TG-1 * Transgallaxys Forum 1

[0018] The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as
read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132. A basic input/output system 133 (BIOS), containing
the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 110, such as during start-up, is
typically stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to
and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 120. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates
operating system 134, application programs 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137.
[0019] The computer 110 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media.
By way of example only, FIG. 2 illustrates a hard disk drive 141 that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile
magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 151 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 152, and an
optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk 156 such as a CD ROM or other
optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the
exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital
versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 141 is typically
connected to the system bus 121 through a non-removable memory interface such as interface 140, and magnetic disk drive
151 and optical disk drive 155 are typically connected to the system bus 121 by a removable memory interface, such as
interface 150.
[0020] The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 2, provide storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 110. In FIG. 2, for
example, hard disk drive 141 is illustrated as storing operating system 144, application programs 145, other program
modules 146, and program data 147. Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system
134, application programs 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137. Operating system 144, application
programs 145, other program modules 146, and program data 147 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a
minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 20 through input devices
such as a keyboard 162 and cursor control device 161, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. A camera
163, such as web camera (webcam), may capture and input pictures of an environment associated with the computer 110,
such as providing pictures of users. The webcam 163 may capture pictures on demand, for example, when instructed by a
user, or may take pictures periodically under the control of the computer 110. Other input devices (not shown) may include a
microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the
processing unit 120 through an input interface 160 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface
and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 191 or other type of display
device is also connected to the system bus 121 via an interface, such as a graphics controller 190. In addition to the monitor,
computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 197 and printer 196, which may be connected
through an output peripheral interface 195.
[0021] The computer 110 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote
computers, such as a remote computer 180. The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a
network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described
above relative to the computer 110, although only a memory storage device 181 has been illustrated in FIG. 2. The logical
connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area network (LAN) 171 and a wide area network (WAN) 173, but may also
include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks,
intranets and the Internet.
[0022] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connected to the LAN 171 through a network
interface or adapter 170. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes a modern 172
or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 173, such as the Internet. The modern 172, which may be
internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the input interface 160, or other appropriate mechanism. In
a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110, or portions thereof, may be stored in the
remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 2 illustrates remote application programs 185
as residing on memory device 181.
[0023] The communications connections 170 172 allow the device to communicate with other devices. The communications
connections 170 172 are an example of communication media. The communication media typically embodies computer
readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or
other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. A "modulated data signal" may be a signal that has
one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,
and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and
wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Computer readable media may include both storage
media and communication media.
[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates representative data that may be present in a targeted advertisement. Advertising data 302 may
include graphics, sound, motion video, text, etc. beyond the advertising data content 302. The targeted advertisement 300
may also include header data 304 for routing and file management, metadata 306 including advertisement classification data
314 and an optional value packet 316. The metadata 306 may include information useful in verifying and reporting
presentation of the advertising content. For example, a URL 308 may specify where presentation reporting data may be sent.
Presentation data start and end 310 may be used by the graphics controller 190 to determine start and end points over which
a digital signature 312 may be verified. The use of the metadata 306 for verification and notification of advertising delivery
is discussed in more detail in parent application Ser. No. 11/092,041. The ad classification data 314 may be used in ad
targeting, particularly when ad targeting is performed locally, using local user data, but may also be part of server-based
targeting.
[0025] The challenge/response indicia 316 may be cryptographically protected against discovery and fraudulent use. In one
embodiment, the cryptographic unit 125 has a key that may be used to decrypt data in the challenge/response indicia 316.
The challenge/response indicia 316 may include a question and a required response or the required response only when the
question is contained in the ad data 302. The challenge may be video, audio, text, graphics, etc. The challenge may be a
question about something that appears in the advertisement. Alternately, the challenge may be a separate piece of data, such
as a "human interactive proof" (HIP) data. HIP data are common in several applications, such as ticket purchase web sites
for limiting automated purchase of tickets. Referring briefly to FIG. 5, one form of HIP indicia is shown. The HIP indicia
500 is designed to limit the ability of text recognition software to discern the stylized word. In this example, the word
"english" 502 is shown with the letters misshapen. An offset grid, non-uniform, pattern 504 is overlaid on the word 502 and
a shaded background pattern 506. By entering the word in an input box, a certain confidence can be gained that a human is
present and responding. Another form of HIP can be a sound file, where the sound file plays a question to be answered.
Alternately, the sound file may be played at the end of an advertisement and may contain a word to be copied into an entry
field. Other HIP indicators, such as digital watermarks, are known and may be used to attest or at least improve confidence
that a human is present.
[0026] The challenge or the ad itself may also include the credit amount for displaying to the user, that is, the value
associated with watching the ad and providing a correct response to the challenge. In an exemplary embodiment, there may
be advertisements, for example, those requiring interaction, or very low value ads, that do not require a human response to
the challenge. That is, the advertisement itself, or the process delivering the advertisement, may present the correct response
data on behalf of the user causing the ad value to be credited.
[0027] The optional value packet 318 may be a provisioning packet that can be released upon a successful response, thereby
crediting a value store (not depicted) immediately without need to contact a host or provisioning service to deliver the
compensation value to the user. The value packet may also be encrypted, wherein the process associated with validating a
correct response triggers an activity that both decrypts the provisioning packet and causes the provisioning packet to be
processed. In one embodiment, the keys for decrypting an encrypted value packet may be stored in the cryptographic unit.
The encryption of the value packet and the key used for decryption may be unit specific, that is, tied to a particular computer.
[0028] FIG. 4, a method 400 of attestation for paid consumption of advertising on a computer is discussed and described. At
block 402, data may be collected for the purpose of targeting advertisements. The data may be used locally for selecting an
advertisement from a database of advertisements, or the data may be sent to a server or ad targeting service for use in
sending selected ads to the computer 110. More about data collection can be found in the priority document. At block 404, a
targeted advertisement 300 may be received at the computer. The targeted advertisement 300 may include, as described
above, a challenge. Depending on the application and the specific embodiment, the challenge may include a HIP indicia to
make the challenge human discernable but not machine readable. It is anticipated that as technology advances, the nature of
HIP indicia will similarly advance. In one embodiment, to limit the electronic distribution of answers to challenges, the
challenge may be keyed to a particular computer using a hardware identifier or cryptographic keys stored in the computer's
secure memory 126. The hardware identifier may be a unique ID, or may only be unique within a particular scheme, for
example, by vendor. In one embodiment, the hardware identifier and an offer identifier, indicative of the contractual
arrangement, may be used to create a scheme-wide unique identifier or even a globally unique identifier. For example, a
correct answer may be concatenated with a hardware identifier and hashed when included in the advertisement. When the
correct answer is provided on the computer 110, the hardware ID may be concatenated and the answer hashed using an
agreed to algorithm. When the hashes match, the value associated with the advertisement may be credited.
[0029] The advertisement may be displayed at block 406. In one embodiment, a selection window may be displayed giving
the user a selection of advertisements from which to pick. To improve effectiveness, a limit may be placed on the number of
ads that are displayed in one session or in a particular period of time, such as per hour or per day. Alternatively, a limit may
be placed on the number of challenges presented to the user. The limit on challenges may include the number of challenges
presented per session or per time period, but may also include an aggregate value, e.g. more low value ads may be
processed with challenges/responses than high value ads. When the computer 110 has met its limit, either quantity or value,
for the given period, ads may be blocked, or, in another embodiment, ads may be displayed but no associated challenges
presented. Additional responses, if presented, may also be ignored, for example, in the event that a user attempts to
counterfeit a challenge, or capture and replay a previous challenge.
[0030] To improve the effectiveness of targeting, face recognition may be used in combination with the challenge/response.
This may significantly increase the value of the ad delivery to the advertiser, since there can be a correlation of a particular
ad targeting profile with the user consuming the advertisement. Displaying the advertisement may include displaying the
challenge, either during the presentation of the advertisement or at the end. To promote the user actually watching the
advertisement, the ad may be presented using the full screen with no other display elements over the ad presentation. The
operating system may prevent other audio or display presentations during the presentation of the advertisement. Similarly, an
audio channel associated with the advertisement may be controlled such that only the advertisement audio is presented while
the ad is playing. In various embodiments, the ad may be visual only or audio only.
[0031] After the presentation of the challenge at block 408, input from the user may be received, including a response to the
challenge at block 410. At block 411, the response may be analyzed for correctness. In one embodiment, the input may be
directed to the cryptographic module 125 or other secure module for processing the response. The response may be
encrypted (or decrypted) using keys associated with that particular paid advertisement or a group of paid advertisements. As
mentioned above, the response may be hashed and compared to a hash of an expected response. In another embodiment, the
challenge may ask the user to click on a particular spot on the screen, for example, by presenting a box at a particular screen
coordinate. The screen coordinate may be generated by the cryptographic unit 125 or may be present in the video portion of
the advertisement. As with the other challenges, the correct response, in this case, a range of screen coordinates
corresponding to the box may be extracted from the advertisement by the cryptographic unit from data 316 associated with
the advertisement. In another embodiment, the response data may be sent separately, for example, as a record or file
associated with a database of advertisements used for locally targeted advertisements. The expected response data may be
sent encrypted and then decrypted and stored in the secure memory 126.
[0032] To further narrow the response to an individual user, the response may be accompanied by a personal identifier, such
as a personal identification number (PIN). Particularly in environments where a computer might be shared and usage credits
are credited to an individual and not a computer, the user may be supplied with a token, such as a smartcard, for use in
attestation. For example, a correct response may be signed by a personal private key that is unlocked using a password,
following the "something you have plus something you know" protocol.
[0033] A secure channel may be created between the input device and the secure module to limit attacks on the response to
the challenge. When processing is not done locally, a secure channel may be established with a remote server, such as
server 30 or a web service and the response to the challenge sent over the secure channel. When the correct response is
supplied, the "Yes" branch of block 411 may be followed to block 412. At block 412, the correct response may be
recognized with a credit to the user's account. A provisioning packet, in one embodiment, attached to the advertisement or
response, may be supplied to the computer's value management process. Alternatively, a request for a provisioning packet of
the correct value may be made by the cryptographic module 125 to a provisioning server, such as server 30. When the
response is processed remotely, a provisioning packet with the value corresponding to viewing the advertisement may be
prepared and sent using the same process as purchased provisioning packets. Provisioning packet generation and processing
is discussed in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/989,122.
[0034] When an incorrect response is supplied, or fails for another reason, the "No" branch from block 411 may be
followed to block 414, where the incorrect response may be analyzed with respect to a policy for incorrect responses. The
policy may specify a number of allowable incorrect answers, either in total or during a period of time, for example, 3
incorrect answers per day or 30 incorrect answers per month. When the allowable number of incorrect answers has been
exceeded, several response are possible, from noting a user's record but taking no action, to a follow up communication with
the user, to disabling or even repossessing the computer 110. The policy may be directed to a single computer and thereby a
single user or subscriber. Alternately, the policy may extend to a group of computers and correspondingly to a common
owner, for example, a business or school. When the limit of incorrect responses is reached as an aggregate of group of
computers, a sanction may be imposed or a higher level of monitoring may be initiated.
[0035] The user's actions following the verified advertising delivery may be monitored. For example, if the user navigates
to the advertiser's web site, additional credit may be added to the value of the ad. Correlation to a purchase following the ad
may increase further the value associated with the consumption of the ad. Whether received in a provisioning packet from a
server or processed locally by the cryptographic module 125, after a correct response, particularly a cryptographically
verified correct response, the value associated with consumption of the advertisement may be credited to an account
maintained in the cryptographic module 125 or other, similar, secure module in the computer, such as a smart chip (not
depicted). In another embodiment, account values may be stored remotely, in which case, the value associated with
consumption of the ad may be credited to the remote account.
[0036] By following a process such as that described above, not only is the user given the opportunity to receive and view
advertisements that may introduce targeted products and services of interest and the user can help obtain usage time or
credits toward subscription prices for use of the pay-per-use or subscription computer. Using cryptographic measures to
secure the challenge and response helps to prevent abuse of the payment-for-viewing process. By providing attested
delivery of the targeted ad, the advertiser has high confidence in the effectiveness of the ad delivery channel. By watching
the ad, the user is given compensation for their viewing time that directly benefits them in the use of his or her computer.
[0037] Although the forgoing text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments of the invention, it
should be understood that the scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent.
The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibly embodiment of the
invention because describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative
embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this
patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention.
[0038] Thus, many modifications and variations may be made in the techniques and structures described and illustrated
herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the
methods and apparatus described herein are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.
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