System and method for creating a secure trusted social network

Abstract

A system for a plurality of users to share resources with access, control and configuration based on pre-defined relationships of trust between the users of the system. A computer-based authority provides the services of authentication, identification and verification of each user within network. Processes are described that leads to the formation of an electronic community, which facilitates electronic communication and transactions in a defined manner.

Description

BACKGROUND [0001] The history of computing and computer network architecture can be viewed as a spectrum falling between a more centralized approach in a Client-Server environment and the decentralized approach of a Peer-to-Peer environment. Each architecture has been used to build electronic communities and create various forms of computer services. [0002] A simple example of a Client-Server environment is a website. A website is a service provided by a web server. Third party computing devices access the website by connecting to the web server through a network connection (via the Internet, through a Local Area Network or the like). One problem associated with Client-Server environments is that the server and the bandwidth required to service the number of request must also be able to scale with the growth of the number of third party devices seeking to access the server. [0003] Alternatively, Peer-to-Peer environments are networks in which each computing device connected to the n...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

One problem associated with Client-Server environments is that the server and the bandwidth required to service the number of request must also be able to scale with the growth of the number of third party devices seeking to access the server.

Peer-to-Peer environments are generally simpler to create and maintain than Client-Server environments and, at present, do not offer the same performance under heavy loads.

The problems associated with Peer-to-Peer networks involve, among others a lack of security, control and authenticity of the requested files.

There are no limits on access to these networks and therefore users have no way to ascertain the quality or source of the received file.

This lack of security hampers the utility of Peer-to-Peer environments because users are unwilling to allow strangers access to their systems.

However, Fanning et al. do not address the problems of security or control.

However, neither Weinreich nor Quinn address the creation of a flexible network based on the concept of social relationships in a Peer-to-Peer computing environment and do not address the issue of identification and authentication when accessing network services.

The disadvantage of this design is that it does not allow users to communicate with one another in a Peer-to-Peer environment.

The disadvantage of this design is that it requires a series of interactions between users on the network before a level of trust can truly be established.

In addition, the work of Yeager et al., does not provide a mechanism to identify and authenticate a user and relied on their defined “Trust mechanism”.

In contrast, the worst possible results for the group occur when each user acts in their own interest.

However, in a web-based system, a central computer is required which can be complicated to setup and maintain.

In a pure Peer-to-Peer system, the management of access control can be quite burdensome.

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