Journaling system with segregated data access

• US 8,996,573 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2011
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alethos Incorporated
• Original Assignee: George Peter Kelesis
• Inventors: Kelesis, George Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Boccio, Vincent F
• Application Number:
  US13/270,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20130091172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,268 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705, 707/707, 707/732, 707/783, 707/784, 707/785
• US Class Current: 707/783
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1815 Journaling file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/45 Structures or tools for the administration of authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]

Abstract

A journaling system provides access to subsets of user information in a segregated fashion. This permits its users to define access settings for their user information thereby limiting which other users may access the user information. In one or more embodiments, the journaling system may include a server or other computing device and one or more storage devices used to store the user information, associated access settings, or both. The access settings may define particular criteria which must be met before a subset of user information may be accessed, and may identify particular users that may access the subset of user information.

Claims

1. A journaling system for storing two or more subsets of user'"'"'s information and controlling access thereto to third parties designed by the user, comprising:

one or more communications devices configured to receive the user information and one or more user-designated access settings, wherein said user information is grouped into subsets of information, each subset comprising one or more pages of said user'"'"'s information, and wherein a user-designated access setting is associated with each subset of user information, each user-designated access setting designating one or more third parties who may access user information, wherein user-designated access settings associated with different subsets of user information may designate different third parties who may access said different subsets of said user information;

one or more processors configured to control access to the subsets of user information to those third parties defined by said user-designated access settings by comparing information identifying a third party requesting access to one or more subsets of user information to the one or more user-designated access settings, wherein access to one or more of the one or more subsets is granted only if said third party is designated by the one or more user-designated access settings; and

one or more storage devices configured to retrievably store the subsets of the user information for delivery to a third party to whom access is granted.

2. The journaling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more subsets of the user information comprise information selected from the group consisting of personal information, career information, and hobby information.

3. The journaling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more subsets of the user information comprise one or more subsets of user information from one or more subset of user information provided by a third party.

4. The journaling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more communications devices are configured to transmit to the third party the one or more subsets of user information retrieved by the one or more storage devices.

5. The journaling system of claim 1 further comprising a main user-designated access setting associated with all of the user'"'"'s information, wherein if information identifying a third party matches said main user-designated access setting, said third party is granted access to all of the user'"'"'s user information.

6. The journaling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more communications devices are configured to receive the one or more access settings from a user terminal.

7. The journaling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more communications devices are configured to receive the user information from a user terminal.

8. A journaling system for storing two or more subsets of user'"'"'s user information and controlling access thereto to third parties designated by the user, comprising:

one or more communications devices configured to receive the user information, and the user information comprising information provided by the user and information provided by one or more third parties, the information grouped into subsets comprising one or more pages, and one or more user-designated access settings, wherein a user-designated access settings is associated with each subset of user information, each user-designated access setting designating one or more third parties who may access user information, wherein user-designated access settings associated with different subsets of user information may designate different third parties who may access said different subsets of said user information;

one or more processors configured to control access to the subsets of user information to those third parties defined by said user-designated access settings by comparing information identifying a third party requesting access to one or more subsets of user information to the one or more user-designated access settings, wherein access to one or more of the one or more subsets is granted only if said third party is designated by the one or more user-designated access settings; and

one or more storage devices configured to retrievably store the two or more subsets of the user information for delivery to a third party to whom access is granted.

9. The journaling system of claim 8, wherein the subsets of user information are grouped into pages comprising chapters of a user'"'"'s journal.

10. The journaling system of claim 8, wherein the user is a corporation and the one or more other third parties supplying user information are subsidiaries of the corporation.

11. The journaling system of claim 8, wherein the one or more communications devices are configured to receive the one or more user-designated access settings from a user terminal.

12. The journaling system of claim 8, wherein the user-designated access settings control those third parties who may supply user information.

13. The journaling system of claim 11, wherein the one or more communications devices are configured to transmit to the third party to whom access is granted the one or more subsets of user information retrieved by the one or more storage devices.

14. The journaling system of claim 8 further comprising a main user-designated access setting associated with all of the user'"'"'s user information, wherein if information identifying a third party matches said main user-designated access setting, said third party is granted access to all of the user'"'"'s user information.

15. A method of controlling access by third parties to two or more subsets of user information with a journaling system comprising:

receiving from a user the one or more subsets of the user information at one or more servers of the journaling system, wherein said subsets of information comprise information grouped into one or more pages;

receiving from the user one or more user-designated access settings which designate third parties who may access the subsets of user information, wherein different user-designated access settings may be associated with different subsets of user information and different user access settings may designate different third parties who may access the subsets of user information;

associating the one or more user-designated access settings with the subsets of the user information;

receiving a request from a third party to access at least one of said subsets of user information;

determining if said third party seeking access to the one or more subsets of user information comprises a third party designated by said user-designated access settings associated with said one or more subsets; and

if so,

retrieving the one or more subsets of the user information which the third party is granted access from one or more storage devices; and

transmitting the one or more subsets of the user information to the third party;

and, if not,

preventing access to the one or more subsets of the user information by the third party seeking access thereto.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more servers of the journaling system receive an indicator from the user defining which of the one or more user-designated access settings are associated with which of the one or more subsets of the user information.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more user-designated access settings designate one or more third parties by a name of the third party.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the name comprises a user name of the third party.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein said subsets of information comprise chapters of a journal of the user and further comprising the step of grouping said user information into pages associated with said chapters.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving one or more user identifiers from the user as part of the one or more access settings, the one or more user identifiers identifying the particular one or more other users.