Plugin-based privacy scheme for World-Wide Web file distribution

Abstract

Existing security mechanisms for serving documents on the World Wide Web typically require use of either an underlying security transport mechanisms (e.g., SSL) or alternate servers, browsers and data streams (e.g., SHTTP). In this paper we introduce a simpler method using plugins which provides moderate security for serving private documents within the standard HTTP mechanism and socket layer. This new method operates by providing a security plugin within a standard web-browser environment. It provides a somewhat lower level of functionality and security than the alternatives mentioned above but requires much less overhead, especially on the server end, and appears to be very appropriate for serving low-security, non-public documents, files and images over the world wide web. The method can be easily adapted to provide other advantages, such as automatic `water-marking' of decoded material with the name of the decoder, and the deployment of content-specific compression algorithms.