U.S. patent application number 09/128915 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-02 for world wide web registration information processing system.
Invention is credited to KLUG, JOHN R., PETERSON, THAD D..
Application Number | 20010011274 09/128915 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26678549 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010011274 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KLUG, JOHN R. ; et
al. |
August 2, 2001 |
WORLD WIDE WEB REGISTRATION INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM
Abstract
A World Wide Web registration processing system is disclosed for
assisting World Wide Web users in registering at World Wide Web web
sites. For each such user, the registration processing system
includes a long term repository for the user's web site
registration information so that this information can be
automatically transferred to a plurality of web sites to which the
user may at time to time request to be registered. Further, the
registration processing system provides the user with the
capability to have a common user identification that may be used
for accessing services at a plurality of web sites.
Inventors: |
KLUG, JOHN R.; (EVERGREEN,
CO) ; PETERSON, THAD D.; (DENVER, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KENT A FISCHMANN
HOLME ROBERTS & OWEN
1700 LINCOLN STREET
SUITE 4100
DENVER
CO
802034541
|
Family ID: |
26678549 |
Appl. No.: |
09/128915 |
Filed: |
August 4, 1998 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60008736 |
Dec 11, 1995 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.009; 707/999.01; 707/E17.109 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 9/40 20220501; G06F
16/9535 20190101; H04L 67/53 20220501; G06F 21/41 20130101; G06F
16/957 20190101; Y10S 707/922 20130101; G06F 21/6272 20130101; H04L
67/535 20220501; H04L 69/329 20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101; Y10S
707/99931 20130101; H04L 67/306 20130101; Y10S 707/959 20130101;
G06F 16/958 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/9 ;
707/10 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/30 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for registering a user at a plurality of user requested
nodes of a communications network wherein nodes of the network are
identified using an Internet addressing scheme, comprising: first
storing registration information related to the user in a first
data store on a first node of said network; second storing of said
registration information in a second store on a second node of said
network, said second node being different from said first node;
providing the user with a user identification code permitting
access to said registration information in at least one of said
first and second stores; supplying to at least one requested node
of said plurality of requested nodes: (a) said user identification
code for registering the user at said at least one requested node,
and (b) said registration information transmitted from one of said
first and second stores for registering the user at said at least
one requested node.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first node is a
client node and said second is a server node.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communications
network utilizes an internet protocol.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, further including a step of
providing a modification to said registration material on one of
said first and second stores to the other of said first and second
stores.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said step of providing
includes retaining said modification in said first and second
stores, wherein said modification is transmitted to said at least
one requested node in said step of supplying from one of said first
and second stores.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first step of
storing includes inputting said registration information by the
user.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of second
storing includes transmitting said registration information from
said first node to said second node using said communications
network.
8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of supplying
includes: inputting user identification from said first node;
transmitting said user identification to said second node; and
using said user identification at said second node for determining
said user identification code.
9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step of supplying
includes requesting, by said at least one requested node, said
registration information from said second node.
10. A method for registering a user at a plurality of user request
nodes of a communications network wherein nodes of the network are
identified using and internet addressing scheme, comprising:
manually inputting registration information related to the user at
a first node of said network; transmitting said registration
information from said first node to a second node of said network;
providing the user with a user identification code permitting
access to said registration information at said second node;
transmitting said user identification code from said first node to
at least one requested node of said plurality of requested nodes;
supplying said registration information from said second node to
said at least one requested node upon receipt of information
identifying said user identification code.
11. An apparatus for registering a user at a plurality of user
requested nodes of a communications network wherein each node of
the network is identified using an internet addressing scheme,
comprising: means for providing registration information related to
the user on a first node of said network; means for transferring
said user information to said means for providing from a second
node of said network; means for transmitting a user identifying
code from said first node to said second node, said user
identifying code related to said registration information; means
for registering the user on at least one requested node of said
plurality of requested nodes by transmitting said user
identification code from said second node to said at least one
requested node; means for determining, at said at least one
requested node, said user registration information is provided by
said first node; means for requesting, by said at least one
requested node, said registration information from said first node
by supplying said first node with information identifying said user
identification code.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority from a provisional
application filed Dec. 11, 1995, entitled "A WORLD WIDE WEB
REGISTRATION INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM" and assigned
provisional Serial No. 60/008,736.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a system for assisting
World Wide Web users in registering at World Wide Web web sites. In
particular, the present invention provides storage and access to
web site registration information provided by a user of the present
invention so that, upon requesting to register at a web site that
cooperates with the present invention, the user can request his/her
web site registration information stored by the present invention
to be transmitted to the cooperating web site.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The World Wide Web (WWW) is a global communications network
having a client-server model as a paradigm for communications. That
is, users on client nodes utilizing so called "web browsers"
navigate the WWW to access desired server nodes (known as web
sites) for at least obtaining information from the server nodes
such as hypertext, audio, video, virtual reality, data, etc. For
many web sites, it is important to those responsible for the design
and maintenance of the web sites that they be capable of accurately
measuring both the number and types of users accessing their web
sites. In particular, such measurements may be important in
determining fees that can be charged by web site developers for
building and maintaining a web site. Further, such information may
be useful in determining the degree of interest in services and
products by web site users. Thus, in order to obtain these web site
measurements, such web sites have begun requesting that each user
provide information about himself/herself prior to the web site
allowing access to web site services. That is, such web sites
require a user to "register" at the web site, wherein the user is
required to establish a user identification (user ID) and
optionally a password with the web site as well as typically
provide personal information such as, for example, the city of
residence or family size. However, registering at multiple web
sites is burdensome for users in that it is: (a) time consuming,
and (b) the user is likely to have different user IDs at different
web sites, thus requiring a user to maintain a list of user IDs
(and optionally passwords) for the web sites to which he/she is
registered.
[0004] Therefore, it would be advantageous to alleviate many of the
above difficulties by automating the registration process at web
sites so that users may register at a single web site and use the
information provided at this web site to more easily register at
other web sites.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is a registration information
processing system for the World Wide Web that substantially
automates the user registration process at web sites. The
registration system of the present invention includes a World Wide
Web registration web site wherein a user accessing the World Wide
Web can utilize this web site as a repository for registration
information so that the user can request this registration
information to be transmitted substantially automatically to
another web site to which the user desires to register.
Furthermore, the present invention provides the user with a common
user ID, and optionally common password, that can be used to access
a plurality of web sites so that there are fewer web site user IDs
and passwords for the user to remember. Additionally, the present
invention may establish the common user ID (and optionally
password) through user input such that the user may request a
candidate user ID (and optionally password) and, if acceptable, the
candidate user ID becomes the common user ID. However, if the
candidate user ID is unacceptable (e.g., because it is a duplicate
of another user's common user ID), then the present invention
provides the user with one or more alternatives for the common user
ID (and optionally password) that the user may accept or reject.
Further, note that whenever possible the present invention provides
the user with alternative common user IDs wherein the alternatives
are derived from the candidate user ID provided by the user.
[0006] The registration information processing system of the
present invention has a first embodiment using a first system
architecture wherein a user need not have any modules specific to
the present invention loaded on his/her World Wide Web client node.
In this embodiment, once the user has provided registration
information to the registration web site of the present invention,
when the user subsequently requests to register at a new web site
cooperating with the registration process of the present invention,
then the user provides this new web site with a user ID and
optionally password (e.g., the above-mentioned common user ID) for
the registration web site of the present invention together with an
indication that any further information may be obtained from the
registration web site. The new web site subsequently is able to
automatically retrieve the user's registration information from the
registration web site and register the user at the new web
site.
[0007] In a second embodiment of the present invention having a
second architecture, World Wide Web client nodes have registration
modules for the present invention loaded on them so that these
nodes may interact with the registration web site for providing
user registration information to cooperating web sites to which the
user requests to register. In this second embodiment of the present
invention, the user's registration information is stored both
locally on the user's client node and at the registration web site,
the web site being used as a backup. Thus, when the user desires to
register at a new web site, the user's registration information is
provided to the web site from the registration module residing on
the user's client node.
[0008] In either embodiment, the present invention may also provide
a "mass" registration capability, wherein a user may request that
the present invention automatically register the user at a
plurality of web sites. For example, the user may be provided with
a capability to search for web sites cooperating with the present
invention by, for example, category and request an automatic
registration at multiple web sites substantially
simultaneously.
[0009] Other features and benefits of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description with the accompanying
figures contained hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the web site registration
information processing system of the present invention, wherein
this system is shown in the context of its connections to various
nodes of the World Wide Web;
[0011] FIGS. 2A and 2B provide a flowchart for describing the steps
performed when a user of the World Wide Web explicitly contacts the
registrar web site 100 of the present invention for supplying
registration information to be used in registering at third party
web sites 116;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flowchart presenting the steps a user of the
World Wide Web performs when entering web site registration
information into fill-out forms that are to be submitted to the
registrar web site 100 of the present invention;
[0013] FIGS. 4A and 4B present a flowchart for the steps performed
when a user of the World Wide Web accesses a third party web site
116, cooperating with the present invention, and in the process of
registering at the third party web site the user is automatically
put in contact with the registrar web site 100 of the present
invention so that registration information may be provided to the
present invention for registering the user at the present third
party web site as well as other third party web sites that the user
may subsequently request;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the steps performed by the present
invention when transferring user registration information from the
registrar web site 100 to a third party web site 116 to which the
user has requested to register;
[0015] FIGS. 6A and 6B provide a flowchart of the steps performed
when supplying a third party web site 116 with registration
information from the registrar web site 100, assuming that the
third party web site has requested such information and that the
request has been authenticated at the registrar web site 100;
[0016] FIG. 7 presents a flowchart of the steps performed by the
present invention when supplying a third party web site 116 with
user registration information from the user registration
information database 144;
[0017] FIG. 8 presents a flowchart of the steps performed when
storing in the user registration information database 144 a user's
ID (and optionally password) relating to a third party web site 116
to which the user is registered via using the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the steps performed when
registering at a third party web site 116 using the module 156 of
the present invention installed on the user's client node 108;
[0019] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the steps performed when the
registration module 156 on the user's client node is utilized in
supplying a third party web site 116 with registration
information;
[0020] FIGS. 11A and 11B present a flowchart of the steps performed
when a World Wide Web user of the present invention changes his/her
registration information stored in the present invention;
[0021] FIGS. 12A and 12B present a flowchart of the steps performed
when the architecture of the present invention includes the
registration module 156 provided at the user's client node 108 and
the user requests to enter registration information into the
present invention using this module; and
[0022] FIGS. 13A and 13B provide a flowchart of the steps performed
when a World Wide Web user requests a user ID for the registration
information processing system of the present invention and the
present invention includes module 156 on the user's client node
108.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a web site registration
information processing system of the present invention,
(hereinafter also denoted by the name "registrar") wherein this
system is shown in the context of its connections to various nodes
of the World Wide Web (WWW). In a first embodiment, a web site,
denoted the registrar web site 100, provided by the present
invention, is connected to the World Wide Web 104 for communicating
with both World Wide Web client nodes such as WWW client node 108,
and with other web sites such as third party web site 116, wherein
the registrar web site 100 facilitates the registration of a user
at a WWW client node 108 when this user desires to register at the
third party web site 116. In this first embodiment, the user
accesses the World Wide Web 104 through a WWW browser 120 on a WWW
client node 108 wherein, to use the registration facilities of the
registrar web site 100 for registering the user at a one or more
third party web sites 116, the user must in some manner request
explicit access to the registrar web site 100 for registering
his/her registration information to the registrar web site 100.
Additionally, in this first embodiment of the present invention,
the WWW client node 108 need not have executable program modules
designed specifically for interfacing with the registrar web site
100. That is, substantially any conventional World Wide Web browser
may be used as the WWW browser 120.
[0024] Thus, the first embodiment of the present invention may be
described as follows. In order for a user to register at one or
more third party web sites 116, the user at a WWW client node 108
accesses the World Wide Web 104 and in a first scenario explicitly
navigates through the World Wide Web 104 to the registrar web site
100 wherein a registrar web site 100 home page is communicated back
to the user's WWW browser 120. As one skilled in the art will
appreciate, program modules 128 (hereinafter denoted "registrar
applications") output, to a World Wide Web netvork server 132,
information in, for example, a hypertext markup language (HTML)
related to capabilities of the registrar web site 100 in assisting
the user in registering at third party web sites 116. Such outputs
from registrar applications 128, are subsequently transmitted, via
the network server 132 and the network interface 136, to the user's
WWW browser 120 in the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), as one
skilled in the art will appreciate. Thus, upon presentation of the
registrar web site 100 home page on the user's WWW client node 108,
the user subsequently may request to provide registration
information to the registrar web site 100 so that he/she can have
this information at the registrar web site 100 automatically
transferred to a third party web site 116 when the user is
requested to register at such a third party web site. Subsequently,
after the user's request to supply registration information is
transmitted to the registrar web site 100 (via World Wide Web 104,
network interface 136 and network server 132), the registrar
applications 128 receive the request and output to the user's WWW
browser 120 one or more "web pages" having fill-out forms to be
presented to the user via the WWW browser 120. Thus, upon submittal
of the filled out forms by the user to the registrar web site 100
(more precisely, the registrar applications 128), the user's
registration information is stored in the user registration
information database 144.
[0025] Following the above registration procedure at the registrar
web site 100, the user may then substantially automatically
register at various third party web sites 116 that are affiliated
with the registrar web site 100 in that an agreement has been
reached between each such third party web site 116 and the
registrar web site 120 for transmitting a user's registration
information to the third party web site 116 when, for example, the
user requests such transmittal. Thus, assuming the user accesses
the third party web site 116 and, for example, the home page for
the third party web site 116 includes a form field allowing the
user to specify that the user's registration information is stored
and accessible at the registrar web site 100, then the user can
submit a response, via the World Wide Web 104, to the third party
web site 116 indicating that the user's registration information
should be obtained from the registrar web site 100. Thus, the third
party web site 116 requests and receives the user's registration
information from the registrar web site 100 and stores the user's
registration information in registration information database 148
directly accessible by the third party web site 116. Additionally
note that when the registrar web site 100 receives a request from
the third party web site 116 for user registration information, a
registrar application 128 records the request for the user's
registration information in a registrar access log data base 152.
Thus, the registrar web site 100 maintains a log of the third party
web sites requesting registration information. Further, such third
party web sites 116 may periodically provide the registrar web site
100 with information related to the frequency that users registered
at the registrar web site 100 have accessed the third party web
sites 116. Therefore, by also storing this information, for
example, in the registrar access log 152, the registrar web site
100 is able to determine the frequency and type of access of third
party web sites 116 by users.
[0026] In a second method of using the first embodiment of the
present invention, instead of the user explicitly navigating the
World Wide Web 104 to the registrar web site 100 for providing
registration information, the user may instead access a third party
web site 116 wherein the home page or registration page for the
third party web site includes input fields allowing the user to
request that the registrar web site 100 automatically be accessed
so that the user can enter web site registration information at the
registrar web site 100 and subsequently use the registration
information provided to the registrar web site 100 for
automatically registering at the third party web site 116 (as well
as other third party web sites that may be subsequently requested).
That is, the newly entered registration information is transferred
to the third party web site 116 by entering into a registrar
specific portion of the registration form for the third party web
site 116 a registrar user identification and optionally a password
for requesting that the third party web site access the registrar
web site 100 to obtain the user's registration information. Thus,
the user's registration information automatically is communicated
to the third party web site 116 without the user explicitly having
to navigate the World Wide Web 104 and access the registrar web
site 100 to register his/her web site registration information.
[0027] Note that alternative embodiments are within the scope of
the present invention, wherein program modules for the present
invention are distributed so that there is an executable module
provided on the user's WWW client node 108 for communication with
the registrar web site 100 as well as with third party web sites
116 that accept registration information from the present
invention. In one embodiment of such a distributed architecture for
the present invention, a registrar registration module 156 is
integrated into the user's WWW browser 120 for gathering the user's
web site registration information and communicating with the
registrar web site 100 as well as cooperating third party web sites
116 at which the user desires to register. Such a registration
module 156 may provide the user with easier access to his/her
registration information since the information resides locally on
the user's WWW client node 108 in a persistent nonvolatile storage.
Further, the registrar registration module 156 may be activated for
entering or updating user registration information without the user
necessarily being connected to the World Wide Web 104. Moreover, by
integrating the registrar registration module 156 into the user's
WWW browser 120, the user is presented with an integrated set of
functions for registering and accessing third party web sites
116.
[0028] Thus, in such distributed architectures, after the user has
entered registration information into the registrar registration
module 156, this module will substantially automatically contact
the registrar web site 100 (via the World Wide Web 104) and thereby
communicate the user's registration information to the registrar
web site 100 so that, for example, the user's registration
information may be reliably stored in case there are failures at
the user's WWW client node 108. Thus, to access a third party web
site 116 that cooperates with the registrar for registering the
user, once the user has made contact through the World Wide Web 104
with such a third party web site 116, the user transfers his/her
registration information from the registration module 156 to the
third party web site. Further note that in the registration process
of the present embodiment, whenever the user registers at a third
party web site 116, the registrar web site 100 is provided, by (for
example) the module 156, with information related to the
registration so that the user also has a off-site backup copy of
all registrations at third party web sites residing at the
registrar web site 100.
[0029] Note that other distributed architectures for the present
invention are also contemplated wherein the registrar registration
module 156 on the user's WWW client node 108 is not integrated with
the user's WWW browser 120. In such an embodiment, the user may be
faced with a different user interaction technique for the module
156 than that of the WWW browser 120. However, the user is provided
with added flexibility in choosing a WWW browser 120 and/or using
his/her existing browser 120 which may not contain as part of the
browser the registrar registration module 156.
[0030] In FIGS. 2A and 2B, a flowchart is presented describing the
steps performed when the user explicitly navigates the World Wide
Web 104 to contact the registrar web site 100 for supplying
registration information. Accordingly, assuming the user contacts
the registrar web site 100, in step 204 the web site 100 receives
the user's request for information. Subsequently, in step 208 the
registrar web site 100 responds with a home page describing the
registrar services, a selection or browsing capability for
reviewing third party web sites 116 accepting registrar
registrations, and a fill-out form so that the user may request to
proceed, if desired, with entering registration information at the
registrar web site 100. In step 212 the user determines whether to
proceed with the registration process or not. Assuming the user
elects to proceed, the request to proceed is transferred back to
the registrar web site 100 wherein a registrar application 128
examines the response and outputs a fill-out form that is
transmitted back to the user's WWW browser 120 so that the user may
enter his/her registration information and submit it to the
registrar web site 100. Thus, in step 216 the steps of the
flowchart of FIG. 3 are performed by the user when entering
information into the registration fill-out form provided by the
registrar web site 100. Subsequently, in step 220 the user
initiates the transfer of his/her registration information to the
registrar web site 100. Note that the submittal of the registration
information may be performed by a conventional electronic transfer
through the World Wide Web 104 using any one of various internet
protocols or, alternatively, other techniques for transferring the
information to the registrar web site 100 are also contemplated.
For example, the user may fax a printed copy of a completed
registration form to the registrar web site 100 at which point the
information may be manually input into the user registration
information database 144. In step 224, upon receiving the user's
registration information, one or more registrar applications 128
review the user's registration information for determining whether
there is enough information supplied to at least uniquely identify
the user. If not, then in steps 228 and 232 a registrar
application(s) 128 requests additional information from the user
and flags the user's information currently stored in the user
registration information database 144 indicating that a user
response is required to further process the user's information. As
an aside, note that other feedback loops to the user are
contemplated that are related to the loop of steps 224 through 232.
For example, it may be the case that the user has supplied
sufficient information to be uniquely identifiable at the registrar
web site 100, but the user has supplied insufficient information
for the registrar web site 100 to supply adequate information to
most third party web sites 116 that utilize registrar registration
capabilities. Thus, a similar feedback loop to loop 224 through 232
may be provided for requesting that the user supply additional
information so that a substantial number of third party web sites
116 cooperative with registrar will allow the user to register at
them using only the information supplied by the registrar web site
100.
[0031] Referring again to step 224, if a determination is made that
sufficient registration information has been received at the
registrar web site 100, the user's registration information is
stored in the user registration information database 144 (step 236)
and subsequently a registrar application 128 outputs a request to
the user to select a user ID and password that can be at least used
to access the user's registration information at the registrar web
site 100 (step 240). Assuming, as in step 244, that the user
submits a user ID and a password to the registrar web site 100,
then in step 248 a determination is made by the present invention
(more particularly, a registrar application 128) as to whether the
user supplied ID and password is acceptable for uniquely
identifying the user. If not, then steps 240 through 248 are
repeated until an appropriate user ID and password are entered by
the user. Thus, assuming that an acceptable user ID and password
are provided, in step 252 the registration information supplied by
the user is marked as unverified since there has been no
independent confirmation that the user supplied information is
accurate.
[0032] Subsequently, in step 256 a registrar application 128
commences to enrich the user's supplied registration information
with publicly available information related to the user and, to the
degree possible (i.e., conforming with internet etiquette, privacy
concerns of users, and public policy), to verify the user's
registration information. Note that by comparing the user supplied
information with information about the user from other sources, a
determination can be made as to the accuracy of the user supplied
information. Thus, whenever an item of the user supplied
information is independently verified, then that item is unmarked.
Alternatively, if discrepancies arise between the user-supplied
information and other publicly available information about the
user, then the user may be alerted to these discrepancies and
requested to confirm his/her initial responses.
[0033] Referring now briefly to FIG. 3, this flowchart presents the
steps a user performs when entering web site registration
information into the fill-out forms to be submitted to registrar.
Accordingly, in step 304 the user determines whether to supply
basic information (i.e., requested by a substantial number of third
party web sites 116) as described in step 308 or to supply expanded
information (i.e., more extensive information about the user so
that, for example, registrar has sufficient user information to
register the user at substantially all cooperating third party web
sites 116). Note that at least in one embodiment, the basic
information supplied in step 308 (i.e., the user's name, e-mail
address, gender and date of birth) is also requested in the forms
for expanded information in step 312. Thus, upon filling in at
least one field from the fill-out forms (step 316) presented in
either step 308 or 312 the present invention field checks the
user's unput for syntactically appropriate responses. Subsequently,
in step 320, the user inputs a request to terminate entering
information in the presently presented fill-out form(s) and in step
324 the user determines whether to enter additional information in
either the basic registration information fill-out forms or the
expanded information fill-out forms. If the user indicates that
he/she desires to enter further registration information, then step
304 is again performed. Alternatively, the flowchart returns to the
invoking program (flowchart) with the user supplied registration
information.
[0034] FIGS. 4A and 4B present a flowchart for the steps performed
when the user accesses a present third party web site 116
cooperating with registrar, and in the process of registering at
the third party web site the user is automatically put in contact
with the registrar web site 100 so that registration information
may be provided to registrar for registering the user at the
present third party web site as well as other third party web sites
that the user may request. Accordingly, assuming the user uses a
WWW browser 120 to access a third party web site 116 as in step
404, the third party web site responds with a web site home page
(step 408) typically having a registration fill-out form into which
the user is requested to enter registration information. Note that
the user may or may not be registered at this third party web site.
Thus, if the user is registered, then he/she may only need to enter
a user ID and optionally a password in order to gain access to a
desired application at the third party web site. Further note that
for different third party web sites 116, the user's identification
(and optionally a password) may be different due to constraints on
user ID (and password) syntax being different at different third
party web sites. Further, such user IDs at different web sites may
be different because a user ID requested by the user may already
have been assigned to another user.
[0035] Subsequently, once the third party web site 116 has received
a response from the user, a determination is made as to whether the
user is registered at the web site (step 412). If the user is
registered, then no further processing related to the present
invention is required. Alternatively, if the user is not registered
at the third party web site, then a response is transferred from
the third party web site 116 through the World Wide Web 104 to the
user's WWW browser 120 providing the user with the fill-out forms
in which the user is requested to enter information for registering
at the third party web site. Note that if the third party web site
116 is configured to accept user registration information from the
present invention, then at least one fill-out form related to
registering at the third party web site 116 will request
information related to registering the user by using the present
invention. In particular, the third party web site 116 may present
the user with a fill-out form requesting the user to enter a user
ID and optionally a password for the present invention (i.e.,
registrar) if the user is registered at the registrar web site 100.
Additionally, the presented fill-out forms may request the user to
indicate whether he/she prefers to register at the third party web
site 116 by using registrar. Thus, assuming the user desires to
register at the third party web site 116, a determination is made
as to whether the user wishes to register using the present
invention or register at the third party web site without using the
present invention (step 416). If the user chooses to not use the
present invention for registering at the third party web site 116,
then the user explicitly supplies registration information for the
present third party web site (step 420). Alternatively, if the user
chooses to use registrar to register, then once the present third
party web site 116 receives a response from the user indicating the
choice to use registrar to register, in step 424, the present third
party web site sends a request to the registrar web site 100 for
registering the user at the registrar web site 100. Subsequently,
in step 428 the steps of FIGS. 2A and 2B are performed for
registering the user at the registrar web site 100. Subsequently,
after registering at the registrar web site 100, in step 432, the
user is automatically placed in contact with the present third
party web site so that he/she submits a registration fill-out form
to this third party web site 116: (a) indicating that the user's
registration information may be obtained from the registrar web
site 100; and (b) providing a user ID (and optionally a password)
for the registrar web site 100 to be used as identification at the
present third party web site. Following this, in step 436 the third
party web site 116 invokes the program corresponding to FIG. 5 to
obtain the user's registration data from the registrar web site
100. Lastly, upon verification by the third party web site 116 of
the user's registration data, the user is granted access to the
desired third party web site and/or application (step 440).
[0036] In FIG. 5, a flowchart is presented of the registration data
transmission process from the registrar web site 100 to a third
party web site 116. Accordingly, in step 504 the third party web
site 116 provides the registrar web site 100 with identification of
the third party web site, the user's registrar user ID and (any)
registrar password. Further, in some instances, as will be
described below, the third party web site 116 also supplies the
registrar web site 100 with a return path to the user through the
World Wide Web 104. Following this, in step 508, a determination is
made by the registrar web site 100 as to whether the third party
web site supplied information can be authenticated. If not all
third party web site information is authenticated, then step 512 is
encountered wherein a determination is made as to whether to
request that the third party web site to resend the information of
step 504. Note that such a determination may be made in one
embodiment depending upon whether the third party web site
identification is authenticated. That is, if the third party web
site identification is authenticated, then a retry may be allowed.
Otherwise, no retry may be allowed. Alternatively, referring again
to step 508, if all information transmitted from the third party
web site 116 is authenticated at the registrar web site 100, then
step 516 is encountered. In this step, the program represented by
FIGS. 6 is performed for supplying the third party web site 116
with registration information related to the user from the user
registration information database 144.
[0037] Referring now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the flowchart presented
here provides the steps for supplying a present third party web
site 116 with registration information from the registrar web site
100, assuming that the present third party web site 116 has
requested such information and that the request has been
authenticated at the registrar web site 100. Accordingly, in step
604 the registrar web site 100 or, more precisely, a registrar
application 128 performs the steps of FIG. 7 for retrieving the
user registration information requested by the present third party
web site 116 from the user registration information database 144.
Note that a third party web site 116 may request various categories
of information from the registrar web site 100 related to the user.
In particular, a third party web site may request: (a) basic
information as discussed in step 308 of FIG. 3; (b) expanded
information as discussed in step 312 of FIG. 3; (c) custom
information, wherein selected fields from the basic and expanded
information are provided; and (d) proprietary information wherein
one or more additional user related information items may be
provided wherein these items have been obtained by the registrar
web site 100 by, for example, enriching and verifying the
registration information obtained from the user as in step 256 of
FIG. 2B.
[0038] Following step 604, step 608 is encountered wherein a
registration application 128 determines whether the present third
party web site 116 requesting user information (for a user
attempting to register at this third party web site) requires that
a user ID (and optionally password) be generated specifically for
this third party web site. That is, the third party web site 116
may require a user ID and/or password that conforms with a format
peculiar to the third party web site 116. Note that to perform the
step 608, in at least one embodiment of the present invention,
information related to the requirements of the present third party
web site 116 are stored at the registrar web site 100. In
particular, the registrar web site 100 may store a user information
request template for each third coordinating party web site 116
having access to user information at the registrar web site 100
such that a registrar application 128 (upon identifying a
particular third party web site 116) may access a related user
information request template for determining what information may
be required by this third party web site.
[0039] If a user ID and optionally password need not be generated
specifically for the requesting third party web site 116, then in
step 612 the user information requested by the third party web site
116 is encrypted and in step 616 the encrypted information is sent
to the third party web site. Following this, in step 620 a
registrar application 128 logs an entry or a record in the
registrar access log database 152 indicating that registration
information for the user has been transmitted to the present third
party web site 116. Subsequently, in step 624 a registrar
application 128 (or, more precisely, an instantiation thereof)
waits for an acceptance response from the present third party web
site 116 to which the encrypted user information was sent. Note
that the response from the present third party web site may include
a third party web site specific user ID (and optionally password)
if the user was not previously registered at this third party web
site. That is, the third party web site may automatically generate
at least a user ID if the user was not previously registered at the
web site. Alternatively, it may be the case that the present third
party web site uses the user's registrar registration user ID and
password for registering the user at the third party web site 116.
Note that in at least one embodiment for registration processing at
a third party web site 116, the use of the registrar user ID does
not create ambiguity in the identity of users registering at the
third party web site. For example, a user seeking access to a
cooperating third party web site may be required to indicate that
his/her user ID and/or password is a registrar generated user ID
(and/or password) so that the third party web site can process the
entered user identification differently from that of users who have
registered without using the present invention. Subsequently, when
an acceptance response from the requesting third party web site 116
is provided to the registrar web site 100 (or, more precisely, a
registrar application 128), this response is logged in the
registrar access log database 152 in step 628. Following this
latter step, in step 632, a determination is made as to whether the
response from the present third party web site 116 indicates that
the user is now registered at this third party web site. If no such
indication is provided, then in step 636 a message is sent to the
user at the user's WWW client node 108 that registrar cannot
register the user at the present third party web site to which the
user has requested registration and access. Further, the registrar
application 128 performing step 636 may also supply the user with a
reason as to why the user cannot register through registrar at the
present party web site if such a reason was indicated by this third
party web site when the response of step 624 was received.
[0040] Alternatively, if in step 632 it is determined that the user
is registered at the present third party web site, then in step 640
the program corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 8 is performed
for storing at least the user's ID (and optionally password) for
the present third party web site at the registrar web site 100
(more precisely, in the user registration information database 144)
as will be discussed hereinbelow.
[0041] Referring again to step 608 of FIG. 6A, if a registrar
application 128 is required to generate a user ID (and optionally
password) for the third party web site 116, then step 644 is next
performed wherein a registrar application 128 generates a user ID
(and optionally password) to be transmitted to the third party web
site 116. Subsequently, the sequence of steps 648 through 668 are
performed. Note that this sequence of steps is substantially the
same sequence of steps as steps 612 through 632. However, the
response from the present third party web site logged in step 664
may include an indication as to whether the user generated by the
registrar application 128 is acceptable to the present third party
web site 116.
[0042] Accordingly, continuing the discussion of FIGS. 6A and 6B
from step 668, if the response from the present third party web
site 116 indicates that the user is registered at the desired third
party web site, then step 672 is performed wherein the program
corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 8 is again used to store the
user's ID (and optionally password) for the present third party web
site in the user registration information database 144 (as in step
640). Alternatively, if in step 668 it is determined that the user
is not registered at the present third party web site 116, then in
step 676 a determination is made as to whether the generated user
registration information (i.e., user ID and optionally password)
step 644 has been rejected by the present third party web site. If
so, then in step 680 a determination is made as to whether this
rejection has occurred less than a predetermined number of times
(i.e., the sequence of steps 644 through 668 have been iteratively
performed less than a predetermined number of times in attempting
to register the user at the present third party web site). If the
results of the test in step 680 is affirmative, then step 644 is
again encountered for generating alternative user registration
information for the present third party web site. Note that it is
an aspect of the present invention that, at least in one
embodiment, such generations produce user IDs that are meaningful
to the user and/or are related to other web site registration user
IDs for the user. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention,
the step 644 uses the user's registrar user ID as a "seed" from
which to generate a user ID acceptable to the present third party
web site 116. Moreover, note that the generation process of step
644 may use various heuristics and third party web site constraints
to generate acceptable user IDs.
[0043] Alternately, if the negative branch from step 676 is
followed, then the third party web site 116 may have rejected
registering the user for any of a number of reasons that may not be
able to be alleviated in a timely fashion so that the user can be
registered at this third party web site in a short amount of time.
Accordingly, step 684 is encountered wherein a message is
transmitted to the user's WWW client node 108 indicating that
registrar cannot currently register the user at the requested third
party web site 116. Further, note that if in step 680 it is
determined that too many attempts have been made to generate
acceptable registration information for the third party web site,
then step 684 is also encountered.
[0044] The flowchart of FIGS. 6A and 6B is representative of the
processing variations within the scope of the present invention for
supplying a third party web site with registration information. For
instance, those skilled in the art will appreciate that steps 624
and 660 may have a timer associated with them whereby if there is
no response from the third party web site within a predetermined
time period, then a default response is provided by a registrar
application 128 so that one of the steps 684 or 636 is performed as
part of the processing when such a timer expires and subsequent
steps in the flowchart are performed. Additionally, other steps may
be inserted, for example, on the negative branch from step 676
wherein these additional steps attempt to address other anomalies
indicated in the acceptance response received in step 660. For
example, if the third party web site 116 requests additional user
information than what was provided in step 648, then if this
additional information is in the user registration information
database 144 and the user has indicated that it is permissible to
disseminate this information, then the additional information may
be transmitted to the present third party web site 116. Also, in
such a case, the transmittal of this additional information is
recorded in the registrar access log database 152.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 7, wherein the flowchart for a program
is provided for supplying, from the user registration information
database 144, a requesting third party web site 116 with
registration information related to a particular user. Accordingly,
in step 704 of FIG. 7, if the registrar web site 100 has not been
previously supplied with an indication as to what type of
information is required by the requesting third party web site,
then a registrar application 128 constructs such a request to be
transmitted to the requesting third party web site and subsequently
the application may wait for a response from this third party web
site. Following step 704, in step 708 it is assumed that the
registrar web site 100 has been provided with an indication or
specification as to what information the requesting third party web
site desires. Thus, the registrar application 128 performing step
704 may now determine what registration information is to be
transmitted to this third party web site. Note that at least in one
embodiment of step 708, the user registration information requested
may require validation according to the following criteria:
[0046] (1.1) The type and amount of registration information for a
user that the user has indicated is available to be transmitted to
a requesting third party web site.
[0047] (1.2) The type and amount of information the requesting
third party web site 116 has contracted with the registrar web site
100 for transmitting regarding a particular user or category of
users.
[0048] (1.3) The registration information available in the user
registration information database 144.
[0049] Thus, as discussed with respect to step 604 of FIG. 6A,
either basic, expanded, custom or proprietary registration
information related to a user is transmitted to the requesting
third party web site in step 736.
[0050] FIG. 8 presents a flowchart for storing, in the user
registration information database 144, a user's ID and/or password
for a third party web site 116 to which the user is registered
using registrar. More precisely, the user ID and/or password for
such a third party web site is stored via the steps of FIG. 8 if
this information is different from the user's registrar user ID
and/or password. That is, it is believed that for many third party
web sites 116, the registrar user ID and password for users
registered at the registrar web site 100 will be identical to the
user's user ID and password at third party web sites. Note that
there are significant advantages to third party web sites 116
using, for each registered user, the user's registrar user ID and
password (or, some other user ID and password in common with other
third party web sites to which the user is registered). For
instance, a user is required to remember fewer user IDs and
passwords associated with web sites and the web sites providing
this convenience may have a higher volume of users accessing the
web site due to the greater ease of access.
[0051] Regarding the steps of FIG. 8, in step 800 a determination
is made as to whether the user has been provided with a user ID
(optionally password) for the third party web site 116 (to which
the user is attempting to register) that is different from the
user's registrar user ID and/or password. If not, then there is
nothing additional to store at the registrar web site 100 and the
flowchart ends. Alternatively, if the decision of step 800 results
in a positive answer, then step 804 is performed wherein the user's
specific user ID and optionally password for this third party web
site is stored with other user registration information in the user
registration information database 144. Note the following
advantages accrue by storing user registration information at the
registrar web site: (a) each user has the convenience of off-site
storage backup for each such third party web site to which the user
is registered and (b) depending on the registration process at the
third party web site, it may be expedient for such a web site (at
least temporarily) to automatically contact the registrar web site
100 for retrieving, for example, the user's third party web site
specific user ID upon subsequent user accesses to the third party
web site.
[0052] Following step 804, in step 808 a determination is made as
to whether the third party web site has indicated that it will
initiate requests as in (b) immediately above. If so, then no
further processing needs to be accomplished here in that the user
may enter his/her user registrar web site 100 user ID (and
optionally password) when accessing the third party web site.
Alternatively, if step 808 yields a negative answer then step 812
is performed wherein the registrar web site 100 sends a message to
the user at the user's WWW client node 108 providing the user with
the ID (and optionally password) for the third party web site.
[0053] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a
registrar registration module 156 may be provided at the user's WWW
client node 108. This module (whether incorporated into the WWW
browser 120 or external to the browser and communicating with the
browser through, for example, a browser 120 port) may store locally
at the client node 108 registration information for accessing third
party web sites 116 to which the user has registered using the
present invention. In FIGS. 9-13, flowcharts are provided for
programs illustrating the processing of this alternative embodiment
of the present invention.
[0054] In FIG. 9, a flowchart is presented of the program for
registering at a third party web site 116 when the module 156 is
installed on the user's client node 108.
[0055] Describing now the steps of FIG. 9, in step 904 the user
sends a request to access a third party web site 116 via the user's
WWW browser 120. Subsequently, upon receiving the request, the
accessed third party web site 116 responds with a home page having
a registration fill-out form (step 908). Assuming that the
registration fill-out form allows the user to indicate that user
registration information may be obtained locally at the client node
108, in step 912 the user indicates on the fill-out form that
he/she desires to register at the third party web site and that
his/her registration information can be retrieved using the
registrar registration module 156 residing on the user's client
node 108. Further note that the user may be required to activate or
alert the module 156 so that this module can supply the appropriate
user registration information to be communicated to the third party
web site 116. Also note that the home page from the third party web
site 116 may indicate the type of information required to register
the user and this information may be used either manually or
automatically for determining the user registration information
stored on the user's client node 108 that will be transmitted to
the third party web site. Subsequently, in step 916 the user
specifies that the registration fill-out form is to be submitted to
the third party web site. Accordingly, the WWW browser 120
communicates with the registrar registration module 156 to supply
the registration information to the third party web site. That is,
the processing performed here includes the steps of FIG. 10 which
are described herein below. Subsequently, in step 920 a message is
sent from the registration module 156 to the registrar web site 100
indicating that the user has registered at the third party web site
and additionally supplying the registrar web site 100 with any user
ID and password specific to the third party web site. Note that by
sending this information as well as, for example, a copy of
substantially all of the user's registration information stored
locally to the registrar web site 100, the user is provided with an
automatic off-site backup of his/her registration information.
Additionally, the user may be provided with other advantages by
providing his/her user registration information to the registrar
web site 100. In particular, the registrar web site 100 may enrich
the user's registration information with publicly available
information on the user and alert the user to discrepancies between
the user information and various publicly available records on the
user.
[0056] Referring now to the flowchart of FIG. 10, this flowchart
describes the steps performed when supplying a third party web site
116 with registration information retained by the registrar
registration module 156 on the user's node. In step 1004, the steps
of the flowchart of FIG. 7 are performed for retrieving the
registration information requested by the third party web site.
Subsequently, in step 1008 the registrar registration module 156
packages the accessed registration information for the third party
web site together with the user's registrar ID (and optionally
password) for transmittal to the third party web site.
Subsequently, in step 1016 the registration information packaged
together in step 1008 is encrypted so that in step 1020 this
encrypted information may be sent securely to the third party web
site via the World Wide Web 104. Following this, in step 1024 the
module 156 logs an entry into a local log on the client node 108
indicating what registration information was sent to the third
party web site. Subsequently, in step 1028 a process may be
instantiated to wait for an acceptance response from the third
party web site so that when such a response is obtained it may be
logged locally at the client node 108 in step 1032.
[0057] In one embodiment of the present invention the user may
configure the registrar registration module 156 to log all
activities with third party web sites 116 and provide the records
of this log to the registrar web site 100. This allows the
registrar web site 100 or personnel that maintain the registrar web
site 100 to analyze user activities on the World Wide Web 104. Such
analysis may be useful to both registrar users and third party web
site personnel in that, given a user's World Wide Web 104 activity,
the registrar web site 100 may suggest additional third party web
sites 116 of which the user may not be aware. Further, by analyzing
the user access logs of registrar users, the registrar web site 100
may provide statistics to the third party web sites 116 as to the
number and types of users accessing their respective web sites.
[0058] FIGS. 11A and 11B present a flowchart for the steps
performed by the present invention when the user changes his/her
registrar registration information. That is, the flowchart of FIGS.
11 encompasses both the architecture or embodiment of the present
invention wherein the user's registration information is stored
substantially only at the registrar web site 100, and also the
architecture or embodiment wherein the user's registrar information
is also stored at the user's client node 108. Accordingly, in step
1104 a determination is made as to where the user's registration
information is stored. Note that this step 1104 is unlikely to be
explicitly performed by either the present invention or the user.
Instead, the embodiment of the present invention determines which
of the paths from this step to follow (i.e., if module 156 exists,
then the "USER NODE" branch is followed; otherwise, the "REGISTRAR
WEB SITE ONLY" branch is followed). Accordingly, assuming that the
present invention is embodied such that the user's registration
information is stored at the web site 100 only, then step 1108 is
encountered wherein the user accesses the registrar web site 100
from his/her WWW client node 108 by entering his/her user ID and
optionally password. Subsequently, in step 1112 the registrar web
site 100 responds with a web page having a number of options
related to the user's registration information and registrar web
site 100 processing of this information. Note that such options
include a request by the user to modify the user's registration
information stored at the registrar web site. Additionally, other
options may be also provided to the user including: (a) an option
for requesting to be no longer affiliated with the registrar web
site 100 and have all the user's registration information deleted;
(b) an option for requesting to examine all information regarding
the user stored at the registrar web site 100, including all
information the registrar web site has obtained from publicly
available sources; (c) a request for procedures and/or addresses to
contact publicly available databases that registrar has accessed
obtaining incorrect user information; and (d) third party web sites
116 that are providing information for a limited period of time and
for which the user may be interested. Following step 1112, in step
1116 the user enters new information into an appropriate fill-out
form received at the user's WWW client node 108 from the registrar
web site 100. Note that this form is likely to be in a page
different from the page of options described in step 1112. That is,
upon submission of the page of options, the registrar web site 100
responds with a new page(s) having fill-out forms with the
presently stored user registration information presented in the
forms so that the user may change any of the fields on this
page(s).
[0059] Note that in at least one embodiment of the present
invention, the user is allowed to change his/her registrar user ID
and/or password. However, it may be the case that when a user
changes his/her registrar user ID, that the new requested user ID
has already been assigned to another registrar user. Thus, the
registrar web site 100 may respond with a request for further
information (such as a request for a different user ID from the
user) wherein when the user submits the additional information, the
registrar web site 100 again checks to determine if the user is
uniquely identifiable. Note that the loop of steps 1120 and 1124
are provided to represent the iterative process described here of
changing the user's user ID. Further note that in some embodiments
of the present invention, the registrar web site 100 may respond
with alternative variations for a new user ID so that the user is
not left to guess at a registrar user ID that is acceptable for
uniquely identifying the user.
[0060] Returning now to step 1104, if the user's registration
information is stored locally at the user's client node 108, then
step 1128 is performed instead of the steps 1108-1124. However, for
simplicity, a discussion of the processing performed in step 1128
is not described in detail here. Instead, a detailed discussion of
this step is provided by FIGS. 12 and the discussion of FIGS. 12
hereinbelow for changing the registration information at the user's
client node 108 and for transmitting the changes to the registrar
web site 100.
[0061] Regardless of the branch of processing taken from step 1104,
eventually step 1132 and the subsequent steps of FIG. 11B are
encountered wherein the present invention updates or alerts third
party web sites having previously received user registration
information that this information may be outdated. Thus, the steps
1132-1140 are performed so that the registration information
provided to such third party web sites via the present invention is
consistent with the newly supplied user registration information.
However, in at least one embodiment of the present invention, prior
to providing any newly entered user registration information to the
third party web sites, such information may be compared or
correlated with publicly available information regarding the user
that is, for example, accessible via certain third party web sites
116. Further, the user may request his/her newly entered
registration information by supplied to only selected web sites to
which the user is registered, or alternatively, the user may
request that the newly entered registration information be supplied
to all web sites to which the user is registered.
[0062] FIG. 12 presents a flowchart of the steps performed when the
registrar registration module 156 is provided at the client node
108 and the user enters registration information into this module.
Note that the steps of this flowchart may be performed when the
user is entering registration information for registering the user
with registrar, or when modifying registration information already
supplied to registrar. Accordingly, in step 1204 the user requests
activation of the registrar registration module 156 on the user's
client node 108 for entering information that will subsequently be
used for registering substantially automatically cooperating at
third party web sites 116 requested by the user.
[0063] Subsequently, in step 1208 the registrar registration module
156 on the user's client node 108 presents the user with one or
more fill-out forms for the user to provide new registration
information. Following this, in step 1212 a determination is made
as to whether the user requests to obtain a registrar user ID. If
so, then in step 1216 the program corresponding to the flowchart of
FIG. 13 is performed to provide the user with a valid registrar
user ID and optionally password. Subsequently, in step 1220 a
determination is made as to whether the program of FIG. 13 returns
a valid registrar user ID. If so, then step 1224 is performed
wherein the new user's registrar ID is stored on the user's node
108 for a subsequent transmittal to a third party web site during a
registration process at a third party web site that accepts the
registrar user ID as the web site's ID. Subsequently, regardless of
the path taken from step 1220, step 1228 is encountered wherein a
determination is made as to whether the user desires to enter
further user registration information.
[0064] If the user desires to enter further information, then step
1212 is again encountered and a determination is made once again as
to whether the user requests to obtain a registrar user ID.
However, it is important to note that the steps provided in this
flowchart are only an indication of the processing provided by the
registrar registration module 156 and the user's browser. In
particular, since the user interfaces typically used by World Wide
Web browsers allow a user to select the fill-out form fields to
modify, the positive branch from step 1212 is taken only when the
user enters information in a fill-out form field indicating that a
registrar user ID is requested. Similarly, the negative branch from
step 1212 is taken whenever user information is entered into other
fill-out form fields unrelated to obtaining a registrar user
ID.
[0065] Accordingly, if the user desires to enter other information
than that required to obtain a registrar user ID, then from step
1212, step 1232 is encountered wherein the registrar registration
module 156 explicitly requests the user's registrar registration
user ID (and optionally password). Subsequently, in step 1236,
assuming the user enters a registrar user ID, a determination is
made as to whether the registrar user ID is valid. Note that this
determination is initially made locally at the user's client node
108 without contacting the registrar web site 100. However, in one
embodiment of the present invention, it is an option that if the
registrar user ID entered is not found in the client node 108, then
the registrar registration module 156 may inquire of the user as to
whether he/she desires the registrar web site 100 to be
interrogated for the registrar user ID and password and, if found,
download the user's registration information to the user's client
node 108. If no valid registrar user ID is determined in step 1236,
then the program ends in step 1240. Alternatively, if a valid
registrar user ID is obtained, then in step 1244 a determination is
made as to whether the user requests to exit the present program
and thereby stop supplying registration information. Note that this
step is similar to step 1212 in that if the user continues to enter
registration information in fill-out form fields, then the negative
branch from this step is followed and, alternatively, if the user,
for example, activates an exit button on the user interface, then
the positive branch from step 1244 will be followed. Accordingly,
if the negative branch is followed, then in step 1248 the program
of FIG. 3 is performed for obtaining new user registration
information and, subsequently, step 1212 is encountered (or, more
precisely, the user interface is provided that allows the user to
request a registrar user ID).
[0066] Alternatively, if the positive branch is taken from step
1244, then step 1252 is encountered wherein the registrar
registration module 156 transmits (or schedules the transmission
of) any newly entered user registration information that the user
desires to be transmitted to the registrar web site 100 for backup
storage. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, the step
1252 provides the user with the option to discard the registration
information provided in step 1248 above instead of transmitting
this information to the registrar web site 100.
[0067] In FIG. 13, a flowchart is presented of the program for
obtaining a registrar user ID and optionally password for the
embodiment of the present invention wherein the registrar
registration module 156 retains the user's registrar user ID (and
optionally password) for automatically providing to third party web
sites at which the user requests registration using the present
invention. Accordingly, in step 1308 the registrar registration
module 156 requests the user to select a registrar user ID and
optionally a password that can be used to access the user's
registration information at both the user's client node 108 and at
the registrar web site 100. Assuming that the user enters a user ID
and optionally password in step 1308, in step 1312 the registrar
registration module 156 transmits the user selected ID and
optionally password to the registrar web site 100. Subsequently, in
step 1316 a determination is made by the registrar application 128
as to whether the user's selected user ID and optionally password
are acceptable to the registrar web site. That is, a registrar
application 128 accesses the user registration information database
144 to determine if the selected user ID is sufficiently unique.
Note that other steps may be performed between steps 1308 and 1312.
For example, the syntax for user IDs and optionally passwords may
be checked at the module 156 prior to transmitting the user's
selected registration information to the registrar web site
100.
[0068] Continuing with step 1316, a determination is made at the
registrar web site 100 as to whether the user's selected user ID
and optionally password are acceptable to registrar. If so, then in
step 1320 a registration application 128 stores the user's ID and
optionally password in the user registration information database
144. Note that since it is unlikely that any further information
related to the present user is stored at the registrar web site,
the process of storing the user's user ID and optionally password
includes creating a new record in the database 144 and marking all
remaining fields related to registration information for this user
to indicate that these fields are as yet not valid. Following this,
in step 1324 a registrar application 128 transmits a message to the
user's WWW browser 120 indicating that the user's selected user ID
and optionally password is acceptable to registrar.
[0069] Alternatively, if the negative path is taken from step 1316,
then step 1336 is encountered wherein a registrar application 128
attempts to generate an acceptable user ID and optionally password
as a substitute for the user's proposed user ID (and optionally
password). Note that in generating alternative registration
information, the registrar application 128 may use the user
supplied information as the basis or "seed" for generating an
acceptable user ID (and optionally password) to be transmitted back
to the user. Accordingly, in step 1340, once the user is presented
with the newly generated registration information on the user's
client node 108, the registrar registration module 156 provides the
user with the option to accept or reject the generated information.
If the user accepts the generated registration information, then
the flowchart ends.
[0070] Alternatively, if the user rejects this information, then in
step 1348 a further determination is made by the module 156 as to
whether the user enters a new user ID (and optionally password) as
an alternative to the generated registration information. If such
new user registration information is provided, then step 1312 and
steps thereafter are again performed in attempting to provide a
registrar user ID (and optionally password) to the user.
Alternatively, if the user indicates in step 1348 that no further
proposed candidates for a user ID (and optionally password) will be
forthcoming, then the flowchart ends without an acceptable
registrar user ID being obtained.
[0071] The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the
description is not intended to limit the invention to the form
disclosed herein. Subsequently, variation and modification
commensurate with the above teachings, within the skill and
knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present
invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further
intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the
invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the
invention as such, or in other embodiments, and with the various
modifications required by their particular application or uses of
the invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed
to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the
prior art.
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