System for performing web authentication of a user by proxy

• US 8,261,334 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yodlee Incorporated (Envestnet Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Yodlee Incorporated (Envestnet Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hazlehurst, Peter, Aman, Matthew, Diego, Doug
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ambaye, Samuel
• Application Number:
  US12/109,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,593 Days
• Field of Search: 726/7, 713/186
• US Class Current: 726/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers

Abstract

A data gathering system is guided by an Internet-capable appliance associated with a user, which has a Pin Vault software instance executing from a digital memory media coupled to the appliance and a Pin Vault file stored in a data repository coupled to the appliance. The Pin Vault file comprises data for authenticating the user to one or more web sites storing information of interest to the user, and the Pin Vault software cooperates with an Internet service to provide, from the Pin Vault, data as needed by the Internet service to log onto and authenticate as the user at the one or more web sites storing information of interest to the user, to gather information on behalf of the user. The data for authentication is never kept at the Internet service.

Claims

1. A data gathering system, comprising:

an Internet-capable appliance associated with a user;

a Pin Vault software instance executing from a digital memory media coupled to the appliance; and

a Pin Vault file stored in a data repository coupled to the appliance, the Pin Vault file comprising data for authenticating the user to one or more third-party web sites storing information of interest to the user;

wherein the Pin Vault software cooperates with an Internet service to provide, from the Pin Vault, data as needed by the Internet service to log onto and authenticate as the user at the one or more third-party web sites storing information of interest to the user, to gather information on behalf of the user, and wherein an individual one of the third-party web sites storing information of interest to the user requires and provides a Completely Automated Public Turning Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) display for authentication, and the Internet service captures the CAPTCHA display and provides it to the Pin Vault software which forwards it to the user, and forwards the user'"'"'s input into the CAPTCHA display, as a result, to the Internet service for use in authentication at the individual third-party web site.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the Pin Vault is encrypted, and data sent from the Pin Vault is sent as encrypted to the Internet service, which decrypts the data and discards the data after use to authenticate the user at a web site.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the data for authenticating comprises user names and passwords associated with URLs of Internet sites.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the data for authenticating comprises time sensitive tokens that are updated as time passes to be correct when accessed.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the Pin Vault software comprises a user interface enabling the user to configure the information gathering activity of the Internet service.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein configuration includes adding or deleting sites to be visited by the Internet service, along with storing or deleting associated data for authentication in the Pin vault file.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein user interface includes a status window displaying current status of activity in information gathering at the Internet service.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the interface enables the user to configure times and periods for the Internet service to access information from specific sites.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the interface provides for displaying activity history for the information gathering.

10. A data gathering system, comprising:

an first Internet site executing, from a digital memory media coupled to the site, data-gathering software browsing to second third-party Internet sites storing information of interest to the user, logging in and authenticating as the user, and gathering information from the second third-party sites for the user; and

Pin Vault software executing on the site from the digital memory media, cooperating across the Internet network with an instance of Pin Vault software executing on an Internet-capable appliance associated with the user, accessing from a Pin Vault software instance executing from a digital memory media coupled to the appliance, authentication data from a Pin Vault file stored on the appliance;

wherein the first Internet site follows configuration by the user to gather data on behalf of the user, and wherein an individual one of the second third-party sites storing information of interest to the user requires a Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) process for authentication, and the Pin Vault software at the first Internet site captures the CAPTCHA display at the second third-party site and provides it to the Pin Vault software at the appliance with displays it to the user, and forwards the user'"'"'s input into the CAPTCHA display, as a result, to the Pin Vault software at the first Internet site for use in authentication at the second third-party site.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the Pin Vault data is encrypted at the appliance, and data retrieved from the Pin Vault at the first site is received as encrypted, which decrypts the data and discards the data after use to authenticate the user at a second web site.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the data for authenticating comprises user names and passwords associated with URLs of Internet sites.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the data for authenticating comprises time-sensitive tokens that are updated in the Pin Vault as time passes to be correct when accessed.

14. A data gathering method, comprising:

executing a Pin Vault software instance from a digital memory media coupled to an Internet-capable appliance, to cooperate with an Internet service to provide, from a Pin Vault stored in a data repository coupled to the appliance, data as needed by the Internet service to log onto and authenticate as the user at one or more third-party web sites storing information of interest to the user, to gather information on behalf of the user;

wherein an individual one of the third-party web sites storing information of interest to the user requires a Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) process for authentication, and the Internet service captures the CAPTCHA display and provides it to the Pin Vault software which displays it to the user, and forwards the user'"'"'s input in the CAPTCHA display, as a result, to the third-party Internet service for use in authentication at the individual third-party web site.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the Pin Vault is encrypted, and data sent from the Pin Vault is sent as encrypted to the Internet service, which decrypts the data and discards the data after use to authenticate the user at a website.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the data for authenticating comprises user names and passwords associated with URLs of Internet sites.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the data for authenticating comprises time sensitive tokens that are updated as time passes to be correct when accessed.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the Pin Vault software comprises a user interface enabling the user to configure the information gathering activity of the Internet service.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the configuration includes adding or deleting sites to be visited by the Internet service, along with storing or deleting associated data for authentication in the Pin vault file.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein user interface includes a status window displaying current status of activity in information gathering at the Internet service.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the interface enables the user to configure times and periods for the Internet service to access information from specific sites.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the interface provides for displaying activity history for the information gathering.

23. A method for gathering data, comprising the steps of:

executing, from a digital memory media coupled to an Internet service site, data-gathering software browsing to other third-party Internet sites storing information of interest to a particular user;

logging in and authenticating as the user, using authentication data retrieved from a Pin Vault file stored on an Internet-capable appliance associated with the user, and gathering information from the third-party Internet sites for the user; and

when an individual one of the other third-party Internet sites storing information of interest to the user requires a Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) process for authentication, the Internet service site captures the CAPTCHA display and provides it to the Pin Vault software at the appliance which forwards the display to the user, and forwards the user'"'"'s input in the CAPTCHA display, as a result, to the Internet service for use in authentication at the individual third-party Internet site.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the Pin Vault data is encrypted, and data retrieved by the Internet service from the Pin Vault is received as encrypted at the Internet service, which decrypts the data and discards the data after use to authenticate the user at a web site.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the data for authenticating comprises user names and passwords associated with URLs of Internet sites.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein the data for authenticating comprises time-sensitive tokens that are updated in the Pin Vault as time passes to be correct when accessed.