Patent ID: 8146164

Claim:
A trusted apparatus, comprising: hardware including at least one input filter, a security mode indicator and a security mode controller; the at least one input filter and the security mode indicator, both responding to a security mode signal provided by the security mode controller; wherein said input filter, further comprises: at least one input coupling for at least one user input device; a personal device interface for providing a surrogate data to a personal computing device after a field request is received from a browser operating on said personal computing device and when said security mode signal indicates said security mode asserted, wherein said surrogate data is not an authentic data when said security mode asserted; and a secure channel interface to a secure channel that sends said authentic data to an intended recipient of a network communication without said authentic data being sent to any component of said personal computing device and with said authentic data based upon at least one input symbol from at least one of said user input devices while said security mode signal indicates said security mode asserted and after said field request received; wherein the surrogate data is provided to the personal computing device in place of the authentic data; wherein the trusted apparatus communicates with the intended recipient of the network communication over a network and via a proxy node; wherein said security mode indicator responds to said security mode signal to report when said security mode signal indicates said security mode asserted; with said proxy node configured to insert itself between the intended recipient of the network communication with said personal computing device, said browser detects the presence of said proxy node between said personal computing device and said intended recipient of the network communication and issues a warning that there is a man-in-the-middle, and with said security mode indicator configured to indicate that said proxy node as said man in-the-middle is trusted based upon said security mode asserted.