WO2000077598A1

WO2000077598A1 - Method for directly accessing a communication network site such as internet, provided with access protecting means

Info

Publication number: WO2000077598A1
Application number: PCT/FR1999/001433
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franck Salama
Original assignee: Youpy International Ltd.
Priority date: 1999-06-15
Filing date: 1999-06-15
Publication date: 2000-12-21
Also published as: AU4150299A

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for directly accessing a communication network site such as Internet provided with access protecting means requiring that the user supplies a personal identification, which consists in loading an icon on the user's computer to enable the user, by selecting said icon, to access the site directly. The personal identification generally bears a personal identification name and a password.

Description

Method for directly accessing a site of an Internet-type communication network, provided with access protection means.

The invention relates to a method for directly accessing a site of an Internet-type communication network, provided with access protection means.

The means of access protection generally require the supply of an identifier name and a password concerning a user so that this latter can access the protected site.

The Internet is a global network which is bringing upheaval in the economic, social and cultural fields. The Internet essentially comprises telephone lines, each node of which is a computer, a server, capable of communicating with other computers forming nodes. A web server is a computer with computer programs and searchable documents (text, sound, image), and can be connected by telephone lines to individual users, thereby allowing them to join the Internet. This network allows any user with a computer and a modem to connect to it and to consult a set of information in various and varied fields.

The World-Wide Web (WWW) is the major service of the Internet.

The Web is the service which offers a graphical interface on the Internet allowing by simple pointing to access documents on the network containing as well text, static images, sounds, animated images, as links.

Access to documents is done using a consultation software, also called "browser", which manages the graphical user interface and the links allowing by a simple click with the mouse to access the documents thus designated. Links allow you to transit from one document to another using the hypertext link technique which allows you to click on a set of highlighted words to load a new document on the user's browser. The transition from one document to another can also be done by entering the computer address (URL "Uniform Resource Locator" in English) of the desired document.

There are web servers that only allow viewing of certain documents under certain conditions. When a user fulfills these conditions, he is for example assigned a password. And to access the desired document, by selecting a hypertext link designating this document, a home page invites the user to enter his password and if it is correct, the desired document will then be loaded on the browser. 'user. This way of proceeding, comprising several variants, is for example used by Web servers of commercial companies offering their products on the Internet or even by Web servers offering electronic messaging.

The user regularly placing an order for products by means of a web server of a commercial company has an account within this server, that is to say that information concerning him is stored in this web server. Thus, by having a password, the user can each time he connects to this Web server consult his account and observe, for example, a history of his orders. This technique therefore allows the user with his password to access documents concerning him personally. Anyone else who does not have this password cannot obtain these documents.

A characteristic of the Internet that makes this network commonplace is electronic messaging (e-mail or e-mail in standard language). Electronic messaging allows anyone with an electronic mailbox to send and receive data, mainly in the form of text. An electronic mailbox, by analogy with a mailbox, is in fact a memory space that a user reserves in a server. This memory location is located on the Internet using an e-mail address. There are servers today Web offering to house electronic mailboxes for free. For this, the web server offers a home site from which each user with a username and password can access his mailbox that he would have created before. The user can access the website containing his electronic mailbox from any computer connected to the Internet. However, this access procedure to his electronic box requires a certain number of manipulations and takes a certain significant time. Currently, when a user wants to access his mailbox from a computer, he must perform the following steps:

1. launch a navigation software (the browser);

2. load the home page of the Web server hosting its electronic mailbox by specifying using the keyboard the URL address of this home page;

3. enter your username and password;

4. then finally access his electronic mailbox.

The invention aims to provide a solution to this problem by reducing the time taken to access his electronic box. The invention therefore provides a method for directly accessing a site of an Internet-type communication network provided with access protection means requiring the supply of an identifier by a user. According to the invention, an icon is generated on the user's computer to allow the user, by selecting said icon, to directly access said site.

The simple fact of selecting an icon, which is generally done by double-clicking on the icon, makes it possible to launch an automatic process leading to access to the desired Internet site although access to this site normally requires prior identification of any user. Double clicking on the icon launches a computer program that manages the automatic process.

Advantageously, the icon generation phase includes loading an installation program onto the computer and executing this installation program, resulting in the icon being placed on the computer. user. The user enters a identifying it during the execution of the installation program.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the identifier may include an identifier name and a password. The user only enters his username and password once during the execution of the installation program, and any future connection to said site will be made without re-entering his username. Preferably, we generate the icon on the computer desktop.

By clicking on the icon on his desktop, the user is directly connected to the desired site without having to identify himself by entering his username and password.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the installation program generating the icon is loaded from a server of said communication network. This server can be a server housing the site to which the user wishes to connect.

In an advantageous variant of the invention, the installation program generating the icon is loaded from a computer medium such as a CD-Rom, a floppy disk or any other medium for storing computer data. The invention also provides a computer data storage device in which a computer program is recorded allowing a computer to execute a procedure:

- opening a browser,

- loading a host site allowing access to other sites provided that a specific identifier is entered for a given site,

- sending an identifier stored in said IT device to the host site,

- opening a particular site corresponding to the identifier stored in said computer device. This computer program can be a text file from which a Windows® shortcut is created (a file with an extension noted .URL) containing the Internet address of the desired site with the identifier in encrypted parameters. A Windows® shortcut is a program allowing to execute a set of functions one after the other. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the computer data storage device also comprises a program for loading on the computer an icon making it possible to launch the execution of said computer program.

It is described below, by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, a method for direct access to a site of a communication network of the Internet type provided with access protection means, according to invention. Figure 1 is a schematic view of the computer link between the user and a web server.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the successive steps generated by a double click on an icon according to the invention.

Although the invention is not limited thereto, a description will now be given of the application of the method according to the invention to direct access to a personal electronic mailbox, access to which is protected by a password and a name. 'identifier.

Referring to Figure 1, there is a computer 1 of a user connected to a web server 6 by means of a telecommunications line 5 through the Internet. The computer 1 is composed of a central unit 3 and a display screen 2. The central unit 3 comprises a processor, a hard disk making it possible to store the various programs necessary for the operation of the computer, a modem carrying out communication with the Internet, a floppy drive and / or CD-ROM drive for loading external data onto the hard drive. The hard disk, CD-ROM (or floppy) drive and modem are not shown for the sake of simplicity. The display screen 2 displays an icon 4 allowing access to a site on the Internet according to the invention. The icon 4 possibly consists of a logo representative of the website. An executable program PE making it possible to launch the connection process according to the invention is advantageously loaded into the hard disk of the central unit 1 as well as navigation software N allowing connection to the Internet while offering a graphical interface. Web server 6 has several memory spaces in which are housed several electronic boxes bl, b2 ... bn, intended for several users. The communication between the Web server 6 and the electronic boxes bl-bn is done through computer links L1, L2 ... Ln. These links L1-Ln are protected, that is to say that in order to pass from the Web server 6 to an electronic box bl for example, a server program contained in the server 6 requires the knowledge of an identifier name and of 'a password allowing the Ll connection to be made.

The procedure for installing the PE executable program, for example from a CD-ROM, comprises a first step in which the PE executable program as well as other files (license, uninstall, country list files, ...) are copied to the hard disk. When the files are copied, the PE executable program is automatically launched. For a user having an e-mail address whose corresponding electronic box is housed by the Web server 6, a home page allows him to enter his username and password. Following the entry, the icon 4 is generated on the desktop of the computer 1. For a user who does not have an electronic box housed by the Web server 6, the home page allows him to create his name. by logging in to the Web server 6, choosing a language for correspondence, choosing a country, creating a password and also generating an icon on the desktop.

A user of computer 1, wishing to consult messages on his electronic mailbox bl, selects the icon 4, for example by double clicking with the aid of a mouse (not shown). A few moments later, it connects to the electronic box bl by means of navigation software included in the computer 1 thus allowing the visualization of this electronic box bl on the display screen 2. The entire communication chain integrating the telecommunications line 5, the web server 6 and the link L1, is made invisible. The user no longer needs to enter the address of the Web server 6, his username and password on a keyboard in order to be able to connect to the electronic box bl.

For a second user having the electronic box b2, and a computer, not shown, different from the computer 1, connected to the Web server 6 through the Internet, and not having loaded on his computer an icon according to the invention, access to the electronic box b2, requires launching the browser making it possible to establish the connection with the Internet network, to enter on the computer the electronic address of the Web server 6, to enter then its identifier name and password once connected with the Web server 6, then launch the connection with its electronic box b2.

According to the invention, the user owner of computer 1 wishing to access the personal electronic box bl will therefore launch the program loaded on his hard disk by double-clicking on the icon 4. The successive steps executed by the computer following this double click according to the invention are described in FIG. 2.

During step 7, the user double-clicks on the icon 4 which is in fact a shortcut allowing to launch the executable program PE according to the invention. The PE executable program starts during step 8. The PE executable program can be loaded into the hard disk of computer 1, via the installation procedure, from a CD-ROM, from a floppy disk or directly downloaded from Web server 6 for example. It is during this loading that the icon 4, therefore linked to this executable program PE, is installed on the desktop of computer 1 and displayed on the screen 2.

The executable program PE first controls the starting of the Internet browsing software N during step 9 then the access to the personal electronic box bl on the browsing software N during step 10. In parallel with step 10, the executable program PE, during step 1 1, sends to the web server 6 controlling access to the electronic box bl the identifier name and the password concerning the user of the computer 1 so that the opening of the electronic box bl is effective. For security reasons, the username and password are sent in encrypted form so that they cannot be read by any system without the decryption key. The web server 6, housing the electronic box bl, preferably has the decryption key and allows the electronic box bl to be downloaded to the navigation software N which displays it on the screen 2 during step 12.

The method according to the invention allows a user having a personal computer to quickly consult its electronic box by simply double-clicking on an icon previously loaded on the desktop of said computer.

Claims

1. Method for directly accessing a site (bl) of an Internet-type communication network provided with access protection means requiring the supply of an identifier by a user, in which an icon (4) is generated on the user's computer (1) to allow the user, by selecting said icon (4), to directly access said site.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the icon generation phase comprises loading on the computer of an installation program and execution of this installation program resulting in the establishment the icon (4) on the computer

(1) of the user, and by the fact that the user enters an identifier concerning him during the execution of the installation program.

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identifier comprises an identifier name and a password.

4. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the icon (4) is generated on the computer desktop.

5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the installation program which generates the icon (4) is loaded from a server (6) of said communication network.

6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the installation program generating the icon (4) is loaded from a computer medium such as a CD-Rom, a floppy disk or any other storage medium for computer data.

7. Computerized data storage device in which a computer program is recorded allowing a computer (1) to execute a procedure:

- opening a browser,

- loading on the browser a host site allowing access to sites provided with access protection means requiring the provision of identifier by a user,

- sending to the host site of said identifier previously stored in said computer device, and

- opening one of the sites provided with protection means corresponding to the identifier stored in said computer device.

8. A computer data storage device according to claim 7, characterized in that it also comprises a program for generating on the computer an icon (4) enabling the execution of said computer program.