Granted Patent B2

US 12,323,391 · App. 17/653,879 · Granted Jun 3, 2025

Inventors: Steven Leslie Shafer (Poughkeepsie, NY); Robert Simon (Staatsburg, NY); Mathew Accapadi (Cedar Park, TX)

Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation

H04L63/0272H04L63/102

Abstract

Claims (45)

1. A computer-implemented method for grouping user profiles onto Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), the computer-implemented method comprising:

creating a user profile at a VPN manager;

dynamically associating, in response to respective logins of the user profile to the VPN manager, the user profile with a respective set of demographically similar user profiles based on location, age, and health-related information of the user profile;

assigning the user profile to at least one VPN server that is associated with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles;

providing encrypted internet access to a device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server; and

transmitting resources to the device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server, wherein the resources are customized for the respective set of demographically similar user profiles.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein dynamically associating the user profile with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles is further based on gender, occupation, education level, income, hobbies, device operating system, device type, and device model.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein creating the user profile at the VPN manager further comprises:

creating the user profile at a credentialing service; and

transmitting, from the credentialing service, a subset of information related to the user profile to the VPN manager.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the credentialing service authenticates the user profile prior to respective connections to the at least one VPN server.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the resources are selected from a group consisting of: advertisements, downloadables, hyperlinks, and sign-up forms.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the resources are presented in a web browser of the device associated with the user profile.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by one or more computers according to software that is downloaded to the one or more computers from a remote data processing system.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises:

metering a usage of the software; and

generating an invoice based on metering the usage.

9. A system comprising:

one or more computer readable storage media storing program instructions; and

one or more processors which, in response to executing the program instructions, are configured to perform a method comprising:

creating a user profile at a VPN manager;

dynamically associating, in response to respective logins of the user profile to the VPN manager, the user profile with a respective set of demographically similar user profiles based on age, gender, and health-related information of the user profile;

assigning the user profile to at least one VPN server that is associated with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles;

providing encrypted internet access to a device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server; and

transmitting resources to the device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server, wherein the resources are customized for the respective set of demographically similar user profiles.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein dynamically associating the user profile with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles is further based on device operating system, device type, and device model.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein creating the user profile at the VPN manager further comprises:

creating the user profile at a credentialing service; and

transmitting, from the credentialing service, a subset of information related to the user profile to the VPN manager.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the credentialing service authenticates the user profile prior to respective connections to the at least one VPN server.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the resources are selected from a group consisting of: advertisements, downloadables, hyperlinks, and sign-up forms.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the resources are presented in a web browser of the device associated with the user profile.

15. A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media, and program instructions collectively stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising instructions configured to cause one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

creating a user profile at a VPN manager;

dynamically associating, in response to respective logins of the user profile to the VPN manager, the user profile with a respective set of demographically similar user profiles based on location, age, and gender of the user profile;

assigning the user profile to at least one VPN server that is associated with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles;

providing encrypted internet access to a device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server; and

transmitting resources to the device associated with the user profile via the at least one VPN server, wherein the resources are customized for the respective set of demographically similar user profiles.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein dynamically associating the user profile with the respective set of demographically similar user profiles is further based on health-related information.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein creating the user profile at the VPN manager further comprises:

creating the user profile at a credentialing service; and

transmitting, from the credentialing service, a subset of information related to the user profile to the VPN manager.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the credentialing service authenticates the user profile prior to respective connections to the at least one VPN server.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the resources are selected from a group consisting of: advertisements, downloadables, hyperlinks, and sign-up forms.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the resources are presented in a web browser of the device associated with the user profile.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (31)