(12) United States Patent
`Inala et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,199,077 B1
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`US006199077B1
`
`(54) SERVER-SIDE WEB SUMMARY
`GENERATION AND PRESENTATION
`
`(75) Inventors: Suman Kumar Inala, Santa Clara; P
`Venkat Rangan, San Diego;
`Ramakrishna Satyavolu, Santa Clara,
`all of CA (US)
`
`(73) Assigneei YOdIEE-COIII, IIlC-, Sunnyvale, CA (Us)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`Patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U-S-C- 154(k)) by 0 days-
`
`(21) Appl. N0.: 09/323,598
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jun. 1, 1999
`
`Related U_S_ Application Data
`
`(63)
`
`In part of application No. 09/208,740, ?led on
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 .................................................... .. G06F 17/21
`(52) US. Cl. ........................ .. 707/501; 709/202; 709/218;
`713/202; 704/1
`(58) Field of Search ................................... .. 707/501, 513,
`707/1, 3, 4, 5, 9_10; 713/201_202; 705/26_27;
`709002, 218; 704/1
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`US- PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,649,186 * 7/1997 Ferguson .............................. .. 707/10
`5,708,825 * 1/1998 Sotomayor ......................... .. 707/501
`5,794,233 * 8/1998 Rubinstein ............................. .. 707/4
`5,855,015 * 12/1998 Shoham ....... ..
`707/5
`5,931,907 * 8/1999 Davies et al- --
`-- 709/218
`57983227 * 11/1999 NaZem ct a1~ -
`707/10
`5’987’466 * 11/1999 Greer etal'
`707/10
`6,029,180 * 2/2000 Murata et al. .
`707/501
`6,029,182 * 2/2000 Nehab et al. ..
`707/523
`6,032,162 * 2/2000 Burke ........... ..
`707/501
`6,038,668 * 8/2000 Chipman et al. .................. .. 713/201
`
`K37
`
`6,041,326 * 3/2000 Amro etal. ......................... .. 707/10
`6,108,686 * 8/2000 Williams, Jr. ...................... .. 709/202
`6,119,101 * 9/2000 Peckover .......................... .. 705/10 X
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Stanley, Tracey, “Intelligent Searching Agents on the Web”,
`4 pages, <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issu7/search—engines/>
`Jan. 1997.*
`Jansen, James, “Using an Intelligent Agent to Enhance
`Search Ingine Performance”, 16 pages, <http o://www.?rst
`m0ndaydk/issues/issuegiyjansenb Dec' 1998_*
`Lesser, Victor et al, “BIG: A ResourceiBounded Informa
`tion Gathering Agent”, 18 pages, <http://dis.cs.umass.edu/
`research/big/> Jan. 1998.*
`*
`_
`_
`cited by examiner
`
`_
`Primary Examiner—Joseph H. Feild
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Donald R. Boys; Central
`Coast Patent Agency
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A portal server includes a software agent con?gured to do
`Summary Searches for Subscribers based on Internet desti
`nations provided by the subscribers, to retrieve information
`from Such destinations based on pre'programmed Site
`information, and to download the summary information to
`the subscriber. The destinations and the nature of the infor
`mation to be retrieved is pre-programmed. There is further
`a con?guration and intitiation interface for a subscriber to
`set up and start a summary search. In some cases the
`summary searches are con?gured for individual clients as
`templates Stored and retrieved at the Internet-Connected
`server- A150 in some Cases retrieved information is imme
`diately sent to the subscriber, and in other situations such
`information is saved at the portal to be retrieved by a
`subscriber at a later time. In preferred embodiments of the
`invention autologins are accomplished for a subscriber at
`Internet destinations by use of pre-stored con?guration
`information~
`
`12 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`34
`
`/ 32
`
`A
`
`Internet PortaLcom ersonalized a e
`
`39
`Search
`k Server Name
`41
`Agent
`LBC.c0m
`\ My Bankcom
`43
`Last
`\ My Stockscom
`45
`Update My Shoppingcom
`\ ADD M‘mgage-com
`Airlinecom
`
`User Name
`John Doe
`John R. Doe
`John R. Doe
`Jane L. Doe
`JOhIl/Jm D°°
`John Doe
`
`I]
`
`Password
`XXXXXX
`XXXXX
`35
`XXXXXXX
`XXXXXX j
`XXXXXXXX
`XXXXXXXXX
`XXXXXX V
`
`Search String [$1
`
`51
`
`52
`
`6 Search
`
`Plaid Technologies Inc.
`Exhibit 1001
`
`Ex. 1001 Page 1
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 6, 2001
`
`Sheet 1 0f 6
`
`US 6,199,077 B1
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`Fig. 1
`
`Ex. 1001 Page 2
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 6, 2001
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`Sheet 2 of 6
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`mm
`
`mm
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`E
`
`
`
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`Ex. 1001 Page 3
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`Ex. 1001 Page 3
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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 6, 2001
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`Sheet 3 0f 6
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`53
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`55
`
`60
`
`62
`
`Connect
`on-line
`
`User Name
`Password
`
`Personal
`Page
`Displayed
`
`Select URL
`for display &
`interaction
`
`Invoke Search
`
`Input Search
`Parameters
`
`Fig. 3
`
`Ex. 1001 Page 4
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 6, 2001
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`Sheet 4 of 6
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`Q.
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`
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`
`
`
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`
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`
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`oomtflflommnfiwfi
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`Ex. 1001 Page 5
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`Ex. 1001 Page 5
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 6, 2001
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`Sheet 5 0f 6
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`New request
`arrives
`
`Request is
`analyzed
`
`93
`
`95
`
`101
`
`\
`
`Knowledge
`worker creates
`template
`
`Template
`is stored
`
`97
`\ I
`Knowledge worker
`accesses site logic
`
`103
`
`Browser control
`navigates to site
`
`117 \
`
`107 x &
`Network appliance
`and delivery method
`veri?ed
`
`Site is parsed
`for data
`
`119\ V
`Summary data
`delivered according
`to protocol
`
`On demand?/Schedualed?
`
`109/
`
`User receives
`requested information
`
`115
`
`Fig. 5
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`105
`
`111
`
`Auto login
`is performed
`to gain access
`
`Summary data
`stored for latter
`use
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`Data is compiled j
`and rendered as
`HTML
`
`WEB summary
`made available
`to user
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`Ex. 1001 Page 6
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`

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`Mar. 6, 2001
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`Sheet 6 0f 6
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`117
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`New summary
`process begins
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`121
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`1 19
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`Data base
`reviewed
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`\
`Knowledge worker
`accesses site logic
`
`K- 123
`Knowledge Worker
`Template
`modl?es/creates
`is stored
`template if required
`
`1
`
`125
`
`l27\
`
`Browser control
`.
`.
`.
`beglns navlgatlon
`process
`
`K129
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`Auto logins
`performed at
`.
`each s1te
`
`K131
`
`-
`Sites are parsed
`for summary data
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`133
`
`All data
`d
`Store
`
`135\
`
`Data 18
`complled and
`rendered as HTML
`
`WEB summary
`made available to
`user
`
`Fig. 6
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`Ex. 1001 Page 7
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`

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`US 6,199,077 B1
`
`1
`SERVER-SIDE WEB SUMMARY
`GENERATION AND PRESENTATION
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`DOCUMENTS
`
`The present invention is a continuation in part (CIP) to
`patent application Ser. No. 09/208,740 entitled “Method and
`Apparatus for Providing and Maintaining a User-Interactive
`Portal System Accessible via Internet or other SWitched
`Packet-Network” ?led on Dec. 8, 1998,pending, disclosure
`of Which is incorporated herein in its entirety herein by
`reference.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is in the ?eld of Internet navigation
`including various communication means and connection
`technologies and pertains more particularly to methods and
`apparatus, including softWare, for gathering summary infor
`mation from users or enterprise-selected WEB sites and
`presenting the information as HTML to the user using either
`a push or pull technology.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The information netWork knoWn as the World Wide Web
`(WWW), Which is a subset of the Well-knoWn Internet, is
`arguably the most complete source of publicly accessible
`information available. Anyone With a suitable Internet appli
`ance such as a personal computer With a standard Internet
`connection may access (go on-line) and navigate to infor
`mation pages (termed Web pages) stored on Internet
`connected servers for the purpose of garnering information
`and initiating transactions With hosts of such servers and
`pages.
`Many companies offer various subscription services
`accessible via the Internet. For example, many people noW
`do their banking, stock trading, shopping, and so forth from
`the comfort of their oWn homes via Internet access.
`Typically, a user, through subscription, has access to per
`sonaliZed and secure WEB pages for such functions. By
`typing in a user name and a passWord or other personal
`identi?cation code, a user may obtain information, initiate
`transactions, buy stock, and accomplish a myriad of other
`tasks.
`One problem that is encountered by an individual Who has
`several or many such subscriptions to Internet-brokered
`services is that there are invariably many passWords and/or
`log-in codes to be used. Often a same passWord or code
`cannot be used for every service, as the passWord or code
`may already be taken by another user. A user may not Wish
`to supply a code unique to the user such as perhaps a social
`security number because of security issues, including quality
`of security, that may vary from service to service.
`Additionally, many users at their oWn volition may choose
`different passWords for different sites so as to have increased
`security, Which in fact also increases the number of pass
`Words a user may have.
`Another issue that can plague a user Who has many
`passWorded subscriptions is the fact that they must book
`mark many WEB pages in a computer cache so that they
`may quickly ?nd and access the various services. For
`eXample, in order to reserve and pay for airline travel, a user
`must connect to the Internet, go to his/her book-marks ?le
`and select an airline page. The user then has to enter a user
`name and passWord, and folloW on-screen instructions once
`the page is delivered. If the user Wishes to purchase tickets
`
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`from the WEB site, and Wishes to transfer funds from an
`on-line banking service, the user must also look for and
`select the personal bank or account page to initiate a funds
`transfer for the tickets. Different user names and passWords
`may be required to access these other pages, and things get
`quite complicated.
`Although this preceding eXample is merely eXemplary, it
`is generally knoWn that much Work related to ?nding WEB
`pages, logging in With passWords, and the like is required to
`successfully do business on the WEB.
`A service knoWn to the inventor and described in the
`related case listed under the cross-reference to related docu
`ments section provides a WEB service that alloWs a user to
`store all of his passWord protected pages in one location such
`that broWsing and garnering information from them is much
`simpli?ed. A feature of the above service alloWs a user to
`program certain tasks into the system such that requested
`tasks are eXecuted by an agent (softWare) based on user
`instruction. The service stores user passWord and log-in
`information and uses the information to log-in to the user’s
`sites, thus enabling the user to navigate Without having to
`manually input log-in or passWord codes to gain access to
`the links.
`The above-described service uses a server to present a
`user-personaliZed application that may be displayed as an
`interactive home page that contains all of his listed sites
`(hyperlinks) for easy navigation. The application lists the
`user’s URL’s in the form of hyperlinks such that a user may
`click on a hyperlink and navigate to the page Wherein login,
`if required, is automatic, and transparent to the user.
`The application described above also includes a softWare
`agent that may be programmed to perform scheduled tasks
`for the user including returning speci?c summaries and
`updates about user-account pages. A search function is
`provided and adapted to cooperate With the softWare agent
`to search user-entered URL’s for speci?c content if such
`pages are cached someWhere in their presentable form such
`as at the portal server, or on the client’s machine.
`In addition to the features described above, it is desirable
`that the softWare agent in conjunction With the search
`function be enabled to navigate to any URL or group of
`URL’s, provided as input by a user or otherWise deemed
`appropriate by the service provider, for the purpose of
`providing summary information regarding updated content
`for each URL, Which may be presented as an HTML
`information-page to the user.
`What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus that can
`independently navigate to user-supplied or knoWn URL’s,
`login With the appropriate passWord information at each
`URL (if required), and return requested summary informa
`tion to a user in the form of a human and machine-readable
`HTML document. Such a system Would provide an effective
`summariZation service Wherein important information may
`be presented to a user Without requiring that the user invoke
`hyperlinks at his personal portal home page.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In a preferred embodiment of the present invention an
`Internet Portal is provided, comprising an Internet
`connected server; and a portal softWare executing on the
`server, including a summary softWare agent. The Portal
`maintains a list of Internet destinations speci?c for a
`subscriber, and the summary softWare agent accesses the
`Internet destinations, retrieves information according to
`pre-programmed criteria, and summariZes the retrieved
`information for delivery to the subscriber.
`
`Ex. 1001 Page 8
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`

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`US 6,199,077 B1
`
`3
`In one embodiment the Portal further comprises a con
`?guration and intitiation interface for a subscriber to set up
`and start a summary search, and summary searches may be
`con?gured for individual clients as templates stored and
`retrieved at the Internet-connected server. In some cases
`summary information is stored to be later doWnloaded at
`request of the subscriber, and in others the information is
`immediately pushed to the client. Also in some embodi
`ments autologins are performed for the subscriber at each
`Internet site according to a data stored for the subscriber at
`the Portal.
`Methods for practicing the invention in several embodi
`ments are provided as Well in the descriptions that folloW,
`and for the ?rst time a system is enabled alloWing subscrib
`ers to quickly access multiple WEB sites Without lengthy
`log-in procedures, and to also summariZe and doWnload the
`data resulting from a summary search.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIGURES
`
`FIG. 1 is an overvieW of an Internet portal system and
`netWork according to an embodiment of the present inven
`tion.
`FIG. 2 is an exemplary plan vieW of a personaliZed Portal
`home page application as it may be seen on a display
`monitor according to an embodiment of the present inven
`tion.
`FIG. 3 is a How diagram illustrating user interaction With
`the Internet portal of FIG. 1.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a summariZation
`softWare agent and capabilities thereof according to an
`embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 5 is a logical ?oW chart illustrating an exemplary
`summariZation process performed by the softWare agent of
`FIG. 4 operating in a user-de?ned mode.
`FIG. 6 is a logical ?oW chart illustrating an exemplary
`summariZation process performed by the softWare agent of
`FIG. 4 in a User-independent smart mode With minimum
`user input.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`According to a preferred embodiment of the present
`invention, a unique Internet portal is provided and adapted
`to provide unique services to users Who have obtained
`access via an Internet or other netWork connection from an
`Internet-capable appliance. Such an interface provides users
`With a method for storing many personal WEB pages and
`further provides search function and certain task-performing
`functions. The methods and apparatus of the present inven
`tion are taught in enabling detail beloW.
`FIG. 1 is an overvieW of an Internet portal system 11 and
`Internet netWork 13 according to an embodiment of the
`present invention. Portal system 11, in this embodiment,
`operates as an ISP in addition to a unique netWork portal, but
`may, in other embodiments be implemented as a stand-alone
`Internet server. In yet other embodiments the service and
`apparatus described herein may also be provided by such as
`a search and listing service (AltaVistaTM, YahooTM) or by
`any other enterprise hosting a WEB-connected server.
`Internet 13 is representative of a preferred use of the
`present invention, but should not be considered limiting, as
`the invention could apply in other netWorks and combina
`tions of netWorks.
`ISP 15 in this embodiment comprises a server 31, a
`modem bank 33, represented here by a single modem, and
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`a mass storage repository 29 for storing digital data. The
`modem bank is a convenience, as connection to the server
`could be by another type of netWork link. ISP 15, as is
`typical in the art, provides Internet access services for
`individual subscribers. In addition to Well-knoWn Internet
`access services, ISP 15 also provides a unique subscription
`service as an Internet portal for the purpose of storing many
`WEB pages or destinations along With any passWords and or
`personal codes associated With those pages, in a manner
`described in more detail beloW. This unique portal service is
`provided by execution of Portal SoftWare 35, Which is
`termed by the inventors the PassWord-All suite. The soft
`Ware of the invention is referred to herein both as the Portal
`SoftWare, and as the PassWord-all softWare suite. Also, in
`much of the description beloW, the apparatus of the inven
`tion is referred to by the PassWord-All terminology, such as
`the Password-All Server or Password-All Portal.
`ISP 15 is connected to Internet 13 as shoWn. Other
`equipment knoWn in the art to be present and connected to
`a netWork such as Internet 13, for example, IP data routers,
`data sWitches, gateWay routers, and the like, are not illus
`trated here but may be assumed to be present. Access to ISP
`15 is through a connection-oriented telephone system as is
`knoWn in the art, or through any other Internet/WEB access
`connection, such as through a cable modem, special netWork
`connection (e.g. T1), ISDN, and so forth. Such connection is
`illustrated via access line 19 from Internet appliance 17
`through modem bank 33.
`In a preferred embodiment a user has access to Internet
`PassWord-All Portal services by a user name and passWord
`as is Well knoWn in the art, Which provides an individualiZed
`WEB page to the subscriber. In another embodiment
`Wherein a user has other individuals that use his or her
`Internet account, then an additional passWord or code unique
`to the user may be required before access to portal 31 is
`granted. Such personaliZed Portal WEB pages may be stored
`in repository 29, Which may be any convenient form of mass
`storage.
`Three Internet servers 23, 25, and 27, are shoWn in
`Internet 13, and represent Internet servers hosted by various
`enterprises and subscribed to by a user operating appliance
`17. For example, server 23 may be a bank server Wherein
`interactive on-line banking and account managing may be
`performed. Server 25 may be an investment server Wherein
`investment accounts may be created and managed. Server 27
`may be an airline or travel server Wherein ?ights may be
`booked, tickets may be purchased, and so on. In this
`example, all three servers are secure servers requiring user
`ID and passWord for access, but the invention is not neces
`sarily limited to just secure services.
`In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
`subscribing user operating an Internet-capable appliance,
`such as appliance 17, connects to PassWord-All Portal
`system 11 hosted by ISP 15, and thereby gains access to a
`personaliZed, interactive WEB page, Which in turn provides
`access to any one of a number of servers on Internet 13 such
`as servers 23, 25, and 27, Without being required to enter
`additional passWords or codes. In a preferred embodiment
`the softWare that enables this service is termed PassWord-All
`by the inventors. PassWord-All may be considered to be a
`softWare suite executing on the unique server, and in some
`instances also on the user’s station (client). Additional
`interactivity provided by portal softWare 35 alloWs a con
`nected user to search his listed pages for information asso
`ciated With keyWords, text strings, or the like, and alloWs a
`user to program user-de?ned tasks involving access and
`interaction With one or more Internet-connected servers such
`
`Ex. 1001 Page 9
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`10
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`as servers 23, 25, and 27 according to a pre-de?ned time
`schedule. These functions are taught in enabling detail
`below.
`FIG. 2 is an illustration of a personalized portal page as
`may be seen on a display monitor according to an embodi
`ment of the present invention, provided by PassWord-All
`Portal softWare 35 executing on server 31, in response to
`secure access by a subscriber. Page 32 presents an interac
`tive listing 34 of user-subscribed or member WEB pages,
`identi?ed in this example by URL, but Which may also be
`identi?ed by any convenient pseudonym, preferably
`descriptive, along With user name and typically encrypted
`passWord information for each page. Listed in a ?rst column
`under destination, are exemplary destinations LBC.com, My
`Bank.com, My Stocks.com, My shopping.com,
`Mortgage.com, and Airline.com. These are but a feW of
`many exemplary destinations that may be present and listed
`as such on page 33. In order to vieW additional listings listed
`but not immediately vieWable from Within application 33, a
`scroll bar 35 is provided and adapted to alloW a user to scroll
`up or doWn the list to enable vieWing as is knoWn in the art.
`Items listed in list 34 in this example may be considered
`destinations on such as servers 23, 25, and 27 of FIG. 1.
`Typically the URL associated With an item on this list Will
`not take a user to a server, per se, but to a page stored on a
`server. User names and passWord data associated With each
`item in list 34 are illustrated in respective columns labeled
`user name, and passWord, to the right of the column labeled
`destination. Each listing, or at least a portion of each listing,
`is a hyperlink invoking, When selected, the URL to that
`destination. In some instances a particular service may have
`more than one associated URL. For example, My Bank.com
`may have more than one URL associated for such as
`different accounts or businesses associated also With a single
`subscriber. In this case there may be a sub-listing for
`different destinations associated With a single higher-level
`listing. This expedient is not shoWn, but given this teaching
`the mechanism Will be apparent to those With skill in the art.
`In some embodiments one page 33 may be shared by more
`than one user, such as a husband and Wife sharing a common
`account and subscription. An instance of this is illustrated
`herein With respect to the server labeled Mortgage.com
`Wherein both a John and a Jane Doe are listed together under
`the column labeled user name. In another embodiment, a
`netWork of individuals, perhaps business oWners, authoriZed
`co-Workers, investment parties, or the like may share one
`application. In this Way, system 11 may be adapted for
`private individuals as Well as business uses.
`After gaining access to application 33 Which is served via
`Internet portal server 31 of FIG. 1, a user may scroll,
`highlight, and select any URL in his or her list 34 for the
`purpose of navigation to that particular destination for
`further interaction. Application 33 already has each pass
`Word and user name listed for each URL. It is not necessary,
`hoWever, that the passWord and user name be displayed for
`a user or users. These may Well be stored transparently in a
`user’s pro?le, and invoked as needed as a user makes
`selections. Therefore, a user is spared the need of entering
`passWords and user names for any destinations enabled by
`list 34. Of course, each list 34 is built, con?gured and
`maintained by a subscribing user or users, and an editing
`facility is also provided Wherein a user may edit and update
`listings, including changing URL’s adding and deleting
`listings, and the like.
`In another aspect of the invention neW listings for a user’s
`pro?le, such as a neW passthrough to a bank or other
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`enterprise page, may be added semi-automatically as fol
`loWs: Typically, When a user opens a neW account With an
`enterprise through interaction With a WEB page hosted by
`the enterprise, the user is required to provide certain
`information, Which Will typically include such as the user’s
`ID, address, e-mail account, and so forth, and typically a
`neW user name and passWord to access the account. In this
`process the user Will be interacting With the enterprise’s
`page from his/her broWser. A PassWord-All plug-in is pro
`vided Wherein, after entering the required information for
`the neW enterprise, the user may activate a pre-determined
`signal (right click, key stroke, etc.), and the PassWord-All
`suite Will then enter a neW passthrough in the user’s Pass
`Word. All pro?le at the PassWord-All Portal server.
`In a related method for neW entries, the enterprise hosting
`the PassWord-All Portal may, by agreement With other
`enterprises, provide log-in and sign-up services at the
`PassWord-All Portal, With most action transparent to the
`user. For example, there may be, at the PassWord-All Portal,
`a selectable broWser list of cooperating enterprises, such as
`banks, security services, and the like, and a user having a
`PassWord-All Portal subscription and pro?le may select
`among such cooperating enterprises and open neW accounts,
`Which Will simultaneously and automatically be added to the
`PassWord-All Portal page for the user and to the server
`hosted by the cooperating enterprise. There may be some
`interactivity required for different accounts, but in the main,
`much information from the user’s pro?le may be used
`directly Without being re-entered.
`The inventors have anticipated that many potential users
`may Well be suspicious of providing passWords and user
`names to an enterprise hosting a PassWord-All Portal Server
`executing a service like PassWord-All according to embodi
`ments of the present invention. To accommodate this
`problem, in preferred embodiments, it is not necessary that
`the user provide the cleartext passWord to PassWord. All.
`Instead, an encrypted version of each passWord is provided.
`When a user links to his passthrough page in PassWord-All
`at the PassWord-All Portal server, When he/she invokes a
`hyperlink, the encrypted passWord is returned to the user’s
`system, Which then, by virtue of the kept encryption key or
`master passWord, invokes the true and necessary passWord
`for connection to the selected destination. It is thus not
`necessary that cleartext passWords be stored at the
`PassWord-All Portal server, Where they may be vulnerable to
`attack from outside sources, or to perceived misuse in other
`Ways as Well.
`In a related safety measure, in a preferred embodiment of
`the invention, a user’s complete pro?le is never stored on a
`single server, but is distributed over tWo or more, preferably
`more, servers, so any problem With any one server Will
`minimiZe the overall effect for any particular user.
`PassWord-All, as described above, alloWs a user to access
`a complete list of the user’s usual cyberspace destinations,
`complete With necessary log-on data, stored in an encrypted
`fashion, so a user may simply select a destination (a
`hyperlink) in the PassWord-All list, and the user’s broWser
`then invokes the URL for the selected destination. In an
`added feature, PassWord-All may display banner ads and
`other types of advertisement during the navigation time
`betWeen a hyperlink being invoked and the time the desti
`nation WEB page is displayed.
`In yet another embodiment of the invention, a user/
`subscriber need not access the PassWord-All page to enjoy
`the advantages of the unique features provided. In this
`variation, a Plug-In is provided for the subscriber’s WEB
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`US 6,199,077 B1
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`7
`browser. If the subscriber navigates by use of the local
`browser to a WEB page requiring a secure log-in, such as
`his/her on-line banking destination, when the subscriber is
`presented with an input window for ID and Password, the
`plug in may be activated by a predetermined user input, such
`as a hot key or right click of the mouse device. The plug-in
`then accesses, transparently, the Password-All page (which
`may be cached at the client), and automatically accesses and
`provides the needed data for log-on.
`In yet another aspect of the invention a search option 37
`allows a user to search list 34 for speci?c URL’s based on
`typed input such as keywords or the like. In some cases, the
`number of URL’s stored in list 34 can be extensive making
`a search function such as function 37 an attractive option. A
`criteria dialog box 51 illustrated as logically separated from
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`and below list 34 is provided and adapted to accept input for
`search option 37 as is known in the art. In one embodiment,
`search option 37 may bring up a second window wherein a
`dialog box such as box 51 could be located.
`In another aspect of the invention the search function may
`also be con?gured in a window invoked from window 33,
`and caused to search all or selected ones of listed
`destinations, and to return results in a manner that may be,
`at least to some extent, con?gured by a user. For example,
`a dialog box may be presented wherein a user may enter a
`search criteria, and select among all of the listed destina
`tions. The search will then be access each of the selected
`destinations in turn, and the result may be presented to the
`user as each instance of the criteria is found, or results may
`be listed in a manner to be accessed after the search.
`Preferably the search function is a part of the Password
`All Portal software, available for all users, and may be
`accessed by hyperlinks in user’s personal pages. In some
`embodiments users may create highly individualiZed search
`functions that may be stored in a manner to be usable only
`by the user who creates such a function.
`In many aspects of the present invention, knowledge of
`speci?c WEB pages, and certain types of WEB pages, is
`highly desirable. In many embodiments characteristics of
`destination WEB pages are researched by persons
`(facilitators) maintaining and enhancing Password-All Por
`tal software 35, and many characteristics may be provided in
`con?guration modules for users to accomplish speci?c tasks.
`In most cases these characteristics are invoked and incor
`porated transparent to the user.
`In yet another aspect of the present invention, the
`Password-All suite is structured to provide periodic reports
`to a user, in a manner to be structured and timed by the user,
`through the user’s pro?le. For example, reports of changes
`in account balances in bank accounts, stock purchases, stock
`values, total airline travel purchases, frequent-?ier miles,
`and the like may be summariZed and provided to the users
`in many different ways. Because the Password-All Portal
`server with the Password-All software site handles a broad
`variety of transactional traf?c for a user, there is an oppor
`tunity to summariZe and collect and process statistics in
`many useful ways. In preferred embodiments of the inven
`tion such reports may be furnished and implemented in a
`number of different ways, including being displayed on the
`user’s secure personal WEB page on the Password-All
`Portal.
`In addition to the ability of performing tasks as described
`above, task results including reports, and hard documents
`such as airline tickets may be sent over the Internet or other
`data packet-networks to user-de?ned destinations such as
`fax machines, connected computer nodes, e-mail servers,
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`and other Internet-connected appliances. All tasks may be
`set-up and caused to run according to user-de?ned schedules
`while the user is doing something else or is otherwise not
`engaged with the scheduled task.
`In another embodiment of the present invention, recog
`niZing the increasing use of the Internet for ?scal
`transactions, such as purchasing goods and services, a
`facility is provided in a user’s pro?le to automatically track
`transactions made at various destinations, and to authoriZe
`payment either on a transaction-by-transaction basis, or after
`a session, using access to the user’s bank accounts, all of
`which may be pre-programmed and authoriZed by the user.
`Other functions or options illustrated as part of applica
`tion 35 include a last URL option 41, an update function 43,
`and an add function 45. Function 41 allows a user to
`immediately navigate to a last visited URL. Update functi