Patent ID: 8713645

Claim:
A method for verifying that a message received by a social networking service was sent by a bona fide owner of a social networking account who purportedly sent the message, the method comprising the steps of: a network server computer receiving the message and locating in the message a string that was entered into a message text field of the message by a person who authored the message, the string comprising first and second portions, the first portion comprising a combination of alpha numeric characters which identifies the second portion as containing purported authentication information for the bona fide owner of the account; the network server computer comparing the second portion of the string in the message to a registered authentication string for the bona fide owner of the account; and the network server computer determining that the second portion of the string in the message matches the registered authentication string, and responsive to the determining, the network server computer removing the string from the message and, after removing the string, posting the message to the social networking service.