Patent ID: 7508310

Claim:
A system for secure networking in a virtual space comprising: a network; subscriber computing devices, wherein the subscriber computing device is associated with a subscriber identifier and wherein each computing device is connected to the network; a profile datastore, wherein the profile datastore comprises a subscriber security profile comprising information indicative of a security status of a subscriber and wherein the subscriber security profile is associated with the subscriber's subscriber identifier; an information processor connected to the network, wherein the information processor comprises instructions for: monitoring subscriber identifiers associated with the subscriber devices that are logged into a website, wherein the website defines a virtual space and the logged-in subscriber devices are characterized as present in the virtual space; serving web pages to the computing devices of the present subscribers via the network, wherein a web page of a present subscriber comprises a subscriber icon associated with the present subscriber and subscriber icons of other present subscribers; determining whether a subscriber security profile associated with the present subscriber matches the subscriber security profiles associated with the other present subscribers according to security matching criteria (herein, the “security matching determination”); in response to the security matching determination, assigning a security attribute to the icons associated with the other present subscribers having security profiles that match the security profile of the present subscriber according to security matching criteria; and providing selected security profile information to the present subscriber of a selected one of any of the other present matching subscribers.