JP3768374B2 - Internet information service system that provides information on multiple related sites - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an Internet information service system that provides an information providing service to a user by linking a plurality of related sites that provide information related to each other.
[0002]
In particular, the present invention relates to an Internet information service that strengthens the relationship between related sites in the same group and prevents interrupted access to a single related site.
[0003]
[Prior art]
Opening a Web page on the Internet and providing various information providing services to users who have accessed it is widely performed. An information providing service in which access to a Web page is charged when the information to be provided is valuable and only registered users can access it has been widely seen.
[0004]
More recently, the information provided on the Internet has become more complex and sophisticated, so instead of providing information through a single site, the information providing service is outsourced and the Internet information service system provides related information through multiple related sites. Can now be seen.
[0005]
An Internet information service system having a plurality of related sites usually has a Web page that is first accessed by a user (the site having this Web page is referred to as a main site in this specification), and other Web pages are accessed from the Web page. It is connected to a related site (this related site is referred to as a sub site in this specification).
[0006]
The web page of the main site is provided with a button and a frame URL for accessing the web page of the secondary site. By clicking these buttons and the frame URL, an address embedded in the button or the frame URL ( URL) is accessed.
[0007]
In this case, from the user side, it seems that the main site is connected to the secondary site, but from the accessed secondary site side, it is not the case that it is connected via the main site (the main site and (If connected regardless).
[0008]
Therefore, when a paid information providing service is also performed on the secondary site, it is necessary to perform new user authentication in order to confirm that the user is a legitimate user.
[0009]
For this reason, the conventional paid Internet information providing service authenticates whether or not the user is an authorized user when accessing the first Web page, and allows access to a free pass when connecting to a secondary site or User authentication is performed by prompting the user to enter a password.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the future, the need for information providing services over the Internet will increase, and the information (contents) provided will be expected to become increasingly complex and sophisticated.
[0011]
Since there is a limit to the information that can be provided at a single site, there is an increasing need for a paid Internet information providing service by linking multiple sites.
[0012]
However, if the user authentication is performed every time the user accesses the secondary site as in the above-described conventional Internet information service by linking multiple sites, the unity between the related sites is lost, which is not preferable. . In addition, the user is inconvenienced because he / she is required to input a password or the like every time the site is changed.
[0013]
On the other hand, if you do not perform user authentication at the secondary site, once you have accessed the secondary site, the URL of the secondary site will be leaked. It becomes impossible to prevent browsing.
[0014]
Therefore, one problem to be solved by the present invention is that if a user is permitted to access once at the main site, access to the related site is allowed freely, while direct access to the related site without going through the main site. The object is to provide an “Internet information service system that provides information at a plurality of related sites”.
[0015]
Another problem in the “Internet information service system that provides information at a plurality of related sites” is billing.
[0016]
In the conventional technology, not only when the secondary site grants free access, but also when the user authenticates each time at the secondary site, when the secondary site is accessed directly, the primary site cannot grasp it. It was.
[0017]
Therefore, it is conceivable that the secondary site obtains a user from the main site, charges the user who accesses the site independently thereafter, and increases profits.
[0018]
This makes the information provider on the main site hesitant to outsource the information provision service to the related site. As a whole, the outsourcing of the information provision service is suppressed, and the development of the information provision service by multiple related sites is promoted. Was supposed to inhibit.
[0019]
Further, in the conventional Internet information service system using a plurality of related sites, it is not possible to set a different charging rate for each related site and charge according to the related site accessed by the user.
[0020]
When trying to provide information by linking a plurality of related sites, the situation is that all related sites do not always provide content of the same value. In that case, it is fair to truly charge at an individual rate in accordance with the value of the information to be provided, which leads to an incentive for the information provider and to provide higher value content.
[0021]
Thus, when providing information at a plurality of related sites, a system that prevents unauthorized user access and is fair to both the main site and the sub site is required.
[0022]
Therefore, another problem to be solved by the present invention is to understand the access to the sub-site and perform charging at individual charging rates according to the type and time of the sub-site accessed by the user. Internet information service system that provides information on related sites.
[0023]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An Internet information system according to claim 1 of the present application is:
A main site that has a Web page that the user first accesses and provides an information providing service to the user via the Internet, and an information providing service linked to the Web page of the main site and related to the information providing service of the main site An Internet information service system that provides paid information on a plurality of related sites consisting of sub-sites to perform,
The main site comprises user authentication means and data that changes with date or time or with date and time. Predetermined on both the primary and secondary sites The original data Every predetermined period Main site URL changing means for incorporating data generated by a predetermined algorithm into a part of the URL of the subsite stored in the main site,
The secondary site is The original data is input in the same period as the period of the main site URL changing means. It has a sub-site URL changing means for rewriting its own URL with data generated by the same algorithm as the above algorithm.
[0027]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of an “Internet information service system that provides information at a plurality of related sites” according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0028]
FIG. 1 simply shows the configuration of an Internet information service system that provides information at a plurality of related sites.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 1, the Internet information service system 1 includes a main site 2, a sub site 3, a user computer 4, and the Internet 5 interposed therebetween.
[0030]
In FIG. 1, only one subsite 3 and one user computer 4 are shown for simplicity, but there are actually many of them. There is usually one main site 2.
[0031]
Further, in the present specification, “site” is a generic term for an information processing apparatus such as a server that provides an information providing service and a group of Web pages posted on the Internet.
[0032]
The main site 2 and the sub site 3 provide information providing services in fields related to each other. The main site 2 and the sub site 3 are collectively referred to as “related sites” in this specification.
[0033]
In such an Internet information service system 1, a user (user computer 4) first accesses the main site 2.
[0034]
When there is a secondary site 3 that provides more detailed information about specific related information, the primary site 2 is linked to the secondary site 3 by a button or a frame provided on the Web page.
[0035]
When the user browses the main site 2 and wants to access the sub site 3 that provides more detailed information, the user can immediately access the target sub site 3 by clicking the button or the frame URL.
[0036]
As described above, when accessing the web page of another site from the web page of the main site 2, web pages of different sites are displayed seamlessly on the user's computer 4, but once on the Internet 5. A new URL site is accessed (access (1), (2) in FIG. 1).
[0037]
“URL” is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator, which indicates the location of a resource on the Internet, that is, the location of a target file.
[0038]
The URL is described, for example, as http://www.aaa.co.jp:80/bbbxxx.html, and the scheme name (http): // server name (aaa.co.jp): port number (80 ) / Path name (bbbxxx.html). The path name (bbbxxx.html) indicates a target document in the server.
[0039]
The URL is embedded in the link button, and the operation of clicking the link button is an operation of accessing the URL site.
[0040]
The main site 2 of the present embodiment has an unchanging fixed URL.
[0041]
On the other hand, the secondary site 3 has a variable URL for every predetermined period.
[0042]
Here, a configuration for changing the URL will be described.
[0043]
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the main site 2 and the sub site 3.
[0044]
The main site 2 includes an authentication unit 6, a main site URL changing unit 7, and a sub site URL database 8.
[0045]
The secondary site 3 has secondary site URL changing means 9. The main site 2 and the sub site 3 have the same URL changing algorithm 10 and its original data 11.
[0046]
The main site URL changing unit 7 is a unit for incorporating data generated by a predetermined algorithm (URL changing algorithm 10) every predetermined period into a part of the URL of each sub site. The original data 11 is original data used by the URL change algorithm 10.
[0047]
The URL changing algorithm 10 may be an arbitrary algorithm, but is preferably a function that can obtain the same result from a plurality of original data, such as a digest function.
[0048]
The original data 11 is, for example, date and time, or data changed with the date and time. The original data 11 is determined in advance at both the main site 2 and the sub site 3.
[0049]
The main site URL changing means 7 uses the original data 11 at regular intervals to generate predetermined data from the URL changing algorithm 10 and uses this as part of the URL path name (bbbxxx.html) of each sub site. To change their URLs.
[0050]
The changed URL of the secondary site is reflected in the link destination of the Web page of the main site 2.
[0051]
The subsite URL database 8 is a database that stores and manages the URLs of the subsites. However, the subsite URL database 8 may have a simple file format, or may be omitted if the URLs of the subsites are simply rewritten.
[0052]
The secondary site URL changing means 9 is means for rewriting its own URL by the same URL changing algorithm 10 and the original data 11 as those of the main site 2.
[0053]
With the above configuration, the main site 2 and the sub site 3 perform the following processing.
[0054]
The user first accesses the Web page of the main site 2 having an unchanging URL.
[0055]
The authentication means 6 of the main site 2 authenticates whether or not the user is an authorized user. User authentication can be performed by inputting a password or the like.
[0056]
When the user tries to connect to the predetermined sub site 3 from the main site 2, the user clicks the link button on the Web page of the main site 2, but the URL embedded in the link button is updated at regular intervals. The URL is changed.
[0057]
On the other hand, on the secondary site 3 side, the same URL that is changed at regular intervals corresponding to the main site 2 is used.
[0058]
With such a configuration, if the link is from the main site 2, the user can access the sub site 3 without any problem, but directly accesses the sub site 3 by the URL accessed before without passing through the main site 2. Attempts to access the target secondary site 3 are not possible.
[0059]
Further, since the original data 11 is obtained in a multiple manner from the URL of the previously accessed secondary site 3 by the function of the digest function, the URL of the secondary site 3 cannot be obtained without knowing the original data 11.
[0060]
Thereby, for the main site 2, it is possible to prevent the user from browsing the related sites for free. If the user's identification information is not passed to the secondary site 3 when the connection is changed from the primary site 2 to the secondary site 3, the information providing service is uniquely provided after the secondary site 3 once acquires a customer from the primary site 2. Can also be prevented.
[0061]
In addition, since the sub-site 3 is guaranteed that the user accessing through the main site 2 is an authenticated user by the authentication means 6 of the main site 2, an unauthorized user is not authenticated again. Can prevent access.
[0062]
Furthermore, from the user's point of view, it is possible to avoid the trouble of being prompted to enter a password every time a related site is accessed.
[0063]
Next, the modification of the said embodiment is shown.
[0064]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the main site 2 and the sub site 3 according to this modification.
[0065]
In this modification, the main site 2 has the URL changing means 12, and the sub site 3 is different from the main site 2 and the sub site 3 of FIG. 2 in that it does not have the URL changing algorithm 10 and the original data 11. Other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG.
[0066]
In this modification, instead of the secondary site 3 changing its own URL synchronously with the main site 2, the URL of each secondary site 3 is changed on the main site 2 side, and the changed URL is changed by the URL changing means 12. Notify the secondary site 3.
[0067]
In the secondary site 3, the secondary site URL changing means 9 rewrites its own URL according to the notified URL.
[0068]
According to this modification, the main site 2 unambiguously changes the URL of the secondary site 3, and if the notification is surely made, the URL mismatch between the main site 2 and the secondary site 3 can be prevented.
[0069]
Further, according to this modification, the URL of the secondary site 3 can be changed irregularly on the main site 2 side, and a more flexible and robust system against unauthorized access can be constructed.
[0070]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
[0071]
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of this embodiment.
[0072]
As shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment is the same as FIG. 1 in terms of a physical configuration. However, in the present embodiment, when connecting from the main site 22 to the secondary site 23 or when reconnecting from the secondary site 23 to the main site 22, the linkage information is delivered.
[0073]
The linkage information is information for confirming that the user has been transferred from the group of the same Internet information service system 21 when the connection is changed from one site to another related site.
[0074]
The linkage information includes user identification information, session information, and link source site information. When the user changes the connection from one site to the related site, the link source site adds the identification information of its own site to the end of the link information so far and transmits it to the related site as link information. As a result, the site receiving the link information must be accessed by a legitimate user from the user authentication (included in the session information) of the site attached to the site and the site through which the user has passed. Can be confirmed.
[0075]
The session information included in the linkage information is information for identifying a series of processes of the logged-on user, and a series of processes from logging on to the Internet information service system 21 until logging off from the related site group of the system. It is the identification information which identifies.
[0076]
Session information is given different session information each time the user logs on.
[0077]
Next, the internal configuration of each site of this embodiment and the flow of the processing will be described below.
[0078]
FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the main site 22, the sub site 23, and the user computer 24 in the Internet information service system 21 of the present embodiment, and the processing flow thereof.
[0079]
As shown in FIG. 5, the main site 22 includes user authentication means 25, main site linkage information adding means 26, main site linkage information processing means 27, a session information database 28, and a billing rate database 29. Yes.
[0080]
The user authentication means 25 is means for performing user authentication for the user who first accessed the main site 22.
[0081]
The session information database 28 is a database that stores and manages session information.
[0082]
The main site link information adding unit 26 includes link information including user identification information, session information, and link source site information (identification information of the site 22) when the user changes the connection from the main site 22 to the sub site 23. Is generated, encrypted, sent to the user computer 24, and a link information file 35 linked to the browser 34 is formed on the user computer 24.
[0083]
The main site linkage information processing means 27 is a means for decrypting the linkage information when a re-access is made by a user and permitting the re-access of the user by referring to the session information database 28.
[0084]
The billing rate database 29 is a database that stores and manages individual billing rates for each sub-site 23. When the charging rate is managed by a separately prepared table or the like, the charging rate database 29 can be omitted.
[0085]
The secondary site 23 includes a secondary site linkage information adding unit 30, a secondary site linkage information processing unit 31, a content 32, and a related site database 33.
[0086]
The secondary site linkage information processing means 31 is a means for decrypting the linkage information and permitting access when accessed by the user.
[0087]
The secondary site link information adding means 30 adds link source site information (identification information of the secondary site 23) to the link information so far when the user tries to access another related site (in this case, the main site 22). It is means to do.
[0088]
The related site database 33 is a database that stores and manages identification information of related sites included in the same Internet information service system 21.
[0089]
Since the related site database 33 is particularly strictly provided in order to eliminate access by a user who accesses an external site during the session, it can be omitted depending on the degree of security.
[0090]
The user computer 24 has a browser 34 for browsing content and a linkage information file 35.
[0091]
The link information file 35 is a file that records link information that is generated by the main site link information adding unit 26 and the sub site link information adding unit 30 and transmitted in conjunction with the browser 34.
[0092]
Based on the above configuration, the processing flow of the Internet information service system 21 will be described (see FIG. 5).
[0093]
The user first accesses the main site 22.
[0094]
The user authentication means 25 of the main site 22 makes the user input a password or the like, and determines whether or not the user is a legitimate user.
[0095]
Session information is generated and written to the session information database 28 only when the user authentication means 25 determines that the user is an authorized user.
[0096]
The session information preferably includes the time when the user logged on.
[0097]
When the user tries to change the connection from the main site 22 to the predetermined sub site 23, the main site linkage information adding means 26 detects the click of the link button by the user. The main site link information adding unit 26 generates link information, encrypts the link information, transmits it to the user computer 24, and generates a link information file 35 linked to the browser 34 on the user computer 24 (in FIG. 5). Arrow (a)).
[0098]
As described above, the linkage information includes user identification information, session information, and identification information of the main site 22.
[0099]
When the user computer 24 newly tries to connect to the linked secondary site 23, the link information is transmitted to the secondary site 23 together with an access request to the secondary site 23 (arrow (b) in FIG. 5).
[0100]
In the secondary site 23, when the secondary site link information processing means 31 decrypts the link information, the link information includes the correct session information, and all the site identification information passed through is only the regular related site identification information. Only allow access.
[0101]
The correctness of the session information is checked based on specific data indicating the correct user and the time included in the session information.
[0102]
Access of a user who has passed too long since the initial user authentication time is determined to be unauthorized access and eliminated.
[0103]
A user who is permitted access by the secondary site linkage information processing means 31 browses the content 32 and then connects to the main site 22 when he / she wants to connect to another secondary site and when he / she wants to end the session. Be changed.
[0104]
When a connection change to the main site 22 is requested, the secondary site linkage information adding means 30 detects the request and adds its own identification information (identification information of the secondary site 23) to the linkage information so far. The encrypted information is transmitted to the user computer 24, and the linkage information file 35 on the user computer 24 is rewritten (arrow (c) in FIG. 5).
[0105]
The rewritten link information and a re-access request to the main site 22 by the user are transmitted to the main site 22 (arrow (d) in FIG. 5).
[0106]
In the main site 22, the main site linkage information processing means 27 decrypts the linkage information and refers to the session information database 28 to permit or reject the user from accessing again.
[0107]
As described above, the linkage information is checked based on the elapsed time from the initial user authentication, the related site through which the user has passed, and the like.
[0108]
When the user requests to end the session, the session information database 28 writes all the related sites viewed by the user and their connection times in the session information, and records the identification information indicating that the session has ended normally. To do.
[0109]
This session information will be used later for calculation of charging. By referring to the charging rate database 29 according to the related site browsed by the user, the connection time, etc., the amount is calculated at an individual charging rate and charged separately.
[0110]
As is clear from the above processing, according to the Internet information service system 21 of the present embodiment, if the link is from the main site 22, the user can access the sub site 23 without any problem, but the main site 22 If an attempt is made to access the secondary site 23 without going through, the secondary site linkage information processing means 31 does not recognize access by a legitimate user, and access is not permitted.
[0111]
The secondary site 23 is guaranteed that the user accessing through the main site 22 is an authenticated user by the authentication means 25 of the main site 22, and permits or permits the user access without performing user authentication again. be able to.
[0112]
From the user's point of view, it is possible to avoid the trouble of being prompted to enter a password every time a related site is accessed.
[0113]
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the history of related sites accessed by the user can be grasped at the main site 22, a different charging rate can be applied to each related site (sub site 23).
[0114]
Therefore, for the secondary site 23, an incentive to provide information with higher added value is given, and the Internet information service system 21 that provides a high-quality information providing service as a whole can be realized.
[0115]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the “Internet information service system for providing information at a plurality of related sites” of the present invention, it is possible to pass through this site without requiring the user to input a password at each sub site. You can verify that you are a legitimate user.
[0116]
Thereby, it is possible to maintain the integrity and continuity of the information providing service by a plurality of related sites, and to solve the trouble of performing user authentication every time the site is changed.
[0117]
In addition, according to the Internet information service system of claims 1 and 2 of the present application, since the URL of the related subsite is constantly changed, unauthorized user access not via this site can be excluded, and each related site Profits can also be prevented by users who access the site independently.
[0118]
According to the Internet information service system 21 of the present invention, since the browsing history such as all the related sites browsed by the user and the connection time thereof can be intensively grasped at the main site, Charges can be made at individual charge rates.
[0119]
In addition, since the billing can be centrally managed by the main site, it is not necessary to manage billing individually at each subsite and report the user's access performance to the main site. As a result, a large amount of data processing for billing management can be omitted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an Internet information service system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main site and a sub site for changing a URL according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing configurations of a main site and a sub site for changing a URL according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an Internet information service system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main site and a sub site according to the second embodiment of the present invention and a flow of processing thereof.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Internet information service system
2 Main site
3 Subsites
4 User's computer
5 Internet
6 Authentication means
7 Main site URL change means
8 Subsite URL database
9 Subsite URL change means
10 URL change algorithm
11 Original data
12 URL change means
21 Internet information service system
22 Main site
23 Subsite
24 user computers
25 User authentication means
26 Main site linkage information addition means
27 Main site linkage information processing means
28 Session information database
29 Billing rate database
30 Sub-site linkage information addition means
31 Sub-site linkage information processing means
32 content
33 Related Site Database

Claims (1)

A main site that has a Web page that the user first accesses and provides an information providing service to the user via the Internet, and an information providing service linked to the Web page of the main site and related to the information providing service of the main site An Internet information service system that provides paid information on a plurality of related sites consisting of sub-sites to perform,
The main site is a predetermined algorithm in which user authentication means and original data consisting of data set in advance on both the main site and the sub site, which is changed with the date or time or the date and time , are input every predetermined period. Main site URL changing means for incorporating the data generated by the above into a part of the URL of the subsite stored in the main site,
The secondary site has secondary site URL changing means for inputting the original data in the same period as the period of the main site URL changing means and rewriting its own URL with data generated by the same algorithm as the algorithm. A featured Internet information system.

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