Software Registration via Email URL Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The verification of a user's email address during software registration is challenging, especially in encrypted email applications that utilize asymmetric encryption, as it is crucial to ensure that the private key is distributed only to the legitimate email address owner.
Innovation Solution
A computer network system where the installation software requests the user's email address, which is verified by sending a URL with installation information to a local web server, ensuring that the user has access to the entered email address, and the private keys are securely transmitted using a transfer key split into two parts, one conveyed via HTTP and the other via email, requiring access to the email address for recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the registration authority requires email address verification to ensure secure private key distribution, then security is improved, but the registration process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a web server as an intermediary component that facilitates email verification by sending URLs to the user's email address. This mediator enables the registration authority to verify email ownership without directly managing the verification process, thus improving security while maintaining a manageable registration process complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The registration process is segmented into distinct steps: email address submission, URL sending via email, user access through web browser, and installation information retrieval. This segmentation allows each step to be independently verified and managed, improving overall security while making the complex process more controllable and traceable
2Reliability
If the system uses asymmetric encryption with private and public keys for secure communication, then security is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring email address ownership increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service verification where the user themselves confirms email ownership by accessing the URL sent to their email address through a web browser. This self-service approach allows the system to verify email ownership without requiring additional manual verification steps, thus maintaining security while reducing the difficulty of detecting and measuring email address ownership
Data Source
AI summary
There is described a computer network system in which a computer is in network communication with a server. In order to install a software package on the computer, installation software forming part of the software package is executed which requests entry of an email address for the user of the software package on the computer. The entered email address is then transmitted to the server, which in response sends an email to the email address including a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addressing a local web server forming part of the software package, with installation information being appended to the URL. When the user of the computer accesses the URL using a web browser, the local web server automatically sends the installation information to the installation software. In this way, it is established that the user of the software package has access to the entered email address.