VERIFYING AUTHENTICITY OF INSTANT MESSAGING MESSAGES

1 . A method, comprising:

performing verification of an IM message sent using a specified Instant Messaging (IM) screen name and received by an information recipient after successful verification of authenticity of an authentication certificate received by the information recipient from the specified IM screen name, wherein verifying said IM message includes successfully verifying authenticity of the IM message using authentication information contained in said received authentication certificate, wherein the IM message includes an encoded checksum for designated parts of the IM message, and wherein performing verification of the IM message includes verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum includes:

creating a checksum for the IM message in response to receiving the IM message; and

comparing said created checksum to the encoded checksum after verifying validity of the encoded checksum and decoding the encoded checksum.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein said designated parts of the IM message include a message body, a sender screen name, a date on which the IM message is sent, and a time at which the IM message is sent.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

the authentication certificate links respective authentication information thereof to identification information of the information providers; and

said identification information includes at least one of a name by which a respective one of said information providers is recognized, an image specific to a respective one of said information providers, text specific to a respective one of said information providers, and a sound specific to a respective one of said information providers.

5 . The method of claim 4 wherein said identification information includes at least one of a protected name of a respective one of said information providers, a protected image of a respective one of said information providers, protected text of a respective one of said information providers, and protected sound of a respective one of said information providers.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said received authentication certificate is transmitted using the specified IM screen name; and

performing verification of said received authentication certificate includes checking that the specified IM screen name matches a screen name specified in said received authentication certificate.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

acknowledging authenticity of the IM message in response to successfully verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein said designated parts of the IM message include a message body, a sender screen name, a date on which the IM message is sent, and a time at which the IM message is sent.

9 . A system, comprising:

at least one data processing device;

instructions processable by said at least one data processing device; and

an apparatus from which said instructions are accessible by said at least one data processing device;

wherein said instructions are configured for enabling said at least one data processing device to perform operations for:

performing verification of an IM message sent using a specified Instant Messaging (IM) screen name and received by an information recipient after successful verification of authenticity of an authentication certificate received by the information recipient from the specified IM screen name, wherein verifying said IM message includes successfully verifying authenticity of the IM message using authentication information contained in said received authentication certificate, wherein the IM message includes an encoded checksum for designated parts of the IM message, and wherein performing verification of the IM message includes verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum.

10 . The system of claim 9 wherein verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum includes:

creating a checksum for the IM message in response to receiving the IM message; and

comparing said created checksum to the encoded checksum after verifying validity of the encoded checksum and decoding the encoded checksum.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein said designated parts of the IM message include a message body, a sender screen name, a date on which the IM message is sent, and a time at which the IM message is sent.

12 . The system of claim 9 wherein:

the authentication certificate links respective authentication information thereof to identification information of the information providers; and

said identification information includes at least one of a name by which a respective one of said information providers is recognized, an image specific to a respective one of said information providers, text specific to a respective one of said information providers, and a sound specific to a respective one of said information providers.

13 . The system of claim 12 wherein said identification information includes at least one of a protected name of a respective one of said information providers, a protected image of a respective one of said information providers, protected text of a respective one of said information providers, and protected sound of a respective one of said information providers.

14 . The system of claim 9 wherein:

said received authentication certificate is transmitted using the specified IM screen name; and

performing verification of said received authentication certificate includes checking that the specified IM screen name matches a screen name specified in said received authentication certificate.

15 . A computer-readable medium having tangibly embodied thereon and accessible therefrom a set of instructions interpretable by at least one data processing device, said set of instructions configured for causing said at least one data processing device to carry out operations for:

performing verification of an Instant Messaging (IM) message sent using a specified IM screen name and received by an information recipient after successful verification of authenticity of an authentication certificate received by the information recipient from the specified IM screen name, wherein verifying said IM message includes successfully verifying authenticity of the IM message using authentication information contained in said received authentication certificate, wherein the IM message includes an encoded checksum for designated parts of the IM message, and wherein performing verification of the IM message includes verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum.

16 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein verifying authenticity of the encoded checksum includes:

creating a checksum for the IM message in response to receiving the IM message; and

comparing said created checksum to the encoded checksum after verifying validity of the encoded checksum and decoding the encoded checksum.

17 . The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein said designated parts of the IM message include a message body, a sender screen name, a date on which the IM message is sent, and a time at which the IM message is sent.

18 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein:

the authentication certificate links respective authentication information thereof to identification information of the information providers; and

said identification information includes at least one of a name by which a respective one of said information providers is recognized, an image specific to a respective one of said information providers, text specific to a respective one of said information providers, and a sound specific to a respective one of said information providers.

19 . The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said identification information includes at least one of a protected name of a respective one of said information providers, a protected image of a respective one of said information providers, protected text of a respective one of said information providers, and protected sound of a respective one of said information providers.

20 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein said designated parts of the IM message include a message body, a sender screen name, a date on which the IM message is sent, and a time at which the IM message is sent.