Abstract: The invention relates to providing compensation to suppliers of information, particularly in an on-line, web-based environment. In one embodiment, a server computing device is in communication with a storage device, and is configured to interact over a communications system with one or more client computing devices. Each of the client computing devices has associated therewith one or more user profiles, each of the user profiles includes one or more user profile information items from one or more suppliers. The server computing device is configured to execute software that results in compensation to one or more of the suppliers.

Abstract: A receiver is shielded from undesirable electronic messages, sometimes referred to as “spam”, by requiring any sender who wants to send an electronic message to the receiver to first submit to a filter. The filter is specified by the receiver. The receiver-specified filter can be downloaded to the sender's computer and executed on the sender's computer. By execution, the filter elicits information from the sender and uses it without disclosing it to authorize, or not, the sending of electronic messages (such as email) from the sender to the receiver. Another embodiment according to the invention allows a sender to prevent undesirable receivers from viewing the sender-sent electronic messages by requiring any receiver who wants to view an electronic message from an authorized sender to first submit to a filter. One or more third parties can be involved.

Abstract: System and method of discovering and exploiting information such as private or confidential facts from a user, while securing the information from unauthorized publication includes, a sender having a processing module transmitting a request for publication of information about a user; an agent in communication with the sender receiving the request for the information, and a user in communication with the agent responding to prompts initiated by the agent. The prompts request the user to reveal facts relating to the information desired by the sender, and provide indicia relating to authorization for publication of the disclosed facts to the sender. The agent discovers the facts and determines whether such facts are to be made available to the sender.