Patent ID: 7174368
Filing Date: 2007-02-06
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of distributing and initializing an electronic mail (email) software application for exchanging secure encrypted email, comprising the steps of: obtaining by a first user a license for an email client software application program supporting public/private encryption of emails; requesting by the first user that a second user download a reader/responder software application program in order to exchange encrypted email between the first user and the second user; downloading and installing said reader/responder software application program by the second user; sending a first email by the second user to the first user including embedding an unencrypted public key by using a send key function of said reader/responder software application program; receiving said first email from the second user by the first user, wherein said unencrypted public key is embedded in said first email; responding by the first user by sending a second email to the second user, where said reader/responder software application program encrypts a message of said second email into an encrypted message using said unencrypted public key of the second user; receiving said second email by the second user with said encrypted message as an attachment from the first user into a third party email software application program, wherein said third party email software application program is different from said reader/responder software application program and said email client software application program; opening by the second user said attachment to execute said reader/responder software application program operative to allow the second user without said email client software to read and respond to encrypted email created and sent from at least one of the first user or another user having said email client software; and creating a new secure email including an encrypted message by the second user to send to at least one of the first user or any other user of said email client software application program to which the second user has emailed a public key and from which the second user has received a response email, wherein the second user is not able to create a new secure email message to send to a user that is not a user of said email client software application program.