Patent Publication Number: US-9906503-B1

Title: Notifying a registrant if communications between a user and a third party hosting service are not secure

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to systems and methods for automatically enabling encrypted communications between a user using a browser running on a client and a proxy server and communications between the proxy server and a third party hosting service. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A domain name registrar may provide a service to a domain name registrant to automatically enable secure socket layer, transport layer security (TLS) or any other cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network (hereinafter referred to as SSL) for a domain name to a third party hosting service, even when the domain name registrar does not own or control the third party hosting service. The invention allows a user (that may or may not be the domain name registrant) to use the domain name registered to the domain name registrant to access or communicate with a domain name registrant account on the third party hosting service via a proxy server. The advantage is that the communication between the user and the proxy server may be encrypted such as by the SSL protocol. The communication between the proxy server and the third party hosting service may or may not be encrypted such as by the SSL protocol as desired. 
     The domain name registrar preferably comprises a domain name registration function, a plurality of customer accounts, a certificate authority (CA) function, one or more nameservers and one or more proxy servers. This configuration has the advantage of allowing a domain name registrant (with a domain name managed by the domain name registrar) from an account of the domain name registrant to select and pay for an SSL connection to a third party hosting service. After making this service selection, the system may automatically and without further action by the domain name registrant prepare a certificate signing request (CSR), issue an SSL certificate based on the CSR, install the SSL certificate on the proxy server, update a nameserver so that the domain name points to the proxy server and store an address of the third party hosting service with the proxy server. 
     In one embodiment of the invention a domain name registrar registers a domain name to a domain name registrant. The domain name registrar may have direct control and/or ownership over a domain name registrar function, a certificate authority function, one or more nameservers that are part of the domain name system (DNS), one or more proxy servers and/or a plurality of customer accounts. The invention may function even when the domain name registrar has no direct control and/or ownership of a third party hosting service. The domain name registrar may receive a request, which request may include receiving a payment for the service, from the domain name registrant for a secure SSL certificate for the third party hosting service to be associated with the domain name. 
     Without further action by the domain name registrant, the domain name registrar may automatically perform the following steps. The certificate authority function of the domain name registrar may issue an SSL certificate for the domain name. The domain name registrar may install the SSL certificate on a proxy server. The domain name registrar may store the domain name and an address for the proxy server in a nameserver. The domain name registrar may store an address for the third party hosting service in the proxy server. 
     The performance of the previous steps configures the system so that a user may communicate with the third party hosting service via the proxy server using the domain name of the domain name registrant. The communication between the user and the proxy server may be protected by the SSL protocol while the communication between the proxy server and the third party hosting service may or may not be protected by the SSL protocol. 
     The process may proceed when the nameserver receives the domain name, registered to the domain name registrant, from a browser of the user. The nameserver may return the address (preferably an IP address) of the proxy server, associated with the domain name, to the browser. The proxy server may use the SSL protocol to establish a connection over the Internet between the browser of the user and the proxy server. The proxy server, using a stored address of the third party hosting service, may also establish a second connection between the proxy server and the third party hosting service. The stored address of the third party hosting service may be an IP address, a domain name or a URL. The SSL connection between the user and the proxy server and the second connection between the proxy server and the third party hosting service together permit the browser of the user to communicate with the third party hosting service via the proxy server. The second connection may or may not be an SSL connection. 
     In some embodiments, the domain name registrar may validate control over the domain name by the domain name registrant based on the domain name registrar receiving the request from the domain name registrant for the SSL certificate from a domain name registrant account where the domain name is also controlled or managed. 
     The above features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram that illustrates a system that may be used to automatically enable encrypted communications between an Internet user and a proxy server and encrypted or unencrypted communications between the proxy server and a third party hosting service. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are flowcharts that illustrate a method that may be used to automatically enable encrypted communications between an Internet user and a proxy server and encrypted or unencrypted communications between the proxy server and a third party hosting service. 
         FIG. 4  is an example screenshot of a webpage on a website operated by a domain name registrar that notifies the domain name registrant that the communications between Internet users and a proxy server are secure, but that the communications between the proxy server and the third party hosting service are not secure (in some embodiments of the invention). 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are flowcharts that illustrate a method that may be used to automatically enable encrypted communications between an Internet user and a proxy server and encrypted or unencrypted communications between the proxy server and a third party hosting service along with the notice provided in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention will now be discussed in detail with regard to the attached drawing figures that were briefly described above. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth enabling one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without many of these specific details. In other instances, well-known machines, structures, and method steps have not been described in particular detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, like parts and method steps are referred to with like reference numerals. 
     Many people who use the Internet like to make information they have created available to other Internet users. The information may be posted by the information provider on, as non-limiting examples, a website or a social media account hosted by a third party hosting service. The third party hosting service may be a website hosting service hosting a website or a social media platform hosting a social media account. 
     The information provider may be a domain name registrant and want the information to be available on the website or the social media account using a vanity domain name (defined to be a domain name registered to the domain name registrant/information provider). In addition, the domain name registrant and Internet users may also desire to exchange the posted information over the Internet using an encrypted security protocol, such as SSL. SSL is hereby defined to include the protocols of secure sockets layer, transport layer security and any other cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. 
     However, a third party hosting services might not allow its social media accounts to use vanity domain names and/or be SSL enabled. Even if the third party hosting service allowed vanity domain names and SSL encryption, the third party hosting service might charge a premium price for enabling SSL for the website or the social media account. 
     In addition, the process for setting up SSL for a website or a social media account for the vanity domain name may be challenging for the domain name registrant as the domain name registrant would have to perform several steps. Specifically, the domain name registrant would need to complete a certificate signing request (CSR) on the server that the SSL certificate will be used on and then submit the CSR to a certificate authority. The domain name registrant would also need to install an SSL certificate received from the certificate authority on the same server. The process of completing the CSR and installing the SSL certificate to enable SSL for a website or social media account may be difficult (assuming the third party hosting service even allows the functionality) for many domain name registrants. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system that may be used to enable a user  170  to communicate with a third party customer account (which could be a website account or a social media account) hosted on a third party hosting service  180  via a proxy server  150  using the SSL protocol between the user  170  and the proxy server  150 . 
     While  FIG. 1  only illustrates a single domain name registrant  160 , a single user  170  and a single third party hosting service  180  to make it easier to describe and understand the invention, it should be understood that the invention may be practiced as part of a larger computer network, where any number of domain name registrants, users and third party hosting services may all be used and interconnected. In addition, while only one nameserver  140  and one proxy server  150  are illustrated, the invention may be practiced with a plurality of nameservers and a plurality of proxy servers. 
     The arrows between parts of the domain name registrar  100 , domain name registrant  160 , user  170  and third party hosting service  180  represent one or more computer networks such as the Internet. Communications within the domain name registrar  100  between the domain name registrar function  110 , customer accounts  120 , certificate authority function  130 , nameserver  140  and proxy server  150  may be over the Internet or over only local computer networks. Communications and transmissions over the Internet, computer networks and local computer networks may use any currently known or developed in the future methods or protocols, unless specifically stated otherwise. 
     The nameserver  140  and proxy server  150  are hereby defined to be physical machines. While the nameserver  140  and proxy server  150  comprise the hardware necessary to run software, the nameserver  140  and proxy server  150  are hereby defined to be not merely or only software. The nameserver  140  and proxy server  150  may be virtualized and/or run in one or more containers, but nevertheless must comprise at their base one or more physical servers. The nameserver  140  and the proxy server  150  may be, as non-limiting examples, one or more Dell PowerEdge(s) rack server(s), HP Blade Servers, IBM Rack or Tower servers, although other types of hardware servers and/or combinations of other hardware servers may also be used. 
     The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers that allows individuals and organizations around the world to communicate and to share information with one another. The Internet comprises a collection of information resources contained in documents, typically as part of a website, located on individual computers around the world and is one of the fastest growing parts of the Internet. Prevalent on the Internet are multimedia websites offering and selling goods and services and/or allowing the exchange of information to and from users of the Internet. Websites may consist of a single webpage, but typically consist of multiple interconnected and related webpages. 
     Each computer, host or website on the Internet is assigned at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers or hosts on the Internet. IP addresses are difficult to remember so a domain name service (DNS) associates websites&#39; IP addresses with their corresponding domain names. The DNS comprises a plurality of nameservers, where each nameserver stores a plurality of domain names where each domain name corresponds with an IP address. 
     This permits a user  170  of the Internet to enter an easily remembered domain name into a browser  164 ,  174 , and the browser  164 ,  174 , via a nameserver  140  in the DNS, locates the unique IP address associated with the domain name and thus the location of the website. Another advantage of the DNS is that the website may move its physical location on the Internet, i.e. receive a new IP address, but by making the appropriate changes to the nameserver  140  in the DNS, the website may still be located using the same domain name simply by associating the domain name with an IP address of the new website. 
     Hundreds of millions of Internet users around the world have access to client devices  162 ,  172  connected to the Internet. A user  170 , who could be a domain name registrant  160 , may use a client device  172 , such as, as non-limiting examples, a cell phone, PDA, tablet, laptop computer or desktop computer to access a website via the Internet. 
     The user  170  is able to access data at specific locations on the Internet referred to as websites. Each website may consist of a single webpage, but typically consist of multiple interconnected and related webpages. Websites may be, as a non-limiting example, created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to generate a standard set of tags that define how the webpages for the website are to be displayed. A third party customer account may be a website or portal used to exchange information over the Internet and may be hosted by a third party hosting service  180 , i.e., a hosting provider. 
     Hosting providers may provide the hardware, such as hosting servers, and the infrastructure necessary to host one or more websites, possibly for a plurality of domain name registrants who are website operators/owners. Menus, links, tabs, etc. may be used to move between different web pages within a website or to move to a different webpage on a different website. 
     Users may access websites using software known as an Internet browser  164 ,  174 , such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, GOOGLE CHROME or MOZILLA FIREFOX. After the browser  164 ,  174  has located a desired webpage in a desired website, the browser  164 ,  174  requests and receives information regarding the webpage, typically in the form of an HTML document, and then displays the webpage for the user  170  on the user&#39;s client device  172 . The user  170  may then view other webpages at the same website or move to an entirely different website using the browser  164 ,  174 . 
     Browsers are able to locate specific websites because each website has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Presently, there are two standards for IP addresses. The older IP address standard, often called IP Version 4 (IPv4), is a 32-bit binary number, which is typically shown in dotted decimal notation, where four 8-bit bytes are separated by a dot from each other (e.g., 64.202.167.32). The notation is used to improve human readability. The newer IP address standard, often called IP Version 6 (IPv6), is a 128-bit binary number. The standard human readable notation for IPv 6  addresses presents the address as eight 16-bit hexadecimal words, each separated by a colon (e.g., 2EDC:BA98:0332: 0000:CF8A:000C:2154:7313). 
     However, IP addresses, even in human readable notation, are difficult for users to remember and use. A domain name is easier to remember and may be associated with an IP address of a website on the Internet. A browser  164 ,  174  may be able to access the website on the Internet through the use of the domain name. 
     Domain names are also much easier to remember and use than their corresponding IP addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) create rules and coordinate the use of over 1,000 Top-Level Domains (TLDs). Each TLD is typically assigned a single registry to be an authoritative source of information (the particular data stored by the registry varies depending on the TLD). One or more domain name registrars  100  may register domain names to domain name registrants on behalf of a registry. 
     The process for registering a domain name with .com, .net, .org, and some other TLD allows a domain name registrant  160  to use an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar  100  to register a domain name  142 . For example, if a domain name registrant  160 , John Doe, wishes to register the domain name  142  “johndoe.com,” the domain name registrant  160  may initially determine whether the desired domain name  142  is available by contacting a domain name registrar  100 . The domain name registrant  160  may make this contact using a website of the domain name registrar  100  and typing the desired domain name  142  into a field on a webpage of the website of the registrar  100  created for this purpose. 
     Upon receiving a domain name  142  or a domain name search request from the user  170 , the registrar  100  may ascertain whether “johndoe.com” has already been registered by, as non-limiting examples, checking the shared resource system (SRS) associated with the TLD of the domain name  142  or by checking with the authoritative registry of the TLD for the domain name  142 . The results of the search may be displayed on a webpage of the registrar  100  to notify the domain name registrant  160  of the availability of the desired domain name  142 . 
     If the desired domain name  142  is available, the domain name registrant  160  may register the domain name  142 , thereby becoming the official domain name registrant  160  of the domain name  142 . If the desired domain name is not available for registration, the domain name registrar  100  may transmit one or more suggested domain names to the domain name registrant  160  to permit the domain name registrant  160  to select and register one or more of the suggested domain names. 
     A domain name registrant  160  may register one or more domain names  142  using this process. (Step  200 ) The domain name registrar  100  may manage a plurality of customer accounts  120  used by a plurality of domain name registrants. Each domain name registrant  160  may register and thereafter control or manage one or more domain names  142  from their domain name registrant account  122 . In preferred embodiments, the domain name registrant accounts  122  in the customer accounts  120  are password protected to ensure only the domain name registrant  160  that created the domain name registrant account  122  with the domain name registrar  100  may access their domain name registrant account  122 . 
     The DNS may comprise hardware servers and files that are cooperatively operated by entities (such as registries and domain name registrars  100 ). The DNS is a hierarchical distributed naming system for websites (and other resources) connected to the Internet. The DNS is also an Internet service that translates a domain name  142  into an IP address that may, for example, point to, i.e., be the address for, a website. As an example, a browser  164 ,  174  may transmit the domain name  142  johndoe.com to a nameserver  140  of the DNS and the nameserver  140  may translate the domain name  142  johndoe.com into the IP address of 111.222.121.123. The browser  164 ,  174  may then use this IP address to find the website associated with the domain name  142  johndoe.com. 
     Each nameserver  140  may also comprise one or more hardware servers that are connected to the Internet. Nameservers are able to translate domain names into their corresponding IP addresses in response to queries from browsers or other services. Domain name registrars  100 , hosting providers and DNS providers may enable their customers (domain name registrants, users and/or website operators) to store their domain names and associated IP addresses in one or more nameservers. In this manner, a domain name  142  (such as johndoe.com) registered to a domain name registrant  160  may be translated by a nameserver  140  (that is part of the DNS) into an IP address. The IP address may point to a resource, such as a website owned and operated by the domain name registrant  160  of the domain name  142 . A browser  164 ,  174  may receive from the nameserver  140  the IP address associated with the domain name  142  and then the browser  164 ,  174  may use the IP address to locate a website associated with the IP address. 
     A common method for websites to protect their users from fraud is to obtain a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate for their domain name  142  and the website pointed to by the domain name  142 . An SSL certificate for a domain name  142  lets users of the website pointed to by the domain name  142  know that the owner of the website has been verified by a trusted third party (Certificate Authority or CA) and that confidential communications with the website are encrypted. SSL includes a protocol for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL protects confidential information by using a private key to encrypt data transferred over an SSL connection  190 . 
     Common conventional browsers  164 ,  174 , such as NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR and INTERNET EXPLORER, support the SSL protocol, and many websites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information from their users. By convention, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) that use an SSL connection  190  start with “https:” instead of “http:”. 
     A domain name registrar  100  may provide a service to a domain name registrant  160  to automatically enable secure socket layer (SSL) for a domain name  142  to a third party hosting service  180 , even when the domain name registrar  100  does not own or control the third party hosting service  180 . The invention allows a user  170  (that may or may not be the domain name registrant  160 ) to use the domain name  142  registered to the domain name registrant  160  to access or communicate with a third party customer account  182  on the third party hosting service  180  via a proxy server  150 . The advantage is that the communication between the user and the proxy server  150  may be encrypted such as by the SSL protocol. The communication between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  may or may not be encrypted such as by the SSL protocol as desired. 
     Another advantage of this system is that it allows for vanity domain names to be used with SSL even for third party hosting services  180  that do not allow for vanity domain names and/or SSL services. In addition, this system also does not require the domain name registrant  160  to complete a CSR or install an SSL certificate on the server being used by the third party hosting service  180  or on a proxy server  150 . This greatly simplifies the process of obtaining an SSL enabled domain name to a third party hosting service  180  for the domain name registrant  160 . 
     A potential disadvantage of this system is that while the communication between the user  170  and the proxy server  150  may use SSL, the communication between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  might not use SSL. This may or may not be a concern to the domain name registrant  160 . 
     This might not be a concern to the domain name registrant  160  or the user  170  as the communication path between the user  170  and the proxy server  150  is the most vulnerable and thus benefits the most by being SSL protected. This communication path is the most vulnerable as the user  170  may be in a public location and/or is not communicating from a secure facility, and in fact, may be using equipment (such as routers and wifi connections) belonging to unknown third parties. In contrast, the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  are preferably located within different secure facilities using privately owned, controlled and monitored hardware thereby reducing the risk of a security breach between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180 . 
     The domain name registrar  100  preferably comprises a domain name registration function, a plurality of customer accounts  120 , a certificate authority function  130 , one or more nameservers  140  and one or more proxy servers  150 . This configuration has the advantage of allowing a domain name registrant  160  (with a domain name  142  managed by the domain name registrar  100 ) from an account of the domain name registrant  122  to select and pay for an SSL connection  190  to a third party hosting service  180 . 
       FIG. 4 , as a non-limiting example, is a screenshot of a webpage  400  on a website operated by a domain name registrar  100 . In this example webpage  400  the domain name registrant  160  may enter the domain name to be associated with an SSL certificate for a third party hosting service  180  in a field  410  created for this purpose. As another non-limiting example, the webpage  400  may list one or more domain names registered to the domain name registrant  160  and allow the domain name registrant  160  to select one or more listed domain names to be associated with an SSL certificate for a third party hosting service  180 . 
     In the example webpage  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the domain name registrant  160  may also enter an address and/or select a third party hosting service to be associated with an SSL certificate for the domain name in a field  420  created for this purpose. If there is already a website configured for the domain name, the DNS record will point to the website. To enable the proxy, the domain name registrant  160  may select the DNS record (@ or ‘www’ as non-limiting examples) that the domain name registrant  160  desires the domain name registrar  100  to proxy. 
     As another non-limiting example, the webpage  400  may list one or more third party hosting services  180  and allow the domain name registrant  160  to select one or more third party hosting services  180  to be associated with an SSL certificate for the selected domain name. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the domain name registrar  100  may determine whether the communications between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  may be made secure. (Steps  500  and  510 ) In preferred embodiments the domain name registrant  160  is notified as to whether or not the communications between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  are secure. 
     As a non-limiting example, an example webpage  400  may include text  440  that notifies the domain name registrant  160  that the communications between Internet users  170  and a proxy server  150  are secure (protected by the SSL protocol), but that the communications between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  are not secure. (Step  520 ) In embodiments where the communications between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  are secure (such as by being protected by the SSL protocol), then the text may be updated to let the domain name registrant  160  know that the communications between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  are secure. 
     After the domain name registrant  160  has entered and/or selected a domain name registered to the domain name registrant  160 , entered an address for or selected one or more third party hosting services  180 , the domain name registrant  160  may select to add this service to a shopping cart by pressing a button/icon  430  on the webpage  400  created for this purpose. The domain name registrant  160  may pay for this service. 
     After making this service selection (and possibly paying), the system may automatically and without further action by the domain name registrant  160 , prepare a certificate signing request (CSR), issue an SSL certificate based on the CSR for the domain name, install the SSL certificate  154  on the proxy server  150 , update a nameserver  140  to store the domain name  142  and an address of the proxy server  144  and store an address of the third party hosting service  152  or third party customer account in a database that may be accessed by the proxy server  150 . Specifically, after requesting the service, such as by entering or selecting the items  410 ,  420  and  430  listed on the example webpage  400 , the domain name registrant  160  does not prepare the certificate signing request to receive the SSL certificate  150  nor does the domain name registrant  160  install the SSL certificate  150  on the proxy server  150 , thereby greatly simplifying the process for the domain name registrant  160  to receive an SSL enable domain name for a third party hosting service (where the SSL certificate is actually installed on a proxy server  150 ). 
     In one embodiment of the invention a domain name registrar  100  registers a domain name  142  to a domain name registrant  160 . The domain name registrar  100  may have direct control and/or ownership over a domain name registrar function  110 , a certificate authority function  130 , one or more nameservers  140  that are part of the domain name system (DNS), one or more proxy servers  150  and/or a plurality of customer accounts  120 . The invention may function even when the domain name registrar  100  has no direct control and/or ownership of a third party hosting service  180 . The domain name registrar  100  may receive a request, which request may include receiving payment for the service, from the domain name registrant  160  for a secure SSL certificate for the third party hosting service  180  to be associated with the domain name  142 . The request may be received, as a non-limiting example, through a webpage  400  of a website operated by the domain name registrar  100 . 
     Without further action by the domain name registrant  160 , the domain name registrar  100  may automatically perform the following steps. The certificate authority function  130  of the domain name registrar  100  may issue an SSL certificate for the domain name  142 . 
     The domain name registrar  100  may install the SSL certificate on a proxy server  150 . The domain name registrar  100  may store the domain name  142  and an address for the proxy server  150  in a nameserver  140 . The domain name registrar  100  may store an address for the third party hosting service  180  in the proxy server  150 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a domain name registrar  100  may receive a request from a domain name registrant  160 , preferably from a password protected domain name registrant account of the domain name registrant  160  from which the domain name  142  was registered with the domain name registrar  100 . The request may be that a domain name  142  registered to the domain name registrant  160  be enabled to access a third party customer account (such as a website owned by the domain name registrant  160 ) hosted by a third party hosting service  180 . The request may also be for an SSL certificate to be issued for the domain name and the SSL certificate to be installed on a proxy server  150 . (Step  210 ) 
     One advantage of the present invention is that the domain name registrar  100  may be a different legal entity and/or have no management control (only general access granted to customers, Internet users and/or other companies) over the third party hosting service  180 . 
     Upon receiving this request, which request may comprise, for example, making a selection on a webpage  400  for this service, and without further action by the domain name registrant  160 , a certificate authority (CA) function of the domain name registrar  100  may issue an SSL certificate for the domain name  142 . (Step  220 ) The domain name registrar  100  may validate control over the domain name  142  by the domain name registrant  160  based on the domain name registrar  100  receiving the request for the SSL certificate from an account  122  of the domain name registrant  160  where the domain name  142  was registered and/or is managed by the domain name registrant  160 . 
     The SSL certificate may be installed on a proxy server  150 . (Step  230 ) The domain name registrar  100  may update a nameserver  140  by storing the domain name  142  and an associated IP address of the proxy server  150  in a nameserver  140 . (Step  240 ) Finally, the domain name registrar  100  may store an address for the third party hosting service  180 , which may comprise an address for a third party customer account (such as a website owned by the domain name registrant  160 ) in a database accessible by the proxy server  150 . (Step  250 ) As a non-limiting example, the address may be a URL, such as https://www.thirdpartyservice.com or an IP address, such as 1.160.10.240. 
     The performance of the previous steps configures the system so that a user  170  may communicate with the third party hosting service  180  via the proxy server  150  using the domain name  142  of the domain name registrant  160 . The communication between the user  170  and the proxy server  150  may be protected by the SSL protocol while the communication between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  may or may not be protected by the SSL protocol. 
     The process may proceed when the nameserver  140  receives the domain name  142 , registered to the domain name registrant  160 , from a browser  174  of the user  170 . (Step  300 ) The nameserver  140  may return the address (preferably an IP address) of the proxy server  150 , associated with the domain name  142 , to the browser  174 . (Step  310 ) 
     The proxy server  150  may use the SSL protocol to establish a connection over the Internet between the browser  174  of the user  170  and the proxy server  150 . (Step  320 ) The proxy server  150 , using a stored address of the third party hosting service  180 , may also establish a second connection  192  between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180 . (Step  330 ) 
     The stored address of the third party hosting service  180  may be an IP address, a domain name or a URL. The SSL connection  190  between the user  170  and the proxy server  150  and the second connection  192  between the proxy server  150  and the third party hosting service  180  together permit the browser  174  of the user  170  to communicate with the third party hosting service  180  via the proxy server  150 . The second connection  192  may or may not be an SSL connection. 
     In some embodiments, the domain name registrar  100  may validate control over the domain name  142  by the domain name registrant  160  based on the domain name registrar  100  receiving the request from the domain name registrant  160  for the SSL certificate from a domain name registrant account  122  where the domain name  142  is also controlled or managed. 
     An advantage of the present system and method is that the domain name registrant  160  does not have to complete a certificate signing request (CSR), the domain name registrar  100  and/or certificate authority may perform this step automatically for the domain name registrant  160 . 
     Another advantage of the present system and method is that the domain name registrant  160  does not have to install the SSL certificate on a website, the domain name registrar  100 , certificate authority function  130  and/or the proxy server may work together to automatically install the SSL certificate on the proxy server. 
     Another advantage of the present system and method is that the domain name registrar  100  may validate the domain name registrant  160  if the domain name registrar  100  receives a request for the disclosed service from the same domain name registrant account  122  that the domain name registrant  160  registered the domain name  142  from the same domain name registrant account that the domain name registrant  160  manages the domain name. 
     In view of the foregoing, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the systems and processes of the present invention can facilitate a secure communication protocol for an Internet user  170  to communicate with a third party hosting service  180  or a third party customer account via a proxy server  150 . The above-described embodiments have been provided by way of example, and the present invention is not limited to these examples. For example, while the SSL protocol was disclosed in some detail, other encryption protocols may also be used with the present invention. It should be noted that the present invention can be extended to a plurality of domain name registrants, a plurality of Internet users and a plurality of third party hosting services comprising a plurality of third party customer accounts. 
     The present disclosure describes preferred embodiments with reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
     The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the description, numerous specific details are recited to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. 
     One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
     The schematic flow chart diagrams included are generally set forth as logical flow-chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of the method. 
     Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flow-chart diagrams, they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted method. 
     Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown. Some embodiments provided for are described as computer-implemented method claims. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would realize that the method steps may be embodied as computer code and the computer code could be placed on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium defining a computer program product. 
     Although the above discussion discloses various exemplary embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications that will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the true scope of the invention.