Secure server authentication and browsing

Abstract

Methods of authenticating a content-provider server by a server are provided. One method comprises determining a domain name of the content-provider server; obtaining a fragment of a database of IP addresses, the fragment corresponding to the domain name of the content-provider server and storing one or more IP addresses associated with the domain name; comparing the IP address of the content-provider server against the IP addresses of the fragment; and providing an indication that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the fragment of IP addresses.

1 . A server that is in communication with a content-provider server via a communication network, wherein the server performs an authentication method comprising:
 determining a domain name of the content-provider server;   obtaining a fragment of a database of IP addresses, wherein the fragment corresponds to the domain name of the content-provider server and a store of one or more IP addresses associated with the domain name;   comparing the IP address of the content-provider server against the IP addresses of the fragment; and   providing an indication that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment.   
   
   
       2 . The server according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises communicating content from the content-provider server to a client computer in communication with the server when the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       3 . The server according to  claim 1 , wherein the server performs the authentication method before serving content from the content-provider server to the client computer. 
   
   
       4 . The server according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving a request to access content from a content-provider server wherein the request originates from a client computer; and   providing access to the content from the content-provider server by the client computer when the server indicates that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded in the fragment.   
   
   
       5 . The server according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises requesting data from the content-provider server and obtaining the fragment in response to the request for the data from the content-provider server. 
   
   
       6 . The server according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 determining whether data from the content-provider server has been previously requested and obtained;   requesting the data from the content-provider server if the data has not been previously requested or obtained; and   obtaining the data from the content-provider server when the data has not been previously obtained or requested.   
   
   
       7 . The server of  claim 1 , wherein the content comprises at least one of email messages, instant messages, chat messages, documents, files, webpages, website data, and link data. 
   
   
       8 . A method that facilitates authentication of a content-provider server by a server on a server side comprising:
 filtering content from being served to a client computer when the IP address of the content-provider server is excluded from the IP addresses of a fragment, wherein the filtering comprises:   determining a domain name of the content-provider server;   obtaining a fragment of a database of IP addresses, wherein the fragment corresponds to the domain name of the content-provider server and a store of one or more IP addresses associated with the domain name;   comparing the IP address of the content-provider server against the IP addresses of the fragment; and   providing an indication that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment.   
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein filtering the content from being served to the client computer comprises preventing the content from being communicated or accessed by the client computer, wherein the content comprises at least one of email messages, instant messages, chat messages, documents, files, webpages, website data, and link data. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising after determining that the IP address of the content-provider server is included in the IP addresses of the fragment, serving the content from the content-provider server to the client computer and displaying at least a subset of the content on a visual display unit of the client computer. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising after determining that the IP address of the content-provider server is excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment, serving the content from the content-provider server to the client computer and displaying at least a subset of the content on a visual display unit of the client computer. 
   
   
       12 . A method that facilitates authentication of a content-provider server by at least one of a server on a server side or a client computer comprising:
 filtering content from being viewable on a client computer when the IP address of the content-provider server is excluded from the IP addresses of a fragment, wherein the filtering comprises:   determining a domain name of the content-provider server;   obtaining a fragment of a database of IP addresses, wherein the fragment corresponds to the domain name of the content-provider server and a store of one or more IP addresses associated with the domain name;   comparing the IP address of the content-provider server against the IP addresses of the fragment; and   providing an indication that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising displaying the content from the content-provider server on the client computer after determining that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising displaying the content from the content-provider server on the client computer after determining that the IP address of the content-provider server is included in the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 12  is performed on or by the client computer, wherein the content is unviewable on the client computer until a determination is made that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 12  is performed on or by the client computer, wherein the content is unviewable on the client computer until a determination is made that the IP address of the content-provider server is included in the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 12  is performed on or by the server wherein the content is unviewable on the client computer until a determination is made that the IP address of the content-provider server is included or excluded from the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 12  is performed on or by the server wherein the content is unviewable on the client computer until a determination is made that the IP address of the content-provider server is included in the IP addresses of the fragment. 
   
   
       19 . A secured browsing system that mitigates personal data communicated to a server comprising:
 a browser request generation component that generates browser requests to one or more URLs without intervention of a user so as to appear to be produced by the user, thereby generating false browsing activity; and   a white noise database that stores a plurality of the URLs that, when selected, are included in a browser request without intervention from the user.   
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the browser request generation component selects a browsing behavior to apparently mimic for a user based in part on user-provided data. 
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the browser requests are based at least in part on browsing activity of the user and comprise a small portion of real user browsing activity, such that the small portion is insubstantial enough to mitigate generating at least one of the following: targeted advertisements and other unsolicited advertising to the user. 
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the false browsing activity comprises one or more URLs that a targeted advertising system cannot understand to make it difficult for the targeted advertising system to determine which targeted advertisements to send to the user. 
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the browser request comprises the same header as a real request generated by a browser installed on a client computer. 
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein one or more of the URLs as stored in the white noise database are generated at random from at least one of the following: examination of a DNS server, a supplied list of non-discriminating, non-descript, and non-distinct web sites, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein once the browser request comprising the one or more URLs has been generated, one or more additional links from within a website corresponding to the one or more URLs may be generated to simulate user interest in a web page on the website. 
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein time between communications of browser requests to the server is randomly generated from between a few seconds and several minutes to simulate real user browsing times. 
   
   
       27 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the browser generation component is made aware of a quantity of real browser requests generated by the user and determines how many false browser requests to generate so as to make the real data insignificant compared to the false browser activity generated to facilitate jamming a data collection process for targeted advertising.