Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 7188180, I will list the prior art citations from the patent itself. The patent document provides a list of "Prior art documents" and "Other references". For each of these, I will provide the full citation, publication/filing date, a brief description, and discuss which claim(s) it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Based on the provided patent text, I will identify the references explicitly listed as "Prior art keywords" and any patents referenced in the "Priority claimed from" section or within the detailed description as being part of the prior art discussion.

Here are the prior art references cited within US7188180B2:

Prior Art from "Priority claimed from" section:

1. US 09/429,643

   • Full Citation: US09/429,643 (no patent number provided in this section, only application number). However, the Google Patents link associated with this priority claim is patent/US7010604B1/en. Therefore, I will assume US7010604B1 is the granted patent corresponding to this application.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority claimed from 1999-10-29.
   • Brief Description: US7010604B1, titled "Method and system for secure communication in a computer network," describes methods for providing secure communications, including establishing a secure tunnel between an originating terminal and a destination terminal through a plurality of intermediate routing nodes. It discusses encrypting data with a session key and routing information with a link key, as well as features like agile routing and IP address agility.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent appears to broadly anticipate many aspects of secure communication, VPN establishment, and agile network protocols described in US7188180B2. Specifically, its discussion of link and session keys, agile routing, and IP agility could potentially anticipate elements found in:
     • Claim 1: The concept of a virtual private network based on inserting data values varying according to a pseudo-random sequence and an address hopping regime.
     • Claim 13: The general method of private communication links and tunneling.
     • Claim 21 & 23: The underlying secure communication infrastructure that a "one-click" or hyperlink-driven VPN would utilize.

2. US 09/504,783

   • Full Citation: US09/504,783 (no patent number provided in this section, only application number). The Google Patents link associated with this priority claim is patent/US6502135B1/en. Therefore, I will assume US6502135B1 is the granted patent corresponding to this application.
   • Publication/Filing Date: Priority claimed from 2000-02-15.
   • Brief Description: US6502135B1, titled "Method and system for distributed network security," details a system for secure communications over a network using a protocol insertable between the data link and network layers. It emphasizes features such as dynamically changing IP addresses (IP agility), breaking messages into multiple packets, and agile routing to thwart traffic analysis and provide security.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent describes a foundational secure communication system that includes several core elements found in US7188180B2. Its focus on distributed network security and specific techniques could potentially anticipate elements in:
     • Claim 1: The virtual private network based on inserting varying data values and an address hopping regime, as well as the comparison to a moving window of valid values.
     • Claim 13: The method of private communication links, particularly the concept of modifying packets at the kernel layer for secure connections.
     • Claim 21 & 23: The underlying secure communication mechanisms that enable the "one-click" or hyperlink-driven VPN establishment.

Prior Art discussed within the "Definitions" section (Explicitly described as "prior art embodiment"):

• FIG. 1: Secure communications over the Internet according to a prior art embodiment.
  • Full Citation: N/A (Fig. 1 of the patent itself, referenced as illustrating prior art).
  • Publication/Filing Date: Depicted in a patent with a priority date of 1998-10-30.
  • Brief Description: FIG. 1 illustrates a basic heuristic framework for secure communication over the Internet, showing an originating terminal 100 and a destination terminal 110 communicating over the Internet 107. It discusses general concepts like data security (immunity to eavesdropping) and anonymity (preventing discovery of communication parties). It also mentions the use of an encryption key 48 known at both terminals.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As a general conceptual diagram, FIG. 1 itself would not anticipate specific claims under § 102 but sets the stage for the problems the invention aims to solve. It provides context for the general desire for secure communication and anonymity in prior art. The general concept of "secure communication mode" and "secure communication link" mentioned in the claims, while not specifically limited, would have this as a foundational understanding.

Other general prior art concepts mentioned in the "Definitions" section:

• Proxy servers: Described as preventing destination servers from determining client identities, but noted for vulnerabilities to traffic analysis and that the server knows both parties' identities.
• Chaum's mixes: A scheme using proxy servers transmitting fixed-length messages, including dummy messages, and multiple mixes to spread trust and enhance anonymity by wrapping messages with multiple layers of encrypted addresses. Drawbacks include the risk of a compromised mix.
• Crowds: An anonymity technique where originating terminals belong to groups of proxies, and each proxy randomly chooses the next hop, including potentially the destination.
• ZKS (Zero-Knowledge Systems) Anonymous IP Protocol / Onion-routing: Encrypts outgoing traffic and wraps it in UDP packets, with multiple servers stripping and adding layers of encryption. Noted as being defeated by traffic analysis.
• Firewalls: Described as protecting LANs, centralized systems with administrative overhead, and vulnerable to applets. Noted as not useful for distributed systems.
• TARP routers (as described in the "prior art embodiment" discussion, leading to the invention): The description of TARP routers, link keys, session keys, agile routing, IP agility, decoy packets, and interleaving of data appears to be a direct precursor or a more detailed explanation of technology developed by the same inventors or assignee, which forms the basis for the present invention. Therefore, these elements, particularly those already patented (like US7010604B1 and US6502135B1), would constitute highly relevant prior art.

Important Note on Anticipation:
Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 means that every element of a claim is found, either explicitly or inherently, in a single prior art reference. The provided descriptions are brief and high-level. A detailed anticipation analysis would require a full claim construction and a thorough element-by-element comparison of each claim against the complete disclosure of each prior art document. The above assessment highlights potential areas of overlap.