Abstract: A method and system for collecting the contents of a computer network. There is a single Data Store, one or more Address Dispatchers, and Data Fetchers. A Fetcher requests a network site address from a Dispatcher, collects information from that site, and sends it to the Data Store. A Central Dispatcher retrieves usable addresses from the information stored in the Data Store. Deployed Dispatchers receive addresses from the internal database of a Network Hosting Service Provider (NHSP). A Global Fetcher resides anywhere on the network. A Deployed Fetcher resides on a dedicated resource within an NHSP. A Community Fetcher resides on a private personal computer that has relatively continuous access to the network, collecting only textual information, thereby producing relatively little network traffic. As a consequence, the Community Fetcher can run in the background, leading to the use of multitudes of volunteers, each running a Community Fetcher.

Abstract: A system and method for the user of a computing device, a Peer, to make a portion of its local storage available to others. A Group is composed of two or more Peers with a Group Manager whose allocated storage forms a Group Bank. A Farm is composed of two or more Groups with a Farm Manager whose allocated storage forms a Farm Bank. The Grid has a Grid Manager and is the overall combination of Peers, Groups, and Farms. A file is stored by splitting it into chunks, storing each chunk on a Peer that is a member of the appropriate Bank, and forwarding the file parameters to an Information Service with a File Index. A file is retrieved by requesting the file parameters from the Information Service, retrieving the chunks from the appropriate Peers, and assembling them into a complete file.

Abstract: A system and method for a user to send presence information to authorized contacts in her phone's address book and to receive the presence information of those contacts in her phone's address book that have authorized her. A user can authorize any contact in her address book. Optionally, a user can only authorize a contact and be authorized by a contact if she is in that contact's address book. A local application on the phone interacts with and displays the phone's address book, manages the authorization of contacts, updates the client's presence, and receives and displays the presence of contacts. The local application updates the client's presence manually, semi-automatically, or automatically. Semi-automatic updates involve synchronizing with the phone's calendar. Automatic updates may involve the use of location data, the phone's built-in sensors, and augmented reality.

Abstract: A method for authenticating user access to a restricted resource that presents a login screen with an image separated into sections. To login, the user triggers sections in a preset sequence that is set up at account creation. At account creation, a cryptographic hash function is applied to a chosen sequence of sections to generate the user's account code. Optionally, elements of the image and/or the user name are included. The user invokes the login screen when access to a restricted resource is desired. The user must change login settings if any parameters, such as a particular image, are elements of the account code. The user triggers the sections in the appropriate order. The cryptographic hash function is applied to the section sequence and any optional elements to generate the login code, which is compared to the stored account codes to either grant or deny access to the restricted resource.