Transmitting and receiving data via barcodes through a cellphone for privacy and anonymity

• US 8,707,163 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2011
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wesley Boudville
• Original Assignee: Wesley Boudville
• Inventors: Boudville, Wesley John
• Primary Examiner(s): Dyer, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US13/200,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20130086465A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3276 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being read by the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/201 Accessories of ATMs

Abstract

A user with a mobile device (e.g. cellphone) can transfer sensitive data to her device from another computer, where the latter might be a computer in a bank, or associated with a bank, like an Automated Teller Machine. The external computer has a screen that shows data, encoded in a barcode. The user'"'"'s device has a camera that can take an image of the barcode and decode it. If there is too much data to be encoded in a single barcode, they could be encoded in several barcodes, which are then played on a computer screen and imaged by the user'"'"'s device. The user avoids directly accessing the transmitting device on the Internet, for improved anonymity and privacy. The data that is transferred might be keys to a symmetric cryptosystem, or a one time pad, to encrypt a future interaction between the user and the other entity.

Claims

1. A method of using a computer and a cellphone having cellphone camera and a cellphone browser, the method comprising:

combining data input by a user with internal data or external data from a network via a first computer to form a composite data to be transferred;

determining a desired sizing of the composite data to be displayed;

determining a number of barcode images required to encode the composite data based on a maximum size of the composite data that can be encoded into a barcode;

encoding the composite data into one or more barcode images;

providing the one or more barcode image on an electronic screen of the first computer, the first computer comprising a browser, the browser displaying the composite data, by using a plug-in of the browser, in a first webpage and displaying the one or more barcode images onto one or more pop-up windows or one or more webpages different than the first webpage;

modifying a source code of the first webpage to comment out any tags corresponding to one or more files on the internet associated with the first webpage, wherein the modifying comprises applying custom labels in the enclosing comment tags of the source code of the first webpage via the plug-in;

transferring the composite data from the first computer to the cellphone by having the user take one or more images of the one or more barcode image through the cellphone camera, wherein the first computer and the cellphone are not connected to each other through the internet or the network; and

decoding, in the cellphone, the one or more images through a barcode decoding software, the barcode decoding software not being connected to the first computer through the internet or the network;

detecting, via the cellphone browser, the custom labels in the enclosing comment tags;

applying a blacklist or whitelist on the cellphone against the addresses of the files in the commented out tags;

determining whether to uncomment the tags based on the results of applying the blacklist or whitelist.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the first computer with a holder in which the cellphone is adapted to be placed, the holder aligning the cellphone camera to focus on the one or more barcode images.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite data comprises audio files and image files.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the image files comprise one or more maps with directions from a current location to a desired destination.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encoding an entire source code of the first webpage shown in the browser via the plug-in.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

downloading image files referenced in the first webpage to the first computer, and encoding the image files as one or more barcode images via the plug-in, wherein, if a downloaded image file is greater than a set size, the downloaded image file is converted to a lower resolution image before being encoded as the one or more barcode images;

modifying a copy of a source code of the first webpage to reference the image file as local, before providing the one or more barcode images via the plug-in; and

displaying all the one or more barcode images in the one or more popup windows or the one or more webpages different than the first webpage via the plug-in.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

downloading an audio file;

converting the audio file into the one or more barcode images; and

modifying the source code of the first webpage to refer to the audio file as local.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

downloading an audio file; and

running an automatic speech recognizer against the audio file to convert the audio file to text, the text being written into a source code of the first webpage, in place of the audio file, before the first webpage is encoded into the one or more barcode images.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plug-in lets a user select a particular region of the first webpage so that the plug-in only encodes image files of that particular region into the one or more barcode images.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plug-in only encodes material in a source of the first webpage that is delimited by a predetermined pair of tags.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

if several barcode images of the one or more barcode images are to be shown at the same location, the user presses a hardware or software button on the first computer, to scroll through the display of the several barcode images.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plug-in tests the first webpage for malware by displaying the first webpage in a virtual environment, and wherein, if the first webpage fails the tests, the first webpage is not encoded.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plug-in rewrites the first webpage for optimal display on a cellphone, the rewriting including restricting maximum or minimum sizes of text, and restricting the types of fonts.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first computer runs a browser that goes to a website;

the user types a URL in a webpage on the website;

the user notifies the website of the cellphone'"'"'s browser, operating system and hardware; and

the website gets the first webpage, and runs the first webpage in a virtual machine corresponding to the cellphone'"'"'s browser, operating system and hardware.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

a browser of the virtual machine is modified to detect malware in a displayed page;

an operating system of the virtual machine runs a program that scrutinizes the browser of the virtual machine for error conditions;

hardware of the virtual machine runs a program that scrutinizes the operating system of the virtual machine for errors; and

an operating system of the computer runs a program that scrutinizes the hardware program of the virtual machine for errors.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite data encoded into the one or more barcode images are keys to a symmetric cryptosystem or a one-time pad.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising encoding an entire source code of the first webpage shown in the browser to be displayed as one or more barcode images on the first computer.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the encoding is done by a third party, wherein the third party is a party other than the user and a party associated with the first webpage being accessed by the user.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein resolution of the one or more barcode images displayed on the first computer is adjustable.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the more than one barcode images, encoded when the composite data is too large for a single barcode, have embedded frame numbers, wherein the embedded frame numbers are configured to track an order of transmission.