Max Planck Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20150089219 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ENFORCING THIRD PARTY OVERSIGHT OF DATA ANONYMIZATION - A modifiable server is utilized to reliably seal and unseal data according to a measurement of the server, by structuring the server to have a modifiable sandbox component for sealing, unsealing the data, and a non-modifiable checker component for enabling or disabling said sandbox component. The checker component determines whether the sandbox component complies with pre-determined standards. If the sandbox component is compliant, the checker component enables the sandbox component to seal and unseal the data using a measurement of the checker component. Otherwise, the checker component disables the sandbox component. | 03-26-2015 |
20130080767 | PROFILING USERS IN A PRIVATE ONLINE SYSTEM - Multiple private advertising systems independently profile users while protecting user privacy and enabling content publishers to limit advertiser access to their content and user information. A client computer supports private profiling modules, each of which is associated with a different advertising network and is adapted to create a user profile based on the content accessed by the user. Content publishers specify profiling restrictions to limit access by private profiling modules to profiling information associated with their content. The profiling restrictions and profiling information may be included in the content or communicated separately to the client computer. Profiling restrictions and profiling information may be expressed in a markup language. Each private profiling module selects information items of interest to the user based on the user profile that it creates. Communications between private profiling modules and associated advertising networks are encrypted and communicated via proxy to protect the privacy of the user. | 03-28-2013 |
20130080330 | CONDUCTING AUCTIONS IN PRIVATE ONLINE ADVERTISING SYSTEMS - An auction module and one or more private bidding modules operate within a client system to select information items for presentation to users. Upon receiving content with space or opportunities for presenting information items to users, the auction module initiates an auction between the private bidding modules. Each private bidding module may use a user profile, information item attributes, and content attributes to select one or more previously stored information items for possible presentation to the user. The private bidding modules submit bids to the auction module for the selected information items. The auction module determines a winning bid and may provide the corresponding information item for presentation within the content. Users' privacy is protected because the auction module and private bidding modules operate autonomously in the client system in conducting auctions, selecting information items for possible presentation, and submitting bids, so that outside entities never access private user information. | 03-28-2013 |
20120110338 | Protecting the Integrity and Privacy of Data with Storage Leases - Storage leases specify access restrictions and time periods, restricting access to their associated data during the storage lease time period. Storage leases may be assigned to individual data storage blocks or groups of data storage blocks in a data storage device. A data storage device may include any arbitrary number of different storage leases assigned to different portions of its data storage blocks. Storage lease-enabled devices may provide security certificates to verify that data access operations have been performed as requested and that their storage leases are being enforced. Storage lease-enabled devices compare storage lease information for data units with the current time using a clock isolated from access by storage clients or time certificates from one or more trusted time servers. Storage leases may be used in combination with backup applications, file systems, database systems, peer-to-peer data storage, and cloud storage systems. | 05-03-2012 |
20110252226 | PRESERVING USER PRIVACY IN RESPONSE TO USER INTERACTIONS - User privacy is preserved in response to user interactions with information items, such as advertisements, by controlling the behavior of a user's computer. Information items are associated with item response specifiers. Item response specifiers control the behaviors of the user's computer in response to user interactions with information items. Item response specifiers may be communicated to the user's computer with the associated information items or be retrieved separately by the user's computer from an information item broker or trusted third party. Item response specifiers may be cryptographically signed to ensure their integrity. Following a user interaction with an information item, the user's computer refers to the item response specifier to determine an appropriate privacy-preserving post-interaction behavior. Examples of privacy-preserving behavior include a silent privacy-preserving behavior, a proxied interaction privacy-preserving behavior, a partial proxied interaction privacy-preserving behavior, a delayed handoff privacy-preserving behavior, and a direct to provider privacy-preserving behavior. | 10-13-2011 |
20110055552 | PRIVATE, ACCOUNTABLE, AND PERSONALIZED INFORMATION DELIVERY IN A NETWORKED SYSTEM - A client receives a notification of a user interaction with an information item and creates a record describing this interaction. The client encrypts the record using an encryption key associated with a server. The encrypted record is then communicated to at least one proxy, which in turn forwards the encrypted record to a server. Upon receiving the encrypted record from the proxy, a server decrypts the record using a decryption key and analyzes the decrypted record to identify the information item and the type of user interaction. This information may be used individually or in aggregate for tracking user interests, billing advertisers or information item providers, and/or collecting anonymous information from users. | 03-03-2011 |