Patent ID: 7581014

Claim:
A method of masking application processing of a request for access to a server sent by a client workstation connected to the server through the intermediary of successive intermediate proxy servers of an IP network, said method including: at the first proxy server that the access request message reaches: a) executing the application processing applied to said access request message by said first intermediate proxy server; b) inserting the IP address of the client workstation into a specific data field of the header of said access request message; at said successive proxy servers: c) without invoking an IP spoofing function, successively transmitting the access request message to the next proxy server and retaining the IP address of the client workstation in the header of said access request message, for executing the application processing applied by each of said successive intermediate proxy servers and, after execution of each of the successive application processes and forwarding of said access request message by the last of said successive intermediate proxy servers to said server: at a masking module having an interception connection to said server: d) intercepting said access request message; e) eliminating said specific field from the header of said access request message to mask the application processes applied by said successive intermediate proxy servers; f) constructing a masked access request message comprising a source IP address corresponding to the address of the client workstation and a destination IP address corresponding to the IP address of said server; and g) transmitting said masked access request message from said masking module to said server, thereby enabling said server to process said masked access request message as if it came directly from the client workstation.