Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates filtering outbound content via inference detection. During operation, the system identifies content sent to a first address and extracts keywords from the identified content. The system then issues queries based on these keywords and extracts expected-content keywords from the hits returned in response to the queries. The system then searches the outbound content for occurrences of the expected-content keywords and produces a result which allows a user to determine whether the outbound content is proper. In a further embodiment, the system extracts keywords from a piece of outbound content, and issues queries based on these keywords. The system then extracts keywords from the hits, and present at least one keyword to a user, thereby allowing the user to determine whether the outbound content is proper.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for automatically authenticating a user. During operation, the system receives a user's request for authentication. The system then extracts information associated with the user from user-specific information stored in an enterprise computer. The extracted user information does not explicitly relate to a password. The system further generates one or more challenges based on the extracted user information, and receives the user's response to the challenges. Subsequently, the system compares the user's response to the extracted user information, and authenticates the user.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for authenticating a user. During operation, the system records user behavior history at one or more devices associated with the user. The system then extracts user information associated with a place and/or an activity from the recorded user behavior history. The system further generates one or more challenges based on the extracted user information, thereby facilitating the verification of the user's identity.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a computer system for detecting associations between a reviewer and an entity under review. During operation, the system estimates a relationship strength between the reviewer and the entity under review, and determines whether the relationship strength between the reviewer and the entity under review exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A targeted advertising system performs context-based association mining using a publicly available corpus to identify a product or brand name that, under a given context, is associated with a product or brand being marketed. The system analyzes documents within the publicly available corpus that are associated with the given context, and identifies products or brand names that have a high association to the product or brand being marketed. The system can also analyze the publicly available corpus to determine contextual information which is correlated to two or more products or brand names. This contextual information includes a set of terms that facilitates filtering the publicly available corpus into an optimal set of documents that has a high association to a desired market category or demographic.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a system for transferring a file from a portable device to a scanning device. During operation, the system displays an optical code associated with the file on the portable device. Next, the system detects successful scanning of the current optical code by the scanning device. Subsequently, the system displays a next optical code associated with the file on the portable device, thereby allowing the scanning device to decode the file after a sequence of optical codes are scanned.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a system that detects sensitive passages. During operation, the system receives a document and disassembles the document into a plurality of passages. For a respective passage, the system performs a search through a non-sensitive-passage database to determine whether the passage is a known non-sensitive passage. If so, the system marks the passage as non-sensitive, and if not, the system determines whether the passage triggers a cut-and-paste attack detection. If so, the system forwards the passage to an administrator and allows the administrator to determine whether the passage is non-sensitive and, further, to add the passage to the non-sensitive-passage database responsive to the administrator determining the passage to be non-sensitive.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for implicitly authenticating a user to access controlled resources. The system receives a request to access the controlled resources. The system then determines a user behavior score based on a user behavior model, and recent contextual data about the user. The user behavior score facilitates identifying a level of consistency between one or more recent user events and a past user behavior pattern. The recent contextual data, which comprise a plurality of data streams, are collected from one or more user devices without prompting the user to perform an action explicitly associated with authentication. The plurality of data streams provide basis for determining the user behavior score, but a data stream alone provides insufficient basis for the determination of the user behavior score. The system also provides the user behavior score to an access controller of the controlled resource.

Abstract: A system for displaying a set of selectable CAPTCHAs produces a first set of CAPTCHAs whose images are based at least partially on an alphanumeric sequence, where a respective CAPTCHA in the first set is associated with a CAPTCHA property. The system also produces a second set of CAPTCHAs whose images are based at least partially on an alphanumeric sequence, where a respective CAPTCHA in the second set is not associated with a CAPTCHA property. Next, the system displays the first and second sets of CAPTCHAs. Finally, the system makes respective CAPTCHAs in the first and second sets of CAPTCHAs selectable, thereby allowing a user to pass a CAPTCHA challenge by distinguishing the first set of CAPTCHAs from the second set of CAPTCHAs without typing the words associated with the images.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that detects sensitive content in a document. In doing so, the system receives a document, identifies a set of terms in the document that are candidate sensitive terms, and generates a combination of terms based on the identified terms that is associated with a semantic meaning. Next, the system performs searches through a corpus based on the combination of terms and determines hit counts returned for each term in the combination and for the combination. The system then determines whether the combination of terms is sensitive based on the hit count for the combination and the hit counts for the individual terms in the combination, and generates a result that indicates portions of the document which contain sensitive combinations.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a system for transferring a file from a portable device to a scanning device. During operation, the system displays an optical code associated with the file on the portable device. Next, the system detects successful scanning of the current optical code by the scanning device. Subsequently, the system displays a next optical code associated with the file on the portable device, thereby allowing the scanning device to decode the file after a sequence of optical codes are scanned.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for protecting privacy by generating artificial contextual data. The system collects real contextual data related to a user. The system then generates artificial contextual data, based on the collected real contextual data. The system also groups the generated contextual data into one or more groups. Each group of contextual data corresponds to a persona that can be presented as the user's persona. Subsequently, the system transmits the generated contextual data to an entity, thereby allowing the user to obscure the real contextual data related to the user.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a system that verifies a user's identity. The system generates a list including a plurality of items and formulates a substantially large set of security questions base on the plurality of items. The number of questions in the set is significantly larger than a subset of security questions presented to the user to reduce the likelihood of the same questions being asked repeatedly. During account creation, the system presents to the user the subset of questions, and receives and stores a response from the user. At least one question in the subset is selected based on user information that is automatically extracted from devices associated with the user. Subsequently, the system receives a request to reset the user's password and presents the subset of questions to the requester. The system determines whether the requester is the user by comparing the requester's response with the stored user response.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for adjusting security status on a mobile device, the method comprising: collecting security-related contextual information which includes information of nearby mobile devices and/or the geographic location of the intelligent mobile device; evaluating a threat level based on the collected security-related contextual information; invoking a security policy; and adjusting the security status of the mobile device based on the threat level and the security policy.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a system that facilitates use of a computer system. During operation, the system obtains notification of a risk associated with a user action on the computer system. Next, the system generates an alert within a user interface based at least on a severity of the risk. The alert may include a set of user-interface elements representing an effect of the user action. The system then receives a response to the alert from a user of the computer system. The response may include a dragging of a first of the user-interface elements in one or more directions to a second of the user-interface elements. Finally, the system processes the user action based at least on the response.

Abstract: A targeted advertising system performs context-based association mining using a publicly available corpus to identify a product or brand name that, under a given context, is associated with a product or brand being marketed. The system analyzes documents within the publicly available corpus that are associated with the given context, and identifies products or brand names that have a high association to the product or brand being marketed. The system can also analyze the publicly available corpus to determine contextual information which is correlated to two or more products or brand names. This contextual information includes a set of terms that facilitates filtering the publicly available corpus into an optimal set of documents that has a high association to a desired market category or demographic.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for protecting privacy by generating artificial contextual data. The system collects real contextual data related to a user. The system then generates artificial contextual data, based on the collected real contextual data. The system also groups the generated contextual data into one or more groups. Each group of contextual data corresponds to a persona that can be presented as the user's persona. Subsequently, the system transmits the generated contextual data to an entity, thereby allowing the user to obscure the real contextual data related to the user.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a system that detects sensitive passages. During operation, the system receives a document and disassembles the document into a plurality of passages. For a respective passage, the system performs a search through a non-sensitive-passage database to determine whether the passage is a known non-sensitive passage. If so, the system marks the passage as non-sensitive, and if not, the system determines whether the passage triggers a cut-and-paste attack detection. If so, the system forwards the passage to an administrator and allows the administrator to determine whether the passage is non-sensitive and, further, to add the passage to the non-sensitive-passage database responsive to the administrator determining the passage to be non-sensitive.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for inferring a user's activity. During operation, the system collects contextual information recorded by a plurality of components located on a mobile device associated with the user. The system then extracts the user's behavior pattern based on the collected contextual information, and determines whether the user is engaged in an employment-related activity.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for implicitly authenticating a user to access controlled resources. The system receives a request to access the controlled resources. The system then determines a user behavior score based on a user behavior model, and recent contextual data about the user. The user behavior score facilitates identifying a level of consistency between one or more recent user events and a past user behavior pattern. The recent contextual data, which comprise a plurality of data streams, are collected from one or more user devices without prompting the user to perform an action explicitly associated with authentication. The plurality of data streams provide basis for determining the user behavior score, but a data stream alone provides insufficient basis for the determination of the user behavior score. The system also provides the user behavior score to an access controller of the controlled resource.