54results about How to "Maintaining anonymity" patented technology

A method of performing electronic communications between members of a group wherein the communications are authenticated as being from a member of the group and have not been altered, comprising: generating a plurality of random numbers; distributing in a digital medium the plurality of random numbers to the members of the group; publishing a hash value of contents of the digital medium; distributing to the members of the group public-key-encrypted messages each containing a same token comprising a random number; and encrypting a message with a key generated from the token and the plurality of random numbers.

End-to-end user anonymity is provided in electronic commerce or other types of online transactions through the use of an intermediary. An intermediary machine, which may be implemented in the form of a set of servers or other type of computer system, receives communications from a consumer or other user, and generates and maintains an alias for that user. Connections between the user machine and any online vendor or other web site are implemented through the intermediary using the alias. When the user desires to make a purchase from a given online vendor, the intermediary may present the user with a number of options. For example, the user may be permitted to select a particular payment card number and real destination address as previously provided to the intermediary. The intermediary then communicates with the online vendor and supplies intermediary payment information, e.g., a payment card number associated with the intermediary rather than the user, along with appropriate authorizing information and an alias destination address, e.g., a third party physical shipping address for deliverable goods, an alias electronic address for downloadable material, etc. The online vendor charges the purchase to the intermediary, and redirects the delivery of the goods or services to the destination address provided by the intermediary. The intermediary charges the payment card number of the user, and arranges for the redirection of the delivery to the real user address. In this manner, the invention provides complete end-to-end anonymity for the user, even when the user desires to enter transactions involving purchase and receipt of deliverable goods and services.

An automated system for the confirmed efficient authentication of an anonymous subscriber's profile data. The system is comprised of software / hardware interface to facilitate centralized access and exchange to easily and inexpensively allow the confirmed authentication of subscriber profiles of customers wishing to blind their transactions, while maintaining current services. In one aspect the system allows a subscriber to anonymously accomplish credit card transactions without associating any aspect of the transaction with any information associated with the true identity of the subscriber.

An invention is disclosed relating to an apparatus and method for hosting transactions over a network such as the Internet. Sellers post offers to sell under a listing belonging to an organized database of listings. Likewise, buyers post offers to buy. A matching module selects offers to sell and matches them to offers to buy based on a predefined criteria. Before posting offers to sell or buy, buyers and sellers may be presented with data concerning the market for the product that is the subject of the offer. A sale is consummated between the buyer and seller of the matched offer to buy and offer to sell. Consummation may include assessing the risk of fraud posed by the matched buyer and matched seller. Fees may be charged to the matched buyer, the matched seller, or both as insurance against fraud. Payment may be made by the buyer directly to the seller or to a host hosting the apparatus and method for conducting the transaction. Payment is forwarded to the seller by the host upon confirmation by the buyer that a product has been received in good order. An automated, or partially automated, dispute resolution process may resolve disputed transactions.

An authentication protocol can be used to establish a secure method of communication between two devices on a network. Once established, the secure communication can be used to authenticate a client through various authentication methods, providing security in environments where intermediate devices cannot be trusted, such as wireless networks, or foreign network access points. Additionally, the caching of session keys and other relevant information can enable the two securely communicating endpoints to quickly resume their communication despite interruptions, such as when one endpoint changes the access point through which it is connected to the network. Also, the secure communication between the two devices can enable users to roam off of their home network, providing a mechanism by which access through foreign networks can be granted, while allowing the foreign network to monitor and control the use of its bandwidth.

An anonymous trading system identifies the best bids and offers from those counterparties with which each party is currently eligible to deal, while maintaining the anonymity of the potential counterparty and the confidentiality of any specific credit limitations imposed by the anonymous potential counterparty. To that end, each bid or offer for a particular type of financial instrument is prescreened by the system for compatibility with limited credit information (for example, a one bit flag indicating whether a predetermined limit has already been exceeded) and an anonymous “Dealable” price is calculated for each of the traders dealing with that particular financial instrument.

The invention dynamically obscures network and transport layer addresses of packets to achieve anonymity, including authentication privacy, as well as protection against tracking and traffic correlation and certain classes of network attacks by combining both intrusion protection with anonymity, avoiding the use of a separate management unit outside the host for distribution of obscured addresses. The invention enables a host to automatically configure obscured addresses and determine the obscured address of the intended recipient without outside involvement, computing addresses based on a set of parameters, and to operate without re-authentication whenever an address changes. The invention enables encryption of the packet payload to prevent traffic correlation. The technology of the invention can be implemented embedded on a host device or as a connected gateway device and requires negligible configuration and is therefore transparent to hosts.

A method, computer program product and electronic device are provided for providing hyper-local geo-targeting based on validated, user-supplied geographic information, wherein the user's anonymity may be maintained. In particular, user-supplied geographic information may be collected in association with a truncated IP address. Once collected, the user-supplied information may be validated using geographic data previously derived from one or more complete IP addresses corresponding to the received truncated IP address. The derived geographic data may have been derived using a system that maps the routing infrastructure of the Internet in order to determine where endpoints on the Internet are located. The validated, user-supplied geographic information, which may be more specific than the derived geographic data, may then be used to provide more granular and accurate geo-targeting, all the while maintaining the privacy of the individual users.

The invention is a method, system, programmed processor and a program stored on a storage medium used for providing voter confirmation that electronically cast ballots have been properly registered. A method for providing voter confirmation that electronically cast ballots have been properly registered in accordance with the invention includes generating a group of unique vote words which each comprise at least one word within at least one language understood by voters at at least one polling location; assigning individual voters at the at least one polling location at least one of the vote words chosen from the group of vote words which is unique to each of the voters, each of the assigned at least one vote word upon casting of voter's ballot being associated and recorded with the voter's ballot electronically cast by the voter at the at least one polling location; and publishing the vote words associated with the ballots which were cast at the at least one polling location whereby a voter who cast a ballot at the at least one polling location may check the published at least one vote word associated with the voter's votes at the at least one polling location as published to permit the voter to verify that the voter's votes were properly recorded.

Apparatus, method and system for notifying a communications-switching center that subsequent communications directed to a wireless number associated with the wireless unit are to be routed to a destination number associated with the wireless unit. In response to a triggering event by the wireless unit through the base unit, the base unit can cause the wireless unit to transmit an SMS message to the communications-switching center. The SMS message can include a notification that subsequent communications directed to the wireless number associated with the wireless unit are to be routed to the destination number associated with the wireless unit.