Managing access to digital identity information

• US 8,392,420 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Mellmer, Joseph Andrew, Young, Russell T., Perkins, Arn D., Robertson, John M., Sabin, Jeffrey Neil, McDonald, Michael C., Phillips, Douglas, Sheridan, Robert Michael, Nazeer, Nadeem Ahmad, Higley, DeeAnne Barker, Carter, Stephen R., Earl, Douglas G., Sonderegger, Kelly E., Ferguson, Daniel T., Brough, Farrell Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): REYES, MARIELA D
• Application Number:
  US13/097,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20110208778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 707/737, 707/740
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

A basic architecture for managing digital identity information in a network such as the World Wide Web is provided. A user of the architecture can organize his or her information into one or more profiles which reflect the nature of different relationships between the user and other entities, and grant or deny each entity access to a given profile. Various enhancements which may be provided through the architecture are also described, including tools for filtering email, controlling access to user web pages, locating other users and making one'"'"'s own location known, browsing or mailing anonymously, filling in web forms automatically with information already provided once by hand, logging in automatically, securely logging in to multiple sites with a single password and doing so from any machine on the network, and other enhancements.

Claims

1. In a computing system environment, a method for managing access to digital identity information, comprising:

creating at least one first electronic identity profile comprising unique personal identity information of a first user, and storing said first identity profile and a first contact listing object that lists users granted access by the first user to the first identity profile in a first user vault object;

creating at least one second electronic identity profile comprising unique personal identity information of a second user, and storing said second identity profile and a second contact listing object that lists users granted access by the second user to the second identity profile in a second user vault object that is different from the first user vault object;

on completion of an acceptable contact between the first and second users, automatically federating identity information between the first and the second contact listing objects granting read-only access to the first and second users for the first user'"'"'s and the second user'"'"'s respective electronic identity profiles;

receiving an acceptable second user request for access to first user identity information;

providing said first identity information to the second user;

the creating at least one second user electronic identity profile comprising at least the first user identity information provided to the second user, the profile including at least one of text or graphics designated by the first user; and

providing the at least one second electronic identity profile to the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the acceptable contact comprises an accepted request sent between the first user and the second user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the acceptable contact comprises the first user searching for information of the second user in the second user vault object and adding the second user information to a contacts database.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the contacts database includes only a listing of electronic identity profiles accessible by the first user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least first one electronic identity profile information for the first user and the at least second one electronic identity profile information for the second user are each displayed on a user interface device as a representation of a card including at least one of textual information and images.

6. The method of claim 1, further including the step of storing a listing of the at least one second user electronic identity profile in the first contact listing object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user information includes at least one of an address, a telephone number, an email address, one or more login credentials, and a credit card number.

8. The method of claim 7, further including the step of capturing at least a portion of the first user identity information and storing the captured information in a database, said captured information comprising information for logging into a web site of the second user.

9. In a computing system environment, a method for managing access to digital identity information, comprising:

creating at least one first electronic identity profile comprising unique personal identity information of a user, and storing said first identity profile and a first contact listing object listing entities granted access by the first user to the first identity profile in a first vault object;

creating at least one second electronic profile comprising unique identity information of another entity in a second vault object that is different from the first vault object;

on completion of an acceptable contact between the user and said other entity, automatically federating at least a portion of the user identity information between the first contact listing object and the other entity information across a network;

receiving an acceptable other entity request for access to first user identity information;

providing said first identity information to the other entity;

the creating at least one second electronic identity comprising at least the first user identity information provided to the other entity, the profile including at least one of text or graphics designated by the first user; and

providing the at least one second electronic profile to the first user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one first electronic identity profile is graphically represented on a user interface device as a card containing at least one of text and an image.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user identity information includes at least one of an address, a telephone number, an email address, one or more login credentials, and a credit card number.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the other entity information includes at least a uniform resource locator information of a web site of the other entity.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the federated user identity information comprises information for automatically logging the user into the web site of the other entity.