Patent ID: 7487350

Claim:
A method for storing data to positively identify a client machine running a client application to a backend, comprising: executing a ClientID storage process, including upon connection by the client application to the backend, generating a unique ClientID containing a checksum at the backend for the client machine, sending the ClientID to the client application, reversibly scrambling the ClientID with the client application at the client machine and storing a first scrambled version of the ClientID at a first predetermined location on the client machine, and reversibly scrambling the ClientID with the client application at the client machine and storing a second scrambled version different from the first version of the ClientID at a second predetermined location on the client machine; and executing a ClientID retrieval process with the client application when the client application subsequently attempts to connect to the backend, including retrieving the first and second scrambled versions of the ClientID stored in the first and second locations and unscrambling the first and second scrambled versions of the ClientID using first and second keys to obtain first and second unscrambled values, running a checksum operation on each of the first and second unscrambled values to verify that each has the correct checksum, and comparing the first and second unscrambled values to determine an occurrence of a match between the first and second unscrambled values.