Patent ID: 7950065

Claim:
A method for protecting stored content on a web server such that the stored content is available through a link but only to a first device accessing the link, and so as to prevent access to subsequent devices who receive the link, the method comprising: generating an encrypted link to content, the encrypted link comprising authentication information for an authorized user, and the content being accessible through a plurality of different encrypted links, each different encrypted link being registered to and reusable by a particular computing device; sending the encrypted link to the authorized user; receiving a request for the content, the request being the result of receipt of the encrypted link from a computing device; using registration information to determine whether access to the content through the encrypted link should be granted, wherein using the registration information determining whether the requesting computing device itself registered to access the content through the encrypted link, as well as determining whether the computing device was the first computing device to request access to the content through the encrypted link; when the computing device is determined to be the first computing device to request access to the content through the encrypted link, providing the content to the computing device, such that the encrypted link is reusable by the computing device; and when the computing device is determined not to be the first computing device to request access to the content through the encrypted link, denying access to the content.