Account administration for hosted services

• US 9,037,976 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Parham, Derek, Hannon, Stephanie K., Kowitz, Braden, Yu, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): LEGGETT, ANDREA C.
• Application Number:
  US14/094,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 715/733, 715/745, 715/762
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A graphical user interface for rendering hosted services is provided. The user interface includes a set of hosted service identifiers associated with a domain name. The set of hosted service identifiers is further broken down into a first subset of service identifiers and a second subset of service identifiers. Each identifier in the first subset corresponds to a service provided by a first service provider and each identifier in the second subset corresponds to a service provided by a second service provider. One of the services provided by the first service provider is rendered in response to a user selection of one of the first subset of service identifiers. One of the services provided by the second service provider is rendered in response to a user selection of one of the second subset of service identifiers.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at a server having one or more processors and memory;

receiving a first request for hosted services associated with a user-specified domain name that designates a network domain;

in accordance with a determination that the hosted services are not being provided for the domain name, prior to establishing that a first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name;

designating the first request as pending, and

providing a limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request, wherein the limited set of the hosted services is a nonempty subset of a complete set of hosted services for the domain name; and

in accordance with a determination that the first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name, providing the complete set of the hosted services.

2. The method of claim 1, including:

suspending the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established within a predetermined period of time that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

3. The method of claim 1, including:

terminating the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request includes:

enabling an applicant of the first request to create a set of user accounts; and

enabling a user associated with one of the user accounts to log into the user account and view digital contents associated with the user account.

5. The method of claim 1, including:

conducting a screening process for the user-specified domain name; and

providing the complete set of the hosted services in accordance with a determination that an applicant of the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the first domain name, and that the first domain name passes the screening process.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the complete set of hosted services, but not the limited set of hosted services, includes associating a second domain name with the hosted services provided for the user-specified domain name.

7. A server system, comprising:

memory;

at least one processor; and

at least one program stored in the memory and executed by the at least one processor, the at least one program including instructions for;

receiving a first request for hosted services associated with a user-specified domain name that designates a network domain;

in accordance with a determination that the hosted services are not being provided for the domain name, prior to establishing that a first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name;

designating the first request as pending, and

providing a limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request,

wherein the limited set of the hosted services is a nonempty subset of a complete set of hosted services for the domain name; and

in accordance with a determination that the first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name, providing the complete set of the hosted services.

8. The server system of claim 7, including instructions for:

suspending the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established within a predetermined period of time that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

9. The server system of claim 7, including instructions for:

terminating the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

10. The server system of claim 7, wherein the limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request includes:

enabling an applicant of the first request to create a set of user accounts; and

enabling a user associated with one of the user accounts to log into the user account and view digital contents associated with the user account.

11. The server system of claim 7, including instructions for:

conducting a screening process for the user-specified domain name; and

providing the complete set of the hosted services in accordance with a determination that an applicant of the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the first domain name, and that the first domain name passes the screening process.

12. The server system of claim 7, wherein the complete set of hosted services, but not the limited set of hosted services, includes associating a second domain name with the hosted services provided for the user-specified domain name.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a server system, cause the server system to:

receive a first request for hosted services associated with a user-specified domain name that designates a network domain;

in accordance with a determination that the hosted services are not being provided for the domain name, prior to establishing that a first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name;

designate the first request as pending, and

provide a limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request,

wherein the limited set of the hosted services is a nonempty subset of a complete set of hosted services for the domain name; and

in accordance with a determination that the first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain name, provide the complete set of the hosted services.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, including instructions, which when executed by the server system, cause the server system to:

suspend the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established within a predetermined period of time that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, including instructions, which when executed by the server system, cause the server system to:

terminate the provision of the limited set of hosted services if it cannot be established that the first user associated with the first request has the appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request includes:

enabling an applicant of the first request to create a set of user accounts; and

enabling a user associated with one of the user accounts to log into the user account and view digital contents associated with the user account.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, including instructions, which when executed by the server system, cause the server system to:

conduct a screening process for the user-specified domain name; and

provide the complete set of the hosted services in accordance with a determination that an applicant of the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the first domain name, and that the first domain name passes the screening process.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the complete set of hosted services, but not the limited set of hosted services, includes associating a second domain name with the hosted services provided for the user-specified domain name.