Google Inc.

America Online, Inc.

Aol Inc.

Aol Llc, a Delaware Limited Liability Company

Marathon Solutions, LLC

Robert B Lord

Terry N Hayes

Justin Russell Uberti

James Anthony Roskind

James A Odell

Jeff Hooker

Justin Ubertin

A secure instant messaging (IM) system integrates secure instant messaging into existing instant messaging systems. A certificate authority (CA) issues security certificates to users binding the user's IM screen name to a public key, used by sending users to encrypt messages and files for the user. The CA uses a subscriber database to keep track of valid users and associated information, e.g. user screen names, user subscription expiration dates, and enrollment agent information. A user sends his certificate to an instant messaging server which publishes the user's certificate to other users. Users encrypt instant messages and files using an encryption algorithm and the recipient's certificate. A sending user can sign instant messages using his private signing key. The security status of received messages is displayed to recipients.

Secure instant messaging system

A secure instant messaging system integrates secure text instant messaging and secure file transfers into existing instant messaging systems. At least one certificate authority (CA) is provided that issues a security certificate to a user that binds the user's instant messaging screen name to a public key which is used by other users to encrypt messages and files sent to the user and by the user to decrypt the received messages and files. A subscriber database is used by the CA to keep track of valid users and their associated information, such as: user screen names, user subscription expiration dates, and enrollment agent information. A user sends his certificate to the invention's instant messaging server which publishes the user's certificate to other users by creating a hash value of the user's certificate and sending it to the other users which allows the recipients to decide if they need to update their caches with a new copy of the user's certificate. Instant messages and files are encrypted by a sending user using an encryption algorithm and the recipient's certificate. The sending user can sign instant messages using his private signing key. The security status of each received instant message is displayed to the user.

Digitally signed and encrypted synchronous online messages are conducted between prescribed online messaging service subscribers.

Method and apparatus for secure instant messaging utilizing server-supervised publication

The invention generates a temporary digital certificate with a useful life of only a few minutes to a few hours. An expiration time is attached to such temporary digital certificate by a secure computer platform that is presented with a user's smart-card. Expiration dates one or two years after the issuance of the smart-card are conventional. A digital certificate issued by a central authority is carried within the smart card and is used by the secure computer platform to generate temporary digital certificate. The temporary digital certificate functions as a proxy digital certificate that will allow the user to immediately pocket the smart card and thus avoid the possibility of forgetting it in a card reader.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Robert B Lord