Systems and methods for anonymizing user accounts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10885223-B2
Application number	US-201715836505-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2017
Priority date	Dec 8, 2017
Publication date	Jan 5, 2021
Grant date	Jan 5, 2021

Abstract

The disclosed computer-implemented method for anonymizing user accounts may include (i) receiving an instruction to anonymize a user account to protect a user's personally identifiable information, (ii) accessing, by a security program, a settings portal for the user account in response to receiving the instruction to anonymize the user account, (iii) replacing, by the security program, original values within at least two fields within the settings portal for the user account with anonymized values to mask the user's personally identifiable information, and (iv) storing the anonymized values within a protected vault to enable the user to login to the user account. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for anonymizing user accounts, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:
receiving an instruction to anonymize a user account to protect a user's personally identifiable information at least in part by receiving a streamlined single-click instruction to complete an entire process of anonymizing the user account;
accessing, by a security program in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, a settings portal for the user account at least in part by the security program autonomously navigating to a website for the settings portal for the user account and the security program using credentials to login to the user account at the website, the security program comprising a third-party security program that is distinct from a specific service that includes the user account;
replacing, by the security program in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, original values within at least two fields within the settings portal for the user account with anonymized values to mask the user's personally identifiable information; and
storing the anonymized values within a protected vault to enable the user to login to the user account;
wherein the security program accesses the settings portal for the user account at least in part by referencing a predefined template that informs the security program about how to navigate to the website and how to parse the at least two fields of the website.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the security program accesses the settings portal for the user account at least in part by referencing the predefined template that informs the security program about:
how to login to the user account;
how to populate the fields; and
how to logout of the user account.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the original values comprise a blank value.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the original values comprise a default value.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the original values comprise a value originally set by the user upon registering the user account.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising replacing, by the security program, an original value for a third field within the settings portal for the user account.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein accessing, by the security program, the settings portal for the user account in response to receiving the instruction to anonymize the user account comprises logging into the user account.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the security program references a login credential stored within the protected vault to login to the user account.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising the security program generating the anonymized values.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the security program generates the anonymized values in response to receiving the instruction to anonymize the user account.

11. A system for anonymizing user accounts, the system comprising:
a reception module, stored in memory, that receives an instruction to anonymize a user account to protect a user's personally identifiable information at least in part by receiving a streamlined single-click instruction to complete an entire process of anonymizing the user account;
an accessing module, stored in memory, that accesses, as part of a security program, in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, a settings portal for the user account at least in part by the security program autonomously navigating to a website for the settings portal for the user account and the security program using credentials to login to the user account at the website, the security program comprising a third-party security program that is distinct from a specific service that includes the user account;
a replacement module, stored in memory, that replaces, as part of the security program, in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, original values within at least two fields within the settings portal for the user account with anonymized values to mask the user's personally identifiable information;
a storing module, stored in memory, that stores the anonymized values within a protected vault to enable the user to login to the user account;
wherein the security program accesses the settings portal for the user account at least in part by referencing a predefined template that informs the security program about how to navigate to the website and how to parse the at least two fields of the website; and
at least one physical processor configured to execute the reception module, the accessing module, the replacement module, and the storing module.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the personally identifiable information comprises at least two of:
a username;
a password;
a name;
a credit card number; and
an address.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the original values comprise a blank value.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the original values comprise a default value.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the original values comprise a value originally set by the user upon registering the user account.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the replacement module replaces, as part of the security program, an original value for a third field within the settings portal for the user account.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the accessing module accesses, as part of the security program, the settings portal for the user account in response to receiving the instruction to anonymize the user account by logging into the user account.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the security program references a login credential stored within the protected vault to login to the user account.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the security program is further configured to generate the anonymized values.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:
receive an instruction to anonymize a user account to protect a user's personally identifiable information at least in part by receiving a streamlined single-click instruction to complete an entire process of anonymizing the user account;
access, by a security program in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, a settings portal for the user account at least in part by the security program autonomously navigating to a website for the settings portal for the user account and the security program using credentials to login to the user account at the website, the security program comprising a third-party security program that is distinct from a specific service that includes the user account;
replace, by the security program in response to receiving the streamlined single-click instruction to complete the entire process of anonymizing the user account, original values within at l

Assignees

• Symantec Corp
• Nortonlifelock Inc

Inventors

• Angara Sriharsha
• Lo Michael
• Meehan John
• Chillappa Srinivas
• Tiku Simon
• Mehta Viral

Classifications

• G06F21/6254 Primary

  by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification · CPC title

• H04L63/0421

  Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer · CPC title

• H04L9/321

  involving a third party or a trusted authority · CPC title