user device and a plurality of content servers, wherein the plurality of content servers comprises a secure content server and a non-secure content server;

receiving information from one of the content servers at the proxy machine, said proxy machine having access to a plurality of transcoders and a directive script database;

receiving at the proxy machine cookies for a specific user from a specific content provider;

storing the received cookies in the proxy machine;

transcoding in the proxy machine the received information from said one of the content servers into a transcoded response by at least one of the plurality of transcoders according to at least one directive script from the directive script database, wherein said at least one directive script selectively defines at least one transcoding property of at least one transcoder within the plurality of transcoders;

directing, according to the at least one directive script, which of said at least one transcoder are to be run;

directing, according to the at least one directive script, what order said at least one transcoder are to be run; and

sending the transcoded response to the user device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a user identity, from a database of user identities, to identify the connection between the proxy machine and the secure content server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user identity is defined by an Internet Protocol address for the user device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user identity is defined in a cookie in an HTTP header.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving the cookies for the specific user for the specific content provider from the cookie database;

deleting any expired cookies from the cookie database; and

placing the retrieved unexpired cookies into an HTTP request header from the proxy machine to the secure content server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the established connection between the user device and the proxy machine is secure.

7. The method of claim 1, where said step of accessing through the proxy machine the authorized web page further comprises:

sending a URI capturing web page from the proxy machine to the user device, said URI capturing web page having an address text field;

entering a desired URI address in the address text field in the URI capturing web page; and

directing the entered URI address to a browser application generator in the proxy machine.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transcoding the web page response from the secure content server into a protocol understood by the user device.

9. A system for establishing a secure connection between a user device and a secure content server, said system comprising:

means for connecting a proxy machine between a user device and a plurality of content servers, wherein the plurality of content servers comprises a secure content server and a non-secure content server;

means for receiving information from one of the content servers at the proxy machine, said proxy machine having access to a plurality of transcoders and a directive script database;

means for receiving at the proxy machine cookies for a specific user from a specific content provider;

means for storing the received cookies in the proxy machine;

means for transcoding in the proxy machine the received information from said one of the content servers into a transcoded response by at least one of the plurality of transcoders according to at least one directive script from the directive script database, wherein said at least one directive script selectively defines at least one transcoding property of at least one transcoder within the plurality of transcoders;

means for directing, according to the at least one directive script, which of said at least one transcoder are to be run; and

means for directing, according to the at least one directive script, what order said at least one transcoder are to be run; and

sending the transcoded response to the user device.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising means for assigning a user identity, from a database of user identities, to identify the connection between the proxy machine and the secure content server.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the user identity is defined by an Internet Protocol address for the user device.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the user identity is defined in a cookie in an HTTP header.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

means for retrieving the cookies for the specific user for the specific content provider from the cookie database;

means for deleting any expired cookies from the cookie database; and

means for placing the retrieved unexpired cookies into an HTTP request header from the proxy machine to the secure content server.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said established connection between the user device and the proxy machine is secure.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for accessing through the proxy machine the authorized web page further comprises:

means for sending a URI capturing web page from the proxy machine to the user device, said URI capturing web page having an address text field;

means for entering a desired URI address in the address text field in the URI capturing web page; and

means for directing the entered URI address to a browser application generator in the proxy machine.

16. The system of claim 9, further comprising means for transcoding the web page response from the secure content server into a protocol understood by the user device.

17. A computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium for establishing a secure connection between a user device and a secure content server, said computer program product comprising:

computer program code for connecting a proxy machine between a user device and a plurality of content servers, wherein the plurality of content servers comprises a secure content server and a non-secure content server;

computer program code for receiving information from one of the content servers at the proxy machine, said proxy machine having access to a plurality of transcoders and a directive script database;

computer program code for receiving at the proxy machine cookies for a specific user from a specific content provider;

computer program code for storing the received cookies in the proxy machine;

computer program code for transcoding in the proxy machine the received information from said one of the content servers into a transcoded response by at least one of the plurality of transcoders according to at least one directive script from the directive script database, wherein said at least one directive script selectively defines at least one transcoding property of at least one transcoder within the plurality of transcoders;

computer program code for directing, according to the at least one directive script, which of said at least one transcoder are to be run;

computer program code for directing, according to the at least one directive script, what order said at least one transcoder are to be run; and

computer program code for sending the transcoded response to the user device.

18. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising program code for assigning a user identity, from a database of user identities, to identify the connection between the proxy machine and the secure content server.

19. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the user identity is defined by an Internet Protocol address for the user device.

20. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the user identity is defined in a cookie in an HTTP header.

21. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising:

computer program code for retrieving the cookies for the specific user for the specific content provider from the cookie database;

computer program code for deleting any expired cookies from the cookie database; and

computer program code for placing the retrieved unexpired cookies into an HTTP request header from the proxy machine to the secure content server.

22. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the connection between the user device and the proxy machine is secure.

23. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the computer program code for accessing through the proxy machine the authorized web page further comprises:

computer program code for sending a URI capturing web page from the proxy machine to the user device, said URI capturing web page having an address text field;

computer program code for entering a desired URI address in the address text field in the URI capturing web page; and

computer program code for directing the entered URI address to a browser application generator in the proxy machine.

24. The computer program product embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising computer program code for transcoding the web page response from the secure content server into a protocol understood by the user device.