Masking Server Identity Protection via IP Substitution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network communication systems fail to effectively protect user identity from being tracked and exposed, as users connect to the internet, leading to privacy threats and malicious activities such as data interception and surveillance.
Innovation Solution
A network system with a masking server that receives requests to connect to a destination server, masking the user's identifier, such as an IP address, from the public network, providing protection by replacing it with a substitute address, and managing IP addresses to ensure privacy and anonymity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a user connects directly to the internet without identity protection, then network accessibility and communication speed are improved, but user privacy and security deteriorate due to exposure of IP address and identifying information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a proxy server as an intermediary component between the user's computer and the internet. This proxy server receives requests from users, masks their identifying information (such as IP address), and forwards the requests to destination servers. The destination servers see the proxy server's identity instead of the user's, thereby protecting user privacy while maintaining network accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the identifying information from the network communication data stream. By separating and removing the user's IP address and other identifying details from the request packets before they reach the internet, the system protects user identity while allowing communication to continue through the proxy server.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If identity masking is implemented to protect user privacy, then user security and anonymity are improved, but network traffic routing and connection management become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server acts as a mediator that handles the complexity of connection management. It maintains its own connections to destination servers and forwards traffic between users and the internet through these pre-established connections, shielding users from direct connection management complexities while enabling identity protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the user's network requests with modified identifying information. Instead of altering the original requests directly, the proxy server generates new request packets with masked identities, preserving the functional integrity of communications while removing harmful identifying data.
3Loss of information
If IP address masking is used to prevent tracking, then user anonymity is improved, but the ability to establish direct connections to servers is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server serves as an intermediary that preserves direct connection capabilities while masking identities. It establishes connections to servers on behalf of users, maintaining the efficiency of direct connections while preventing servers from seeing user identifying information. The proxy forwards and receives traffic, ensuring connection functionality is not compromised.
Solution Approach 2:
The proxy server performs self-service by managing its own connections to destination servers and handling the routing of traffic. This allows users to benefit from identity masking without needing to manage connection complexities themselves, as the proxy server autonomously handles connection establishment and maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for protecting identify of network devices (102, 104, and 106) in a network environment. The system includes an apparatus having an interface to the network for completing connections to destination devices (152, 154, and 156) on the public side of the network. The apparatus includes a masking element (140) for associating at least one masking identifier with a communication from the network device and masking the identifier of the network device from the destination device.