Web site identity assurance

• US 7,114,177 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2002
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DigiCert Incorporated
• Original Assignee: GeoTrust, Inc. (VeriSign, Inc.)
• Inventors: Creighton, Neal L. Jr., Remy, David L., Rosenberg, Jonathan B., Harrison, John C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smithers, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US10/039,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,726 Days
• Field of Search: 726/4, 715/500, 715/738
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1483 service impersonation, e.g. phishing, pharming or web spoofing detection of rogue wireless access points H04W12/12

Abstract

The present invention is a method and system for providing a user with confirmation of the origin of a Web site and related information including the steps of registering a Web site with an assuring 3^rd party, saving the registration on a registration server, entering in a database the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name and cross-referencing it to the registration data, retrieving the Web site'"'"'s domain with an Internet browser, and either (1) using a client application tool to call for registration data for the domain name via a secure SSL connection with the registration server, determining if the domain has been registered, and returning and displaying registration data for the domain name as a confirmed identity, or (2) calling a program on the registration server in response to an HTML tag on the domain via a secure SSL connection and passing it the domain name, determining if the domain has been registered, determining if the domain name has been registered, and returning and displaying registration data for the domain name as a confirmed identity.

Claims

1. A method for providing a user with confirmation of identification information for a Web site comprising:

registering a Web site with an third party;

saving said registration on a registration server;

entering in a database an Internet domain for said Web site;

cross-referencing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain to the identification information;

retrieving said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain with an Internet browser;

browsing to the Web site for the Internet domain;

sending a query from a client application tool via a secure SSL connection to said registration server, the query including said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name;

determining if said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered;

and returning the associated registration data to the client application tool for display on a client display outside of the web browser environment.

2. A method for providing a user with confirmation of identification information for a Web site comprising:

registering a Web site with an 3^rd party;

saving said registration on a registration server;

entering in a database an Internet domain for said Web site;

cross-referencing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain to the identification information;

retrieving said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain with an Internet browser;

browsing to the Web site and receiving an HTML image tag, calling a program via a secure SSL connection on said registration server providing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name;

determining if said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered;

and returning an image to the browser for display containing registration data from the registration server associated with the domain name, and date-and-time information and code that prevents the dynamic icon from being copied.

3. A system for providing a user with confirmation of identification information for a Web site comprising:

a component for registering a Web site with an third party;

a component for saving said registration on a registration server, including the identification information;

a component for entering in a database an Internet domain for said Web site;

a component for cross-referencing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain to the identification information;

a component for retrieving said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain with an Internet browser;

a component for browsing to the Web site for the Internet domain;

a component for sending a query from a client application tool via a secure SSL connection to said registration server, the query including said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name;

a component for determining if said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered;

and a component for returning the associated registration data to the client application tool for display on a client display outside of the web browser environment.

4. A system for providing a user with confirmation of identification information for a Web site comprising:

a component for registering a Web site with an 3^rd party;

a component for saving said registration on a registration server;

a component for entering in a database an Internet domain for said Web site;

a component for cross-referencing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain to the identification information;

a component for retrieving said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain with an Internet browser;

a component for browsing to the Web site and receiving an HTML image tag;

a component for calling a program via a secure SSL connection on said registration server providing said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name;

a component for determining if said Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered;

and a component for returning an image to the browser for display containing registration data from the registration server associated with the domain name, and date-and-time information and code that prevents the dynamic icon from being copied.

5. A method comprising:

browsing to a Web site for an Internet domain;

sending a query from a client application tool to a registration server including providing the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name, the registration server having identification information related to the Web site; and

responsive to the query, the client application receiving identification information associated with the Web site from the registration server; and

the client application displaying the information on a client display outside of the web browser environment.

6. A method comprising:

storing, by a registration server, identification information for an Internet domain for a Web site;

responsive to a communication from a client application, the registration server determining the registration information associated with the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name;

and returning an icon to the browser for display containing registration data associated with the domain name from the registration server, the icon being provided along with date-and-time information that prevents the icon from being copied.

7. A method comprising:

saving identification information associated with an Internet domain for a Web site on a registration server;

cross-referencing the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain to the identification information;

responsive to a query from a client application tool with the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name, determining if the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered;

and returning the identification information to the client application tool for display on a client display outside of the web browser environment.

8. A method comprising:

a client web browser browsing to a Web site having an Internet domain name;

a client application tool calling a program on a remote registration server and providing the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain name in order to request identification information related to the Web site and previously stored on the registration server;

and the client receiving an icon for display if the registration server indicates that the Web site'"'"'s Internet domain has been registered and including date-and-time information that prevents the icon from being copied.