Abstract: An untrusted component exposing a high level storage object interface within an untrusted client virtual machine accepts application level storage object operations. Responsive to a storage object operation, the untrusted component passes a message through the underlying hypervisor to an associated trusted component. The trusted component processes the message by authenticating the client virtual machine and locating an internal mapping between the client virtual machine and an associated customer-specific set of backend storage resources to which the requested storage object operation is to be applied. The trusted component uses a trust relationship with the backend storage system to securely communicate the storage object operation to the backend storage system, and passes the operation results through the hypervisor back to the untrusted component in the source client virtual machine from which the storage object request originated.

Abstract: A method and system for updating digitally signed active elements without losing attributes associated with an originally signing user. An updating entity determines the identity of an originally signing user from the original digital signature of an active content unit to be updated. Privileges associated with the original active content unit are determined from the original contents of the active content unit, or based on the identity of the originally signing user. The updating entity updates the active content unit with the new software version, and associates the original privileges for the active content unit with the new version of the active content unit. The updating entity stores the identity of the originally creating user in an On Behalf of: field of the updated active content unit. The updated active content unit is digitally signed by the updating entity.

Abstract: A system for preventing on-line violations of open meeting regulations and similar laws, in which one or more special classes of users are defined for an electronic communication system. Special class definitions include the number of group members that make a quorum for each special class. If a user is a special class member, a determination is made as to whether posting or sending a message being composed would violate any legal restrictions associated with that special class such as a serial quorum based on a total number of special class members that would be participants in the communication to which the message would be added, if the message were in fact conveyed. If the number of special class members that would be participants in the communication if the message were conveyed reaches the special class quorum, the message is rejected, and prevented from entry into the communication system.

Abstract: A system that responds to a user setting a follow-up flag on a message within a first communication application by associating the flagged message with another user, such that the flagged message is available to a second communication application. When a user sets a flag on an electronic mail message contained in an electronic mail mailbox provided by an electronic mail application, the system responds by associating the flagged message with another user in a list of other users with whom flagged messages are associated. When a communication session occurs with the other user through another communication application, the system checks the list and determines that a flagged message is associated with the other user. The flagged message is then brought to the attention of the local user, for example within a list of flagged messages associated with the other user displayed simultaneously with the instant messaging session.

Abstract: A system for blending synchronous and asynchronous computer communication applications that determines when a user of a synchronous communication application, such as an instant messaging application, attempts to send a message to another user that is unavailable for synchronous communications, and that forwards the message from the synchronous communication application to an asynchronous communication application for delivery. The forwarded message may be an email message, and the system may operate to determine a destination electronic mail address of the destination user for inclusion in the forwarded message, and include an indication in the forwarded message that it has been forwarded from the synchronous communication application. This indication enables the asynchronous communication application to perform special processing when the receiving user retrieves the forwarded message from the asynchronous communication application.

Abstract: The system includes a first receiver that, when information has been printed on the medium using a printing apparatus, receives, from the printing apparatus, an electronic tag ID of an electronic tag in the printed medium and a plurality of recipient IDs specified by a user, a second receiver that, when the printed medium has been stored in a repository, receives, from the repository, an electronic tag ID of an electronic tag in the stored medium and an ID in association with the repository (hereinafter called the repository ID), and an associating unit that, when the electronic tag ID sent from the printing apparatus agrees with the electronic tag ID sent from the repository, associates a recipient ID corresponding to the repository ID sent from the repository, out of the plurality of recipient IDs sent from the printing apparatus, with the agreed electronic tag ID.

Abstract: A method and apparatus assigns a quantative variable to each object (or set of objects) in a collection available to a user. The quantative variable is referred to as the Interest Priority Value (IPV). The IPV defines a range of states of the object, between ‘accessed’ and ‘unaccessed’, and is calculated based on one or more attributes of the object. A object with the highest IPV is the most ‘unaccessed,’ and the object with the lowest IPV is the least ‘unaccessed.’ The IPV may be used in a visual representation of the collection of objects, thereby permitting a user to readily identify and obtain those objects of greatest interest to the particular user.

Abstract: A system for providing single sign-on (SSO) user names for Web cookies. SSO access to multiple applications is supported in situations where multiple user information directories are deployed, and users may be known by multiple identifiers. Convenient specification is enabled for which of a user's multiple names is to be used in an SSO Web cookie that is passed from application to application to enable SSO operation. The user's SSO Web cookie user name is fully separated conceptually from the user's effective name for any given application within the SSO environment. The SSO Web cookie user name provided by the disclosed system is specified independently from the effective name by which the user is known when operating in the Web application that writes the SSO Web cookie back to the user's computer system. Use of an administratively supplied user name in the SSO Web cookie is facilitated.

Abstract: Unique identifiers referred to as “keys” are generated for objects stored on each node. When a container object including at least one embedded object is transferred from a sending node to a receiving node, the sending node sends the key uniquely identifying the embedded object to the receiving node to determine whether the embedded object is already stored on the receiving node. If the receiving node indicates that the embedded object is already stored at the receiving node, then the sending node determines that the embedded object does not need to be sent to the receiving node. In that case, if the embedded object has not been sent, the sending node does not send the embedded object. If the sending node has already started sending the embedded object, then the sending node terminates sending of the embedded object.

Abstract: A user authentication system is provided that is suitable for detecting and controlling potentially fraudulent login behavior. A pattern recording module is configured to record login attempts and to detect a pattern of login attempt results. An analyzing module is operatively connected to the pattern recording module and is configured to determine whether or not the pattern of login attempt results has an indicator of at least one abnormal pattern range. An action module is operatively connected to the analyzing module and is configured to perform at least one action, including adjusting a threshold value of the abnormal pattern range for a subsequent pattern of login attempt results if the pattern of login attempt results has an indicator of a predetermined abnormal pattern range.

Abstract: Described are mechanisms for verifying configuration information in 2547 BGP VPNs. An originating PE generates a first knowledge digest encoding first configuration information associated with a current set of information advertised for a VRF. The originating PE also generates a second knowledge digest encoding second configuration information associated with cumulative information advertised for the VRF. The originating PE is capable of receiving a message from a user PE, the message including a third knowledge digest encoding third configuration information related to the user VRF. The originating PE is capable of comparing the first knowledge digest to the third knowledge digest and producing a first indication if the third configuration information encoded in the third knowledge digest is not a subset of the first configuration information encoded in the first knowledge digest.

Abstract: A system for auto-sorting of lists based on most frequent component access or partner collaboration. The elements in the lists may represent collaboration partners (e.g. instant messaging contacts), and/or collaboration components such as Web addresses, events, collaborative documents, activity objects, and/or desktop applications. The system monitors component accesses and/or partner collaborations over a configurable time period to determine the frequency of collaborations with specific collaboration partners, and/or the frequency of accesses to collaboration components. The disclosed system then determines a set of collaboration partners and/or components that are most frequently collaborated with and/or accessed, and moves the list elements representing those collaboration partners and/or components into a top-located sub-list within a list of elements representing a larger number of collaboration partners and/or components in a user interface provided to a local user.

Abstract: An automated software process for acquiring and distributing information regarding design guidelines relevant to developers of a software system. The system supports developer decisions regarding design guidelines for operational characteristics, such as “points of variability” (POV), of a system under development. Operational characteristics of the system under development are “profiled” through answers to questions reflecting the high level system design. The collected answers indicate a category of operational characteristics associated with a design guideline. A developer obtains the design guidelines appropriate for a given operational characteristic when the answers entered by the developer with regard to that operational characteristic are used to determine one of the elements in the category array. Technical leadership establishes a high-level system design, and determines questions leading to design guidelines for categories of operational characteristics of the system.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method, system and program for displaying and/or hiding, in an electronic multi-dimensional spreadsheet on a user interface, elements of a range of cells, a range of cells having one or more contiguous elements aligned along a given spreadsheet dimension, an element of a range of cells having one or more cells along one or a plurality of spreadsheet dimensions.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method, system and program for displaying and/or hiding, in an electronic multi-dimensional spreadsheet on a user interface, elements of a range of cells, a range of cells having one or more contiguous elements aligned along a given spreadsheet dimension, an element of a range of cells having one or more cells along one or a plurality of spreadsheet dimensions.

Abstract: A system for social bookmarking of a resource provided through a Web application that doesn't follow the representational state transfer architectural style (REST). When processing a request for a social bookmarking operation, the system searches for a URL and potentially other resource information within the document object model of a currently loaded Web page. If such resource information is found, it is used to process the requested social bookmarking operation. Otherwise, if such resource information is not found in the document object model, the system uses the URL stored in the location bar of the Web browser to process the requested social bookmarking operation. The system includes semantic information in the DOM of a Web page that is used to identify subsets of content within the Web page that can be socially bookmarked. The semantic information may be stored in what is generally referred to as “microformatting”.

Abstract: A system for clearing content displayed in the live session display area of an instant messaging system. The system enables a session participant to clear the content currently visible to each other participant in the session, either immediately, or in response to a criteria such as elapsed time or elapsed time since active in the session. The content that is cleared from the live session display area is not permanently lost, but is only temporarily hidden from the live session display area. The system further enables a local participant to recall such temporarily hidden content back into the live session display area.

Abstract: A system for providing a local computer user with detailed activity information regarding remote users, in order to assist the local user in determining whether to initiate a communication session with a remote user. The system provides activity information describing the number of instant messaging sessions one or more remote users are currently involved in, the identities of participants in those sessions, activity levels, time period information, and other information. The system further provides detailed activity information describing recent instant messaging sessions of one or more remote users.

Abstract: An instant messaging system generates an instant messaging application user interface display object enabling the user to select one or more buddies, or a predefined group from their buddy list, and then to select a file to share with the selected buddies or group. The instant messaging system then controls sharing of the file within the selected buddies or group, by allowing only one of the sharing users to check out and modify the shared document at a given time. The instant messaging system user interface displayed to each user also displays the list of files that are shared with that user. The instant messaging system user interface further provides a current status for each shared file, including an indication of one of the sharing users that currently has the shared file checked out.

Abstract: A system, device, and method for distributing link state information in a communication network combines a link state routing protocol with a sliding window mechanism in order to efficiently distribute link state information. The sliding window mechanism permits a predetermined number of unacknowledged link state advertisement protocol messages to be outstanding at any given time. Unacknowledged link state advertisement protocol messages are retransmitted after a predetermined timeout period.